Gonna get that flat 30 ATAR | 箸の日記

[TigerMum]

Hello chopsticks,
I'm in Year 10 this year and doing 1/2 Methods as well. I'm so excited to finish this year and get stuck into VCE because I love love love all my subjects for next year.
I was wondering why you want to study Medicine since you said you don't like pracs and science subjects and Medicine is pretty much those two things.

btw I really love your journal, best of luck for your VCE and future endeavours!

[sarangiya]

I was wondering why you want to study Medicine since you said you don't like pracs and science subjects and Medicine is pretty much those two things.

I would personally disagree with this but I'm also curious about chopstick's story behind wanting to do med!

[chopsticks]

Hello chopsticks,
I'm in Year 10 this year and doing 1/2 Methods as well. I'm so excited to finish this year and get stuck into VCE because I love love love all my subjects for next year.

btw I really love your journal, best of luck for your VCE and future endeavours!

Hey, thank you! How are you finding Methods? I personally enjoy it
Which uni course are you currently aiming for

I was wondering why you want to study Medicine since you said you don't like pracs and science subjects and Medicine is pretty much those two things.

I would personally disagree with this but I'm also curious about chopstick's story behind wanting to do med!

Unfortunately, I don't have a really good reason but here's my backstory (that sounds too epic for something not that interesting haha)

I was born in a family mostly consisting of doctors. You would expect someone like me to be like "omg it's my dream to be a doctor like my parents and uncles" but that wasn't really the case. Even though my family kept trying to convince and occasionally pressure me, I was actually always AGAINST being a doctor (same thing with my cousins, none of whom ended up doing med).

However, after growing up, I started to realize I wanted to pursue a stable job with a somewhat okay income (doctors aren't necessarily rich btw, watch the Purple Pen podcast for info). But even then, I wasn't motivated to study med.

Last year, something happened to one of my friends. He was mentally unwell, to say the least. That inspired me to become an adolescent psychiatrist. It's upsetting that even though mental illnesses are more prominent from ages 13-25 (correct me if I'm wrong since I'm stating this from memory), most psychiatrists tend to be paediatric or for adults. Adolescent psychiatrists are still high in demand. It's always been avoided since teenagers have all these other hormones which make them the hardest to treat.

I guess that's my story. I think people will ask me why I'm not doing Psych. Initially, I got rid of it in exchange for Japanese (I wanted to do Bio since I assumed it was necessary for med and I could always study psychology later). I don't want to do 3/4 next year for Psych since I got out of Bio because its a science.

Edit: More info on my "background" story, my uncle who passed away when I was very young was a pretty famous psychiatrist back in those days. He used to counsel his patients over using meds to fix their problems. I also have a lot of friends who tell me antidepressants make things worse (and there is no solid proof it helps last time I checked). I believe it works for some and not so much for others but meds always have side effects. Anyways, that's also why I am interested in it : ))

[chopsticks]

2019年10月8日火曜日 - Update

So Kwong Lee Dow results just came out and unfortunately I didn't receive it. That's okay, whatever happens is for the better. I feel like if I received it, I would've been so relieved by being accepted into any Melb Uni course with a 95+ ATAR that I wouldn't try my best for VCE.

I had my Associate Concert Manager interview yesterday and it didn't go too well. I stuttered heaps and the questions were really difficult (I ended up having a mind blank and skipped a question only to go back to it later).

I am still negotiating with my school about whether I will be able to do English 3/4 next year. I'll keep you guys updated on whatever happens next.

[TigerMum]

Hey, thank you! How are you finding Methods? I personally enjoy it
Which uni course are you currently aiming for

I'm having a lot of fun in Methods this year, math is definitely my favourite subject. I'm looking forward to Specialist next year too, bit of a shame there is little (or maybe no) calculus in 1/2 spesh though, because I love calculus.

In terms of uni courses, I'm not entirely set on anything yet but I am looking at doing the Bachelor of Commerce at UoM and majoring in either Economics + Finance or Actuarial Studies. I was considering Law but I did work experience in the legal group at a bank and even though it was very fun, it made me realise I have to do something with maths in it.

[chopsticks]

I'm having a lot of fun in Methods this year, math is definitely my favourite subject. I'm looking forward to Specialist next year too, bit of a shame there is little (or maybe no) calculus in 1/2 spesh though, because I love calculus.

In terms of uni courses, I'm not entirely set on anything yet but I am looking at doing the Bachelor of Commerce at UoM and majoring in either Economics + Finance or Actuarial Studies. I was considering Law but I did work experience in the legal group at a bank and even though it was very fun, it made me realise I have to do something with maths in it.

HAHAHA YES! Maths is the best
Honestly, not trying to be dramatic over here but not doing calculus in Spesh took a while to sink in
Calculus is just so much fun
On a positive note, everyone who I have talked to so far said Spesh 1/2 is easier than Methods 1/2. One girl said Spesh builds on the foundation of Methods but it is an entirely different content
With that being said, it may or may not be similar to calculus but it's likely to be enjoyable as well

[Snow Leopard]

So Kwong Lee Dow results just came out and unfortunately I didn't receive it. That's okay, whatever happens is for the better. I feel like if I received it, I would've been so relieved by being accepted into any Melb Uni course with a 95+ ATAR that I wouldn't try my best for VCE.

According to their website results don't come out till : 22 November 2019.

[chopsticks]

According to their website results don't come out till : 22 November 2019.

Ahhhh sorry for the confusion, my school has a process for it
First, we have to apply to the teacher’s panel. Then we need to get shortlisted for an interview and then finally we're allowed to officially apply on the KLD website

[sarangiya]

Edit: More info on my "background" story, my uncle who passed away when I was very young was a pretty famous psychiatrist back in those days. He used to counsel his patients over using meds to fix their problems. I also have a lot of friends who tell me antidepressants make things worse (and there is no solid proof it helps last time I checked). I believe it works for some and not so much for others but meds always have side effects. Anyways, that's also why I am interested in it : ))

That's not not interesting at all! You have some great reasons for aspiring to medicine. I actually relate a lot to your family situation because my family are all nurses (haha) and I thought for a long time that I would never want to work in healthcare like they did.

It's really amazing that you have been so inspired by your friend's situation. I definitely feel your passion for the issue of mental health care. It's still inadequate in much of the world, including in Australia. Some realities of the situation can be really ridiculously frustrating... the kind of social issue that makes you want to rip into Parliament and square up the health minister themself hahaha

That's awesome that you have a famous psychiatrist in the family whose legacy you can continue!! Non-pharmacological interventions are really important and therapy helps many thousands of people. I'm not sure I would make such hasty judgements against the pharmacological interventions, though. Anecdotes from your friends may help strengthen your support for talk-based therapy, but their experiences are individual and I don't think they really paint a picture of all people (or even adolescents) with psychiatric conditions. Also, I think you might want to have a deeper look for meta analyses and reliable studies to form your opinion on whether there is "proof" behind the purported efficacy of antidepressants etc. It's a bit of a tricky field because there is still a stigma surrounding "meds" or pharmacological treatments. Some people need them for a long time just to manage day to day, rather than for a short time as a curative measure. Even the notion that mental illnesses can be "fixed" is a bit controversial. Being from Victoria you might be familiar with Danny Frawley, who died recently. His wife released a statement after his death saying that Danny felt that he had 'beat' his mental health issues and made the decision to withdraw himself from professional care. He ended his life not long after that, and his wife encouraged other people to talk about decisions about treatment and mental health with professionals even if you are feeling "fixed".

But I see that you understand that because you acknowledge that treatment should be individualised for the person. If you do feel that non-pharmacological treatment is something you are more interested in, you could explore the fields of psychology and counseling. They focus almost exclusively on talk-based therapies, while psychiatry often (but not necessarily) involves medication as a treatment.
In any case, it's great to see that you have such a passion. It will make learning things so much more rewarding.

Best of luck!!

[chopsticks]

That's not not interesting at all! You have some great reasons for aspiring to medicine. I actually relate a lot to your family situation because my family are all nurses (haha) and I thought for a long time that I would never want to work in healthcare like they did.

Hahaha thank you! And isn't it ironic that those people who come from families with a good medical knowledge end up not wanting to do med?

It's really amazing that you have been so inspired by your friend's situation. I definitely feel your passion for the issue of mental health care. It's still inadequate in much of the world, including in Australia. Some realities of the situation can be really ridiculously frustrating... the kind of social issue that makes you want to rip into Parliament and square up the health minister themself hahaha

Aww yes. I guess it made a pretty big impact on my life. In saying that, I wasn't really knowledgeable (and didn't care much) about mental healthcare. I completely agree with you and yes exactly ahaha

That's awesome that you have a famous psychiatrist in the family whose legacy you can continue!!

HAHAHA, thank you! We'll see what happens

I'm not sure I would make such hasty judgements against the pharmacological interventions, though. Anecdotes from your friends may help strengthen your support for talk-based therapy, but their experiences are individual and I don't think they really paint a picture of all people (or even adolescents) with psychiatric conditions. Also, I think you might want to have a deeper look for meta analyses and reliable studies to form your opinion on whether there is "proof" behind the purported efficacy of antidepressants etc. It's a bit of a tricky field because there is still a stigma surrounding "meds" or pharmacological treatments. Some people need them for a long time just to manage day to day, rather than for a short time as a curative measure. Even the notion that mental illnesses can be "fixed" is a bit controversial. Being from Victoria you might be familiar with Danny Frawley, who died recently. His wife released a statement after his death saying that Danny felt that he had 'beat' his mental health issues and made the decision to withdraw himself from professional care. He ended his life not long after that, and his wife encouraged other people to talk about decisions about treatment and mental health with professionals even if you are feeling "fixed".

That's completely true. I guess I also want to take a look into that in the future. Thanks for giving me a little something interesting to read, although the reality is very tragic.

But I see that you understand that because you acknowledge that treatment should be individualised for the person. If you do feel that non-pharmacological treatment is something you are more interested in, you could explore the fields of psychology and counseling. They focus almost exclusively on talk-based therapies, while psychiatry often (but not necessarily) involves medication as a treatment.
In any case, it's great to see that you have such a passion. It will make learning things so much more rewarding.

I was considering that, more as a back up option. My other uncle, who is also a psychiatrist, told me he really enjoys it. I kinda wanna try it out too (particularly shock therapy haha)

Sorry for the short replies, I'm super duper tired for some reason today (lately I have been)
I love your responses though, they are so nicely expressed and I can just feel how genuine it is

Also, I happened to stumble across your medical journal the other day (although it hasn't been updated for months)
I would love to see more posts on it although no pressure hahha it's just interesting to see uni journals too and time flies by so past (just today I learnt one of my cousins graduated for uni!)

All the best for your uni adventures too!!!

[sarangiya]

Sorry for the short replies, I'm super duper tired for some reason today (lately I have been)
I love your responses though, they are so nicely expressed and I can just feel how genuine it is

Also, I happened to stumble across your medical journal the other day (although it hasn't been updated for months)
I would love to see more posts on it although no pressure hahha it's just interesting to see uni journals too and time flies by so past (just today I learnt one of my cousins graduated for uni!)

All the best for your uni adventures too!!!

That is of course okay!!!!! Make sure you get some rest. It's such a stressful time of year, so definitely set aside some time for yourself.
Hahah thank you so much!! I'm glad I can come off that way. Sorry for literally bombarding your journal. I've taken such a keen interest in your story hahahaah

Yessss my god. I am quite upset that I didn't keep up the journal this year. It would have undoubtedly been beneficial for me on many levels. I kind of threw in the towel at some point because most of my university experience has been concerned with things outside the course. Apart from being quite personal, it also isn't really that engaging for people wanting to know what MeDiCinE is like. But I'm at a point now where the course is more of a priority in my life and I'm hoping to continue a journal all year next year. So stay tuned for that
Time really does fly by so quickly!!! It's grosses me out bahahah
Thanks so much!! Enjoy yours too xx

[chopsticks]

That is of course okay!!!!! Make sure you get some rest. It's such a stressful time of year, so definitely set aside some time for yourself.

Thank you! I've been getting stressed out as of late and I'm still not in the two toughest years so that's a bit scary (I think it's actually more to do with lack of sleep over study pressures)

Hahah thank you so much!! I'm glad I can come off that way. Sorry for literally bombarding your journal. I've taken such a keen interest in your story hahahaah

No, thank you. Everything you say is super inspirational, I could be feeling dead but after reading your posts I actually get some kind of mysterious energy to get up and go study
And no, you haven't bombarded my journal at all, keep posting because I love the spam XD
And thank you!!!

Yessss my god. I am quite upset that I didn't keep up the journal this year. It would have undoubtedly been beneficial for me on many levels. I kind of threw in the towel at some point because most of my university experience has been concerned with things outside the course. Apart from being quite personal, it also isn't really that engaging for people wanting to know what MeDiCinE is like. But I'm at a point now where the course is more of a priority in my life and I'm hoping to continue a journal all year next year. So stay tuned for that
Time really does fly by so quickly!!! It's grosses me out bahahah

Hahaha aww I get what you mean. I will look forward to next year's one for sure!

Also, I was looking through some of the notes for Japanese on ATAR Notes and I happened to stumble across a pot of gold. It actually turned out to be your diary SAC and I was like omg why is this so good
I just wanted to thank you for that glorious 19/20 sac (which we all know should be a 21/20)

[chopsticks]

2019年10月12日土曜日 - Update

First week of school - OVER!

Apparently, we have 6 "normal" weeks of school left (towards the end we have one or two weeks off for work exp and camp and stuff).

So here's a run down of what happened

- I didn't get another chance to negotiate with the teachers about doing English 3/4. They told me they will arrange a meeting time on Tuesday and then let me know but that hasn't happened yet. I think I'm just gonna send a kind reminder email.
- We had a heart dissection Thursday morning. The minute the teacher came in with the organs, I ran outside the classroom. I can't deal with those things. The teacher came out (she's extremely sweet) and told me I can just go to the library. Basically a free period
- We had lots of meetings for next years Japanese exchange
- I didn't go chorale on Thursday lunch because my friend really wanted a bit of help on her Maths test and I was like stuff it, I'll help you out (she's doing Year 10 Math whereas I'm in Methods so often these kinds of things happen)
- I realized that I have never done a comparative IN MY LIFE! And it's worth 60% of sacs as far as I know. My tutor was like grab two texts, write a prompt and then write your essay and I was like okay
- I'm finally getting a credit card!!!

I think I also procrastinated wayyy too much. Also just a question, do you prefer the Ti-Inspire or the Casio Classpad? Our school uses the Ti-Inspire but I literally die because the buttons are sooo annoying and it wastes so much time that I usually work out by hand (which is a big no no in the exams). I heard that a lot of people prefer it over the Casio though, so I'm not quite sure. Let me know!

Macrob Fun Fact: We're known as the biggest toilet block in Victoria. Need I say more?
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=macrob
Also I obviously didn't write that definition, it was up there when I was 4 years old so obviously I had no idea what Macrob was back then.

[whys]

- We had a heart dissection Thursday morning. The minute the teacher came in with the organs, I ran outside the classroom. I can't deal with those things. The teacher came out (she's extremely sweet) and told me I can just go to the library. Basically a free period

Also just a question, do you prefer the Ti-Inspire or the Casio Classpad? Our school uses the Ti-Inspire but I literally die because the buttons are sooo annoying and it wastes so much time that I usually work out by hand (which is a big no no in the exams). I heard that a lot of people prefer it over the Casio though, so I'm not quite sure. Let me know!

Hello there! I've read your journal a couple of times, and now I've finally decided to overcome my laziness and reply

Is it the smell or just the prospect of dissections that you don't enjoy, or something else??

And I much much prefer the Casio because the Ti-Inspire is hard for me to use. I think that's mostly because I'm used to the cas though. But whichever one you use, with practice you'll be much better and faster. I think most people just go for the one their school uses because it's much easier (the teachers will be better versed with the calculator the school wants you to use, most of the time)

[chopsticks]

Hello there! I've read your journal a couple of times, and now I've finally decided to overcome my laziness and reply

Hahaha thank you! I'm super lazy too

Is it the smell or just the prospect of dissections that you don't enjoy, or something else??

I have a fear of organs, more so the heart. I can't exactly remember why though. The earliest memory was a guy was poking my chest area when we were little and it hurt a lot but I'm not so sure how it relates to this HAHAHA (it wasn't really sexual assault since we were both kids and didn't know about these things anyways)

And I much much prefer the Casio because the Ti-Inspire is hard for me to use. I think that's mostly because I'm used to the cas though. But whichever one you use, with practice you'll be much better and faster. I think most people just go for the one their school uses because it's much easier (the teachers will be better versed with the calculator the school wants you to use, most of the time)

Thank you for the input! I'm planning on teaching myself the Casio, my current math teacher can use it (she finds it easer than the Ti-Inspire) but she warned me next year, other teachers might not know how to