Tempestuously cruising through the HSC

[Lumenoria]

I 'read' the whole book so basically I didn't because I didn't even understand what I was reading was about. In my essay I literally only used 2 sections that fit around my related text and was like yolo from there

HAHAHAHA OKAY GOOD THAT'S MY PLAN

[Lumenoria]

Got eco back today, and I am shocked beyond belief. Life works in strange ways. I was almost certain I failed (genuinely, because I thought I neglected half the entire question - but apparently not), but somehow I ended up topping the class? I was actually so certain that I bombed the question (it was on measures and impacts of inflation and I prepared with a primary focus on unemployment), that I was prepared to accept 70% as the best that I could've gotten in those circumstances. People were literally telling me they felt sorry for me lol. My teacher is also a notoriously harsh marker so when I got my exam back, I was literally so overwhelmed with happiness in a way that I cannot describe omgg. I got 87% in total, 17/20 on the essay (which was the the highest), and 9/10 on the research component - 26/30 in total. I was legit expecting 21/30 ish at best. I did the calculations and there's a possibility that I'm 1st now, as opposed to 3rd, but I'm lowkey hoping not because my friend really values her current 1st rank in eco and I don't want to ruin that for her ahh. You know how people say everyone fucks up an exam at some point? I had no doubt that this was the one. So now I'm worried that this "one" fuckup will plague me during trials or something smh

Got English Advanced Mod B essay back aswell (where we had to write a response to the mystery soliloquy played on the day) and thank fuck I got 14/15 - so 93%. I'm so relieved because I spent so SO much time studying for this exam (the most out of any exam for this block) that had I gotten any lower, I probably would've drowned in disappointment. Although I'm kinda annoyed because the mark that I lost, was on a small thing that I was conscious of before the exam but didn't think much of.

Nonetheless, I have surprisingly maintained a mark over 85 for everything in year 12 so far. I haven't gotten multimedia back, but my marks for the term 3 exams were as follows -

English Advanced - 93
Maths - 86
Legal - 100
Eco - 87

Got an invitation to the half yearly presentation for the first time in my high school life. I would've been infuriated if I didn't get an invitation because I've worked so fucking hard this entire year to be ranked in the top 4 for everything and it would make no sense. My school has a reputation for choosing students based on non academic merit so a lot of people get annoyed about it, but this year they seem to actually reflect our performance instead of favourites lol.

Also, we got our trial timetable. It's so bad omg, I have everything squished together ughhh, although I suppose at least I don't have any doubleups.

Week 1;
Monday - English Advanced (Paper 1)
Tuesday - Maths
Wednesday - Legal
Friday - English Advanced (Paper 2)

Week 2;
Tuesday - Economics

I seriously do not think a month is enough to prepare for trials.

[Lumenoria]

Hey everyone!
I'm in a major dilemma - idk if I should sign up for the LAT or not because I literally cannot tell if I actually want to do law or it's because I've been watching too many Law & Order-esque TV shows. Legal studies is my absolute favourite subject, but I feel like this is not really an accurate indicator of anything. I might apply just so I don't feel a sense of regret later on hehe

[emilyygeorgexx]

Hey everyone!
I'm in a major dilemma - idk if I should sign up for the LAT or not because I literally cannot tell if I actually want to do law or it's because I've been watching too many Law & Order-esque TV shows. Legal studies is my absolute favourite subject, but I feel like this is not really an accurate indicator of anything. I might apply just so I don't feel a sense of regret later on hehe

DO IT!!

I think you should take any chance you can get. The only downside here is the $180 registration fee

[Lumenoria]

DO IT!!

I think you should take any chance you can get. The only downside here is the $180 registration fee

Yup that's exactly what I thought! I guess I'll do it anyway hahaha

[Lumenoria]

Our Mod C assessment for English Advanced was today (last one before trials), and I think I did okay. My integration was a bit clunky and I felt like I was way more focused on my prescribed text than my related, but nonetheless I'm expecting atleast 90, so hopefully that comes to fruition. The English faculty wants to get them back to us before trials, so there's a high possibility we'll get them back sometime next week - lolfuck.

Studying for trials has been debilitating, but unsurprisingly so. I started studying ages ago, so I don't feel too overwhelmed (although that'll probably change once we get closer to the exam dates). So far, I've been focusing predominantly on English, Maths and Legal since they're my first exams (literally right after one another). I have the weekend between for economics, so I'm kinda leaving that for then, which probably isn't a great idea but I'm not super worried about it atm. I've collated heaps of statistics and plans for all topics, so hopefully that'll be good. I'm mainly concerned because I've been adopting more of a holistic approach to my studies, rather than a meticulous one - like I've literally just done mountains of practise essays and short answer questions. It sounds weird, but although I would love to maintain my ranks atm, I'm honestly not too fussed if I achieve a mark below my usual standard in trials. With the amount of studying I've done, it would be difficult to face, but I feel like I can "afford" to fail lol. Like if I get a 70 in my legal trial, my overall final mark will still be 91 because I've done well all year and the same kinda goes to all my other subjects, albeit to a lesser extent. That's basically my mentality  rn - it'll be strange to do shit with the amount of study I've done, but it would by no means be the end of the world.

English - I'm prepared for Paper 1 to some extent. I've done millions of practice papers under timed conditions - the only caveat is that I take forever to write out my discovery essay. I have no sense of time when I'm writing so 30 mins into my discovery essay, it's very likely I'll still be on my first paragraph lol. The first time I did it, I legit had 20 mins leftover for creative - which is not good. I can write my creative in 30 minutes though (it's only 1000 words), thankgod - if the stimulus is not atrocious. I reckon I'd be way faster in the actual exam tho - I find myself slacking off when writing my discovery essay (it's just so boring imo) when in actuality the adrenaline would make me fulfil my writing potential (hopefully). Besides time, I'm not really worried for Paper 1 - it's pretty straightforward. For paper 2, I'm quite prepared as well - except for Module C because I haven't really revised my quotes. I've practised a few timed essays for Mod A and B though and they aren't too bad really. Again, the issue lies in timing - I keep taking my time for granted at the beginning when I should be rushing the whole time if that makes sense. ugh.

Maths - I've done quite a few past trial papers so I'm not worried at all for this. I still need to go over a few prelim concepts, but generally I'm not intending to push myself on this one - even the night before the exam - because I reckon just a few more practice papers will do wonders. It's just having the actual willpower to print off a paper, that sucks.

Legal - I've done very comprehensive essay plans for all parts of the crime syllabus except for the international crime section. I really doubt this will be the question, but I also don't want to rule anything out just in case. For world order, I think I'm alright - I just need to do a few more essays to more questions. Although I got full marks in my internal assessment for this option, I really want to expand the scope of my argument because all my essays are 3 fat paragraphs, as opposed to the 4-6 para essays that I often see on here. I definitely feel like my analysis is solid in terms of depth, but idk if I should consider cutting down the details to explore more responses less comprehensively. In my internals, my world order essay took up 24 pages of those HSC wide spaced booklets lmao (I have big writing in exams - the essay was only 1100 words or so). I seriously do not think small paragraphs are viable for me so I'm praying this will be acceptable coming forward into the HSC. For family, my essay plans are coming together well except we haven't completed content so it's a bit hard to further my argument. I've been honing into the nuances of what we have learnt, so I think my points have been quite well developed. Hopefully. lol. I'm going to hopefully learn all my content this weekend in time to do a full past paper on Sunday or Monday or something, because I haven't been able to do that yet.

Eco - Did one practice essay on exchange rates awhile ago. Done essay plans on all the economic issues. I honestly feel like I'm going to wing this exam, which I feel is inevitable when an exam is last in the sequence. I'm definitely lucky that I only have 4 subjects to study for, because handing in my major work on Wednesday was considered my "trial" for multimedia.

On top of this, my cat, Luka, got crashed by a car on Sunday which broke my heart and soul. His back leg was broken into 3 pieces, the poor thing. I was so torn between putting him down; surgery to fix the bones ($9000); and amputation ($4000). The prices are insane, so it was hardest decision ever, if you couldn't already tell. Ultimately, I maxed out my entire savings (and by extension my proposed grad trip overseas) for him to get the amputation because I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I put him to death over just a broken leg, when we would otherwise be perfectly healthy, you know? He is also only 2 years old, so young. I was an emotional wreck on Tuesday and kept randomly crying at school over it because I couldn't come to terms with how cruel and random the world was to such an innocent being - my English teacher gave me a million time outs to cry lol. I legit kept zoning out in my lessons and she had to rexplain things for me a million times because my mind couldn't stop wondering. I still, cannot fathom why this happened. There was no reason for this. I was so emotional that I ended up getting mad at my friend who was compelling to put him down with the justification that she'd pray. My rationale was: how the fuck can you pray when god's the one who made this happen?? Lol. I don't think I realised how much I depended on my cat, until this occurred. I always have been notorious for loving him so much - I legit have a cat instagram for him lol and my friends call him my "son" - but I didn't think it was to this extent. It was so, so hard, because I feel like I owe my cat my life and my heart ached just thinking about the pain he was in as I was making a decision that would either make or break his life. Everytime I imagined him dead, I just wanted to wither away too. Anyways, I put down the deposit for the amputation on Tuesday and I had no moral qualms about it - it was definitely what I wanted in hindsight. It's just so damn expensive compared to the US for example, but he is honestly invaluable. This probably sounds so melodramatic, but honestly, it was a horrible position to be in and the emotions were so hard to deal with. I've been keeping in touch with the vets (I brought him to a vet facility 2 hours away because I cant afford the local vet fees) and the person said that he's out of surgery and still a bit sluggish but very cute, which made my heart sing. My god. I can pick him up very soon, and I'm so fucking excited to see his beautiful face. I love him so much (attached a pic of him for you guys xx)

[Razeen25]

I WISH I was as prepared for trials as you are! Like legit the amount of practice you've done for trials is more than I've probably done altogether in my life.
Also, I'm really sorry to hear about your cat : (. As a fellow cat owner I cannot even imagine what you've gone through this past week, but I'm so glad he's okay and that he will be okay. You made a noble decision.

[emilyygeorgexx]

Our Mod C assessment for English Advanced was today (last one before trials), and I think I did okay. My integration was a bit clunky and I felt like I was way more focused on my prescribed text than my related, but nonetheless I'm expecting atleast 90, so hopefully that comes to fruition. The English faculty wants to get them back to us before trials, so there's a high possibility we'll get them back sometime next week - lolfuck.

Studying for trials has been debilitating, but unsurprisingly so. I started studying ages ago, so I don't feel too overwhelmed (although that'll probably change once we get closer to the exam dates). So far, I've been focusing predominantly on English, Maths and Legal since they're my first exams (literally right after one another). I have the weekend between for economics, so I'm kinda leaving that for then, which probably isn't a great idea but I'm not super worried about it atm. I've collated heaps of statistics and plans for all topics, so hopefully that'll be good. I'm mainly concerned because I've been adopting more of a holistic approach to my studies, rather than a meticulous one - like I've literally just done mountains of practise essays and short answer questions. It sounds weird, but although I would love to maintain my ranks atm, I'm honestly not too fussed if I achieve a mark below my usual standard in trials. With the amount of studying I've done, it would be difficult to face, but I feel like I can "afford" to fail lol. Like if I get a 70 in my legal trial, my overall final mark will still be 91 because I've done well all year and the same kinda goes to all my other subjects, albeit to a lesser extent. That's basically my mentality  rn - it'll be strange to do shit with the amount of study I've done, but it would by no means be the end of the world.

English - I'm prepared for Paper 1 to some extent. I've done millions of practice papers under timed conditions - the only caveat is that I take forever to write out my discovery essay. I have no sense of time when I'm writing so 30 mins into my discovery essay, it's very likely I'll still be on my first paragraph lol. The first time I did it, I legit had 20 mins leftover for creative - which is not good. I can write my creative in 30 minutes though (it's only 1000 words), thankgod - if the stimulus is not atrocious. I reckon I'd be way faster in the actual exam tho - I find myself slacking off when writing my discovery essay (it's just so boring imo) when in actuality the adrenaline would make me fulfil my writing potential (hopefully). Besides time, I'm not really worried for Paper 1 - it's pretty straightforward. For paper 2, I'm quite prepared as well - except for Module C because I haven't really revised my quotes. I've practised a few timed essays for Mod A and B though and they aren't too bad really. Again, the issue lies in timing - I keep taking my time for granted at the beginning when I should be rushing the whole time if that makes sense. ugh.

Maths - I've done quite a few past trial papers so I'm not worried at all for this. I still need to go over a few prelim concepts, but generally I'm not intending to push myself on this one - even the night before the exam - because I reckon just a few more practice papers will do wonders. It's just having the actual willpower to print off a paper, that sucks.

Legal - I've done very comprehensive essay plans for all parts of the crime syllabus except for the international crime section. I really doubt this will be the question, but I also don't want to rule anything out just in case. For world order, I think I'm alright - I just need to do a few more essays to more questions. Although I got full marks in my internal assessment for this option, I really want to expand the scope of my argument because all my essays are 3 fat paragraphs, as opposed to the 4-6 para essays that I often see on here. I definitely feel like my analysis is solid in terms of depth, but idk if I should consider cutting down the details to explore more responses less comprehensively. In my internals, my world order essay took up 24 pages of those HSC wide spaced booklets lmao (I have big writing in exams - the essay was only 1100 words or so). I seriously do not think small paragraphs are viable for me so I'm praying this will be acceptable coming forward into the HSC. For family, my essay plans are coming together well except we haven't completed content so it's a bit hard to further my argument. I've been honing into the nuances of what we have learnt, so I think my points have been quite well developed. Hopefully. lol. I'm going to hopefully learn all my content this weekend in time to do a full past paper on Sunday or Monday or something, because I haven't been able to do that yet.

Eco - Did one practice essay on exchange rates awhile ago. Done essay plans on all the economic issues. I honestly feel like I'm going to wing this exam, which I feel is inevitable when an exam is last in the sequence. I'm definitely lucky that I only have 4 subjects to study for, because handing in my major work on Wednesday was considered my "trial" for multimedia.

On top of this, my cat, Luka, got crashed by a car on Sunday which broke my heart and soul. His back leg was broken into 3 pieces, the poor thing. I was so torn between putting him down; surgery to fix the bones ($9000); and amputation ($4000). The prices are insane, so it was hardest decision ever, if you couldn't already tell. Ultimately, I maxed out my entire savings (and by extension my proposed grad trip overseas) for him to get the amputation because I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I put him to death over just a broken leg, when we would otherwise be perfectly healthy, you know? He is also only 2 years old, so young. I was an emotional wreck on Tuesday and kept randomly crying at school over it because I couldn't come to terms with how cruel and random the world was to such an innocent being - my English teacher gave me a million time outs to cry lol. I legit kept zoning out in my lessons and she had to rexplain things for me a million times because my mind couldn't stop wondering. I still, cannot fathom why this happened. There was no reason for this. I was so emotional that I ended up getting mad at my friend who was compelling to put him down with the justification that she'd pray. My rationale was: how the fuck can you pray when god's the one who made this happen?? Lol. I don't think I realised how much I depended on my cat, until this occurred. I always have been notorious for loving him so much - I legit have a cat instagram for him lol and my friends call him my "son" - but I didn't think it was to this extent. It was so, so hard, because I feel like I owe my cat my life and my heart ached just thinking about the pain he was in as I was making a decision that would either make or break his life. Everytime I imagined him dead, I just wanted to wither away too. Anyways, I put down the deposit for the amputation on Tuesday and I had no moral qualms about it - it was definitely what I wanted in hindsight. It's just so damn expensive compared to the US for example, but he is honestly invaluable. This probably sounds so melodramatic, but honestly, it was a horrible position to be in and the emotions were so hard to deal with. I've been keeping in touch with the vets (I brought him to a vet facility 2 hours away because I cant afford the local vet fees) and the person said that he's out of surgery and still a bit sluggish but very cute, which made my heart sing. My god. I can pick him up very soon, and I'm so fucking excited to see his beautiful face. I love him so much (attached a pic of him for you guys xx)

Omg girl - I thought i was like low-key prepared but honestly I'm rethinking my whole life in comparison to you.

Also sorry about your cat, sending my love XX

[Lumenoria]

I WISH I was as prepared for trials as you are! Like legit the amount of practice you've done for trials is more than I've probably done altogether in my life.
Also, I'm really sorry to hear about your cat : (. As a fellow cat owner I cannot even imagine what you've gone through this past week, but I'm so glad he's okay and that he will be okay. You made a noble decision.

Haha omg dude I've been dying mentally though - as soon as trials is over, I'm going to binge watch Suits lol. Honestly I've been studying like this for the longest time that deviating away from this regimen feels weirder than sticking to it - it's almost second nature to me. Honestly, if you keep pushing yourself in the first 3 weeks (which is the hardest), it gets so much easier after that. Not that I'm recommending it though - I wish I wasn't like this hahahaha

Aw thanks!! I took him back from the vet today and oh man it's just so sad to watch him jump onto my bed and miss (he used to do it all the time), and need to have me carry him onto it instead. And he keeps trying to pull out his stitches which is giving me major anxiety ahh

[Lumenoria]

Omg girl - I thought i was like low-key prepared but honestly I'm rethinking my whole life in comparison to you.

Also sorry about your cat, sending my love XX

HAHAHA what dude, I swear I would say the same thing to you if you listed to me how much you've done!! And thanks girl xxxxx

[henrychapman]

Our Mod C assessment for English Advanced was today (last one before trials), and I think I did okay. My integration was a bit clunky and I felt like I was way more focused on my prescribed text than my related, but nonetheless I'm expecting atleast 90, so hopefully that comes to fruition. The English faculty wants to get them back to us before trials, so there's a high possibility we'll get them back sometime next week - lolfuck.

Studying for trials has been debilitating, but unsurprisingly so. I started studying ages ago, so I don't feel too overwhelmed (although that'll probably change once we get closer to the exam dates). So far, I've been focusing predominantly on English, Maths and Legal since they're my first exams (literally right after one another). I have the weekend between for economics, so I'm kinda leaving that for then, which probably isn't a great idea but I'm not super worried about it atm. I've collated heaps of statistics and plans for all topics, so hopefully that'll be good. I'm mainly concerned because I've been adopting more of a holistic approach to my studies, rather than a meticulous one - like I've literally just done mountains of practise essays and short answer questions. It sounds weird, but although I would love to maintain my ranks atm, I'm honestly not too fussed if I achieve a mark below my usual standard in trials. With the amount of studying I've done, it would be difficult to face, but I feel like I can "afford" to fail lol. Like if I get a 70 in my legal trial, my overall final mark will still be 91 because I've done well all year and the same kinda goes to all my other subjects, albeit to a lesser extent. That's basically my mentality  rn - it'll be strange to do shit with the amount of study I've done, but it would by no means be the end of the world.

English - I'm prepared for Paper 1 to some extent. I've done millions of practice papers under timed conditions - the only caveat is that I take forever to write out my discovery essay. I have no sense of time when I'm writing so 30 mins into my discovery essay, it's very likely I'll still be on my first paragraph lol. The first time I did it, I legit had 20 mins leftover for creative - which is not good. I can write my creative in 30 minutes though (it's only 1000 words), thankgod - if the stimulus is not atrocious. I reckon I'd be way faster in the actual exam tho - I find myself slacking off when writing my discovery essay (it's just so boring imo) when in actuality the adrenaline would make me fulfil my writing potential (hopefully). Besides time, I'm not really worried for Paper 1 - it's pretty straightforward. For paper 2, I'm quite prepared as well - except for Module C because I haven't really revised my quotes. I've practised a few timed essays for Mod A and B though and they aren't too bad really. Again, the issue lies in timing - I keep taking my time for granted at the beginning when I should be rushing the whole time if that makes sense. ugh.

Maths - I've done quite a few past trial papers so I'm not worried at all for this. I still need to go over a few prelim concepts, but generally I'm not intending to push myself on this one - even the night before the exam - because I reckon just a few more practice papers will do wonders. It's just having the actual willpower to print off a paper, that sucks.

Legal - I've done very comprehensive essay plans for all parts of the crime syllabus except for the international crime section. I really doubt this will be the question, but I also don't want to rule anything out just in case. For world order, I think I'm alright - I just need to do a few more essays to more questions. Although I got full marks in my internal assessment for this option, I really want to expand the scope of my argument because all my essays are 3 fat paragraphs, as opposed to the 4-6 para essays that I often see on here. I definitely feel like my analysis is solid in terms of depth, but idk if I should consider cutting down the details to explore more responses less comprehensively. In my internals, my world order essay took up 24 pages of those HSC wide spaced booklets lmao (I have big writing in exams - the essay was only 1100 words or so). I seriously do not think small paragraphs are viable for me so I'm praying this will be acceptable coming forward into the HSC. For family, my essay plans are coming together well except we haven't completed content so it's a bit hard to further my argument. I've been honing into the nuances of what we have learnt, so I think my points have been quite well developed. Hopefully. lol. I'm going to hopefully learn all my content this weekend in time to do a full past paper on Sunday or Monday or something, because I haven't been able to do that yet.

Eco - Did one practice essay on exchange rates awhile ago. Done essay plans on all the economic issues. I honestly feel like I'm going to wing this exam, which I feel is inevitable when an exam is last in the sequence. I'm definitely lucky that I only have 4 subjects to study for, because handing in my major work on Wednesday was considered my "trial" for multimedia.

On top of this, my cat, Luka, got crashed by a car on Sunday which broke my heart and soul. His back leg was broken into 3 pieces, the poor thing. I was so torn between putting him down; surgery to fix the bones ($9000); and amputation ($4000). The prices are insane, so it was hardest decision ever, if you couldn't already tell. Ultimately, I maxed out my entire savings (and by extension my proposed grad trip overseas) for him to get the amputation because I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I put him to death over just a broken leg, when we would otherwise be perfectly healthy, you know? He is also only 2 years old, so young. I was an emotional wreck on Tuesday and kept randomly crying at school over it because I couldn't come to terms with how cruel and random the world was to such an innocent being - my English teacher gave me a million time outs to cry lol. I legit kept zoning out in my lessons and she had to rexplain things for me a million times because my mind couldn't stop wondering. I still, cannot fathom why this happened. There was no reason for this. I was so emotional that I ended up getting mad at my friend who was compelling to put him down with the justification that she'd pray. My rationale was: how the fuck can you pray when god's the one who made this happen?? Lol. I don't think I realised how much I depended on my cat, until this occurred. I always have been notorious for loving him so much - I legit have a cat instagram for him lol and my friends call him my "son" - but I didn't think it was to this extent. It was so, so hard, because I feel like I owe my cat my life and my heart ached just thinking about the pain he was in as I was making a decision that would either make or break his life. Everytime I imagined him dead, I just wanted to wither away too. Anyways, I put down the deposit for the amputation on Tuesday and I had no moral qualms about it - it was definitely what I wanted in hindsight. It's just so damn expensive compared to the US for example, but he is honestly invaluable. This probably sounds so melodramatic, but honestly, it was a horrible position to be in and the emotions were so hard to deal with. I've been keeping in touch with the vets (I brought him to a vet facility 2 hours away because I cant afford the local vet fees) and the person said that he's out of surgery and still a bit sluggish but very cute, which made my heart sing. My god. I can pick him up very soon, and I'm so fucking excited to see his beautiful face. I love him so much (attached a pic of him for you guys xx)

Hey hey,
I literally only came across your blog in the last few days or so and I have been so intrigued to keep reading. I guess I'm just replying to this particular post because its your most recent and most prevalent to us all at this stage ahah. You're obviously heaps driven and committed and thats really incredible. What I would say is though don't worry if you don't do as well as you like in the trials because at the end of the day, they're just one exam mark and as you've said you've done heaps well already so it won't affect you too bad. Sometimes there are occurrences in the exam room that we don't foresee - the question doesn't really suit us or we accidentally skip over something and misread a question. These things happen because we're human and we're prone to making mistakes, as much as we try to eliminate them.
I also do both legal and eco and I side with all the things you've said about them throughout this blog. I would probably consider them my best two subjects, certainly in terms of ranks. I'm currently ranked 3/19 for legal (yes, small cohort) and 5/67 for eco (larger cohort because our schools renowned for economics, top 5 schools in NSW every year)
I think for World Order - I wouldn't be too fussed with the structure and length of paragraphs. I got similar feedback in my internal assessment too so maybe its an area to consider for both of us aha but seriously I don't think they can rip marks off you just because the content is in one big paragraph. If its going to annoy markers in the marking centre though, it may be best to adapt. I agree with your method of study - you just have to PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE writing essay responses and have detailed plans ready to go. What me and the other top rankers in my cohort have done is put together a list of paragraphs that we need to answer any question (we basically looked at the syllabus and themes and worked that out from there). It's really helpful, particularly for crime, to help reduce the OVERWHELMING amount of content. You sound super set tho, and I'm sure you'll do awesome. I also do family, but feel your pain - we haven't covered enough content to write proper essays yet !

Eco: You say that you're slightly worried that you're leaving eco to the weekend before, although I honestly think eco is an exam that can be crammed for in the few days leading up. This is the case because the content is flexible, and the course is designed in a way to have all four topics link to each other. For example, technically you learn about exchange rates in topic 2, however you also learn it as part of external stability in topic 3 and well as the effect various policies have on it (most specifically monetary policy and the manipulation of interest rates). I.e - you're actually learning some content twice maybe even three times across the course.  Obviously, there are some explicit know how's that apply t o specific sections of the syllabus; these revolve around accurate definitions and clear explanation of theoretical concepts. So I'd really focus on nailing those and the rest will stem for that. Know your key stats ofc and key trends. And then its just about logically applying that to each question. You'll be super sweet for it !
If you wanna share resources or anything hmu - I have a stack for eco, both my own ( A LOT of practice essays and syllabus notes) and other peoples (including state ranker's notes/essay plans). Legal too.
This blog is super interesting and I'm looking forward to your next update.
Also I'm sorry about your cat - I have 2 dogs and love them both and would hate for anything bad to happen to them. I can certainly understand your pain.

[owidjaja]

On top of this, my cat, Luka, got crashed by a car on Sunday which broke my heart and soul. His back leg was broken into 3 pieces, the poor thing. I was so torn between putting him down; surgery to fix the bones ($9000); and amputation ($4000). The prices are insane, so it was hardest decision ever, if you couldn't already tell. Ultimately, I maxed out my entire savings (and by extension my proposed grad trip overseas) for him to get the amputation because I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I put him to death over just a broken leg, when we would otherwise be perfectly healthy, you know? He is also only 2 years old, so young. I was an emotional wreck on Tuesday and kept randomly crying at school over it because I couldn't come to terms with how cruel and random the world was to such an innocent being - my English teacher gave me a million time outs to cry lol. I legit kept zoning out in my lessons and she had to rexplain things for me a million times because my mind couldn't stop wondering. I still, cannot fathom why this happened. There was no reason for this. I was so emotional that I ended up getting mad at my friend who was compelling to put him down with the justification that she'd pray. My rationale was: how the fuck can you pray when god's the one who made this happen?? Lol. I don't think I realised how much I depended on my cat, until this occurred. I always have been notorious for loving him so much - I legit have a cat instagram for him lol and my friends call him my "son" - but I didn't think it was to this extent. It was so, so hard, because I feel like I owe my cat my life and my heart ached just thinking about the pain he was in as I was making a decision that would either make or break his life. Everytime I imagined him dead, I just wanted to wither away too. Anyways, I put down the deposit for the amputation on Tuesday and I had no moral qualms about it - it was definitely what I wanted in hindsight. It's just so damn expensive compared to the US for example, but he is honestly invaluable. This probably sounds so melodramatic, but honestly, it was a horrible position to be in and the emotions were so hard to deal with. I've been keeping in touch with the vets (I brought him to a vet facility 2 hours away because I cant afford the local vet fees) and the person said that he's out of surgery and still a bit sluggish but very cute, which made my heart sing. My god. I can pick him up very soon, and I'm so fucking excited to see his beautiful face. I love him so much (attached a pic of him for you guys xx)

Omg your cat is so pretty- he looks like one floofy boi

I think you've made a great decision with the amputation. Even though taking care of cats are expensive, their overall presence is definitely worth the price! My cat Meg needed surgery for her teeth and we were really worried with her teeth but extracting her teeth was the best option (all 12 of them, rip :/). We didn't want her to be in pain (and cats happen to be great at hiding that) and she lost so much weight because of her teeth. Although it wasn't as expensive as your cat's amputation, boiii was it expensive.

Look on the bright side: when we got Meg back from her first round of surgery, seeing Meg high on anaesthesia was hilarious- her eyes were slanted, she couldn't walk straight and she was on blep mode that night!

[Lumenoria]

Hey hey,
I literally only came across your blog in the last few days or so and I have been so intrigued to keep reading. I guess I'm just replying to this particular post because its your most recent and most prevalent to us all at this stage ahah. You're obviously heaps driven and committed and thats really incredible. What I would say is though don't worry if you don't do as well as you like in the trials because at the end of the day, they're just one exam mark and as you've said you've done heaps well already so it won't affect you too bad. Sometimes there are occurrences in the exam room that we don't foresee - the question doesn't really suit us or we accidentally skip over something and misread a question. These things happen because we're human and we're prone to making mistakes, as much as we try to eliminate them.
I also do both legal and eco and I side with all the things you've said about them throughout this blog. I would probably consider them my best two subjects, certainly in terms of ranks. I'm currently ranked 3/19 for legal (yes, small cohort) and 5/67 for eco (larger cohort because our schools renowned for economics, top 5 schools in NSW every year)
I think for World Order - I wouldn't be too fussed with the structure and length of paragraphs. I got similar feedback in my internal assessment too so maybe its an area to consider for both of us aha but seriously I don't think they can rip marks off you just because the content is in one big paragraph. If its going to annoy markers in the marking centre though, it may be best to adapt. I agree with your method of study - you just have to PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE writing essay responses and have detailed plans ready to go. What me and the other top rankers in my cohort have done is put together a list of paragraphs that we need to answer any question (we basically looked at the syllabus and themes and worked that out from there). It's really helpful, particularly for crime, to help reduce the OVERWHELMING amount of content. You sound super set tho, and I'm sure you'll do awesome. I also do family, but feel your pain - we haven't covered enough content to write proper essays yet !

Eco: You say that you're slightly worried that you're leaving eco to the weekend before, although I honestly think eco is an exam that can be crammed for in the few days leading up. This is the case because the content is flexible, and the course is designed in a way to have all four topics link to each other. For example, technically you learn about exchange rates in topic 2, however you also learn it as part of external stability in topic 3 and well as the effect various policies have on it (most specifically monetary policy and the manipulation of interest rates). I.e - you're actually learning some content twice maybe even three times across the course.  Obviously, there are some explicit know how's that apply t o specific sections of the syllabus; these revolve around accurate definitions and clear explanation of theoretical concepts. So I'd really focus on nailing those and the rest will stem for that. Know your key stats ofc and key trends. And then its just about logically applying that to each question. You'll be super sweet for it !
If you wanna share resources or anything hmu - I have a stack for eco, both my own ( A LOT of practice essays and syllabus notes) and other peoples (including state ranker's notes/essay plans). Legal too.
This blog is super interesting and I'm looking forward to your next update.
Also I'm sorry about your cat - I have 2 dogs and love them both and would hate for anything bad to happen to them. I can certainly understand your pain.

Hey there!!
I'm glad you enjoy my journal - honestly I feel like people think I ramble on too much here hahahahah! I read back on some of my stuff awhile ago actually and was cringing so hard lol. Yup, that's basically my mentality atm, although I still reckon I'd shed a few tears if I got under 85 for anything HAHAHHA. I haven't bombed any assessments in year 12 and I feel like it's coming lol because I've never had such a consistent streak of marks in my life. I was literally failing in year 11 hahahah. Honestly I think I owe my motivation levels to my friends around me who are crazy competitive. I'd probably already have dropped out of school by now were it not for them.

Ooh that's good - they're definitely some of my most interesting subjects! Legal especially, I'm legit head over heels with it because it's just so goddamn flexible. My legal cohort is so competitive though, like I'm on a mark of 97 and  only coming 3rd AHH. It would be so good to bring that up in trials but I doubt it hahaha.

I've been taking a similar approach for legal. I've been doing heaps of practise essay paragraphs on topics that are applicable to lots of different areas of the syllabus. I honestly think I'm good for legal - it's honestly just timing. I keep timing myself with the individual essay sections, but I cannot be fucked to do a whole 3 hour paper but I need to in order to get a sense of how much wriggle room I have. But idk if I'm physically able to do that hahaha. I'm kinda avoiding international crime but now I feel like my luck is so bad that it's going to blow up in my face on the day. Also, out of curiosity, how much do you write for the 15 mark crime essay? Because I usually write a similar length to my option essays (roughly 1-1.2k words) but recently I read something that said the 15 marks is attainable with just 600 words? But idk if I can fit anything of substance in that limit hahahaha because I like doing atleast 3 full length paragraphs, you know?

YUP I'm planning to do that - I have heaps of detailed essay plans to go but I'm mainly worried we're going to get a question on the environmental shit. Oh my god. That would be the clunkiest essay ever and I'm actively avoiding it anyway because it's the most mundane topic ever hahaha. It would suck to lose my 1st ranking over trials though because I won't have a chance to redeem myself, so I'm hoping it goes down well. Cramming usually works though so I'm praying hhahaha. Your eco cohort is massive - mine only has 18 people, but that's probably because half of them dropped due to our incompetent ass teacher. Legitimately, he cannot teach for shit and I've basically self taught myself the whole course because his powerpoints are the most basic slides ever - half the class is comprised of dropkicks. He literally had to get his friend - a selective teacher from a top 10 school in NSW - to give my feedback on my CAD essay because he didn't know what else to say. Like WHAT. Anyways, thanks for much for the offer, I'll have it in mind for when I study hahaha.

Thankyou!! My cat finally ate today after not eating for 4 days and omg I cried of happiness because I was worried that I had spent all that money on the amputation only for him to die OMG. They're honestly so precious.

[Lumenoria]

Omg your cat is so pretty- he looks like one floofy boi

I think you've made a great decision with the amputation. Even though taking care of cats are expensive, their overall presence is definitely worth the price! My cat Meg needed surgery for her teeth and we were really worried with her teeth but extracting her teeth was the best option (all 12 of them, rip :/). We didn't want her to be in pain (and cats happen to be great at hiding that) and she lost so much weight because of her teeth. Although it wasn't as expensive as your cat's amputation, boiii was it expensive.

Look on the bright side: when we got Meg back from her first round of surgery, seeing Meg high on anaesthesia was hilarious- her eyes were slanted, she couldn't walk straight and she was on blep mode that night!

HEHE I KNOWW!!

Thankyou girl, I really was questioning my morals when he came home and just moped around the house in misery. He just seemed socially withdrawn and didn't eat for 4 days. I thought it was normal but searched it up and apparently this could be deadly to cats and then I looked at various forums which said their cats ate straight away!! like omg I was shook hhahaa. Yesterday I had a major mental break down because I thought I made him live when he wanted to die and that was the reason he wasn't eating. Got so consumed by emotion that no productive work was completed. So today I went to the chemist and bought a massive syringe and some baby food with the intention of syringe feeding him when I got home (because I mean, I'm not going to let him starve to death you know). Anyways, I open a can of tuna just to see his reaction and he immediately starts licking and eating it. Omg I was a happy mess hahahaha... the relief was the best.

Holy crap though, taking out 12 teeth is a lot!! Were they decaying or something? I'm glad Meg appears to be doing well now though xx

[Lumenoria]

Got my Mod C assessment back today and got 93 (14/15), so I'm really happy with it. I got the highest mark in the class, but I have a feeling that the marking was a bit biased because it was marked by the other Advanced teacher, and their class had 5 people who got full marks, yet the highest for us was only 14/15 - which only I got. Like what. Idk it doesn't really make sense considering that our classes are similar in terms of academic strength. Anyways, I'm happy nonetheless because I think I retained my 2nd rank (hopefully).