Aahhhhhhhh. Hey guys
- happy last first day of Term 2 you'll ever have! Do you keep track of stuff like that? I always did whenever there was a milestone. "This is the last Term 1 holidays I'll get" or "This is the last time I have to sit through a bullshit welcome-back assembly". It gives you a bit of perspective, I think. I mean, Year 12 can feel endless. Monotonous. Like sometimes it will actually never end and you never get closer to the finish, but in reality, we're so close to the end! It's so easy to feel defeated at the seemingly infinite final year, so easy to start finding reasons around your goals - "I don't really need a 95... I could get a 60 and just go to Vic U" - Just me? Okay.
I'm thinking this for Uni at the moment. I've completed my first four assignments (one for each subject), and I've got marks back for three of them. Low and behold, I received an underwhelming 68/100 for my first Literature assignment. It felt like a massive punch to the gut, really, that brought back all the old fears and insecurities (and temptations to quit). The first thing I did was to go to my blog and vent. After that, I thought "what was I doing this time last year? I must have been doing much better" -- (I think sometimes it's easy to forget how hard Year 12 can be - I look back with a pair of rose-coloured glasses because of my score, but a year ago today I was even more stressed) -- a year ago today I made a post about how stressed I was, how fucked I was for Year 12, and how tired I was... but I finished the post with the line "Resilience makes a man" (or woman). Because that's what you need, really, isn't it? Resilience. This time a year ago, my Theatre Studies classed decided to DROP The play we were working one and START A FUCKING NEW ONE when opening night was in
four weeks. Being the only Year 12 in that class (the rest were accelerated Year 11s), I fell into a natural 'leader' role and I ended up with significantly more lines to learn than the girls did. I don't know how many of you have ever performed on stage, but four weeks to learn lines is the quickest I've ever done it by far. On top of this, I obviously had the Term 2 SAC Onslaught. Hahahaha. Looking back, it was an extremely crazy time. It's almost funny to remember how horribly stressed I was and remember all the horrible thoughts going through my head. Thinking I could never get through. The thing is though, y'know, I laugh about it, because I know the next phrase I can say is "Looking back". Looking back. I can look back and laugh, because I got through it. So did every other graduate, and so did hundres of thousands before them!
SO. Here's my message to you, 2013ers. This is your fucking year. This is your year to look back on. I seriously remember this time like it was yesterday, and remember all the thoughts. I know what many of you are thinking right now, and I guarantee you, people have thought it, are thinking it, and will think it again.
Maybe some of you feel like you were way too hopeful at the start of Term 1. You were just a silly kid that had no idea what they were in for and did pretty badly on some SACs, thus, it's all over.
Maybe some of you have never felt hopeful, but you've worked anyway and you feel like no matter how highly you score it's just not good enough to get your aims (I call this the Year 12 Fallacy - even if you get 100% in everything you feel like other people are still scoring more than you).
Maybe some of you had a great first term, but now you realise that the kiddy stuff is over and you're about to get smashed with SACs and you don't know if you can handle it.
Weeeeeelllllllllll. I gots some news for you folk;
it's not over yet. You
can do it. You
are about to get smashed in the face with SACs but you
WILL get through it.
The most important thing you can do right now (other than keeping yourself healthy and studying!) is keeping objective. I think that's a hard thing. Nothing feels good enough, but even if it feels that way, at least remind yourself on an intellectual level that if you're scoring well, it IS good enough. Just keep in mind that one day, you'll be looking back and laughing, and what's left to do is grit your teeth and move forward. Perspective and objectivity - try to keep them with you. But I know, sometimes it's hard, so I'm here to give you some of both.
You are going to be facing more SACs in less time than you ever have. You probably feel like your back is against a wall. So what are your options?
a) Get battered against the wall
b)Try to run along the wall
c) Attack whatever the fuck is in front of you.
You really only have one option.
When your back is against the wall, the only thing you can do is
come out swinging like a savage. What, you have, three SACs? Four, five even? Well
guess what - you can fucking do it. You have time. You have so much time every day. You might feel like you have so much to do and so little time, but you have plenty. These SACs that you feel like you might not be able to get through - you can. Are they making you feel stressed? Worried? Scared of failing? Scared of being embarrassed? Scared of inadequacy?
Who the fuck gave a bunch of SACs the right to make YOU feel stressed? To make YOU feel worried? To make YOU scared of failure, embarrassment and inadequacy?
The answer?
Nobody.Because if you don't want to fail, you won't fail. Failure is always an option. And that means that it's always a choice, and so is success. But success is really just the choice not to give up, not to stop. It's the choice to come out with two fists swinging.
So if you've been feeling like maybe you can't, maybe you don't want to, maybe you just want to give up, let this remind you that, for fuck's sake, you can, you do, and you shouldn't.
More importantly, you are not alone in this. Click a button on the forums. Any button. Look at those names. Thushan, pi, b^3, dare I say it, Brendinkles (currently Pi_3.14 hehe). Look at the Class of 2013 thread. These people have you back. Those of us who have graduated are here to make sure that nothing is impeding success for you. We're here to remind you, like I'm doing now, that we've all been through it and we got through it and at the end was a pot of gold. We're here to remind you that you can get through it. And look at the people in the 2013 thread! Your online brothers and sisters. These people know exactly what you're going through better than anyone, because they're going through the same thing. It's so easy to feel so isolated with nothing but stress to keep you company - but on this site you literally have an army that's fighting the same war as you and want you to keep fighting with them. If they're not stopping, you're not stopping. You all enlisted in this army for a reason, and now, it's too late to desert
. But keep that reason close to you guys. Even if it seems bleak at times, each and every one of you need to do this for something bigger. We don't go through waves of SACs and exams just for kicks. You know, some of you really need this for your course. Others might need it because they want to do their best. Others want to prove themselves. But ultimately, don't we all just want to be great, in some way? To do great? And that's not an objective measure, I mean, like, if you're thinking that an 80 ATAR is insanely high and you get that ATAR, you're pretty great in my books. Each of us are on our own paths to greatness, and even if the road ahead looks really dark at times, just trust in the path that you've made and keep following it. Even if the path is a personal one, you've still got battalions of other soldiers marching with you.
All in all guys, whatever you're feeling right now is okay. It is okay, it is expected, it is normal. Whatever you're facing at the moment, you are stronger than and you will get through it, and get through it with flying colours, because there's something about you that brought you to this website and made you stick around. There's a reason you read this post up until this point. I'm telling you from the other side right now that every tear, every moment spent studying and going to school (especially the dodgy classes) are all worth it. Everything you're doing right now is something that you will look back on and laugh at when you're talking about it next year. Uni is great. You have everything to look forward to, but first, you need to earn it. Legit, trust me, all of this crap you go through in high-school goes away in Uni (different crap takes its place, but it is ultimately more tolerable crap and with better rewards). It's just a great place. People play live music and are nice, kind, intelligent. It's a place you want to be, but high-school is a place you need to be, need to experience, and need to go through right now, because it is invaluable to you as a person and a means to an excellent end. As always, if anyone wants to raise any concerns about how they're feeling, you can do it in this post or on the 2013 thread or in the Help Hub, wherever. We've always got your back
Signing off,
Brigadier,
ATARNotesArmy,
Bredinkles xoxo
Edit: Brendinkles. Can't spell my own fucking name.
P.S - check this post out if you haven't already
You need a Plan of Attack.
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