Sophie’s HSCrying Journal :’) — Class of ’19

[sofichu]

hey guys! :>

Heads up, I’m pretty bad with self-introductions so here’s just some basic, non-awkward, mildly interesting facts about me:
1.   My name is Soph and I’m currently a Year 11/12/(I don’t even know) student at a selective school in Sydney
2.   Favourite subject is not maths!  not English! Totally faithful to Modern History
3.   Currently having a panic attack over subject choices!!!!! Right now, I’m taking Ext 2 Maths (not sure about that one actually), Ext 1 Maths, Adv Eng, Ext Eng, Biology, Chemistry, and Modern
4.   Absolute stationary hoarder. Who knew I needed 10 highlighters in my pencil case?
5.   Terrible sense of humour. Loves a good HSC meme. Will be inserting several puns throughout this journal
6.   Overuses emojis a lot 
7.   Not spectacular at anything: your very average selective school student who makes friends from tutoring and the bus ride home
8.   Listening to Eastside by Khalid for the 23rd time today
9.   Had 3 consecutive periods of Maths today. Still recuperating

I really hope writing down my HSC experiences will be either entertaining or even (?) helpful (?) for some of you guys in this forum. Most students in my school have a pretty hard time during Year 12 (pressure from parents, peers, teachers, but mostly themselves) and I genuinely think that starting this journal will be a good way to let out all that pent-up stress. If you guys have any questions or you just want to have a good chat, feel free to send a PM!!! :-)


25/10/18
Second week of Year 12.  Already thoroughly stressed because I don’t know if I should keep MX2   I went to talk to my teacher today and she recommended me to keep it until our first exam block in Week 6. Problem is, I have 13 units right now and I seriously doubt I’ll be able to keep on top of all my work AND study for MX2. Here’s my pros and cons chart and I’ll appreciate anyone’s two cents on this issue 

Pros of keeping MX2 (for now)
-   I’m not bad at maths and my attitude towards it is neither intense love nor hate (I like it if I do well and I start to dislike it if I do badly ) . I ranked overall top 40 (ish) for 3U/2U which got me into one of the 72 slots for the subject. If I put a lot time into it or find some sort of motivation, I think I can do ok? (also my cohort is reasonably strong in maths)
-   Helps with 3U content? More practice for 3U?
-   Really good scaling? My school hypes up scaling because most students choose the “Asian 5” (MX2, MX1, Adv Eng, Phys, Eco, Chem etc) and apparently MX2 scaling is amazing even if you get like 75% (?)
-   3U mark will count for 2 units and I won’t have to sit the 2U exam (especially since I heard that 2U maths scales terrible unless you get 95+)

Cons of keeping MX2
-   I heard that you have to seriously love maths to do well in MX2. Not sure if I fit into that category? I mean, maths is fun but I don’t want to dedicate all of my free time into it. Nor do I want to do a degree that requires such a high level of maths
-   Will probably affect other subjects because I’ll need to a spend a lot of time on it
-   More personal reason but MX2 is morning classes for me. I am 120% not a morning person so it’s currently depleting my motivation to do maths
-   Will have to go tutoring because I will definitely not be able to keep up with my class if I don’t 

I don’t want to regret dropping MX2 early on, but I’m worried that I’ll burn out early because of the workload especially since I ~bombed~ my prelims because I stressed out too much. Any advice?

On a lighter note! Neighbour adopted the cutest corgi puppy ever. I spent a solid 2 hours playing with the doggo on their front yard. Seriously recommend puppy therapy for anyone who is getting overwhelmed like me )))))
Till next time
x Soph

[headsup]

Heeyy!!!

Welcome to the confusing transition into year 12 😉

So awesome you are faithful to modern.... It  is truly the best subject out there 😎😋

Nice subject choices.... Not much help in that regard.... Still struggling through ext 1😆

You have a fellow hoarder here 😁😉

Anyway ATB... Will follow your progress

Edit; I doing/did 13 units.... It is doable.... Just need to put the time and effort into it and keep on top of it all 😋

[jazcstuart]

Hey, good on you for starting a journal, hopefully it is a good outlet for you. I'm super keen to keep reading it! Definitely going to be waiting for some quality puns 

On the MX2 issue, first of all I love that you've made a pros and cons list because they can be really useful to make decisions like this. (Although I agree with headsup, I am trying to survive 3u, I'm not brave enough for 4u haha.)
Maybe one option would be to keep it until your first assessment block as your teacher suggested, and if you feel like you are stuggling you can just stop putting any effort into MX2 because you know you will drop it anyway. On the other hand you may like it, and decide to drop something else instead! The HSC courses are often quite different to prelims, so you might change your mind.

Interested to hear what you decide

[Caitlynk_22]

Welcome to the HSC Journal! Good luck with year 12, I know it's gonna be hard but you have to keep going. You're almost there!

Ps. The final exams feel so much better when you've done them. Just don't stress too much this year. When the time comes, you'll be ready!

[sofichu]

Heeyy!!!

Welcome to the confusing transition into year 12 😉

So awesome you are faithful to modern.... It  is truly the best subject out there 😎😋

Nice subject choices.... Not much help in that regard.... Still struggling through ext 1😆

You have a fellow hoarder here 😁😉

Anyway ATB... Will follow your progress

Edit; I doing/did 13 units.... It is doable.... Just need to put the time and effort into it and keep on top of it all 😋

Totally agree! Modern is legendary. Although it makes me want to pass out sometimes with the amount of content but it's just so interesting to learn about all the new HSC topics
I'm so curious to how you managed to balance 13 units My school doesn't allow us to take more than 12 into the actual HSC but most people drop down to 10 or 11 just to be safe. Did you have a study schedule you followed to keep on top of all 13 units?

Hey, good on you for starting a journal, hopefully it is a good outlet for you. I'm super keen to keep reading it! Definitely going to be waiting for some quality puns 

On the MX2 issue, first of all I love that you've made a pros and cons list because they can be really useful to make decisions like this. (Although I agree with headsup, I am trying to survive 3u, I'm not brave enough for 4u haha.)
Maybe one option would be to keep it until your first assessment block as your teacher suggested, and if you feel like you are stuggling you can just stop putting any effort into MX2 because you know you will drop it anyway. On the other hand you may like it, and decide to drop something else instead! The HSC courses are often quite different to prelims, so you might change your mind.

Interested to hear what you decide

Definitely gonna sprinkle a few puns here and there xd
Biggest problem for me right now is that, apart from MX2, I have absolutely no idea what to drop. Probably a toss up between Biology or Extension English but I enjoy both a lot right now  80% sure I'll be dropping MX2 at the moment but will keep you updated!!

Welcome to the HSC Journal! Good luck with year 12, I know it's gonna be hard but you have to keep going. You're almost there!

Ps. The final exams feel so much better when you've done them. Just don't stress too much this year. When the time comes, you'll be ready!

I just hope I'll be motivated enough to keep trying all the way until the final exams    Can't wait to be HSC-stress free :'))))

Mod edit: Merged double post. Please use the 'Modify' button

[jazcstuart]

Definitely gonna sprinkle a few puns here and there xd
Biggest problem for me right now is that, apart from MX2, I have absolutely no idea what to drop. Probably a toss up between Biology or Extension English but I enjoy both a lot right now  80% sure I'll be dropping MX2 at the moment but will keep you updated!!

Yeah makes sense, MX2 is definitely a huge workload so if you are not super keen it probably is worth dropping. It almost seems like you've already decided this, but it's good to be sure.

(Also you can reply to multiple people in one post, for future reference  )
Edit: as owidjaja already said

[sofichu]

Yeah makes sense, MX2 is definitely a huge workload so if you are not super keen it probably is worth dropping. It almost seems like you've already decided this, but it's good to be sure.

(Also you can reply to multiple people in one post, for future reference  )
Edit: as owidjaja already said

Woah I did not realise you could do that! Thanks for the heads up (owidjaja too)

[headsup]

Totally agree! Modern is legendary. Although it makes me want to pass out sometimes with the amount of content but it's just so interesting to learn about all the new HSC topics
I'm so curious to how you managed to balance 13 units My school doesn't allow us to take more than 12 into the actual HSC but most people drop down to 10 or 11 just to be safe. Did you have a study schedule you followed to keep on top of all 13 units?

I am actually really interested to see how the new syllabus goes.... Looks really interesting/!😀

In regards to 13 units....to tell you the truth. It isn't easy.... And sometimes you feel the pressure of why didn't I jst to 10... But hey you are most likely only going to do it once!!! And if you flunk a subject... Feel it isn't actually a huge loss.
I found that exactly the ones that did 10 units prob didn't get hugely different marks, mostly not higher..... So basically you can do it!!!
Def means you have more exams 😥 still 5 to go but any how....

Had a basic flexible study plan and worked on a as needs basis..... Ext1 didn't get the attention it needed as we only did this during lunch... But it is definitely possible....

[sofichu]

I am actually really interested to see how the new syllabus goes.... Looks really interesting/!😀

In regards to 13 units....to tell you the truth. It isn't easy.... And sometimes you feel the pressure of why didn't I jst to 10... But hey you are most likely only going to do it once!!! And if you flunk a subject... Feel it isn't actually a huge loss.
I found that exactly the ones that did 10 units prob didn't get hugely different marks, mostly not higher..... So basically you can do it!!!
Def means you have more exams 😥 still 5 to go but any how....

Had a basic flexible study plan and worked on a as needs basis..... Ext1 didn't get the attention it needed as we only did this during lunch... But it is definitely possible....

Better safe than sorry :') I'll defs keep more than 10 units just so I can take a bit of the pressure off doing well in every subject. Props for sticking with 13 though! Also, I just saw that you have your modern exam very soon Good luck!!!!

[headsup]

Definitely think more then 10.....
Yeah. Kinda worried about it but we will get there......
sorry. This is not meant to be headsup journal 🙄

[sofichu]

hey guys!
It's been a week since my last post and boy. a lot has happened :')
first:
I finally committed to my decision to drop MX2 cyuhhhh and honestly, now that I've done it, it feels so good to not have that burden on my shoulders (which is probably a very good sign that MX2 wasnt for me :—) ) To add on, I got transferred into my favourite math teacher's class which literally made my week (more than just my day) and I'm so glad that I regained a shred of motivation to do maths again.

second:
FIRST HSC ASSESSMENT TASK NOTIF!!! :—) new syllabus. new me. Advanced English is not my favourite subject but this assessment task actually seems fun (i'm shocked i said that). We have to find a related text and do a 3 minute "multi modal" presentation on how it relates to human experiences etc etc and it's actually surprising to know that this is the only task that we get to do with a self-chosen related text (they took it out of the actual hsc exam???). anyways, i'm pretty keen to sus out some cool related texts and spend my afternoons watching films (under the excuse of studying for 2U eng ha!). Right now, I'm vibing with some short films and a couple documentaries, but I am not completely sure if we are allowed to do non fiction (i literally see no reason why not)

third:
got my modern and math ranks today :') not really surprised by how much i bombed the 2U maths exam considering that I didnt study at all because the 2U english exam was right before it. ranked around 70 for 2U and got called out of MX2 class last week for a 1 on 1 with the Head Teacher (a damn good drop from top 10 to 70th ;') ). Did ok for 3U as I did a few past papers and squeezed in some revision (around 30). SOMEHOW managed to retain top in modern which is an actual miracle considering I had less than two pages for one of the prelim essays?? still, knowing where I am is definitely motivating me to study harder and not letting others get to my head. asked for my chemistry mark but my teacher was concerned that I might be really upset if i knew ;') well. not a good sign. but the truth hurts and ill see if I can get my dose of reality again tomorrow

super short summary of what happened the past week and i completely went slack with grammar and punctuation oops
but overall, this week has been pretty good and I have not burnt out yet!!! an achievement!!!

Breakdown count this week: NIL. ZERO. <3

x Soph

[Joseph41]

Hey Soph!

Glad your week has been pretty good.

Great to have you here - would love pictures of your stationery at some point haha.

[Fergus6748]

Congrats on getting through the week. It sounds like you are handling year 12 so far really well. Keep it up and you'll smash year 12 out of the ball park!!