ATAR Notes: Forum

VCE Stuff => Victorian Education Discussion => The VCE Journey Journal => Topic started by: caffinatedloz on June 21, 2019, 10:30:25 pm

Title: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on June 21, 2019, 10:30:25 pm
Hello hello!
My name is Laura and I am a Year 10 this year completing two VCE subjects. I thought that I would start this journal as something for me to look back on and a way to organise my thoughts before subject selection (which is fast approaching).

So what subjects am I studying this year and what's my plan thus far?
So this year I am doing 1/2 Biology and 1/2 Religion and Society (compulsory but enjoyable). I found biology tough to begin with. The class atmosphere and teaching style was very different from what I'm used to and combined with the copious amounts of content it was not easy to get my head around. I am feeling a lot more confident about it now and super excited for second semester.

My long term goal is to get into OT at Latrobe (and hopefully continue Auslan while I'm there). So my plan for subjects next year is:
- 3/4 Bio
- Methods
- Chem
- English
- Global Politics
- Texts and Traditions (distance ed)
- Auslan (outside of school)

I am also tossing up spesh instead of T&T but I am trying to weigh up whether I would actually enjoy it and how much additional stress it would add to my VCE. A major deciding factor for me is how stressed I am going to be. I want to set myself up to do well and so I'm looking to choose subjects I enjoy and that will hopefully keep me sane.

So who am I away from all the school stuff?
So I'm 15 and when I'm not at school I am very involved in the disability community. I am a support worker for a gorgeous little one and do some volunteer respite care. I am absolutely in love with my work but it is a very tiring and taxing job which forces me to plan ahead in terms of study and assignments. I love the Deaf community and think that Auslan is such a beautiful language which is why I have such a passion for learning it. I like reading and writing (mainly flash fiction and poems) and I love my ukelele. I have always wanted to be able to sing but am slowly becoming content with the fact that I really, really can't.

I love persuasive speaking and drama, so I do DAV debating as well as acting in the school production. I am sometimes shy but a different side of me comes out when people are watching. I love the thrill I get from a debate. I love being third and getting on a roll. I love secret topic debates and working with my team. It's a part of school I really enjoy. (So much for the heading ::) )

Today's Playlist
Music is a really big thing for me and often it's what gets me through a long school day.
Today's mix included:
- Sweet But a Psycho (Ava Max)
- Viva la Vida (Coldplay)
- Love Story (Taylor Swift)
- Chasing Cars (Snow Patrol)
- Hey There Delilah (Plain White T's)

Best of luck pushing through the last week before school holidays. The time between exams and a break always feels quite strange for me!
laura <3

edit:
a glossary
About me: This post says a lot about who I am as a person. I love other people and I love the awesome experiences I get to have with children through my work and volunteering.

Year 10 things: Page 2-8
Year 11 things: Page 8-
Year 12 things: to come

My other threads:
- getting healthy and feeling better in semester two
- my auslan practice
- creative things

Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: Geoo on June 21, 2019, 10:48:38 pm
Wow, what a start to a journal! Really looking forward to seeing what comes next.
That's amazing what you do for the disabled community, but it must be really hard watching people go through things when you have formed a connection. How often to you volunteer? Do you think you want to go down that path in the future for a job, or continue it in the forms of humanitarian work?

How do you learn Auslan? I know there is a Distance Language Centre along with DECV, but I would imagine the course structure would have to be so different to the speaking languages. Random question, but how different it Auslan to the american or British sign languages?

Aside from your studies and volunteer work, and the debate team, do you have any hobbies? Or are you too busy? It looks like you have a packed schedule. Sorry for the boat load of questions  ;)
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on June 21, 2019, 11:02:26 pm
Hiya Geoo,
Love your journal! What interesting questions; no need to apologise at all. ;D

That's amazing what you do for the disabled community, but it must be really hard watching people go through things when you have formed a connection. How often to you volunteer? Do you think you want to go down that path in the future for a job, or continue it in the forms of humanitarian work?

I think that I am so lucky in the people I get to work with. I certainly see people struggling, but mostly my clients are generally able to manage quite well. One, in particular, is completely non-verbal and does not communicate in traditional ways, with also profound physical disabilities, but she is so happy so much for the time. Sometimes we just catch a tram for the fun of it. (Mainly so I can see the look of glee on her face.) She is obsessed with music and the reason that I picked up my uke again. I am hoping to work as an Occupational Therapist (but also considering Physio or Special Ed), so definitely working in the disability community!!  :)

How do you learn Auslan? I know there is a Distance Language Centre along with DECV, but I would imagine the course structure would have to be so different to the speaking languages. Random question, but how different it Auslan to the american or British sign languages?

I learnt Auslan through community courses run in a neighbourhood learning centre and I'm looking to do the 1/2 at Victorian College for the Deaf, which would involve me going to evening classes once a week. Auslan is extremely different from American sign language, mainly due to the "two-handed" fingerspelling system- basically, in ASL letters are formed using one hand. Auslan is based on British sign language so shares some similarities. However, even across Australia, sign language differs considerably.

Aside from your studies and volunteer work, and the debate team, do you have any hobbies? Or are you too busy? It looks like you have a packed schedule.

I love reading and writing. I also like geocaching and riding my bike, but I kind of find myself on a kick with one hobby for a month (neglecting the others) and then switch to a different one. They rotate around but I always come back eventually. I also enjoy watercolour but I need a lot of practice. What are your main hobbies? Do you find yourself neglecting them or are you better at balance and time management than me?
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: brothanathan on June 22, 2019, 02:07:00 am
Hi Laura,

Loved the effort you put in your R&S Padlet. Never lose that fire of yours. I'll be interested in how your journey goes  :D
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: homeworkisapotato on June 22, 2019, 08:36:38 am
Woah I can already tell this journal is gonna be epic ;D
I'm really looking forward to your future entries ;)
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: smallbean on June 22, 2019, 09:02:22 am
Hey Laura,
Nice mix of subjects!  :)
I'm looking forward to following the rest of your journey through VCE. I've always wanted to do some volunteering, which is something that I want to do after I finish school. Which subjects at school do you enjoy the most?
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on June 22, 2019, 09:15:37 am
Hey Laura,
Nice mix of subjects!  :)
I'm looking forward to following the rest of your journey through VCE. I've always wanted to do some volunteering, which is something that I want to do after I finish school. Which subjects at school do you enjoy the most?

Hey smallbean!!
I would so encourage you to get involved in volunteering as soon as you have the time. I know that I find no matter how much I am helping others through what I do, I always find that I get so much more back! There was this time a little while ago when one of the children did not want to separate from her mother (which meant that her mum couldn't have the three-hour break that the volunteering service aims to provide), and she said to us, "As much as it is about the break, it is about knowing you are not alone. About having someone walk this journey with me." To this day that is what inspires me. Unfortunately, I was meant to be volunteering this morning but the service had to cancel the session as too many carers are sick.

At school, I really enjoy the humanities and English subjects. I have discovered a love for science that I probably last saw in year 7 after choosing to undertake 1/2 bio this year. I think that a mix of uninspiring teachers and a cohort with a dislike for science made me think that perhaps it wasn't for me. I also enjoy aspects of maths (we just started combinatorics and that's been super interesting). What are your favourite subjects?
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: smallbean on June 22, 2019, 10:39:02 am
Hey smallbean!!
I would so encourage you to get involved in volunteering as soon as you have the time. I know that I find no matter how much I am helping others through what I do, I always find that I get so much more back! There was this time a little while ago when one of the children did not want to separate from her mother (which meant that her mum couldn't have the three-hour break that the volunteering service aims to provide), and she said to us, "As much as it is about the break, it is about knowing you are not alone. About having someone walk this journey with me." To this day that is what inspires me. Unfortunately, I was meant to be volunteering this morning but the service had to cancel the session as too many carers are sick.

At school, I really enjoy the humanities and English subjects. I have discovered a love for science that I probably last saw in year 7 after choosing to undertake 1/2 bio this year. I think that a mix of uninspiring teachers and a cohort with a dislike for science made me think that perhaps it wasn't for me. I also enjoy aspects of maths (we just started combinatorics and that's been super interesting). What are your favourite subjects?

Hi Laura,
I enjoy humanities and English subjects too, and also have a love for Science which lead me to choose Chemistry as a Year 12 Subject. Bio 1/2 seems like such an intriguing subject choice because it's one that you can actually relate to aspects real life. All of the 6 subjects that I chose for your 11 & 12 were my favourite amongst the ones that we were exposed to throughout schooling. However, if I were to choose my top two then it would definitely be English and Chinese 3/4 as I view both as fostering important skills in me that I will be able use in the future.
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: Bri MT on June 22, 2019, 11:16:16 am
Hey! I also studied bio early and was spent a lot of time on extracurriculars. I didn't do much debating as I couldn't get a team together at my school but 3rd and 2nd are certainly the best imo - impromptu public speaking is great :D.

In year 12 you may find some pressure to drop your extracurriculars so I want to say now please strongly consider not doing that.  Pull back a bit if you need/want to but please don't ditch them entirely.  Not only can they help you get into LaTrobe (I'm not sure if OT is in the Aspire program but if it is you should definitely apply) but I found that my extracurriculars helped me get an ATAR I was happy with by helping protect my headspace.

I'm not sure if you've seen but there's a uni journey journal on Occupational Therapy and although it's inactive I think if you pm'd the user who ran it they'd be happy to answer questions :)

I knew Auslan is different from sign language in other countries but I had no idea about the regional variation - thank you for sharing :)

What's the most interesting geocache you've found?  For me,  it's one where you had to find a hidden string and pull on it to get to the cache.

Keen to follow your journal - best of luck!  :)
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on June 22, 2019, 06:42:04 pm
Hey! I also studied bio early and was spent a lot of time on extracurriculars. I didn't do much debating as I couldn't get a team together at my school but 3rd and 2nd are certainly the best imo - impromptu public speaking is great :D.

In year 12 you may find some pressure to drop your extracurriculars so I want to say now please strongly consider not doing that.  Pull back a bit if you need/want to but please don't ditch them entirely.  Not only can they help you get into LaTrobe (I'm not sure if OT is in the Aspire program but if it is you should definitely apply) but I found that my extracurriculars helped me get an ATAR I was happy with by helping protect my headspace.

I'm not sure if you've seen but there's a uni journey journal on Occupational Therapy and although it's inactive I think if you pm'd the user who ran it they'd be happy to answer questions :)

I knew Auslan is different from sign language in other countries but I had no idea about the regional variation - thank you for sharing :)

What's the most interesting geocache you've found?  For me,  it's one where you had to find a hidden string and pull on it to get to the cache.

Keen to follow your journal - best of luck!  :)

Thanks Bri! Definitely intend to keep around as many extracurriculars as possible, even in the later years. In terms of geocaches, I've found a couple of interesting ones. A tiny one between a crevice in a rock was cool. There was also one hidden in a park behind a reflector on a sign. The best was probably one hidden in a tree with a pulley system that involved first finding the 2m pole to reach it.
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on June 22, 2019, 07:00:31 pm
Hello hello!
I watched a really great Anna Akana video this morning and just thought I would share it here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChUZ5A_2tyo). She talks about the quote "jack of all trades, master of none, but most often better than master of one" and her journey with accepting that. This was the kick I needed to get back to the creative writing that I've been procrastinating. I have a notebook full of many single paragraph stories, and have never been through and edited or extended them, but this morning I did a bit of work on one called "Wandering Flowers".

Also, worked today...
I had a lot of fun with the kids at work today! As volunteering was cancelled this morning I could spend the whole day with just one family. In the morning I spent time with my client's (who I'll call A) two-year-old brother, who calls me "Nor". We played with the "Toot-toots" and then had lunch together. In the afternoon I took A to the aquarium and she loved it! She really enjoyed our time on the train and loved the penguins. On our way home, she kept reaching out to me from her wheelchair for hugs. She was very loud on the train home as she was excited so we got lots of funny looks but I was just happy she was happy. Also, she is going to a respite care program for a week tomorrow but I got invited to visit her which is exciting!
TL;DR: I had a wonderful day at work!
Being deeply loved gives you strength, loving deeply gives you courage. -Lao Tzu

And school stuff?
I have two assignments due Monday. There is an AoS3 biology question sheet to finish and an English oral about the context of To Kill a Mockingbird. Both of these were given to me on Friday, the day after exams. I was honestly really annoyed but I'm mostly over it. I meant to do some today but I just didn't get there.

I also have a prac report for bio that needs to be done before the end of term. Hopefully, I'll feel motivated tomorrow. (Yeah right!)

Today's Mix:
- Clocks (Coldplay)
- Home (Phillip Phillips)
- Take Me to Church (Ukulele Version by The Ukulele Boys)
- Bonfire Heart (James Blunt)
- Paradise (Coldplay)

Everyone needs a little help, a little hope and someone who believes in them. - Someone smart (probably)
laura <3
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: brothanathan on June 22, 2019, 07:05:04 pm
Woah I can already tell this journal is gonna be epic ;D
I'm really looking forward to your future entries ;)

Especially because Laura is doing Auslan... ooo
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: mango8 on June 22, 2019, 07:35:10 pm
Hello Laura! Lovely to meet you! What a fantastic journal this is bound to be! I would have loved to start my own back in Year 10 if I had known atarnotes existed!

That is wonderful you have your mind set on what you want to achieve in the end, it definitely helps in the motivation ruts and when you need to remember why you are doing this.

I think it’s amazing you are doing so much in the disability community. The world is in need of more caring, empathetic people who give so much, like you. How often do you volunteer here, and what are some of your most memorable, treasured experiences? I have always wanted to do volunteering, but never did it. I hope to do so once Year 12 is over.

What are your fav books? Maybe you could share some of your poetry later on if you felt comfortable. I love reading poetry. I love that you are keeping up with doing many extracurriculars which helps take your mind off the whole study side of things. It’s the best feeling being able to surprise people with your talents and abilities. People are incredibly judgemental, and when another side shines through when you are doing something you love, they are astounded. I hope you keep up with at least some of these extracurriculars when Year 12 rolls around.


I had a lot of fun with the kids at work today! As volunteering was cancelled this morning I could spend the whole day with just one family. In the morning I spent time with my client's (who I'll call A) two-year-old brother, who calls me "Nor". We played with the "Toot-toots" and then had lunch together. In the afternoon I took A to the aquarium and she loved it! She really enjoyed our time on the train and loved the penguins. On our way home, she kept reaching out to me from her wheelchair for hugs. She was very loud on the train home as she was excited so we got lots of funny looks but I was just happy she was happy. Also, she is going to a respite care program for a week tomorrow but I got invited to visit her which is exciting!
TL;DR: I had a wonderful day at work!
Being deeply loved gives you strength, loving deeply gives you courage. -Lao Tzu

What a beautiful little girl! That story just warmed my heart and soul, it is so so beautiful. And such an inspiring quote.

Your journal is honestly going to be so amazing, I can already tell. Thank you for starting this, always remember how much of gold you have in you. You are such an inspiring person Laura x
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on June 22, 2019, 07:58:35 pm
I think it’s amazing you are doing so much in the disability community. The world is in need of more caring, empathetic people who give so much, like you. How often do you volunteer here, and what are some of your most memorable, treasured experiences? I have always wanted to do volunteering, but never did it. I hope to do so once Year 12 is over.

What are your fav books? Maybe you could share some of your poetry later on if you felt comfortable. I love reading poetry. I love that you are keeping up with doing many extracurriculars which helps take your mind off the whole study side of things. It’s the bets feeling being able to surprise people with your talents and abilities. People are incredibly judgemental, and when another side shines through when you are doing something you love, they are astounded. I hope you keep up with at least some of these extracurriculars when Year 12 rolls around.

Your journal is honestly going to be so amazing, I can already tell.

Thanks Mango!
There are so many wonderful things about volunteering and it has been so wonderful to be able to impact so many lives, in a way that enriches my life so much. The first time A made a sign (the sign for more) to her music therapist has probably been the best experience I've had as it was such a massive breakthrough. Seeing someone come to the understanding that they are able to communicate and the way that learning Auslan is going to open up so many possibilities for A is so exciting! Through this program I volunteer once a month for three hours, which is about all the kids can handle as the idea is that their parents have a break. I have in the past worked in a cooking class for adults with intellectual disabilities and also do kids program and morning tea duties every week at my church, which is also a fair commitment. I think that no matter what kind of volunteering you do and no matter how much of yourself you give, you will be enriched so much more than you could ever imagine!

Cathy Cassidy was an author who I read all through my tween years and her books still hold a very special place in my heart. (Driftwood and Summer's Dream really hit home.) There is no way I can choose a favourite book currently but I can definitely narrow it down:
1. All The Bright Places (cliche, I know)
2. The Lorien Legacies Series (I Am Number Four)
3. Nevermore (and Wundersmith the sequel)
4. All of Fleur Ferris's books.
5. Hannah Jayne's books.
6. The Radius of Us
7. Paperweight
8. The Boundless Sublime
9. A Quiet Kind of Thunder
10. Harry Potter
(Wow keeping it short hahaha.)

What kind of books do you like to read?

Also here's a poem I wrote last year. We'll see how I go with my writing this year but I may post some stuff here if people are interested and I'm feeling inspired.
Flicker,
Flutter,
Fall.

Leaves dropping off trees,
Flowers wither and crumble.
Green grass greys,
In preparation.

Step,
Squish,
Squashed.

Red turns brown,
Branches become bare.
Digging and burrowing,
Hibernation begins.

Wandering,
Walking,
Waiting.

Locked inside,
With fireplaces.
We wait for Winter,
And then the sun.


<3
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: sweetiepi on June 22, 2019, 08:36:18 pm
There are so many wonderful things about volunteering and it has been so wonderful to be able to impact so many lives, in a way that enriches my life so much
...
I think that no matter what kind of volunteering you do and no matter how much of yourself you give, you will be enriched so much more than you could ever imagine!
...
There is no way I can choose a favourite book currently but I can definitely narrow it down:
1. All The Bright Places (cliche, I know)

Hey, I've just been reading about how you volunteer, and I agree- it is really enriching and rewarding! I'm also looking forward to reading updates!!! ^-^
I also read All The Bright Places 18 (or so) months ago, and I also rank it pretty highly! ^-^

Also best of luck for all the assessments due soon. I'm sure you'll smash the rest of term as well!!! :)
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: mango8 on June 22, 2019, 08:56:52 pm
Thanks Mango!
There are so many wonderful things about volunteering and it has been so wonderful to be able to impact so many lives, in a way that enriches my life so much. The first time A made a sign (the sign for more) to her music therapist has probably been the best experience I've had as it was such a massive breakthrough. Seeing someone come to the understanding that they are able to communicate and the way that learning Auslan is going to open up so many possibilities for A is so exciting! Through this program I volunteer once a month for three hours, which is about all the kids can handle as the idea is that their parents have a break. I have in the past worked in a cooking class for adults with intellectual disabilities and also do kids program and morning tea duties every week at my church, which is also a fair commitment. I think that no matter what kind of volunteering you do and no matter how much of yourself you give, you will be enriched so much more than you could ever imagine!

That is so wonderful and touching, truly beautiful. You have truly inspired me to take up volunteering next year. I always knew it was so rewarding, but hearing you describe your passion and devotion for what you do has really inspired me. Thank you for that.

Omg I loved Cathy Cassidy as well when I was younger. I used to be thoroughly obsessed with her back then. I absolutely adored her beautiful books and raw, fleshed out characters I could relate to so deeply. She was one of my absolute favourite authors back then, I remember always having one of her books in my hands. I actually haven't heard of most of the books and authors you have mentioned, so I will definitely check them out. I love reading all kinds of books, sometimes I want a riveting, on the edge of my seat read, other times I want a poignant romance, and then I love escaping to a fantasy world as well. I really enjoy all genres.

That poem was sublime. You are so talented! Can't wait for more of your poems and journal entries <3
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on June 22, 2019, 09:00:22 pm
Omg I loved Cathy Cassidy as well when I was younger. I used to be thoroughly obsessed with her back then.

Yay! Another fan! Have to ask, which book of hers was most memorable to you or your favourite? Also, do you write poems?
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: mango8 on June 22, 2019, 09:11:08 pm
Yay! Another fan! Have to ask, which book of hers was most memorable to you or your favourite? Also, do you write poems?

Ahhh that's like asking a mother to choose her favourite child. Impossible. But if I'm honest it was so long ago, though I read most of her books, I can't remember them all in much detail now. But memorable ones were definitely Driftwood, Indigo Blue and Angel Cake (related with AC so so much, and still do). And I adored the Chocolate Box series, I could relate to each character so much on a different level. I think now I want to be nostalgic and read them all over again, she was definitely one of my most loved authors because at that time all the characters just meant so much to me because I felt understood. I very rarely write poems, but I do love writing stories and poems. Like reading, I have had no chance to do any of that in Year 12. But I hope you keep up with doing all these things you love and make you happy.
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on June 23, 2019, 04:09:13 pm
Hello hello!
So I know that I’m updating this a lot at the minute, but I figure that when I get busy and distracted I’m bound to update it less so I may as well write while I’m still enthusiastic! I did some volunteering this morning and it was great to spend time with a different group of kids. Then in the afternoon I did my “ab cruncher” workout (it’s a 30-day thing and I’m currently at day 7 and still going strong) and went on a bike ride to find a geocache and pick up some library books. Although the clouds looked ominous, it was still extremely foggy and I was freezing, I really enjoyed it. At the start of this year, I was quite sick for a month and so I kind of stopped riding my bike and going out on runs and haven’t really started back up since. I think I’m going to put a bit more effort into getting regular outdoor exercise because it always lifts my mood!

Also managed to borrow a 1/2 methods and 1/2 spesh textbook to have a look over! I'm pretty certain I will do methods next year, but I think that having the spesh textbook will help me choose whether or not I'll do spesh as well. Are any of you guys doing spesh? Did you enjoy it?

The boring bit… (AKA. My to-do list)
So I finally knuckled down today and finished off my last two assessments due Monday. I still have one biology task but it is S/N so I’m feeling pretty relaxed. Other than that, I have some combinatorics work to do and a long list of questions on a maths exam to redo and hand back it. (It won’t change my mark but my teacher encourages it anyway.) I also have a stack of holiday homework for biology, but surely that can wait until the end of the holidays? (Hahaha, really bad idea, I know.)

With just a few things to finish off this week, I am very excited to “get into holiday mode”. I know that we are having a careers day this Wednesday, and so I only have four more days of school until the break.

So close yet so far…
Since the start of exam revision time, I have been hanging out desperately for the school holidays.

I’m working one day, seeing some friends and of course going to some ATARNotes lectures. I also intend to get ahead in biology as I did at the start of the year. Knowing that I already had a base understanding of the content really helped with my stress levels. I also plan to go to Experience Clever at LaTrobe and I have a full day rehearsal for the school production.

When I’m not doing that, I hope to spend plenty of time outside (despite the cold), perhaps some bike riding and geocaching adventures. I also have a stack of novels that I’ve been meaning to read and heaps of baking/artistic endeavours that I would like to pursue. Does anyone else have interesting holiday plans?

Today’s Playlist:
- Every Teardrop is a Waterfall (Coldplay)
- Dirty Paws (Of Monsters and Men)
- Not Yet (Chris Renzema)
- Little Talks (Of Monsters and Men)
- Bones (Galantis, OneRepublic)

Do small things with great love.
laura <3
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on June 24, 2019, 06:30:21 pm
Hello hello!
Super quick update: got my semester one exam results back! :D
A*: English, Governing The Modern World (Politics/Legal), Unit 1 Bio, Unit 1 Religion and Society
A: Science, Adv Maths

Ugh:
During exams I was feeling super duper drained and could barely bring myself to study for the last two, let alone even try my best during them. I know my marks were fine but I still feel like I didn't put in my best effort. I feel really burnt out all the time and it's only Year 10. Often I question whether or not I'll be able to handle the pressure of Year 12. It feels like this massive thing looming in the not so distant future. I feel tired all the time and I'm getting sick a lot. I have this constant headache that creeps up to a migraine when I get particularly stressed. Sorry if this was a bit much but I'm just feeling a bit lost at the minute.

Honestly, in the younger year levels I struggled a lot with my energy, mood and motivation and during exams it always seems to flare up again. I cannot wait for a break. But feeling like this makes me wonder if things get any better at uni or at work? What if students get out into the real world and find out that it's every bit as bad as school.

Anyways...

Today's Playlist:
- Scars to Your Beautiful (Lara Dabbagh)
- Unwell (Matchbox Twenty)
- Breathe Me (Sia)
- Pretty Hurts (Beyonce)
- Unsteady (X Ambassador)

Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves.
I intended this to be a lot shorter than it was! (Sorry! :-\)
laura <3
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: smallbean on June 24, 2019, 09:25:36 pm
Hello hello!
Super quick update: got my semester one exam results back! :D
A*: English, Governing The Modern World (Politics/Legal), Unit 1 Bio, Unit 1 Religion and Society
A: Science, Adv Maths

Ugh:
During exams I was feeling super duper drained and could barely bring myself to study for the last two, let alone even try my best during them. I know my marks were fine but I still feel like I didn't put in my best effort. I feel really burnt out all the time and it's only Year 10. Often I question whether or not I'll be able to handle the pressure of Year 12. It feels like this massive thing looming in the not so distant future. I feel tired all the time and I'm getting sick a lot. I have this constant headache that creeps up to a migraine when I get particularly stressed. Sorry if this was a bit much but I'm just feeling a bit lost at the minute.

Honestly, in the younger year levels I struggled a lot with my energy, mood and motivation and during exams it always seems to flare up again. I cannot wait for a break. But feeling like this makes me wonder if things get any better at uni or at work? What if students get out into the real world and find out that it's every bit as bad as school.

Anyways...

Today's Playlist:
- Scars to Your Beautiful (Lara Dabbagh)
- Unwell (Matchbox Twenty)
- Breathe Me (Sia)
- Pretty Hurts (Beyonce)
- Unsteady (X Ambassador)

Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves.
I intended this to be a lot shorter than it was! (Sorry! :-\)
laura <3

Hey Laura,
Congrats on your Semester One exam results! All of that hard work definitely paid off.  :)
It's totally normal to feel exhausted during this time of the year, as the stress of assessments can really take its toll on both your mental and physical wellbeing. One thing that I've realised throughout my experience with VCE is that it's so crucial to find a balance between study and downtime, as once you take a little break, you'll come back renewed and with a fresh perspective.

Take care, and best of luck with your studies xx
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: Joseph41 on June 25, 2019, 05:56:33 pm
Hey Laura!

Really looking forward to seeing this journal develop. Honestly think it could help heaps of people in their own VCE journeys, and I hope it helps you with yours, too! :)

I have two questions:

(1) Did you self-teach uke?
(2) Actually, this isn't a question haha - more a statement. Re: workload and stuff through VCE, and then uni and work, I think you kinda adapt to what's around you. I thought the exact same things in Year 10, and here I am, doing fine. If you're concerned about the fatigue etc., though, I'd recommend checking in with a doctor if you can, just to make sure there's no underlying cause. :)
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on June 25, 2019, 06:35:00 pm
(1) Did you self-teach uke?
(2) Actually, this isn't a question haha - more a statement. Re: workload and stuff through VCE, and then uni and work, I think you kinda adapt to what's around you. I thought the exact same things in Year 10, and here I am, doing fine. If you're concerned about the fatigue etc., though, I'd recommend checking in with a doctor if you can, just to make sure there's no underlying cause. :)

hiya,
1. yeah, i did self teach! i only know five chords (c, a flat, g, f, d), but with them and a variety of strumming patterns, you can play most songs. i've found that there are heaps of tutorials on youtube which have been great!

2. thanks for the advice! it's good to hear that you felt the same. my gp suggested that i might be tired because i'm not getting enough protein/iron (lol love being vego) or that i'm dehydrated, so i'm working on drinking heaps of water to see if that fixes anything. :)
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on June 25, 2019, 09:10:46 pm
Hope everyone is having a wonderful day! Just a bit of end of term motivation from one of my favourite books of all time (The Princess Saves Herself in This One by Amanda Lovelace):

the princess
jumped from
the tower
& she
learned
that she
could fly
all along.

- she never needed those wings
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on June 26, 2019, 06:37:48 am
Hi Laura! Fellow year 10 here, and I’m loving your journal! Please never stop updating <3

How do you find bio? I’m thinking of doing it in the future and would love to hear your thoughts on the subject!

All the best for your journey! xx

thank you!! it's nice to know that other people are reading this hahaha, and nice to see another year 10 around. tbh, at the start of the year, i hated bio because i found the content about cells pretty dense and not very interesting, but the stuff in aos 2 and 3 was really good and i really like the look of the unit two content. in terms of workload, i've found it super manageable as there haven't been that many assessments, however i found it took a lot of time to learn to content at more than just a superficial level. that said, would definitely recommend doing it!
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: Joseph41 on June 27, 2019, 01:16:30 pm
hiya,
1. yeah, i did self teach! i only know five chords (c, a flat, g, f, d), but with them and a variety of strumming patterns, you can play most songs. i've found that there are heaps of tutorials on youtube which have been great!

Yeah, that's pretty much all you need! A, Em and Dm are other easy chords that can increase the range of songs you can play. :)
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on June 29, 2019, 06:00:46 pm
Hello hello!
I'm still waiting for the fact that the school holidays are finally here! Had a 5am start today as A (the girl I look after) is in respite care in the middle of nowhere and I wanted to visit her. Only took me two hours to get there! ::) But how much fun we had together!!

So I got all my biology work done before the end of term, but I think my exhaustion got to me a bit. I've been a straight A* student and I got my first (and hopefully last) B on my final assignment. I thought I would be disappointed but I think I'm past the point of caring. Other than that I was super happy with all the assignment marks that I got back.

I have a very long list of things I need to get done over the holidays including:
- a ton of bio homework (2 hours of Edrolo plus a chapter of the textbook and all the accompanying questions).
- a maths test to study for (in the first week back >:( )
- a novel to read for english (plus hopefully annotate)

I also have to plan for a secret topic debate and study for Round Two of The Brain Bee.

Today's Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0CvESrjNfGer1uKruaXVFm?si=XgsrvlNUQHm9n0MV4APPOQ

In the depth of winter, I finally learnt that within me there lay an invincible summer.
laura <3
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: brothanathan on June 30, 2019, 07:57:45 pm
So I got all my biology work done before the end of term, but I think my exhaustion got to me a bit. I've been a straight A* student and I got my first (and hopefully last) B on my final assignment. I thought I would be disappointed but I think I'm past the point of caring. Other than that I was super happy with all the assignment marks that I got back.

It's great that you can accept progress Laura. Give yourself two days to reflect, will work wonders.
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on July 04, 2019, 01:45:53 pm
Hello hello!
The Update
Writing this short update from the kitchen bench. I'm making soup and it smells amazing! (Yet another way of procrastinating the pile of biology homework). I went to the AN 1/2 Bio lecture on Tuesday and that was super duper helpful. I found that I understood the first section of the talk, but got a little lost in the second bit. The third section was a summary of Year 10 genetics and fairly straightforward, and then heaps of tips about how to do well. The biggest things that the presenter mentioned were a lot of habits I already have, although she also had some other strategies that I might try to implement. Apart from that three hour period, I haven't even thought about school.

I have a maths test about probability (and combinatorics) in the first week back, so I plan to work through the first revision worksheet today, as well as watch the first set of bio Edrolo videos, and take some notes on them. I think I'll head to the library so that I'm actually motivated to complete them because I know that otherwise, I'll find a way to get distracted.

Tomorrow I'm going to ExperienceClever at Latrobe, and they have heaps of sessions about their allied health courses so that should be super informative.

Also, kind of unrelated, but some of my poetry is being used in a publication being put together by the local council, and I get to read the final draft at a meeting tonight! I was also shortlisted for Whitlam Institue's "What Matters" writing competition, which I'm really excited about. These were both things I entered at the encouragement of my awesome English teacher (who I don't have next semester because our school decided to change all of the English classes in the middle of the year for no reason).

Today's Playlist:
- Bad Guy (Billie Eilish)
- Better When I'm Dancing (Meghan Trainer)
- Love Runs Out (OneRepublic)
- I Know What You Did Last Summer (Shawn Mendes)
- Boom Clap (Charli XCX)

Be the kind of energy you want to attract!
laura <3
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on July 13, 2019, 05:50:16 pm
Hello hello!
This turned out way longer than it was meant to be... it's kind of a brain dump about all the things that happened over the holidays and the things coming up at school next week.

My Last Weekend Of The School Holidays - *screams*
I am surprisingly not stressed about the large amount of homework I have to get done before the end of the holidays. I never usually leave things to the last minute so I assumed that at some point I would find some motivation and knuckle down... but alas, no motivation to be found... anywhere. I spent time at the RACV club today in Healsville with some family friends today and it was amazing. (It was super posh which really isn't my scene, but they are super lovely and we spent time playing table tennis and a board game called codenames.) I really enjoyed the time, but I probably should have studied today. I have church tomorrow morning, but the afternoon should be enough time to get everything done if I work wisely. I only have biology work left to complete and some new books to label for other subjects. I also have a competition on Wednesday on some psychology stuff that I haven't even started learning, so I should do that at some point. It's called "The Brain Bee" and with a lot of hard work, I passed the first round. All the knowledge I crammed into my short term memory has since disappeared so I have no idea what to do about it.

The Rest Of My Break
I spent a lot of time with close friends and family. I really enjoyed getting to see both of my sets of grandparents and spending time with my sister. I went with my mum and sister to Geelong (by VLine) to visit her parents and it was a really nice day out. We went to Geelong gallery and saw an interesting exhibit about the moon. There was a really political art piece that drew my attention (it was about China and the space race). A different day, my sister and I went to Preston market for the morning and just wandered around. We use to live around there and would go there a lot so it was fun to reminisce.

ExperienceClever
Last time I wrote an update I was about to go to ExperienceClever. I ended up going and really enjoyed it. I saw some old friends and made some new ones as well as learning about the course. I found out more about VCEPlus and their Aspire Program as well as their OT, Physio and Speech courses. I also got to see their anatomy labs and look at cadavers. It was a bit intimidating but as it's something that all allied health students must do, it was a good experience. I also found out a little bit more about Auslan.

Production Rehearsal
Our production is in 19 days and I am quite stressed about it. Before every show, it always feels like it cannot possibly come together in time, but I know it will. I'm acting in it, but I also have to learn three dances (which is totally not what I signed up for). The play is A Midsummer Night's Dream... but with lots of pop songs. I am Starveling, for those who know it. He is a Shakesperian tradie who is scared of most things, an interesting character to portray. We had a group rehearsal; yesterday with all of the musicians, actors and dancers. It was chaotic but lots of fun. I also got to see my second costume and I. LOVE. IT. I have been getting a lot of migraines and losing my voice a lot (since the start of the year), so as much as I enjoyed it, I came home feeling awful.

Community Service
Every Year 10 at our school does three or four afternoons of community service. I am volunteering at a pre-prep program for kids with intellectual disabilities and really excited about it. It was set up by the school and should be heaps of fun. It really feels like it will be my kind of thing. I am doing two sessions this week, Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday was also meant to be one of my sessions but I'm on the Brain Bee excursion. (Rather disappointing as I would really rather not go). I am hoping that I will have opportunities later in the year to return, or else that I can contact the organisation directly.

Today's Playlist:
Brown Eyed Girl
American Pie
Hotel California
Sweet Home Alabama
Ain't No Mountain High Enough

Keep calm and study like Granger.
laura <3
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on July 16, 2019, 09:31:28 pm
Hey guys!
Minor update: I am having a really hard time getting motivated this term. The work is already piling up as I've already missed a bunch of classes (after only two days). Any advice?

I was reading this article and the tips seem good. I've been working really hard on sorting out my sleep schedule and drinking more water, so hopefully, I start to see some improvements.

I thoroughly enjoyed community service, and I am so disappointed that it's all over. I am off to the Brain Bee tomorrow (having learnt almost none of the content). There was an 18 chapter book to read, and I have read the introduction and most of the first chapter. I think that I am going to have to wing it at this point, but y'know, not actually super disappointed about that. Was feeling a lot more stressed about it this morning when I was trying to learn everything.

The rest of my week continues to be just as busy with Parent-Teacher interviews on Thursday; Tour Guiding, a Maths test and an event for the school book club on Friday; and production rehearsals pretty much every evening. UGH! Sometimes I just don't have the energy.

Goodnight guys! <3
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: Bri MT on July 17, 2019, 03:27:35 pm
I don't really want to give you much motivation advice since going by your other threads you're already doing a lot and I don't want to add another thing to juggle. What I will say is that it's ok to not meet most of your goals in a given day and it's ok to struggle. Motivation is fickle, but by working on building better habits you're already helping to nurture it.

Good luck! :)
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: Snow Leopard on July 17, 2019, 05:12:10 pm
Hey guys!
Minor update: I am having a really hard time getting motivated this term. The work is already piling up as I've already missed a bunch of classes (after only two days).
Same! I feel like I'm already so behind on work.


 I am off to the Brain Bee tomorrow (having learnt almost none of the content). There was an 18 chapter book to read, and I have read the introduction and most of the first chapter. I think that I am going to have to wing it at this point, but y'know, not actually super disappointed about that. Was feeling a lot more stressed about it this morning when I was trying to learn everything.
What's that about?

a Maths test.
Which topic, I have a maths test next week.
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on July 17, 2019, 05:17:33 pm
Motivation is fickle, but by working on building better habits you're already helping to nurture it.
Good luck! :)

Thanks Bri!!

What's that about?

It's a competition about neuroscience that involves learning a lot about the brain from this book. It was super difficult, but I actually really enjoyed the day. We got to go on a tour of some labs at Melbourne Uni and see some really interesting research into epilepsy using mice. We also got to go to the Dax Gallery. There were also lots of researchers who spoke about their areas of expertise.

I think that the best bit was the fact that after we have handed in our worksheets (done in an auditorium with a super relaxed feel), they went through the answers so that we learnt something from it.

Which topic, I have a maths test next week.

Probability. (I actually don't have probability so hopefully that will motivate me to do some study.)
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: SlowandSteady on July 18, 2019, 08:03:45 pm
Having a great time reading your journal :)

I plan on entering the Brain Bee in Year 10 also! It seems like a really interesting area of science to look into. Did you find passing the first round particularly difficult?
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on July 18, 2019, 09:47:17 pm
Having a great time reading your journal :)

I plan on entering the Brain Bee in Year 10 also! It seems like a really interesting area of science to look into. Did you find passing the first round particularly difficult?

I found that the first round was very similar to the preparation that you are given. (In fact, a couple of the questions were identical.) My biggest advice for you would be to start early and work efficiently, as there is a lot to cover.

The day at Melbourne Uni is such a great experience, so I would definitely do your best with the initial study if only to have the tour and get to learn a lot about neuroscience on the day.
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: SlowandSteady on July 18, 2019, 09:57:35 pm
The day at Melbourne Uni is such a great experience, so I would definitely do your best with the initial study if only to have the tour and get to learn a lot about neuroscience on the day.
Not sure if I'll be touring unimelb as I'm in Queensland, but I'm sure there will be something similar. Just started to think about studying for it because the online resource we were given for Spanish class also had courses for the 2019 Brain Bee. Currently working through them. In terms of starting early, I may have jumped the gun by about two years, so that could come in handy down the track.

Thanks for sharing your experience; It's been a help :)
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on July 18, 2019, 10:01:03 pm
Not sure if I'll be touring unimelb as I'm in Queensland, but I'm sure there will be something similar. Just started to think about studying for it because the online resource we were given for Spanish class also had courses for the 2019 Brain Bee. Currently working through them. In terms of starting early, I may have jumped the gun by about two years, so that could come in handy down the track.

Thanks for sharing your experience; It's been a help :)

Wow! You certainly are prepared! You'll have to let us know how it goes!

Also, it would be worth noting that they standardised the questions this year across the states (the first time that this has been done) and they were a lot more challenging than previous years. The national organiser said he may have gone a little too far, so hopefully, they have levelled out a little by the time you start. I think that QLD is also slightly less competitive than NSW and VIC due to fewer competitors, so hopefully, that is a small advantage!
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on July 19, 2019, 05:42:53 pm
Hello hello!
What an insane week!! I feel like I was barely at school, and I certainly have a lot of catching up to do.

Where was I and what did I do?
Monday and Tuesday I spent most of the day at community service. It was a really great experience and I wrote a summary for the school newsletter which pretty much describes what it was.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at (the centre) as part of the Year 10 Community Service Program. (the centre) is a pre-prep centre for children who could benefit from another year of kindergarten before they enter primary school. It is a place full of a diverse range of kids with a diverse range of needs and it was so lovely to be a part of. I really enjoyed helping out with their classes, running some basic language activities and playing lots of games with them. It was so wonderful to feel helpful and to be able to see the way that the class teachers incorporated activities that suited every individual. It was so special to build a connection with each of the kids, and the affection and kindness they showed us was priceless. I am so glad that I had to opportunity to be part of the program, and my only complaint is that it wasn't long enough. I am certainly going to miss the kids and the great feeling of volunteering but I am so grateful for the opportunity and all that the children taught me. 

I spent all of Wednesday at The Brain Bee which I've already talked a bit about. No, I did not get around to studying for it, but I thoroughly enjoyed the day regardless.

I was tour-guiding this morning which meant that I missed the first two hours of class. Tour-guiding is always an interesting experience because you never know which kind of parents you will get. Thankfully, today's were really lovely!

My Subjects This Semester
- Unit 2 Bio (same class as last term)
- Unit 2 Religion (same class as last term)
- Advanced Maths (same class as last term)
- English (new teacher and class)
- History (new but same teacher as my hums last semester)
- Forensics (new but same teacher as my science last semester)
- All the other things: careers, health and pe (which we do once a week or once every two weeks)

What Did I Get Done At School?
Well... very little really.

I am caught up for English as my class at the end of last term got ahead. We are still only looking at Chapter 1 of To Kill a Mockingbird, but we also spent some time on context.

Maths: I went to Maths Help after school today and I am all caught up. My test is next week in the first lesson back, but I am feeling on top of things. (I managed to move it from today as I had been away.)

For biology, I am a bit behind because I missed three hours but apparently, I have not missed much.

Religion and Society: Completely lost. We have had two lessons and I missed the first one. The second was pretty self-explanatory but all of the handouts make no sense. To make things worse, the teacher hasn't given me my own copy so I can't even go on with them over the weekend.

For forensics, I have a video to watch and a bunch of questions to answer. I also need to finish writing up the pracs we did today in class.

History: My teacher emailed me all the work so I am caught up!

What I Want To Do Over the Weekend:
I am at church tonight and on Sunday morning until 12:30ish. I am also working 8:45-2:45 tomorrow, and I have an interview at 4:00 for Eltham Youth Leadership Council. That leaves Saturday evening, maybe an hour on Sunday morning and then Sunday afternoon and evening.

In that time I want to:
- Read and annotate TKAMB Chapters 2-5 and read the summaries we were given in class. I also want to finish off the questions about Chapter 2 and write my own chapter summaries about all that I have read.
- Finish Chapter 2 of Bio Basics and work through the powerpoint I missed in class. (And also work through the four worksheets that I missed in class.)
- Write up my science prac report and finish a glossary of forensic terms. Also, watch the last video that I missed and fill in that worksheet.
- Read over my maths notes in preparation for the test and maybe do some practice problems.

Sending good vibes!
laura <3
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: brothanathan on July 19, 2019, 05:50:59 pm
What did you miss out on for R&S? Feel free to PM me.
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on July 19, 2019, 05:59:04 pm
What did you miss out on for R&S? Feel free to PM me.

Thanks Nathan! I don't even know what I missed, just the introduction to the ethics topic and the lesson where the teacher explained this half of the course. There is also a booklet of work to do that she still has to print for me. Luckily, I have a grasp on what ethics is, but I just have no idea what work from the booklet I am meant to have done, or how to write up an essay about an ethics topic.
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: brothanathan on July 19, 2019, 07:52:52 pm
Thanks Nathan! I don't even know what I missed, just the introduction to the ethics topic and the lesson where the teacher explained this half of the course. There is also a booklet of work to do that she still has to print for me. Luckily, I have a grasp on what ethics is, but I just have no idea what work from the booklet I am meant to have done, or how to write up an essay about an ethics topic.

I suggest having a look at the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights pdf attached if you haven't already, cause we have to base our reasoning on it. I've also attached a list of terms for the ethics topic so far. The definitions are all from the Nelson textbook (reliable according to my teacher). The ones I haven't typed a definition down aren't in the glossary so I advise creating a definition and getting it checked.
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on July 19, 2019, 10:08:50 pm
I suggest having a look at the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights pdf attached if you haven't already, cause we have to base our reasoning on it. I've also attached a list of terms for the ethics topic so far. The definitions are all from the Nelson textbook (reliable according to my teacher). The ones I haven't typed a definition down aren't in the glossary so I advise creating a definition and getting it checked.

Really appreciate it!
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on July 22, 2019, 07:14:07 am
What did I actually get done over the weekend?

- Read and annotate TKAMB Chapters 2-5 and read the summaries we were given in class. I also want to finish off the questions about Chapter 2 and write my own chapter summaries about all that I have read.
I finished the Chapter 2 questions, but I only read up to Chapter 3.
- Finish Chapter 2 of Bio Basics and work through the powerpoint I missed in class. (And also work through the four worksheets that I missed in class.)
Did the other stuff, but procrastination and a strong dislike for powerpoints mean I still urgently need to do this.
- Write up my science prac report and finish a glossary of forensic terms. Also, watch the last video that I missed and fill in that worksheet.
Really need to get around to this!
- Read over my maths notes in preparation for the test and maybe do some practice problems.
My test is actually on Tuesday, so I guess I still have tonight.

Sending good vibes!
laura <3
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on July 28, 2019, 06:34:25 pm
What a week! It was extremely intense, but I really enjoyed it!

MY WEEK
Monday
- I had community service in the afternoon, my last session for the year. I got to spend lots of time with the kids and I was invited back to do some extra stuff there in my free time if I feel like it.
- I felt fairly productive today.

Tuesday
- I was at school all day. (A first for the term!)
- I had a rehearsal for the school production after school.

Wednesday
- Once again, I spent a whole day at school.
- I managed to catch up on everything that I was behind in.
- Had a very long-overdue dentist appointment.
- In terms of getting things done and being productive, I gave myself 10/10.

Thursday
- It was Founders Day at school! (AKA. the best day of the year!) It was fantastic because we didn't have any classes. There was really good food that you could get at lunch and it ended with the House Spirit assembly, where my friend and I were on the trivia team.
- I watched a fair bit of TV, but didn't have much homework, so it was fine.

Friday
- I had a dress rehearsal for the school production all day! It was hectic but everything really seemed to come together. My voice was super hoarse at the end thanks to all the singing and shouting my character did.
- Spent the evening hanging out with friends and not doing homework, but I really enjoyed it.
- I felt super exhausted.

Saturday
- I got up early and did some volunteer respite care. I then did my paid carer job in the afternoon. I took my little friend on a very long bike ride and we both thoroughly enjoyed it.
- I made some soup (pumpkin and carrot) to take to my grandparents.

Sunday
- I went to church and spent some time making hot drinks for people.
- I visited a lady from church who's in hospital due to her disability. It was great to see her and I think that I will try to make it a regular thing as she seemed to enjoy it and will be spending quite a while longer there.
- Hoping to get some stuff done tonight, but there is a new episode of Survivor so we’ll see…

My goals for the upcoming week:
1. To survive the production. To do my best at the performances and enjoy myself!
2. To stay on top of work for my english class, history class, forensics class and religion class. I will focus on biology and maths the week after.
3. To continue working on my Auslan.
4. To do my best at all my other commitments this week (Monday: debating, a secret topic round, Tuesday: Eltham Youth Leadership Council, Thursday-Saturday: production, Sunday: visiting my friend from the hospital).
5. To get an A* on the religion test that is most likely this week. (if not, this can be a goal for next week)
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: kjistsehrtot on July 28, 2019, 06:42:24 pm
What a week! It was extremely intense, but I really enjoyed it!

MY WEEK
Monday
- I had community service in the afternoon, my last session for the year. I got to spend lots of time with the kids and I was invited back to do some extra stuff there in my free time if I feel like it.
- I felt fairly productive today.

Tuesday
- I was at school all day. (A first for the term!)
- I had a rehearsal for the school production after school.

Wednesday
- Once again, I spent a whole day at school.
- I managed to catch up on everything that I was behind in.
- Had a very long-overdue dentist appointment.
- In terms of getting things done and being productive, I gave myself 10/10.

Thursday
- It was Founders Day at school! (AKA. the best day of the year!) It was fantastic because we didn't have any classes. There was really good food that you could get at lunch and it ended with the House Spirit assembly, where my friend and I were on the trivia team.
- I watched a fair bit of TV, but didn't have much homework, so it was fine.

Friday
- I had a dress rehearsal for the school production all day! It was hectic but everything really seemed to come together. My voice was super hoarse at the end thanks to all the singing and shouting my character did.
- Spent the evening hanging out with friends and not doing homework, but I really enjoyed it.
- I felt super exhausted.

Saturday
- I got up early and did some volunteer respite care. I then did my paid carer job in the afternoon. I took my little friend on a very long bike ride and we both thoroughly enjoyed it.
- I made some soup (pumpkin and carrot) to take to my grandparents.

Sunday
- I went to church and spent some time making hot drinks for people.
- I visited a lady from church who's in hospital due to her disability. It was great to see her and I think that I will try to make it a regular thing as she seemed to enjoy it and will be spending quite a while longer there.
- Hoping to get some stuff done tonight, but there is a new episode of Survivor so we’ll see…

My goals for the upcoming week:
1. To survive the production. To do my best at the performances and enjoy myself!
2. To stay on top of work for my english class, history class, forensics class and religion class. I will focus on biology and maths the week after.
3. To continue working on my Auslan.
4. To do my best at all my other commitments this week (Monday: debating, a secret topic round, Tuesday: Eltham Youth Leadership Council, Thursday-Saturday: production, Sunday: visiting my friend from the hospital).
5. To get an A* on the religion test that is most likely this week. (if not, this can be a goal for next week)

oof how do you have time to even do other stuff aside from studying im literally dying from how much my parent's are making me study (tbf i force myself to study too haha) (i do volunteering at my local library and cook and bake but i barely have time to hang out with people)
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on July 29, 2019, 06:40:40 am
oof how do you have time to even do other stuff aside from studying im literally dying from how much my parent's are making me study (tbf i force myself to study too haha) (i do volunteering at my local library and cook and bake but i barely have time to hang out with people)

I know what you mean. Every year I say that I'll drop some commitments but I never seem to manage it, as I'm always picking up new things. I really enjoy it, but my school work is suffering a little bit at the minute. I think that once production ends I'll be back on track though! ;D

What kind of things do you like to cook and bake? I feel like that is something I never get the time to do anymore, but that I use to love.
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: Bri MT on July 29, 2019, 06:54:37 am
I know what you mean. Every year I say that I'll drop some commitments but I never seem to manage it, as I'm always picking up new things. I really enjoy it, but my school work is suffering a little bit at the minute. I think that once production ends I'll be back on track though! ;D

What kind of things do you like to cook and bake? I feel like that is something I never get the time to do anymore, but that I use to love.

I think it's great you are sticking with your extracurriculars but please be very careful about this once you leave highschool. It's easy to overload yourself and then have reduced effectiveness at everything. 

I hope production is great :)
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: kjistsehrtot on July 29, 2019, 02:18:48 pm
I know what you mean. Every year I say that I'll drop some commitments but I never seem to manage it, as I'm always picking up new things. I really enjoy it, but my school work is suffering a little bit at the minute. I think that once production ends I'll be back on track though! ;D

What kind of things do you like to cook and bake? I feel like that is something I never get the time to do anymore, but that I use to love.

aiyaa hopefully it does get better! i like mainly cook pasta and indian dishes (biryani, karahi, etc.) and i just bake brownies and cupcakes for myself
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on August 04, 2019, 09:42:23 pm
aiyaa hopefully it does get better! i like mainly cook pasta and indian dishes (biryani, karahi, etc.) and i just bake brownies and cupcakes for myself

I made some cookies yesterday and was certainly thinking of this post! It was actually heaps of fun.

MY WEEK
Monday: Spent a whole day at school. A rare occurrence given how busy the term has been. No assessments. I was meant to be debating, only for the opposition for forfeit a couple of hours beforehand. Instead, I went along and helped out another team in preparing for their secret topic debate.

Tuesday: A chaotic day, but still enjoyable. Got a leadership position through my local federal member and got to meet the rest of the team I'll be a part of.

Wednesday: A quiet day. "The calm before the storm."

Thursday: NINE HOURS REHEARSAL :o

Friday: Was buzzing in anticipation all day. (Managed to catch up a little on the large amount of maths I've missed.) The performance was AMAZING!

Saturday: A day of waiting. I spent all day thinking about production and got little else done. I tried to be as productive as possible. In the early afternoon, I went to a birthday lunch for a relative. I enjoyed the last night, but for some reason was feeling REALLY out of it. I just did my best.

Sunday: Spent pretty much the whole day at LaTrobe. I spent ages talking to two academics who run a postgrad course specialising in disability. They wrote down my email and are going to send me some really awesome resources. They also gave me an outline of the current research they're doing. It was very exciting!


My goals for the upcoming week:
1. To survive the production. To do my best at the performances and enjoy myself!
2. To stay on top of work for my english class, history class, forensics class and religion class. I will focus on biology and maths the week after.
3. To continue working on my Auslan.
4. To do my best at all my other commitments this week (Monday: debating, a secret topic round, Tuesday: Eltham Youth Leadership Council, Thursday-Saturday: production, Sunday: visiting my friend from the hospital).
5. To get an A* on the religion test that is most likely this week. (if not, this can be a goal for next week)

My goals for this week:
1. To get an A* on the religion test and fully catch up on all that I've missed.
2. To catch up on the maths that I am currently very behind on.
3. To keep on top of all of my commitments this week (Monday: volunteering with adults with disabilities and debating, Tuesday: peer support lunch and writing group, Wednesday: tour guiding and chemistry competition, Thursday: SUBJECT SELECTION, Friday: youth group, Saturday: work, Sunday: kids program at church and Auslan group.)
4. To spend 20 minutes each day on my Auslan practice.
5. To catch up on forensics and the notes that I have missed.
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: kjistsehrtot on August 05, 2019, 07:30:47 pm
I made some cookies yesterday and was certainly thinking of this post! It was actually heaps of fun.

i am in LOVE WITH YOUR COOKIES
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on August 12, 2019, 08:51:36 am
My goals for this week:
1. To get an A* on the religion test and fully catch up on all that I've missed.
2. To catch up on the maths that I am currently very behind on.
3. To keep on top of all of my commitments this week (Monday: volunteering with adults with disabilities and debating, Tuesday: peer support lunch and writing group, Wednesday: tour guiding and chemistry competition, Thursday: SUBJECT SELECTION, Friday: youth group, Saturday: work, Sunday: kids program at church and Auslan group.)
4. To spend 20 minutes each day on my Auslan practice.
5. To catch up on forensics and the notes that I have missed.

1. I studied hard, and should know my mark soon!
2. Certainly a lot less behind, but also not 100% caught up!
3. Yep!!
4. No....
5. Completely caught up!

MY WEEK
Monday: biology olympiad, surveying the public for a council project about the environment

Tuesday: more surveying

Wednesday: meeting up with a youth leader after school- looking forward to it!

Thursday: a full day excursion for our religion subject

Friday: meeting my auslan friends and going to a church thing

Saturday: volunteering with some cute kiddos and working in the afternoon

Sunday: going to church, melbourne uni open day, visiting a sick lady from church


MY GOALS:
1. To catch up on maths!
2. To get an A* on my biology assessment.
3. To get a lot done on our council project to do with surveying and gathering data. The link is in my signature if you can help me out!!
4. To read three books.
5. To get a lot of English work done! (Finish reading the novel, make chapter summaries and answer all the homework questions.)
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: Joseph41 on August 12, 2019, 04:59:11 pm
What books are you looking to get through? :)
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on August 12, 2019, 05:27:39 pm
What books are you looking to get through? :)

At the moment I'm finishing "I Have Lost My Way" by Gayle Forman. It's a really interesting style of writing, and really different to what I normally read. I'm then hoping to read "Catching Teller Crow" for an online book club. After that it will probably be "The Cruel Prince" which is due back to my local library really soon.
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: blueycan on August 12, 2019, 06:47:21 pm
You're going to the UOM open day??
Maybe I'll see you there!
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on August 12, 2019, 09:20:48 pm
You're going to the UOM open day??
Maybe I'll see you there!

Yeah!! Fingers crossed hey!- I have no idea what you look like but if you recognise me feel free to come say hi!
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: blueycan on August 13, 2019, 06:36:02 pm
Yeah!! Fingers crossed hey!- I have no idea what you look like but if you recognise me feel free to come say hi!

Oh yeah. I just realised that -_-  ;D
Do you have any specific courses or areas you'll look into?
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: Joseph41 on August 26, 2019, 10:37:32 am
How's everything going, laura_? :)
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on August 27, 2019, 07:02:15 pm
Honesty time: I have had a really shit past couple of weeks. I could kind of feel it coming but it was still harder than expected. Today is the first day that I have not left the house in a month and I am so grateful to finally have had a little rest, even if the only reason is that I have lost my voice and feel generally awful. I took on too much and as the school term got busier I really struggled to manage it all. I had a plan, but then because I was sick I couldn't muster up the energy or motivation to be as efficient as I needed to. I am slowly getting back on track but I am still completely exhausted. At the minute it's just taking things one day at a time and relying on my super awesome friends.

Anyone else been lacking motivation the past couple of weeks?
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: Joseph41 on August 28, 2019, 11:08:01 am
Make sure you take all the time you need to recuperate! Nice to hear from you. :)
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: Geoo on August 28, 2019, 03:28:26 pm
Anyone else been lacking motivation the past couple of weeks?
Aww, it sucks the you have been sick for the past couple of week, I hope that you are starting to get better and please take it easy. Better to take care of your health first!

Don't worry my motivation has been at an all time low. I think it is that time of year were it feels like there is no break in site. Best of luck in getting it back.  :)
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on August 29, 2019, 10:18:12 am
I’m back… I think. My mental health went down the drain a little (a lot), but I have great support people and I spent heaps of time with them. My past couple of weeks were really difficult, but I’m trying to get back on track with everything.

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been super involved in some things external to school which absorbed all of my time and energy. The highlight of these was going on youth camp with my church. I placed an entire homework ban on the weekend and I just really enjoyed spending time with my friends and feeling like a part of such a wonderfully kind community. We had so many fun times and basically spent the entire time singing, dancing and running around. Beach volleyball, rock climbing and watching the sunrise were the daily norm. Despite losing my voice, I was still able to thoroughly enjoy every single minute!

Although I did not do much homework, school has picked up. This week was meant to be really busy but the majority of my assessments have been moved to next week. I’m not really sure if I am happy about this or dreading it. Last week I had a maths test on Friday. (I got an A on it which is okay, but somewhat disappointing as I was enjoying being an A* student.) I had a scientific report due for my forensics class on Monday and another maths test yesterday.

NEXT WEEK:
Monday-
Tuesday- Biology Test
Wednesday- Religion Test, Forensics Test, History Test
Thursday-
Friday- History Excursion

I thought that I had a lot to do for each, but at present I am feeling on top of things (as long as I ignore the fact that I still haven’t finished To Kill A Mockingbird for English.)

At present, the main goal is survival. I have not had a weekend at home in months, and the next couple of weeks are no exception, so I will be particularly excited when the school holidays arrive. I am trying to cut down my commitments again, but we’ll see how that goes.

Also, I am super excited because I won a Swannie for debating, and our team lost our second match of the finals so we are done for the year. (Surprisingly, none of us were disappointed at the prospect of not doing another debate this year, even if it was a final.)
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: Bri MT on August 30, 2019, 07:55:47 am
With cutting down commitments, my expeeience is the vast majority of places understand cutting back to focus more on your school work. Imo the hardest part by far is convincing yourself that you should drop something - others are much easier to convince.

It's hard to act on and realise that you don't have enough time to sustainably do everything, but ultimately you need to prioritise your wellbeing.
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on September 12, 2019, 07:07:44 pm
Hey guys!
I'm having a really tough time at the minute. I really need the holidays to try and get my life back together again. It's like all the basic things have just gone out the window and I'm living in survival mode. Thankfully, the last of my assessments are out of the way for this term (except for a group assignment where someone hasn't finished their bit!.. but that's another story).

I have just been in a bit of a slump- I think it's because I'm so busy. Luckily a lot of my commitments are finishing up or easing off so I should have more time next term. Coupled with that, I just don't have the energy, motivation or sanity to use my time at home effectively. I'm just exhausted all the time and crying all the time about stupid things. My anxiety levels have been through the roof and it's like nothing I do will calm me down.

My marks have suffered a little, but not a lot, so people think it's stupid I'm worried.
warning
Religion U2 AoS1 Test 1: *been waiting all term...*
Religion U2 AoS1 Test 2: *still waiting.....*

Biology Task: B :o
Biology Test: A
English Essay: (finished today, but I actually think it went okay)
Forensics Prac Report: *still waiting*
Forensics Test: A
History Document Analysis: B*
Probability Test: A
Quadratics Test: B*
Quadratics Task: A

In happier news, I'm super excited for my weekend and without the burden of assignments or tests I think I might actually enjoy it.

Friday Night: Games with my best friends in the whole world!
Saturday: I'm going with the respite care group I help with to a children's farm. I'll then work a couple of hours before heading to a sleepover party.
Sunday: After the party, I'll see my friends at church and then head to YouthFest for the rest of the day. I'm helping as a volunteer and it's going to be so much fun!

Today's Song: Better When I'm Dancin'

Sorry for being a little less positive than normal.
laura <3
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: Joseph41 on September 12, 2019, 07:10:11 pm
No need to apologise - feelings are feelings! Hope you can get some rest.
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: blueycan on September 12, 2019, 09:47:04 pm
I hope that your stresses pass soon, Laura!
My pm’s are always open  ;D
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on September 16, 2019, 08:22:34 am
Thanks guys! <3 This weekend did wonders for my mood. I had the best time, especially taking my little friends to the farm!

Over the weekend I was also given my results for my two Religion and Society assessments. Two A* marks!!  :) ;D
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: Joseph41 on September 16, 2019, 08:30:04 am
Thanks guys! <3 This weekend did wonders for my mood. I had the best time, especially taking my little friends to the farm!

Over the weekend I was also given my results for my two Religion and Society assessments. Two A* marks!!  :) ;D

Super work! :)
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on September 19, 2019, 08:01:49 am
Hey guys!
Today is the first day of the school holidays for me! I got my English essay mark back- an A. I wasn't expecting better because I think that I could have analysed all of my evidence better, but I'm looking forward to getting some comments back on it next term.

As for holiday homework:
- I don't have any for religion (1/2), history or forensic science.
- For English, I need to write a first draft of my oral. I'm hoping to do that today.
- For maths, I have a test in the first week next term. I have heaps of review questions to do. I know our school is opening up one of the classrooms for maths help twice over the holidays so I might go in and do some work there.
- For biology, I have so so so much to catch up on. I think I'll start figuring that out next week. I have an AoS2 test in the third week back at school so I need to start studying.
- Exams are in week six next term so I should probably start to think about studying...

I'm looking forward to seeing friends over the next two and a bit weeks, as well as being productive, working a little and resting. I also really want to tidy up my schoolbag, room and desk.

laura <3
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: kjistsehrtot on September 19, 2019, 08:29:03 am
Today is the first day of the school holidays for me

i dont like this privellege
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: blueycan on September 19, 2019, 07:26:41 pm
yay for holidays! i’ve still got tomorrow  :'(
what topic are you doing for your oral?
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on September 19, 2019, 07:33:34 pm
i dont like this privellege
I sat outside in the sunshine with some friends and we ate a whole tub of icecream with sporks. Was a great time! How was been cooped up in a classroom? :P

yay for holidays! i’ve still got tomorrow  :'(
what topic are you doing for your oral?
I'm talking about how mandatory reporting should extend to breaking the seal of confessional in Catholic churches. It's a little controversial at a Catholic school but something I can definitely get passionate about!
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: blueycan on September 19, 2019, 07:44:43 pm
I sat outside in the sunshine with some friends and we ate a whole tub of icecream with sporks. Was a great time! How was been cooped up in a classroom? :P
wow you dont need to flex like this  :P
I'm talking about how mandatory reporting should extend to breaking the seal of confessional in Catholic churches. It's a little controversial at a Catholic school but something I can definitely get passionate about!
[/quote]
seems really interesting!! i’d love to read it after you’ve finished
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on September 19, 2019, 07:54:34 pm
seems really interesting!! i’d love to read it after you’ve finished
I'll probably post it on here to get some feedback! ;D But would definitely love for you to read it.
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: kjistsehrtot on September 20, 2019, 09:19:51 am
I sat outside in the sunshine with some friends and we ate a whole tub of icecream with sporks. Was a great time! How was been cooped up in a classroom? :P

i feel attaCKED
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on September 26, 2019, 07:09:37 pm
Oh my goodness, I have had the best week. I've been fairly productive, and also been super social and done all the things I wanted to do. I've eaten healthy food and worked out, but also eaten lots of my favourite foods. At the minute, everything feels really balanced. I feel just the right amount of stressed; enough to keep me motivated but not enough to be worried about things.

This week I have been solely focusing on studying for biology, and catching up on all of the things I've been meaning to do. I've been working on making chapter summaries and doing questions from BioBasics and the textbook. I've also been watching all of the Edrolo vidoes and doing worksheets from class.

When I wasn't studying I...
- Saw "Ride Like A Girl" with a friend. ;D (And got icecream after.)
- Met up with my Auslan group to do some practice.
- Saw friends from my old school.
- Went to visit one of my little girls at a respite centre (twice).

Hope you're enjoying your holidays and finding a nice balance,
laura <3
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: Snow Leopard on September 27, 2019, 07:59:35 pm
Oh my goodness, I have had the best week. I've been fairly productive, and also been super social and done all the things I wanted to do.
Any advice for being productive?
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on September 30, 2019, 08:24:57 am
I survived 58 hours with no internet, no phone and no laptop. No, I wasn't stranded in the middle of nowhere... I did it willingly (ish). I decided to be more productive than binge watch old seasons of survivor while mindlessly scrolling through Instagram. The initial goal was 72 hours, but I just couldn't hold off. The list of things I wanted to google had grown too long and my curiosity got the better of me.

At first I was just really, really bored. And I was thinking that the whole idea was pointless because I was feeling worse than before. But then I got out my art stuff, and then I cleaned my room, and then I did some homework. And I spent more time playing board games with my family. So in the end, it accomplished a lot.

I still have heaps of homework to do, but hopefully now that I'm a little more willing to get off social media, I'll find it easier to get things done.

Any advice for being productive?
Why not try an internet ban? Whenever I need to do homework, I just tell myself I'm going to, set a timer for an hour and don't let myself get distracted. I also have a planner where I can write in what I'm going to do for each hour of the day- that always helps.
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: Bri MT on September 30, 2019, 08:57:10 pm
Nice to see that you've been enjoying your holidays :)

I don't remember BioBasics being around when I did VCE, is it a practice question thing?
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on September 30, 2019, 09:10:32 pm
I don't remember BioBasics being around when I did VCE, is it a practice question thing?
Yeah, our school buys us a book of questions for each unit. They have 10-15 chapters and each chapter has 30-50 questions, that we have to do each week. Mostly it's good revision, but there are some really obscure questions too.
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on October 03, 2019, 09:00:44 pm
Cue that time of the holidays when you start to freak out about how much you still have to do. I've done heaps of biology work, but still feel like there is way more to do. I've written a rough draft of my English oral so I'm counting that as finished for now. I also have a maths test in the first week back so there is heaps of work that I've procrastinated as well as study to do...
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: Geoo on October 03, 2019, 09:31:53 pm
Cue that time of the holidays when you start to freak out about how much you still have to do. I've done heaps of biology work, but still feel like there is way more to do. I've written a rough draft of my English oral so I'm counting that as finished for now. I also have a maths test in the first week back so there is heaps of work that I've procrastinated as well as study to do...
Is it mean if I say join the club........
I feel the exact same as you, and I can't believe the holidays are coming to an end...... it's like ahhhh I still have so much to do! Where did my time go!
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on October 05, 2019, 10:37:31 pm
Hey guys,
So I opened my maths books yesterday, and although I had no idea what I was doing last term, I actually understand things better now. I have a test on Wednesday so I'm glad things are starting to make sense. I really should have started earlier but y'know- it's too late to change that this time.

I'm also super happy to say that I went to two AtarNotes lectures today. Although I never thought I could, I made it through (almost) the whole day (I missed the last half of the bio lecture :() and really enjoyed it. It took me 45 minutes to talk myself into walking in, and I almost bailed just about every time we got a break, but I learnt a lot and enjoyed myself. It was great to meet Owlbird83 and Erutepa, and hopefully this won't be the last time I get to meet AN people irl. Also, free pizza was great!

Even though I was feeling super drained this afternoon, I decided to go to a party. Regret. I enjoyed the first little bit, but it was really loud and overwhelming. I ended up crying in this tiny room with one of my friends getting me water and a blanket. (I wore the most skimpy dress imaginable and totally regretted it as we were outside all night and I was FREEZING!) Crying all my makeup off was super embarrasing, but not too many people saw me. Although, a couple of people tried to give me a hug while I was shaking and hyperventilating, and I was just thinking "Now, really?!", but I guess they thought they were being helpful even though I didn't know them super well. Common sense(ish) piece of advice for the day: If someone is having a panic attack and feels like they can't breathe, hugging them will probably make them feel worse, especially if you squash their lungs...

On an unrelated note, I still have heaps of work to do before Monday, but I feel like it's a manageable amount. There is more biology stuff I would like to get done, but the test isn't until week three so I'm going to focus on maths at the minute. For bio, I'm going to try some of the new study techniques I learnt today.

I should be at a lecture tomorrow afternoon, but I'm meant to be volunteering in the morning so I might not feel up to it. Let me know if you're going to be around and we can catch up! ;D
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: Owlbird83 on October 06, 2019, 09:34:07 am
Hi Laura!

It was so great to meet you at the lectures yesterday!  ;D

Sorry to hear about your party, I'm glad you had some good friends.

Good luck with biology! I hope you have a good start to the new term!   ;D
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: Erutepa on October 06, 2019, 08:41:04 pm
Hey Laura,
It was cool meeting you yesterday - it's always nice putting faces to names.
In the past there has been little AN forum meetups during school holidays, however, unfortunately, they haven't been organised for the last couple holidays. One might be able to be organised for after school ends in December or perhaps in January before school starts next year if you were interested in meeting up with more users.
Good luck with finishing your work for tomorrow!
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: kjistsehrtot on October 07, 2019, 01:19:22 pm
Hey guys,
So I opened my maths books yesterday, and although I had no idea what I was doing last term, I actually understand things better now. I have a test on Wednesday so I'm glad things are starting to make sense. I really should have started earlier but y'know- it's too late to change that this time.

I'm also super happy to say that I went to two AtarNotes lectures today. Although I never thought I could, I made it through (almost) the whole day (I missed the last half of the bio lecture :() and really enjoyed it. It took me 45 minutes to talk myself into walking in, and I almost bailed just about every time we got a break, but I learnt a lot and enjoyed myself. It was great to meet Owlbird83 and Erutepa, and hopefully this won't be the last time I get to meet AN people irl. Also, free pizza was great!

Even though I was feeling super drained this afternoon, I decided to go to a party. Regret. I enjoyed the first little bit, but it was really loud and overwhelming. I ended up crying in this tiny room with one of my friends getting me water and a blanket. (I wore the most skimpy dress imaginable and totally regretted it as we were outside all night and I was FREEZING!) Crying all my makeup off was super embarrasing, but not too many people saw me. Although, a couple of people tried to give me a hug while I was shaking and hyperventilating, and I was just thinking "Now, really?!", but I guess they thought they were being helpful even though I didn't know them super well. Common sense(ish) piece of advice for the day: If someone is having a panic attack and feels like they can't breathe, hugging them will probably make them feel worse, especially if you squash their lungs...

On an unrelated note, I still have heaps of work to do before Monday, but I feel like it's a manageable amount. There is more biology stuff I would like to get done, but the test isn't until week three so I'm going to focus on maths at the minute. For bio, I'm going to try some of the new study techniques I learnt today.

I should be at a lecture tomorrow afternoon, but I'm meant to be volunteering in the morning so I might not feel up to it. Let me know if you're going to be around and we can catch up! ;D

lauRA ARE YOU OK
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: Joseph41 on October 07, 2019, 05:41:24 pm
Really glad you enjoyed the lectures! We'll have a meet-up at the end of the year - should be awesome. :)
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on October 20, 2019, 04:41:56 pm
Hello everyone,
Long time no see, but I'm back and feeling alright again! ;D In general things are good. Good in terms of my friends, school stuff and just life in general. I had a great time at a party last night, and I got to see some of my special little kids today so that was amazing!! We also went out for lunch for my dad's birthday.

I have a bio test tomorrow and a history assignment due, but I'm feeling pretty on top of my study. There's still more to do on the assignment, but not heaps more so I should finish it tonight without having to stay up too late at all.

Also, we got our exam timetables this week. I'm so annoyed- I have three exams on the same day. It isn't meant to be possible but because of my 1/2 subjects... it happened. I'm talking to my year level coordinator to see if I can get one moved because I don't want my results for bio or advanced maths negatively impacted because I'm tired and stressed out about doing three.

(https://i.imgur.com/Co56xTR.jpg)

Also, on an unrelated note, I'm applying to be year level leader next year. I have to hand back a form tomorrow and give a speech on Thursday. I doubt I'll get it as heaps of people apply, but I figured it was worth a shot.

I also went to the swannie awards (for vic) on Friday night. Was anyone else there? ;D

Sorry this update is all over the place. As you can probably tell, I'm really tired but weaning myself from caffeine so I haven't had an energy boost.

“Today I choose life. Every morning when I wake up I can choose joy, happiness, negativity, pain… To feel the freedom that comes from being able to continue to make mistakes and choices – today I choose to feel life, not to deny my humanity but embrace it.” –Kevyn Aucoin
-laura <3

I hope you have a good start to the new term!   ;D
Thanks owlbird! <3 Hopefully we'll see each other again soon.

Really glad you enjoyed the lectures! We'll have a meet-up at the end of the year - should be awesome. :)
Sounds amazing!
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: Joseph41 on October 21, 2019, 05:20:53 pm
What's the go with year level leader? What does that involve? :)
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on October 21, 2019, 06:53:18 pm
I hope that you get one of your exams moved, three in one day is too much!
Also, how come you have 2 maths exams? Is one with a calculator and the other without?
Yeah, one with calculator and notes and one without. I actually used to much prefer the technology free exam, but now that I discovered my love of application questions, I think that I'll actually enjoy having my cas.
Our school only makes Year 10's in the spesh/methods stream to two maths exams, so I low-key wish I was in mainstream.

What's the go with year level leader? What does that involve? :)
Being the year level leader means that you meet with the school captains and other year level leaders to plan some whole school activities across the year which includes Founder's Day and R U OK day at our school. You also run some events just for your year level. In the past we've had mindfulness/meditation stuff, a volleyball competition and trivia. A lot of the application emphasised being supportive of others and just generally being a positive presence at school. ;D
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on October 22, 2019, 03:38:27 pm
Super quick update guys: I just got my marks back for my English oral presentation and my bio assessment task. Both A*!! ;D Now I'm just waiting on my results for a history assignment and my biology AoS2 test. At least they're both done so there's no more stressing about them!
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: Evolio on October 22, 2019, 05:10:40 pm
Super quick update guys: I just got my marks back for my English oral presentation and my bio assessment task. Both A*!! ;D Now I'm just waiting on my results for a history assignment and my biology AoS2 test. At least they're both done so there's no more stressing about them!
That's amazing, Laura! I'm really happy for you!
Doesn't it feel great to get things off your chest?
 ;D
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on October 22, 2019, 06:06:05 pm
That's amazing, Laura! I'm really happy for you!
Doesn't it feel great to get things off your chest?
 ;D
Thank you! It really, really does! ;D
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: kjistsehrtot on October 22, 2019, 07:25:42 pm
Super quick update guys: I just got my marks back for my English oral presentation and my bio assessment task. Both A*!! ;D Now I'm just waiting on my results for a history assignment and my biology AoS2 test. At least they're both done so there's no more stressing about them!

queen <33
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: Geoo on October 24, 2019, 11:25:13 am
Super quick update guys: I just got my marks back for my English oral presentation and my bio assessment task. Both A*!! ;D Now I'm just waiting on my results for a history assignment and my biology AoS2 test. At least they're both done so there's no more stressing about them!

Congratulations that's awesome! Have you got anymore assignments or is it just down to exams now?
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on October 24, 2019, 05:25:06 pm
Congratulations that's awesome! Have you got anymore assignments or is it just down to exams now?
Thanks Geo! I still have a biology assignment, which involves surveying people and looking at an ethical issue. And I still have to do an essay for 1/2 R&S before the exam. I also have to conduct an experiment for my forensics class. Once those are done, I'll just be preparing for exams.

At the minute it feels weird because I feel like I should be preparing but I also feel like since my revision has been quite consistent this term, I don't actually have a lot more to do. I guess as teachers start giving out revision sheets and practice exams, I will have heaps to do. ;D
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on October 30, 2019, 08:43:18 pm
Hello everyone,
With exactly 14 days to go until my first exam and my procrastination at its peak, I figured it was time for a lil update. Firstly, I don't know what it is, but i feel FANTASTIC!! I'm just in a great mood, which means that I'm actually being sort of productive. (Apart from the disaster that was last week... but y'know...) I also got two bio assessments back today, I got 100% on both!!!! I'm so happy.  ;D My teacher said my work had improved a lot this term and that the clarity that I wrote with was better. She said I should be aiming for a score in the high 40s next year (or even a 50). This was encouraging after the slump I was in last term.

So... I didn't manage to get any exams moved so I do have three on the same day, including my 1/2 exam unfortunately.

--------------------

Biology:
I'm feeling pretty on top of things for bio. I have to:
- do some practice tests to do on Edrolo (3)
- make summary notes for U2 AoS1
- finish my U2 AoS3 assignment (due november 6th)
- work through the revision list our teacher made
- do the practice exams school gave us (2)

Maths:
- finish off the "functions and relations" topic by doing two sets of textbook exercises, making some summary notes and going back over the questions i got wrong
- revise quadratics and inequalities
- do the practice exams my teacher is going to give us

English:
- write a practice argument analysis
- complete the argument analysis assessment next friday
- revise to kill a mockingbird (and memorise quotes)
- revise mississippi burning (and memorise quotes)
- write a practice essay

History:
- work through revision sheet
- reread my notes and make a quizlet
- make a ww2 timeline
- make a rights and freedoms timeline
- make a migration timeline
- complete practice exam

Forensics:
- finish investigation assignment (due next friday)
- make quizlets based on the psychology unit
- revise quizlet on the crimes unit
- work through revision material (when it is given to us)

Religion:
- finish refugees classwork
- write essay plan for refugees essay
- refugees essay (in class next wednesday/thursday)
- make notes about my own ethical issue
- plan my own ethical issue essay
- revise concepts from term one
- work through revision material (when it's given to us)

--------------------

Although my "to do" list is really REALLY long, I feel better having all my tasks down on paper. I just can't wait for exams to be over. Just waiting for summer. ;D

As well as my exam revision, I'm involved in a council project, so I'm chatting to the public next weekend as a way to raise awareness at a local festival. I'm also performing at that festival with my school's drama troupe.
I'm also coaching some junior debate teams which is a pretty big commitment as I have to meet with all six teams together once a week, and meet with the two teams that I am coaching individually at least once a week (but sometimes twice) on top of that. However, I am enjoying it.

Today's Playlist:
- Wonderland (Taylor Swift)
- Landfill (Daughter)
- Gasoline (Halsey)
- Sun Comes Up (Rudamental)
- We're Going Home (Vance Joy)

laura <3
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: kjistsehrtot on November 01, 2019, 08:39:15 am
YOU CAN DO THIS LAURA WE ALL BELIEVE IN YOU!!
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on November 03, 2019, 09:15:44 pm
YOU CAN DO THIS LAURA WE ALL BELIEVE IN YOU!!
Thanks khad! <3

Thought I'd make a list of the things I should will do tomorrow:
1. DEBATING: Meet with my junior debaters at the local library and go over their speeches with them.
2. BIO: Finish my biology assignment. I only have two discussion questions to go.
3. BIO: Make U2 AoS1 Summary Notes (and turn them into a quizlet)
3. HISTORY: Make a WW2 timeline on my wall.
4. RELIGION: Finish "Go Back to Where You Came From".
5. RELIGION: Annotate six articles.
6. RELIGION: Finish questions about Catholic Social Teaching
7. RELIGION: Write an essay plan.
8. FORENSICS: Write an introduction to my report.
9. ENGLISH: Fully annotate an article. (our homework :-\)

I'll check in tomorrow night and see how I went. ;D
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: kjistsehrtot on November 03, 2019, 09:46:34 pm
4. RELIGION: Finish "Go Back to Where You Came From".
i think it shows how tired i am cuz i really thought it was some weird agenda you had going on then realised oof (i need more sleep). also so much religion work omg. is religion a big workload for you in general??
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on November 03, 2019, 10:20:12 pm
i think it shows how tired i am cuz i really thought it was some weird agenda you had going on then realised oof (i need more sleep). also so much religion work omg. is religion a big workload for you in general??
Not normally, except our teacher is completely whack. We're meant to be writing an 1000 word essay about refugees on Wednesday so all the things on that list are just things I need to do as homework because she told us to, or things I actually need to do, to prepare for the essay.

I haven't had any religion homework all term, so I guess this is the culmination of it.
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on November 04, 2019, 08:59:59 pm
So... today was semi productive. I feel like I worked all day but still barely accomplished anything.

1. DEBATING: Meet with my junior debaters at the local library and go over their speeches with them.
2. BIO: Finish my biology assignment. I only have two discussion questions to go.
4. BIO: Make U2 AoS1 Summary Notes (and turn them into a quizlet)
3. HISTORY: Make a WW2 timeline on my wall. (I also added on Rights and Freedoms & Migration, so I've made all the history timelines I needed to.)
5. RELIGION: Finish "Go Back to Where You Came From".
6. RELIGION: Annotate six articles.
7. RELIGION: Finish questions about Catholic Social Teaching
8. RELIGION: Write an essay plan.
9. FORENSICS: Write an introduction to my report.
10. ENGLISH: Fully annotate an article. (our homework :-\)

Tomorrow's Goals:
I doubt I'll get through it all because I'm going to the city with friends in the afternoon, but I guess we'll see.

1. ENGLISH: Finish a practice argument analysis.
2. BIO: Make U2 AoS1 Summary Notes (and turn them into a quizlet)
3. MATHS: Finish off the Functions and Relations work. Make a list of all of the questions I got wrong.
4. FORENSICS: Write the discussion for my report.
5. RELIGION: Annotate six articles.
6. RELIGION: Finish questions about Catholic Social Teaching
7. RELIGION: Write an essay plan.
8. RELIGION: Find quotes from Chasing Asylum

I feel like I have to set goals over the long weekend otherwise I don't do anything...
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on November 05, 2019, 09:32:37 pm
So, I have a ton of assessments in the next three days, and then in a week my exams start. It's the final push for the year and so I'm going to give it everything I have left. Tomorrow's assessments are a biology investigation (worth 100% of AoS3) and a religion essay about the ethical issues of refugees. Thankfully it's open book (for notes) and I've written an entire practice essay, so I'll take in dot points of that and reconstruct it.

On Thursday I have an argument analysis for English and I finish my refugee essay.

On Friday I have an investigation report for forensics due. (If I'm honest, I haven't even begun the discussion or conclusion.)

1. ENGLISH: Finish a practice argument analysis.
2. BIO: Make U2 AoS1 Summary Notes (and turn them into a quizlet)
3. MATHS: Finish off the Functions and Relations work. Make a list of all of the questions I got wrong.
4. FORENSICS: Write the discussion for my report.
5. RELIGION: Annotate six articles.
6. RELIGION: Finish questions about Catholic Social Teaching
7. RELIGION: Write an essay plan.
8. RELIGION: Find quotes from Chasing Asylum

I'll check on in the weekend and let you know how exam prep is going. ;D
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: Snow Leopard on November 08, 2019, 10:40:01 pm
How'd the assessment packed week go, laura?
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on November 11, 2019, 08:09:03 pm
How'd the assessment packed week go, laura?
Surprisingly, alright. I had all but one assessment (a prac report due Friday night) out of the way by 11:00 on Thursday morning and so I was a lot calmer after that. I haven't gotten any marks back yet so I don't know for sure.

----------------
Feeling a little stressed about exams but I'm starting to get on top of it... Here's an updates to-do list (in the order of the exams I have).

THIS WEEK (Wednesday to Friday)
English:
- finish practice argument analysis and go over my assessment that i did last week
- make a list of quotes to memorise
- write practice essays (3)
- finish rewatching mississppi burning

Maths:
- finish off the "functions and relations" topic by doing two sets of textbook exercises and the review, plus redoing the stuff i got wrong
- do functions and relations practice test
- redo quadratic questions i got wrong
- work on quadratic inequalities worksheet
- finish rewriting summary notes for the exam

History:
- go over summary notes before the exam
- collect practice exam from my teacher and go over the correct answers

Religion:
- work through revision sheet
- do revision quiz (ppt)
- memorise quotes for disability essay

NEXT WEEK (Monday)
Forensics:
- make summary notes
- go over quizlets
- look at forensic science test and correct the incorrect answers
- read over memory powerpoints
- forensics practice exam

Biology:
- do some practice tests to do on Edrolo (3)
- make summary notes for U2 AoS1
- work through the revision list our teacher made
- do the practice exams school gave us (2)

Maths:
- revise maths for the second exam
----------------

I am very much looking forward to exams being over. I'll be spending some time at a kinder for kids with disabilities as well as at a cooking class for adults with intellectual disabilities. One of my friends is having a party on the last night of exams so that should be really awesome as well!!

At the minute I'm a little obsessed with the song: I'm on Fire (Bruce Springsteen).

love takes off masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within.
-laura <3
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on November 12, 2019, 08:50:20 pm
Exams start tomorrow. I've got a massive headache and I'm losing my voice but I WILL NOT GET SICK. (This is what I've been telling myself for the last 12 hours. Tea and sleep cure everything, right?)

Today I wrote two (and a bit) practice comparative essays for TKAMB/MB, memorised 28 quotes that I could possibly use and went over some language analysis stuff. I re-read the novel over the weekend and watched the movie last night, so I'm feeling fairly prepared. I'm just worried that the quality of the essays I've done today has been significantly worse than my essays from last term.

I'm off to bed to get some sleep before tomorrow's busy day. (After the exam I'll study at school in a classroom and do maths all over the whiteboard walls. I also need to revise for my history exam on Thursday, but I might not do that until the afternoon. I'm meeting my junior debators (all 28) for 45 minutes or so, which should be a nice study break.)

I am just really looking forward to all the things I can do when my exams are over!! ;D
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: whys on November 12, 2019, 08:54:42 pm


DO NOT GET SICK. Do whatever it takes not to get sick because being sick during exam time SUCKS.
I remember when I was in year 10 I did TKAMB, I miss it ;(. It was a really good book and I actually enjoyed analysing it. There were quite a few books I've done throughout my high school years for English that I enjoyed to the extent that I decided to keep the books instead of selling them to a younger year level! They're fun to read later.

Good luck for your exams! And I'm REALLY looking forward to the summer holidays and even commencement period. I get excited just thinking about everything I want to do after exams!!! ;)
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: Ionic Doc on November 12, 2019, 08:55:37 pm
Tea and sleep cure everything, right?)

For your sake, I hope so   ;)

I am just really looking forward to all the things I can do when my exams are over!! ;D
Same, my last exams on Friday, then step - up begins.
Wish u all the best for your exams  :)
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: ArtyDreams on November 12, 2019, 09:09:51 pm
good luck for your exams!! you'll do great :)

and make sure you get plenty of rest in between!
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: kjistsehrtot on November 13, 2019, 01:25:35 pm
YOU CAN DO THIS!!!
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on November 13, 2019, 04:35:29 pm
//

//

//

//

Thanks for all the encouragement guys! My English exam went fairly well. The two essay topics were nothing like I'd seen before- but they were very broad so I could use bits and pieces from lots of practice essays. I spent the first 15 minutes after reading time planning out my comparative essay and then annotating and chunking the unseen texts. I had 20 minutes (of the two hours) to read over and edit my two essays so that was really good as well.

I have two exams tomorrow: maths and history. I'm not feeling confident about either of them at all. For the maths exam, I still need to refresh Karnaugh maps (and the probability formulas). I also have a topic to finish and some revision related to that to complete. After that I still have a couple of pages of notes to copy out and make nice and concise. I'm stressed, but y'know... so's everyone else.

For the history exam, I feel like I've learnt all the content, but I really need to focus on reading the question carefully and writing specifically. I got a practice exam marked and I didn't get full marks on any question unfortunately... But I wasn't far off.

I'll check in again tomorrow. ;D
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on November 14, 2019, 03:10:53 pm
Okay, so I just got home from my two exams today and I'm actually feeling pretty calm. (Very thankful that I only have one more exam to go before the weekend.) I'm actually kind of enjoying the exam period because I love coming home early and I got to have my favourite soup for lunch today. My friends at school are doing KK and my KK left me some really yummy chocolates which made today heaps better.

I was super stressed last night and this morning about the maths exam. I know the maths coordinator well and he'd seen me crying and freaking out about it so he tried to remind me that year ten exams don't matter. I know that this is true and people say it a lot, but they still feel like they matter and it still feels like I should do well.

But, the exam was so much easier than I expected and all of the stuff that I felt unsure of wasn't on there at all. I still have a maths exam on Monday (tech enabled) but I'm taking comfort in the fact that I don't have to think about it yet. If you want to read more about my thoughts on the exam, I documented them here/

I didn't do a lot of preparation for the history exam last night, but I didn't really need to (thankfully). There were no questions about specific people or facts. Instead there were three document analysis sections (WW2 worth 15 marks, Rights&Freedoms worth 15 marks and Immigration worth 10 marks) followed by three long answer questions (one on each of the aforementioned topics each worth 10 marks for a total of 30). I finished everything, but the WW2 document analysis section was fairly sparse. I decided to start with the document analysis because I knew that if I started with the long answer questions, I wouldn't get to it, but with 40 minutes (of the 80 minutes) to go I switched to work on the long answer stuff. Then in the last five minutes, I scrambled to try and finish the document analysis. I don't know if there was a better order, but there's no use dwelling now. And: I never have to do a humanities subject ever again!! I don't know if that thought is exciting or disappointing.

Until tomorrow, adieu ;D
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on November 15, 2019, 04:14:06 pm
So, I finished my religion exam at 10:30 this morning, and have spent the rest of the day procrastinating... I made lots of Christmas cards, spent ages on AN, wrote a pitch for a magazine I'd be interested in writing a piece for and went on a nice long bushwalk.

The religion exam went suprisingly well. When I first opened the booklet, I was super confused about most of the questions. There was nothing concrete (except some stuff matching words with definitions). Everything else was wishy washy opinion questions which was quite disappointing. I felt that I repeated myself a lot, but there wasn't much I could do about it. There were four sections: A was matching definitions and terms and things (18 marks), B was answering questions responding to an article about the death penalty (10 marks), C was reading two articles, one where you had to identify authorities and explain values, and the other was about an ethical dilemma for a teacher. Section D was worth 20 marks and involved writing an essay about a topic of your choice. I had very thoroughly researched my topic as we all knew what the exam would require, and although I wasn't super confident that I'd memorised by quotes or enough of my essay, it all came back to me as I wrote. We only had 80 minutes writing time and I spend 40 on the essay. It was worth a third of the marks, but I don't think I should have used half my time on it.

I'm going to have to knuckle down and study tomorrow with the day of exam hell on Monday (three in a day), but I've enjoyed my break. I might try and squeeze some forensics revision in now, but I'm going out for the night so I'm not sure how much I'll get done.

Bye y'all <3

Edit: I got my marks back from my assessment packed week, and I'm fairly happy.
Refugee Essay (1/2 R&S): A
Language Analysis: A
Forensics Prac Report: A*
Biology Assignment: (still waiting)

I also got my mark for my English exam back: an A. After all the work I put in and the practice essays I wrote, I'm a little disappointed. But I haven't got the actually exam back yet so hopefully I'll be able to see why I lost the marks and improve for next time.
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on November 18, 2019, 09:42:24 pm
And Year 10 is officially finished! WOOOOOOOO!!

I had my last three exams today:
Forensics
The exam was relatively straightforward. There were 25 multiple choice questions and 75 marks worth of short answer questions. I found that most of them were fairly straightforward (and there was plenty of room to make up some bull if you forgot anything). I didn't study that hard for this one, but I still feel confident about how I went.

Biology
WHYYYYYY so many obscure questions involving applying random bits of knowledge that we never really covered properly in class? There were just three questions that weren't super relevant to anything we'd done, but most of the rest was fairly straightforward.

Maths
It's like they took the exam that was previously half of an exam that went for an hour and a half, and gave us 75 minutes to do it. Everyone in the room was done in 45 minutes... But it was fairly easy, especially with notes. The only big thing was that I realised after that for one question I used rounded decimals instead of fractions. (A stupid STUPID mistake, but whateves, I'm done now.)

I am very much looking forward to my two days off before early commencement starts! ;D

Year 10 Reflections
It's still weird to think that all my year 10 classes are done, and that we're not going back to them. There are heaps of teachers who we never really said a proper goodbye to because we were all way too stressed with exam stuff. I'll have to try and find them all next week.

I was feeling pretty burntout last term, but I certainly have a lot more energy now and I'm actually really enjoying certain bits of school (like making my notes super aesthetic). I think that I went way too hard in Semester 1, taking on every opportunity and constantly pushing myself to go above and beyond in each class. I certainly calmed down a lot this semester and term, and I've been less exhausted. I think I really need to remember to work consistently next year, and not use all my energy in the first term.

The other thing that I'm trying really hard to change is the way that I doubt myself. Before every maths test, I spend the evening leading up to it stressed out of my mind. When I try studying, I get super duper frustrated and whenever anyone tries to help me I'm just really grumpy and negative. I'm going to make a big effort to get less wound up about assessments because I always end up doing just fine. (and I'm no fun for anyone else when I'm like that)

I think that Year 10 has been a really good time to try new things. I went into this year with such a set idea of what I was going to do for VCE and my career, but through all of the awesome stuff I've done outside of school, I've definitely had a change of heart. I'm glad that I changed my mind and I think that I'm genuinely really going to enjoy what I've chosen (with the exception of spesh, but I'm staying positive ::) )

This is just the start of my VCE journey and I am very keen to see what happens next.

Today's Song
Never Seen The Rain- Tones and I

laura <3

Every end is a new beginning.
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: Snow Leopard on November 23, 2019, 06:58:18 pm
Congrats on finishing Yr 10 :)
Excited for Yr 11?
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: K.Smithy on November 23, 2019, 09:28:50 pm
Woop woop! Congrats! ;D

What subjects did you choose for next year?
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: ArtyDreams on November 23, 2019, 09:58:07 pm
Congrats on finishing Year 10! What subject are you most excited for for next year?
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on November 25, 2019, 08:50:12 pm
Hello everyone! Thanks for all of the replies! ;D

Congrats on finishing Yr 10 :)
Excited for Yr 11?
Super excited; and also a little nervous. I've found that Chem and Methods headstart have been quite intimidating.

Woop woop! Congrats! ;D

What subjects did you choose for next year?
I ended up picking literature, methods, specialist, chemistry and food tech. (As well as biology 3/4.)

Congrats on finishing Year 10! What subject are you most excited for for next year?
I think that meeting people who like similar things to me in my classes will be really great! None of my friends and in my classes, but I'm looking forward to getting to know new people. ;D


--------------------------------------------------------------------

So, after all the stress and hard work of the end of Year 10, I got all my exam results back. I am very happy (mostly)!
1/2 R&S: A*
1/2 Bio: A*
Maths (Tech): A*
Maths (No Tech) A*
English: A
Forensics: A
History: A

I also got my marks back for the olympiads. I got distinctions in both chemistry and biology. Considering I didn't study, I’m fairly happy with myself! I think I'll definitely do them again and perhaps work a little harder.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Also, I just wanted to say how great it was to have a weekend where I was really free. I went out with friends to a youth event in Kew on Friday night. I did a nice long shift on Saturday at work, and then got home in time to make 100 cookies. On Sunday I went to church before killing some time on Lygon street and in the city. Then I visited my friend in hospital before heading to my aunty's house for a dinner party with family friends I hadn't seen in a couple of years. I was fantastic! (I am looking forward to doing lots more of this over summer!) ;D ;D

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In terms of headstart, we are being given so SO much holiday homework. I'm super disappointed because I don't think I'll have time to properly get ahead in any subject because of how much there is to do. Methods and chemistry were quite overwhelming, but I'm understanding things a little better now. I think that I'm really going to enjoy food tech. We did the prep today to make okonomiyaki tomorrow. Making homemade mayonnaise was really fun. I was the only person who got it right (thanks to having had practice at my old school in food tech). We finish on Wednesday so I only have eight more headstart lessons to go, but I'm hoping they will all just be a lot of fun!

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If you got to the end of this: thank-you, thank-you, thank-you!!

laura <3

PS: I've been replaying Christmas music all week. 10/10. Would recommend!
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: eemmaa on November 26, 2019, 06:34:19 pm

Biology
WHYYYYYY so many obscure questions involving applying random bits of knowledge that we never really covered properly in class? There were just three questions that weren't super relevant to anything we'd done, but most of the rest was fairly straightforward.


It sounds like we had the same bio exams! Mine was so so strange and exactly like you described!
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on December 22, 2019, 10:17:02 pm
Hello everyone! It's been a while and it's definitely time for a little update regarding holidays, homework and all things year eleven related!

1. I've had heaps more time to work and volunteer and it has been super, super fulfilling and amazing and wonderful in every possible way.
2. I've barely touched my holiday homework. I have a couple of things I want to start before Christmas, but I'll do most of the work in January.
3. I went to the tutesmart open day yesterday and the city centre looks amazing. Thanks to the wonderful AN scholarship, I'll get to enjoy having access to the classes!

Moving on from that, I wanted to switch tones a little bit. As I approach my sixteenth birthday, I've been reflecting on how much has changed for me this year and even over the past couple of years. I still remember what it was like when I was eleven and in year seven (by far the youngest in my class) and probably the loneliest too. Skipping a grade in the middle of a year to join a class of kids much older than you was truly awful. And an awful idea. Thanks shit-show of a school that was being run by people with no idea about how the real world works. Appreciate it! I struggled a lot with making friends and ended up in the wrong crowd. I was hanging out with people who were nice enough, but had a lot going on in their own lives. As I was so much younger, I became their pet project. When they found out I was struggling with my mental health, it became their sole obsession to "fix" me.

Escaping that toxic friendship in year eight, I grew particularly close to a certain guy. It was wonderful to feel wanted and loved, but when I felt like he knew too much about me, and like he was beginning to see all of me, not just the bits I liked, I quickly pushed him away again. Lonely again, my anxiety and eating issues spiralled out of control. Abuse from a teacher coupled with this lead to the worst time in my life. A psychotic break where my experience with reality was totally out of touch with the real world. I was so scared and scared of the world. I felt utterly alone.

Flashing forward to now, I look at how much has changed. For the first time in a long time, I feel like I'm finally happy with my life. I'm not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm content and comfortable with who I am. I can honestly say that I like myself. That doesn't mean that bad days don't occasionally creep up on me, but that even if I'm having a bad day or a bad week, I know how to handle it.

I had a panic attack this morning. I was dizzy and hyperventilating. I was terrified and I felt so alone and out of control. But then a friend came and found me. We sat together in silence for most of an hour. Patiently waiting for the beast to subside. And it did. Because it always does. And even in the momentary darkness, I was not alone. And I have never been alone.

Thinking about my hallucinations, eating disorder and the last couple of years of my life always used to send a rush of unpleasant feelings, but although I'm sad for the little girl I was, I am so, so happy with who I am and where I am now. I am so thankful for the people I have found. And even though my experiences were awful, I don't think I would change any of it. (Perhaps the way I handled things but not the experiences themselves.) Because without them I wouldn't be me. And without them, I would not have so many of the good things I do.

Tomorrow I'll be sixteen, and I'll wake up so incredibly grateful for the life I have! If you follow my journal and have made it the whole way through this ramble of a reflection, I truly thank you for letting me share a bit of myself tonight.
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: Poet on December 22, 2019, 11:08:11 pm
Hi Laura,

First off, thank you for being yourself. Our younger years mean a huge amount of change and development, and when things happen to skew that, it can be difficult to keep going. But you're here, and for that you're to be congratulated. On your strength, determination, kindness and positivity. Happiness doesn't lie in the pursuit of perfection; it lies in acceptance and contentment with the person you are now, with all your flaws, your quirks and the small goals you work towards every day.

So happy birthday for tomorrow; I hope you can keep smiling through it all. Enjoy life in the moment and do what you love! And whatever the issue is, you're valued and have so much support.
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: K.Smithy on December 23, 2019, 12:12:30 am
Moving on from that, I wanted to switch tones a little bit. As I approach my sixteenth birthday, I've been reflecting on how much has changed for me this year and even over the past couple of years. I still remember what it was like when I was eleven and in year seven (by far the youngest in my class) and probably the loneliest too. Skipping a grade in the middle of a year to join a class of kids much older than you was truly awful. And an awful idea. Thanks shit-show of a school that was being run by people with no idea about how the real world works. Appreciate it! I struggled a lot with making friends and ended up in the wrong crowd. I was hanging out with people who were nice enough, but had a lot going on in their own lives. As I was so much younger, I became their pet project. When they found out I was struggling with my mental health, it became their sole obsession to "fix" me.


It's weird how people can react in such different ways to mental health issues. Some people, as you experienced, will want to "fix" you. Others will freak out and push you away. Some will think you are a liar or over-emotional. Some will genuinely care and try to help... It's weird...

Escaping that toxic friendship in year eight, I grew particularly close to a certain guy. It was wonderful to feel wanted and loved, but when I felt like he knew too much about me, and like he was beginning to see all of me, not just the bits I liked, I quickly pushed him away again. Lonely again, my anxiety and eating issues spiralled out of control.

I can relate to this. I struggle to let people in and when I open up about anything I freak out. I've found that as I get older, as I experience more and open up to people more, it gets a lot easier. I pushed a lot of people away, one person refused to give up on me and let me push them away no matter how hard I was (unfortunately) trying... and that person is now my closest friend. Nowadays, I am a lot more cautious about who I open up to and what I share with people. I've come to understand (the hard way) that not everyone will react the same way when you tell them something unexpected about yourself. I've learnt a lot over the past couple of years and I've recently noticed that I have gotten better at talking about things and explaining what is going on inside my head (however, this is only the case when I actually want to talk. If I am forced to talk to someone I won't say anything....).

With time I learnt not to push people away. I've found that loneliness brings out the worst in me...

Abuse from a teacher coupled with this lead to the worst time in my life. A psychotic break where my experience with reality was totally out of touch with the real world. I was so scared and scared of the world. I felt utterly alone.

I'm so sorry you had to experience this. No one, especially someone as kind and caring as you, should have to feel like this...

Flashing forward to now, I look at how much has changed. For the first time in a long time, I feel like I'm finally happy with my life. I'm not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm content and comfortable with who I am. I can honestly say that I like myself. That doesn't mean that bad days don't occasionally creep up on me, but that even if I'm having a bad day or a bad week, I know how to handle it.

I'm so glad that you are feeling happy with life and comfortable with yourself. I think that tough times are learning experiences that offer new perspectives and allow you to grow. Even though times can get pretty terrible, there is always a lesson to be learnt, room to grow, and strength to gain.

I had a panic attack this morning. I was dizzy and hyperventilating. I was terrified and I felt so alone and out of control. But then a friend came and found me. We sat together in silence for most of an hour. Patiently waiting for the beast to subside. And it did. Because it always does. And even in the momentary darkness, I was not alone. And I have never been alone.

Thinking about my hallucinations, eating disorder and the last couple of years of my life always used to send a rush of unpleasant feelings, but although I'm sad for the little girl I was, I am so, so happy with who I am and where I am now. I am so thankful for the people I have found. And even though my experiences were awful, I don't think I would change any of it. (Perhaps the way I handled things but not the experiences themselves.) Because without them I wouldn't be me. And without them, I would not have so many of the good things I do.

Hearing how much better things have become and what you have learnt from your experiences makes me so happy (although I do wish you never had to feel that much pain). It takes a lot of maturity to look back at tough times and see the good in them and be grateful for the growth you have experienced because of them.
I believe that we often forget how much we can grow from our trials and tribulations. Although we would all rather be happy 100% of the time and never have a dull moment, the tough moments that everyone experiences are such powerful means of transformation. Just as you said, you wouldn't be yourself without having gone through all of those bad experiences.

Tomorrow I'll be sixteen, and I'll wake up so incredibly grateful for the life I have! If you follow my journal and have made it the whole way through this ramble of a reflection, I truly thank you for letting me share a bit of myself tonight.

Happy birthday for tomorrow!! I hope you have an amazing "sweet sixteenth" ;D
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: Bri MT on December 23, 2019, 08:03:35 am
Hey Laura!

Your positivity is infectious! I love that you've had a fulfilling break so far and your excitement for TuteSmart :D

Thank you for having the courage to share more about yourself and some of the experiences that have impacted you.  Although you never should have had to experience what you have, it's fantastic to hear about how you have grown through recovery and I hope that your journey helps give hope to others who are finding it difficult to cope.

Wishing a very happy 16th birthday to a resilient and caring person.
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: marble2 on December 23, 2019, 08:00:15 pm
happy birthday laura :D wow, that was such a beautiful and honest post, almost made me cry. i wish you never went through any of that but you really do sound like you've grown from those experiences for the better. :)
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: eemmaa on December 23, 2019, 08:16:56 pm
That was insightful and incredibly written, I admire you so much for having the courage to open up like that. Vulnerability can be beautiful, which is a lesson I'm trying hard to teach myself - I relate a lot to this:

when I felt like he knew too much about me, and like he was beginning to see all of me, not just the bits I liked, I quickly pushed him away again

Thank you for sharing, I hope your birthday tomorrow brings you so much joy - no-one is more deserving!
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: ArtyDreams on December 23, 2019, 08:28:54 pm
Laura, you are amazing.

I admire your courage and strength, and your willingness to always help others! I really appreciate you.

Your post was so real and raw, and really went to me, but your positivity overpowers everything and gives so much hope!!

I hope you have a very happy 16th Birthday!! Enjoy it all, and hope you have a great year!!
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on January 27, 2020, 05:06:20 pm
One week until school starts back. I am really regretting my subject choices, but I've bought the textbooks and it's way too late to change now. Specialist is going to be the death of me. Surprisingly, once I just knuckled down and did some homework, I found that methods wasn't that bad.

I've really enjoyed having two full months off of school. I got to go to the beach, with friends and with family, many many times. It was fantastic. I did heaps of work, a little bit of volunteering, and a lot of seeing people. I haven't done anywhere near as much working ahead as I would have liked, but I'm content with that because I enjoyed having a bit of a break.

I also got to do heaps of baking and other creative things. It was very enjoyable.

I'm actually low-key excited to go back to school. I always enjoy the first couple of weeks. My motivation is boosted. I tend to eat healthier and be more productive. I'm hoping to ride that for as long as possible once the year starts. Luckily I have until next Monday.

How is everyone else feeling about back to school? When do y'all start?
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: Snow Leopard on January 27, 2020, 06:05:41 pm
One week until school starts back. I am really regretting my subject choices, but I've bought the textbooks and it's way too late to change now. Specialist is going to be the death of me. Surprisingly, once I just knuckled down and did some homework, I found that methods wasn't that bad.
What subjects are you regretting choosing other than spesh? If it's that bad you could always change those subjects for other subjects before Unit 2.
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on January 27, 2020, 08:38:01 pm
What subjects are you regretting choosing other than spesh? If it's that bad you could always change those subjects for other subjects before Unit 2.
It's really just spesh. I haven't touched the work so far, but my class is so tiny and I think I'm going to find it really suffocating. I have the same teacher for methods and spesh, and although I quite like her, eight hours a week with her is TOO MUCH. It would be too much no matter which teacher. At least I have a friend in my class. She's great and I think we'll have a lot of fun. Perhaps even too much fun, given what we're like when we're together. I didn't even want to be doing methods, so I have no idea why I signed up for two maths.

I'm also not sure about food tech, but we've got the good teacher (who we didn't have for orientation, so that should be thoroughly enjoyable). The work is just extremely easy, and no one in the class cares about school in the slightest. I guess I'll just keep my head down and do my best.

Literature is a class of 30, while there are English classes of 11, so it means that having class discussion is really difficult, but a whole bunch of people are intending to drop it, so that might make things better.

In biology, there are a couple of people I know, but literally, all of my friends and even acquaintances are in a different class. That means that I have to sit alone. I got there late on the first day and ended up sitting in the row second from the front all by myself because there were no free seats in the back two rows. As the front row is completely empty, I really hate it because I'm effectively sitting in the front alone. We'll be in a new classroom this year, so I'll just get there early and sit in the seat I want. Then at least if I'm alone, I won't be alone in the front.

I got a teacher I've never had before for chem and she seems good, but she's very strict and quite scary, so I just feel stressed the whole time. She yelled at my friend in orientation about having a necklace on. She told me off for borrowing whiteout from someone while we were quietly working because I wasn't quiet enough about it.

But, it's okay. I love my literature teacher, even if the class is massive, and I think that the friends I have in chemistry and methods will help me get through the year. Having no friends in so many classes will hopefully motivate me to work harder. But ugh, I'm also frustrated about it.

Also, I got my timetable today, so of course I made on that's colour coded to the folders I use for my subjects. I'm very happy with it.
(https://i.imgur.com/kS0nDPt.png)
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: Snow Leopard on January 27, 2020, 10:00:43 pm
I didn't even want to be doing methods, so I have no idea why I signed up for two maths.
I'm sure it was because you're more than capable of doing two maths :)

Quote
Literature is a class of 30, while there are English classes of 11, so it means that having class discussion is really difficult, but a whole bunch of people are intending to drop it, so that might make things better.
It's the same with my Lit class. We have a lot of people and a lot of them are really noisy. Not sure how many will drop it mid-year though tbh.

Quote
As the front row is completely empty, I really hate it because I'm effectively sitting in the front alone.
Just out of curiosity, do you concentrate more when sitting at the front or back? I personally prefer the frontish.

Quote
I got a teacher I've never had before for chem and she seems good, but she's very strict and quite scary, so I just feel stressed the whole time. She yelled at my friend in orientation about having a necklace on. She told me off for borrowing whiteout from someone while we were quietly working because I wasn't quiet enough about it.
In my chem class, there a bunch of boys that talk and annoy the life out of my teacher. Like, she's trying to have some of them drop it if they don't put effort in it. Tbh, my chem class is too big for my liking. And the pace that we're moving at is soooo fast. In our Chem elective in Yr 10, we spent a whole term on one chapter. In headstart, we finished one chapter in one week. Which textbook do you use for Chem?

Quote
Having no friends in so many classes will hopefully motivate me to work harder.
Less distractions, I'm assuming?

How long do you're periods go for?
Also, you don't seem to have a lot of doubles.
What's that wellbeing class?
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on January 27, 2020, 10:11:36 pm
Just out of curiosity, do you concentrate more when sitting at the front or back? I personally prefer the frontish.
I probably concentrate better if I'm sitting near the front. But it just felt so weird to sit in the front alone. I'm definitely a lot more comfortable in the back though, and a lot happier to put my hand up and answer questions if it feels like less people are looking. Why do you like the front? ;D


And the pace that we're moving at is soooo fast. In our Chem elective in Yr 10, we spent a whole term on one chapter. In headstart, we finished one chapter in one week. Which textbook do you use for Chem?
We did the same. The pace is insane. We did four subchapters in a single lesson and then the homework was to do all of the questions plus watch all of the Edrolo relating to it. I think I'll struggle to keep on top of the chem (and methods) pace, so that's something to be mindful of. We use Heinemann by the way. What about you?

Less distractions, I'm assuming?
That's what I'm hoping.

How long do you're periods go for?
Also, you don't seem to have a lot of doubles.
What's that wellbeing class?
Each period is an hour. And no, no doubles. In Year 10 I had double politics in semester 1 (but with lunch in the middle) and then the same "double" but English in semester 2. It was actually really good for english, but awful for politics. It would be good to have a double for food tech, but I can't imagine having double methods or spesh, especially if I had another maths on the same day.

Wellbeing is the most pointless thing ever, because we don't do anything. Often there's an assembly where they tell us off for something or other. Mostly uniform or the latest fight that our year level was involved in. They were trialling the resilience project this year, and our teachers were running lessons on empathy and mindfulness, but the teachers didn't really have any training in it, so it was pretty sub-par. A lot of the things they said and wanted us to do were totally whack. At one point we had to have "debates" about issues no one cared about to build confidence and resilience. (like strawberries?) Apparently, once you get to Year 11, wellbeing and religion are basically just study periods.

It's a shame that wellbeing has become such a joke, because the idea is good, but the execution really isn't. We still have five (slightly shortened) classes, plus wellbeing, so the day really drags. Thursdays used to be the day where we finished half an hour early and now Day 4 (every second Thursday) feels like it goes for such a long time, especially as we have two whole 55 minute classes after we finish lunch.
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: Snow Leopard on January 27, 2020, 10:45:59 pm
Why do you like the front? ;D
Even though I'm not that short, I'm not that tall either so tall peeps make it hard to see stuff on the board. I feel like seeing people in front of me distracts me as well.

Quote
I think I'll struggle to keep on top of the chem (and methods) pace
Yup

Quote
We use Heinemann by the way. What about you?
Jacaranda. Is Heinemann good?

Quote
Each period is an hour. And no, no doubles. In Year 10 I had double politics in semester 1 (but with lunch in the middle) and then the same "double" but English in semester 2. It was actually really good for english, but awful for politics. It would be good to have a double for food tech, but I can't imagine having double methods or spesh, especially if I had another maths on the same day.
Our periods are 50 mins with 6 periods a day and homeroom at the start of the day until like 8:50. I have a lot of doubles now that I'm in Yr 11 (so like p1+2 will be lit, p3+4 religion and society, p5 would be methods, p6 would be chem etc, etc).

Quote
Apparently, once you get to Year 11, wellbeing and religion are basically just study periods.
Eh, study periods are almost always well appreciated ;D



Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: Ionic Doc on January 27, 2020, 11:14:57 pm
That means that I have to sit alone. I got there late on the first day and ended up sitting in the row second from the front all by myself because there were no free seats in the back two rows. As the front row is completely empty, I really hate it because I'm effectively sitting in the front alone. We'll be in a new classroom this year, so I'll just get there early and sit in the seat I want. Then at least if I'm alone, I won't be alone in the front.

Ohhh I relate to thiss alot... (being alone sorta sucks)
During orientation for HHD, I was the only boy in the class and of course, all the girls had their friend groups with them so I was all alone at the front...it was awkward asf.  Luckily I dropped HHD for further (I was always planning on dropping ) and now I have 6 of my mates with me in my class, which is good and bad at the same time.

As for your biology class,
it's never too late to make new friends (Easier said than done though  :P) I'm sure you will grow more fond of people throughout the year, is your cohort big or do you sorta know who everyone is?
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: Ionic Doc on February 12, 2020, 11:45:01 am
Ayy Laura

How's year 11 treating you?   :)
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: Jimmmy on February 13, 2020, 02:01:01 pm
Hi Laura!

Hope the work load has been acceptable thus far. Just want to reassure you, I swapped out of a subject very late (literally a few weeks into year 12...) and did well above expected for it, so don't feel compelled to complete subjects that you've already 'bought the books' for. You'll be able to re-sell them easily, just make sure you enjoy the subjects you're doing, or at the very least, are good at them.

How are you finding that 10 day timetable?
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on February 13, 2020, 06:53:18 pm
Hi all! Thanks for the reminder to update this (@Ionic and Jimmmy)! (And for the great advice Jimmmy!) I've been meaning to since school started back, but just haven't had a lot positive to write, so I wanted to wait until I had some happy things to share.

My subjects:
This is my assessment timetable for the next month from what we've been told thus far, (although I'm expecting that there will be a chemistry test as well as another methods test to add in).
(https://i.imgur.com/eJe8C7a.png)

methods
So... I've already had two tests for methods! The content does move REALLY fast, but luckily I felt pretty on top of the content by the test (and even finished all the work too). The tests were Tuesday and today, so finally a little break without homework!

spesh
I'm VERYYY behind. There's a tiny bit of holiday homework I haven't done, and then I've done no work since school started because I've been focusing on methods. AHHHHhhhhH! But, it's okay, the work is actually easier than spesh. I'm suprised I'm not sick of having the same teacher eight hours a week yet, but I actually really like her. She's getting the spesh class a kettle, hot chocolate powder and biscuits!! I love having a tiny class.

chemistry
Our chemistry teacher is very on top of things, and I've been finding it really motivating. I feel like I'm understanding things and very on top of it. There's a fair bit of homework, but I'm pretty ahead. I'm hoping to get some Edrolo done over the weekend, and we did a prac looking at the reactivity of metals today so I'll need to write up that prac report.

food tech
Oh my goodness! I love food tech! This week we cooked little apple and nut filo pastries and they were delicious! The work is really easy, and the next task is to pick a region, research it, and make a dish from it. I'm going to make miso soup with my own ginger, mushroom and seaweed stock! I'm very excited!!

literature
Literature is another subject that I really like! I love the teacher and I love the content. There's a lot of terminology, but it's certainly fascinating. We're studying Browning at the minute. He writes very interesting poems from all sorts of crazy perspectives.

biology
Oh my goodness! I feel like we've done nothing, but I'm already behind. There are so many things to do; powerpoint notes, worksheets, edrolo, textbook notes and questions and studying for the quiz tomorrow. Also, I have people to sit with! ;D

My life:
I've been busy and anxious. So nothing's changed really. I worked four full days in a row, followed by a training day for work on the Tuesday-Saturday leading up to going back to school, so I was actually really tired by the time Monday came around. Coupled with a bad panic attack the night before, I felt really shattered during the first week. But I'm doing better and feeling more on top of things at the minute.

I finally had a party for my 16th last Saturday! It was wonderful! We had homemade bubble tea and I got to hang out with lots of my friends! ;D

I'm also making some healthy changes. I'm working towards going vegan and zero waste for the environment and my health. At the minute, I'm slowly phasing out single-use things and trying to significantly reduce the waste I produce. I'm also working on cooking more vegan food, although I am already vegetarian.
I'm also going sugar-free (or at least obvious sugar, like chocolate and cakes, free), starting tomorrow!
Please wish me luck! ;D

Also, I'm addicted to Survivor. I had to not watch it on Monday and Tuesday to do homework, so I spent Wednesday binge-watching episodes! How good is All-Stars!!

How has everyone else's start to school been?

How are you finding that 10 day timetable?
Thanks Jimmmy! We've always had a 10 day timetable at school and I quite like it, because when you have things that happen on certain days at certain times, you don't always miss the same class. We moved to a five period system (from four) last year, and I still don't particularly like it. I'd much prefer we switched back, but I guess I'm used to it now. It feels like there's never enough time to do homework.
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: Bri MT on February 13, 2020, 08:44:40 pm
I'm also making some healthy changes. I'm working towards going vegan and zero waste for the environment and my health. At the minute, I'm slowly phasing out single-use things and trying to significantly reduce the waste I produce. I'm also working on cooking more vegan food, although I am already vegetarian.
I'm also going sugar-free (or at least obvious sugar, like chocolate and cakes, free), starting tomorrow!
Please wish me luck! ;D

Wishing you luck!

Piece of advice - I'm relatively close to zero waste (no glad wrap or foil use for more than 6 months, only plastic I get in toiletries is toothpaste, no plastic when grabbing produce etc.) - and as you might remember I'm vegan -  I do NOT recommend you go 100% zero waste and vegan at the same time. In particular, if you're avoiding all food packaging and doing things like making plant based milks yourself what you make will not be fortified with b12 and you will need to supplement it.  I don't think this is an argument against veganism since often the b12 content of animal products is artificially increased but it is something you should be aware of. You might have already known this but I think it's worth emphasising anyway.

I absolutely love that you're trying to change things for your sake and the environments sake; please do your best to do this in a way that's sustainable for you. Aiming for progress > aiming for perfection.
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on February 13, 2020, 09:44:19 pm
Wishing you luck!

Piece of advice - I'm relatively close to zero waste (no glad wrap or foil use for more than 6 months, only plastic I get in toiletries is toothpaste, no plastic when grabbing produce etc.) - and as you might remember I'm vegan -  I do NOT recommend you go 100% zero waste and vegan at the same time. In particular, if you're avoiding all food packaging and doing things like making plant based milks yourself what you make will not be fortified with b12 and you will need to supplement it.  I don't think this is an argument against veganism since often the b12 content of animal products is artificially increased but it is something you should be aware of. You might have already known this but I think it's worth emphasising anyway.

I absolutely love that you're trying to change things for your sake and the environments sake; please do your best to do this in a way that's sustainable for you. Aiming for progress > aiming for perfection.
Thanks Bri! I'm already close to vegan and zero waste, so I'm just trying to take a couple more steps to get closer. I started DIYing toiletries like toothpaste, deoderant, body lotion ect. a couple of weeks ago, and I'm definitely mindful of the plastic and packaging that food comes in, but I do find it hard. I find it easy to avoid gladwrap and foil, but things that are almost only ever sold in packages mean that my family and I inevitably accrue some waste.

Planning to DIY some plant milk this weekend! But yeah, the B12 will be a thing to watch.

How do you find/use zero waste stationary, particularly pens? I HATE grey lead pencils, but I don't mind coloured pencils and crayons, so I'm happy enough in that department. I also currently use a lot of whiteout, but I'm trying to be more mindful of that as well!
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: ArtyDreams on February 13, 2020, 09:51:37 pm
Thanks Bri! I'm already close to vegan and zero waste, so I'm just trying to take a couple more steps to get closer. I started DIYing toiletries like toothpaste, deoderant, body lotion ect. a couple of weeks ago, and I'm definitely mindful of the plastic and packaging that food comes in, but I do find it hard. I find it easy to avoid gladwrap and foil, but things that are almost only ever sold in packages mean that my family and I inevitably accrue some waste.

Planning to DIY some plant milk this weekend! But yeah, the B12 will be a thing to watch.

How do you find/use zero waste stationary, particularly pens? I HATE grey lead pencils, but I don't mind coloured pencils and crayons, so I'm happy enough in that department. I also currently use a lot of whiteout, but I'm trying to be more mindful of that as well!

Just about the stationery thing, perhaps you can try using a fountain pen? They arent 100% environmentally friendly, but they are good in the sense that you can continue using the barrell and just need to refill the ink. It can be better than having plastic ballpoint pens lying everywhere. Not to mention, they are super relaxing to write with!!
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: Bri MT on February 13, 2020, 10:04:47 pm
Thanks Bri! I'm already close to vegan and zero waste, so I'm just trying to take a couple more steps to get closer. I started DIYing toiletries like toothpaste, deoderant, body lotion ect. a couple of weeks ago, and I'm definitely mindful of the plastic and packaging that food comes in, but I do find it hard. I find it easy to avoid gladwrap and foil, but things that are almost only ever sold in packages mean that my family and I inevitably accrue some waste.

Planning to DIY some plant milk this weekend! But yeah, the B12 will be a thing to watch.

How do you find/use zero waste stationary, particularly pens? I HATE grey lead pencils, but I don't mind coloured pencils and crayons, so I'm happy enough in that department. I also currently use a lot of whiteout, but I'm trying to be more mindful of that as well!

You're absolutely welcome :)

Nice! :D

I've been thinking about what to do when my current toothpaste runs out but that's a bridge I'll deal with closer to then. Might hit you up to see what your experience is :)

Yeah food packing is 100% the hardest imo. Whenever I go food shopping I drop off what I can (& can't be normally recycled) to redcycle but even if that's counted as non-waste it's hard to eliminate all food packaging.

What type of milk are you making?

I haven't had my pens run out for a long time so it doesn't really come up, probably because I mostly use my laptop for notes. That being said, when I handwrite notes it's almost always with a mechanical pencil which means only the leads need to be replaced & no need for white out as it's erasable. You can also get pens made from recycled plastic or refillable ones to reduce your impact.


Hope this helps :)
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: Snow Leopard on March 06, 2020, 11:07:50 pm
How's life Laura?
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on March 10, 2020, 06:31:14 am
Hiya Snow Leopard; thanks for the bump! ;D

Oh my goodness this week is just full of assessments, and they're all on Thursday. I have a methods test, a spesh test, a chem test and a food tech essay. Then on Friday, I have another methods test and a spesh test on the following Monday. I also have a chemistry research investigation that's due soon. For biology we're working on the pracs that we're going to use when we do our first sac, so it just feels like every class is an assessment. Literature's still pretty chill at least.

grades and other boring things
I'm actually really happy with how I've been going this year. I got a 97% on our biology quiz, and only made one stupid mistake in the multiple choice. I got an A on our first methods test and an A* on the first spesh test. I also got an A* on the literature oral. We haven't quite finished our five part food tech assessment, but I'm really happy with the marks I got for the first four parts and I'm hoping for an A*. As for chemistry, there are constant quizzes and random things due, but no assessments until this week, but I feel like I really understand chemistry and I like how organised our teacher is.

It's been a while since I last updated this journal, and it's been a month with some highs and some lows. I was made debating captain at my school, and it's so great to mentor a lot of the younger students and to keep debating. I'm really enjoying it and we won our first debate which was a nice bonus. I also got to go to a fancy awards ceremony to collect a leadership bursary which was very exciting! Over the long weekend, I got to spend lots of time with my kiddos and we went to the pool together which was amazing! I also had a very fun sleepover and shopping trip with friends from school. (So yeah, I got THAT much homework done over the last couple of days.)

Oh my goodness Year 11 is stressful; I've found that the work feels easy enough, but the pace is just really fast. I'm putting together a new anxiety management plan at the moment for school because I've found that I've been having some really tough days at school where I'm feeling really out of it and losing time, so to speak. Because I've had stress-induced psychotic symptoms in the past, I'm trying to be really proactive about managing my anxiety early.

But yeah, overall good month! (With the exception of the week that I cannot remember. I guess, for all I know, it could have been quite pleasant.)

Also, my vegan/zero sugar/zero waste goal is still coming along, slowly. I had an insane sugar withdrawal, and after 14 days, I'm back to eating a slightly less than regular amount. I'm more vegan than I was a month ago, but still not 100% vegan. As for zero waste, it's really hard. I don't think I'm creating much new waste but there are things that I already bought and own that create waste (like a pack of makeup wipes, pens that are running out, old tubes of makeup ect.). I'm just focusing on not buying more things that create waste.

laura <3
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on March 17, 2020, 10:31:49 pm
My week's been crazy; absolutely packed full of assessments. Especially Thursday and Friday last week. Embarrassing as it is to admit, I totally freaked out the day I had four assessments. I felt sick and shaky and couldn't concentrate. After stumbling through the first two (and walking out crying and hyperventilating), I ended up getting a "class pass" from the school psych and sitting under a weighted blanket in the dark, instead of doing my methods sac. So many questions from teachers (AHHHHH) as the area outside her office is a pretty abandoned area, but next to the back door to the staff room. I also missed the spesh sac I was meant to be doing that afternoon, and my teachers decided that rather than me trying to do the sacs I had on Friday, plus those two, I should catch up slowly. I did the methods one on Friday, the second methods one yesterday and the first part of the spesh one today, meaning all that's left is to finish spesh. I definitely felt awfully anxious during the catchups as well, but there's really nothing I can do about it. I'm kind of questioning whether I should have picked a couple of subjects with a less intense workload, but I am actually enjoying the content we're learning. I don't want to limit myself based on my anxiety, but I also don't want to push myself further than I'm ready for.

Grades:
For the most recent methods test I got 97% on Part A (I managed to forget to carry a root sign down into my final working, costing me the only mark I lost, unfortunately) and 81% on Part B, which is not great but not terrible. The class average for that part was 59% so I'm not disappointed or overly happy because a lot of the mistakes I made were avoidable.

For chemistry, I got a B* on the group prac and an A on the test. I'm not stoked with those marks, but I definitely wasn't having a good day when I did either of those, so I wasn't expecting much better. I was really stressed that my marks were going to be a lot worse, so it's a weight of my shoulders.

I'm still waiting on my marks for the food tech assessment, and I still have to finish the spesh one. My teacher is chill about me doing it whenever. On one hand, I want it done and out of the way, but on the other hand, I don't think I'll feel up to doing it tomorrow. (But also, there's serious talk of our school shutting down, so if I don't do it soon, it might be a while...)

In other news, I ordered myself a weighted blanket online last night and I'm so excited for when it comes!! I feel like I'm never on AN anymore, but hopefully, when I feel a little more energetic I'll be around more. I'm still working on putting in place some things at school to help me do my best. At the moment it looks like there might be some conditions on how many sacs I have to do in a day, as well as more freedom about working in the library or student services (the rooms near the psych's office) during classes if I need to.

See y'all soon!
laura <3
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: Bri MT on March 18, 2020, 07:20:13 am
Hey,

Really glad that you were able to go to the school psych and destress. Imo it's not embarrassing to be overwhelmed; there's a lot going on and a lot to manage - it's completely ok to struggle coping with that.

Good luck with your catch ups & more importantly good luck with your wellbeing.


Hiya Snow Leopard; thanks for the bump! ;D

Oh my goodness this week is just full of assessments, and they're all on Thursday. I have a methods test, a spesh test, a chem test and a food tech essay. Then on Friday, I have another methods test and a spesh test on the following Monday. I also have a chemistry research investigation that's due soon. For biology we're working on the pracs that we're going to use when we do our first sac, so it just feels like every class is an assessment. Literature's still pretty chill at least.

grades and other boring things
I'm just focusing on not buying more things that create waste.
Btw I 100% think this is the right approach to take rather than trying to upheave everything all at once. The most eco-friendly product is making use of what you already have :)
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: Snow Leopard on April 22, 2020, 08:16:41 pm
How've you been going with online learning, Laura?
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on May 15, 2020, 10:19:26 pm
I try to write but it's like the words won't come out write. It feels impossible to begin to comprehend how I am feeling, let alone explain it. There's a reason they call it remission; not recovery. A mix of mania and exhaustion fuelled by excessive exercise and far too little substance. Some days so sick I can barely roll out of bed to go to online classes. Nights of panic attacks and horrid fantasies that haven't haunted me for years. Solitude is stifling. The silence of melancholy mornings. Just me. One. Empty.

So behind in methods, I feel like I'll never catch up. Not enough energy to try. Not enough space in this head of mine. Cannot go more than a second without thinking. And not about what I'm supposed to. My mind wanders all the roads it is not allowed to. Coerces my hands; my body; to places it knows it should not go. Drowning in a sea of schoolwork and sadness.

I feel like I should care. But I cannot fathom how to.

And I cannot bear to think about going back to that place. Though it may give me structure, I doubt I will feel any better. At least in my room there is some pretence of privacy. Some facade of rest. I do not have enough energy to sit at my own desk and I cannot begin to imagine walking the halls of that school.
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: blueycan on May 17, 2020, 07:04:32 pm
Hey Laura, I can understand that things can feel like they're eating at you right now, but I want you to know that you have a community here that can help take some weight off your shoulders. Please don't hesitate to reach out to me, I'm always willing to lend an ear or a shoulder every once in a while. ❥
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on October 09, 2020, 11:47:28 pm
Whoa, it's been a while friends!

This year has been such a rollercoaster for so many people (me included). I had so many hopes for the things I was going to do and such high expectations of myself, but I feel like I am still just trying to keep my head above water. I am so far from where I had hoped (no, truly believed) I'd be. I have a very busy week when I finally get back to school and I am feeling so horrifically unprepared.

Sunday:           - chem logbook due (haven't started that yet... whoops)
Monday:          - methods test a period one (haven't opened my maths stuff since last term)
Tuesday:         - bio trial exam (ive almost finished typing all of my notes but id still like to do some practice exams)
                        - final food tech sac prac component and theory due (only one part to go)
Wednesday:   - methods test b
Friday:            - spesh test (actually finished all the work and revision, just need to make notes)
Tuesday:        - chem poster due

I feel like I'm just scrambling each day to try and get things done in time for the next one, rather than staying on top of things. But I'm really hoping to get back on track before my biology exam.

It doesn't help that since having some panic attacks at school in March I still find certain rooms (and a whole building) super anxiety-inducing. When I was at school I'd totally blank out in those places- like my brain would completely shut off and I'd stop functioning. I'm really scared it's going to start happening again next week.

I think that my deteriorating mental (and physical) health has had a big impact on how my I'm struggling to keep up. I was so in denial about my eating disorder relapse and how bad things had gotten- but unfortunately, I'm painfully aware now of how badly I was mistreating my body. I think that things started to get worse after I went back to school in May, but only recently has the fainting, hair loss and literally constant shivering really caught up with me. The worst thing hasn't been the lethargy, but the amount of headspace that my intrusive food thoughts were taking up. They stopped me from concentration on my classes or my homework, especially once I was back to doing school at home.

I'm focusing on keeping myself together for the next six weeks so that I can get through exams and have some proper time to rest and heal over summer. That means I'm trying to eat enough to fuel myself (and spent some time this evening planning some nourishing and adequate meals that I can make for myself once I'm back at school and have less time on my hands). I'm also trying to switch off my phone a bit more and spend more time tackling things one task at a time- whether that be homework or something relaxing.

It's really tricky because I think I feel calmest outside and I have found myself really enjoying running and bike rides around my neighbourhood, but quite honestly, I don't think they're safe or helpful activities for me to do at the moment. For the last six months my downtime has basically consisted of cooking for my family (things that I would never dare touching), some form of outdoor exercise or following along with youtube dance workouts. I took up skateboarding for a bit and loved it- but even then my mind wandered to the calories I was burning. So I think I need a new hobby. But I also feel like a new hobby is the last thing I have time for at the minute.

On a slightly more positive note, the GAT went really well and I'm super proud of how calm I stayed. We got an email the week before with seating allocation and opening it gave me a literal panic attack. But I stayed cool on the day and actually felt really confident walking out.

I'm running on too much coffee and half a packet of oreos. I'm ridiculously overtired and anxious. This is such a rambly mess but I feel better for having gotten it all out. I have to get up at 5:30 tomorrow to work for 12 hours and then come back home and finish my chemistry logbook before the teacher checks it on Sunday. I'm sure that it will be another late coffee-powered night. So that means I should really sleep. But if I stop typing then I'll be alone with my thoughts again.

Peace and good vibes. <3
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on November 13, 2020, 06:59:31 pm
It's done! 3/4 biology is done.

I will never have to know what the lac operon is ever again. The knowledge about features in hominin evolution can officially be erased from my memory. I'm relieved. The exam was easy; it was way easier than I expected! I am very optimistic about how I went, and since I barely did any schoolwork all year, no matter what score I get it will be higher than I deserve for the effort put in. My year 11 exams start next week so I'm sure the high I'm feeling will dissipate tomorrow when I begin to study for them, but for now I'm riding the caffeine-fuelled relief that I (probably) haven't failed, and might even be looking at a 40+ study score. I plugged in my sac averages and the 95% I got on the 2017 VCAA practice exam into the deakin calculator and it gave me a 46, so things are looking good. Even a 40 would be thrilling!

My friends and I went out to a real life cafe to celebrate and had the best pizza I've ever tasted! (Yay for lockdown ending!) Everyone was talking about the exam and I realised that there were things I could have done differently, but at the end of the day I am super satisfied with how I went.

I also had my food studies exam this week, as there was a practical component so we had to do it in the kitchens during class time. The prac was straightforward and the written component even more so, so I'm feeling really good about everything.

If anyone else did the bio exam this year, I'd love to hear about how you found it!

In other news...
Our school gave out VCE subject awards last week and I was pleasantly surprised that I received the excellence awards for food studies and literature, which means I got the highest marks in the year level. I also got endeavour awards for specialist maths and biology (which are about the effort you put in). The bio one was such a joke because I hardly ever showed up to that class and didn't do any of the homework, but it was still very much appreciated.

I also got given the role of mission captain next year which is super exciting! I'm religious so it's a role that I think I'll quite enjoy and a lot of it is very social justice/mental health/wellbeing/inclusion focused which are all things that I'm passionate about.

Things are looking up at the moment! (I am still really struggling with eating but once exams and early commencement are over it looks like I'll be getting some more intense support to work through things over summer which will be super helpful.) I am so ready for exams to be over and I am so ready to tackle everything next year throws at me!


Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: Bri MT on November 13, 2020, 07:18:01 pm
Congrats!!

Also remember that it's impossible for your exam scores to make you fail year 12. E.g. One of my classmates wrote a single sentence on the English exam and they didn't get a good study score but they did pass.

I hope that that support really does help you be on an up and up trajectory :)
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on November 13, 2020, 09:48:16 pm
Congrats!!
Thanks Bri for your kind and reassuring words, as always. The passion that you have for biology really helped me get excited about the subject when I first started 1/2 and was posting millions of questions on the forums. Thanks for all of your help and support over the past two years! ;D
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: Bri MT on November 13, 2020, 10:27:12 pm
Thanks Bri for your kind and reassuring words, as always. The passion that you have for biology really helped me get excited about the subject when I first started 1/2 and was posting millions of questions on the forums. Thanks for all of your help and support over the past two years! ;D

<3
That's lovely to hear. Thank you and no worries :D
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: Snow Leopard on November 14, 2020, 12:03:52 pm
Congrats on the awards and finishing bio 3/4 Laura!   :)
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: homeworkisapotato on November 15, 2020, 08:03:39 am
Hey laura! Congratulations on the excellence and endeavour awards, finishing Bio, AND getting missions captain! Your life is so all-rounded, it's very inspiring! How did you find the exam?
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on June 14, 2021, 11:11:02 am
Well it's been a whiLE... I can't believe I'm almost half way though Year 12. Every week has felt so SLOW, but the year really is going so fast!

My subjects for this year ended up being: methods, chemistry, literature, specialist and HDS101/HDS106 (at Deakin).

Thankfully, I only have two sacs left for this term, chemistry and... chemistry. *rolls eyes* We're working on our Unit 4 posters at the minute and my partner and I are doing aspirin synthesis which is actually really cool. All the studying electrolysis for the other sac is slightly less cool, but very straightforward.

I've been really surprised about how manageable everything has been. I've rarely had weeks with more than one sac and I've still been able to work 10-18 hours a week most weeks. I think doing a uni subject entirely online has really helped with that as I've had lots of spares and been able to manage my own time much better than if I had set times to be in those classes as well.

On the whole, I've been fairly happy with my marks as well:
Methods:
SAC 1: 46/50

Overall, I've felt like methods this year has been very similar to last year. Anything new we've learnt so far has been something we're doing in spec as well so it's been easy enough to keep up. I have the same teacher I've had since Year 10 and she's honestly amazing. Plus this is the only class I'm in with a really good mate of mine so I really enjoy it.

Chemistry
SAC 1: 47/50
SAC 2A: 21/25

Not gonna lie, I almost cried when I got the first part of Sac 2 back, I'd made so many silly mistakes! But oh well, there's still a second part so hopefully I can boost my percentage a bit. My chem teacher is really encouraging so sitting down with her to go through it was really helpful.

Literature
SAC 1: 47/50
SAC 2: 46/50

Our first sac was our adaptations and transformations oral (which we did on Northanger Abbey) and our second was the creative (we did Plath). It feels really weird that we haven't done a close analysis or lit perspectives essay in class yet. We're doing our lit perspectives essay on Othello at the start of next term. I'm actually really excited. Lit is probably one of my favourite subjects and I love writing essays for it. My teacher jokes that I'm a photocopier because I'm constantly giving him practice essays to mark. I think that it's such a weird subject to study for and writing lots of close analysis pieces is the only way I'm going to improve so I don't mind too much.

Specialist
We've only had one sac and I'm stiLL waiting for it to be marked. My expectations are pretty low though. There's only seven people in our class and four people walked out crying after the first part. I managed to hold it together but I definitely felt the exact same as all of them. Because our cohort is quite small we're combined with another school and the sac was written by the teacher at the other school. I don't think our teacher had checked that we'd covered all the same topics and there were a few questions about Euler's spiral which none of us had heard of.

This is my least favourite subject by far. Don't pick your subjects just because it would be "a waste of your potential" if you don't. Thanks so much to all of the teachers that gave me that advice.

HDS101: Communication and Diveristy
Quiz: 90%
Essay 1: 92%
Essay 2: ?

Even though the subject has finished, it's still another week until we get our last mark. I'm honestly so stoked with how I went on my first essay though. I put so much effort in and I felt like it was definitely worth it. I actually am genuinely interested in the content which helps a lot as well. And now I have another month or so until my next subject starts. Since there's no exam it means I can dedicate more time to my other subjects.


Sorry for the VERY long post, but that's basically been my life so far this year. I am still working hard, but I actually think I've had more balance in my life this year than I did in the past.
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: Bri MT on June 14, 2021, 01:15:45 pm
It's great to hear from you again!

Congrats on managing the work/study balance and on your results so far. It sounds like you're doing well which is fantastic to hear :D
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on November 09, 2021, 01:58:31 pm
Long time no see! One exam to go. I can't believe this journey is almost over. I can honestly say that my VCE was nothing like I expected; the past two years were nothing like any of us expected.

I hope I've done well. But I honestly don't have a clue- I'm sure there were plenty of mistakes in those final exams. (And I am still a bit destroyed after spec exam 2 which was the hardest exam I've ever seen in my life...) But it doesn't really matter now. I don't care about the results because I am just glad it's over. And glad that I can say I have no regrets and I gave it my all. (Having some early uni offers certainly helps with the not caring thing.) Some setbacks last year meant I seriously didn't think I'd be able to do scored Year 12 this year but I worked so bloody hard to overcome everything and had some really wonderful people looking out for me. I am so glad I pushed through it all.

The plan for next year is moving out with some mates and studying speech pathology. I'm tossing up between LaTrobe and ACU but I'm leaning towards ACU. I'm also going to do a part-time church traineeship working with children with disabilities. I'm so excited about what's to come.
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: lm21074 on November 09, 2021, 04:11:02 pm
Congratulations on all you've accomplished so far, Laura! VCE is tough enough without having to deal with setbacks.

Super proud of you :)
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on November 25, 2021, 08:25:46 am
I can't believe it's only been two weeks since my last exam. I feel like a totally different person; I can't remember the last time I was so relaxed. It's AMAZING. It doesn't feel totally over because of the extremely long wait for results (I know it's not thaaat long but it feels like an eternity at the moment!).

Getting early offers into my preferred course was obviously amazing (and meant to be a massive relief) but once my ATAR was no longer important for getting into Uni I feel like I put a lot more pressure on myself to do well. I think it's because it now served no purpose except as something for me to be proud of or have accomplished. I probably decided to start trying (like really trying) a bit too late; three weeks is not enough time to learn a year's worth of spec. However, I'm still hoping to crack 97+. All year I had a post-it note with 97 above my desk as a reminder of what I was aiming for. It would feel really good to reach that. ATAR calculators are giving me something around that ballpark but it's really tricky to know (even using a study score calculator doesn't feel, and probably isn't, very accurate).

21 more days!
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: Joseph41 on November 25, 2021, 09:06:22 am
I can't believe it's only been two weeks since my last exam. I feel like a totally different person; I can't remember the last time I was so relaxed. It's AMAZING. It doesn't feel totally over because of the extremely long wait for results (I know it's not thaaat long but it feels like an eternity at the moment!).

Great to hear!
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on December 02, 2021, 06:54:36 pm
So I'm on level 628 of candy crush soda (the superior candy crush)... and I've seen ever inch of bike path within 25km of me... and I am still counting down until December 16th. It's such a LOOOOOOOONG wait! Only 14 more days to go.
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: caffinatedloz on December 16, 2021, 08:06:35 am
And just like that it's over! All the waiting and anticipation for this. I'll start with the ATAR (the only thing I was really happy with): 97.75. I acheived my goal to get a 97 so I'm thrilled. But I wasn't so happy with my scores.

Spec: 35
Methods: 37
Lit: 38
Chem: 40
(And I got a 4.5 increment from my uni subject.)

I'm a bit stunned it's all over. Honestly, the only score that exceeded my expectations was spec- I really thought I was going to get 28. All the others were a bit lower than I'd hoped but at least it's finally over and I can definitely say I gave it everything I could.

Thank you all for the encouragement and support. The AN forums are such a wonderful place with so many lovely supportive people. I've really enjoyed all the banter, laughs and games (and I am very appreciative of all of the help). I am so grateful for all of you! ✌️
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: Joseph41 on December 16, 2021, 08:08:30 am
And just like that it's over! All the waiting and anticipation for this. I'll start with the ATAR (the only thing I was really happy with): 97.75. I acheived my goal to get a 97 so I'm thrilled. But I wasn't so happy with my scores.

Spec: 35
Methods: 37
Lit: 38
Chem: 40
(And I got a 4.5 increment from my uni subject.)

I'm a bit stunned it's all over. Honestly, the only score that exceeded my expectations was spec- I really thought I was going to get 28. All the others were a bit lower than I'd hoped but at least it's finally over and I can definitely say I gave it everything I could.

Thank you all for the encouragement and support. The AN forums are such a wonderful place with so many lovely supportive people. I've really enjoyed all the banter, laughs and games (and I am very appreciative of all of the help). I am so grateful for all of you! ✌️

Well done!
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: Chocolatemilkshake on December 16, 2021, 08:11:43 am
Massive congratulations Laura! All the best for next year  ;D
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: bluebird on December 16, 2021, 08:20:51 am
Congratulations!! Amazing work on completing your VCE, it truly is a huge achievement and you should be incredibly proud of yourself. Good luck with your future endeavours! ❤❤
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: blueycan on December 16, 2021, 10:12:52 am
Really well done Laura, big congrats !!!
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: lm21074 on December 16, 2021, 10:43:29 am
Amazing work, Laura! Congratulations :)
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: Geoo on December 16, 2021, 11:30:27 am
Congratulations Laura!! I've been reading your journal for a while now, and so i'm so happy you!  Good luck for the future, I know you'll do amazing!
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: wingdings2791 on December 16, 2021, 12:12:40 pm
Laura, a massive congrats!! You’ve done absolutely incredible and should be really proud (and brag cuz you’re entitled to XDDD) thank you so much for your support and I know you will go on to achieve amazing things!

Love, wings
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: eloisegrace on December 17, 2021, 08:41:17 pm
Awesome results - I wish you well for the future ;D
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: SmartWorker on December 17, 2021, 09:10:11 pm
And just like that it's over! All the waiting and anticipation for this. I'll start with the ATAR (the only thing I was really happy with): 97.75. I acheived my goal to get a 97 so I'm thrilled. But I wasn't so happy with my scores.

Spec: 35
Methods: 37
Lit: 38
Chem: 40
(And I got a 4.5 increment from my uni subject.)

I'm a bit stunned it's all over. Honestly, the only score that exceeded my expectations was spec- I really thought I was going to get 28. All the others were a bit lower than I'd hoped but at least it's finally over and I can definitely say I gave it everything I could.

Thank you all for the encouragement and support. The AN forums are such a wonderful place with so many lovely supportive people. I've really enjoyed all the banter, laughs and games (and I am very appreciative of all of the help). I am so grateful for all of you! ✌️

Congratss you did amazingg!!!! wooo especially spesh after that horrible exam 2 🥳🥳🥳🥳

Enjoy your holidays :)
Title: Re: calamity and sanity: my journey through vce
Post by: ThunderDragon on December 17, 2021, 10:29:35 pm
Congrats Laura!