Maya's Vce Journal

[Maya24]

It sucks when you've been determined to have a particular outcome and things don't turn out that way; I hope that chemistry turns out nicer for you and is more in line with your great English result

On that note, if you're wanting to improve your grammar and spelling in your classwork it may be beneficial to use these conventions even online just so that they become your automatic response (eg in your past few posts there are some instances of non-standard grammar, which is completely fine for here but it may be beneficial to adjust your habits anyway).



I hope you have a great experience at all of your open days and that they're valuable and interesting for you

Thank you for your advice.

[sarangiya]

Wow, you've had a tough week. Good job on getting through it.
I was so upset to read what you wrote about methods at first, but on second thought I am actually really happy for you.
You said in your previous posts that our own health, lifestyle and happiness is most important and I couldn't agree more. Methods means nothing. Without it in your way, you will have so much time and motivation to really smash your other subjects out. I know that a 30 was a goal for you, but you're going to be so much more 'satisfied' to have it gone and perhaps even boost your ATAR anyway.
I'm so proud of you for making that huge decision. Good on you and congratulations on graduating from the crappiest subject in the VCE!

I'm so happy to read about your good news also. It sounds like everything is coming together, even your career plans and all! Hope you enjoyed Monash today!

Keep in touch

[Maya24]

Wow, you've had a tough week. Good job on getting through it.
I was so upset to read what you wrote about methods at first, but on second thought I am actually really happy for you.
You said in your previous posts that our own health, lifestyle and happiness is most important and I couldn't agree more. Methods means nothing. Without it in your way, you will have so much time and motivation to really smash your other subjects out. I know that a 30 was a goal for you, but you're going to be so much more 'satisfied' to have it gone and perhaps even boost your ATAR anyway.
I'm so proud of you for making that huge decision. Good on you and congratulations on graduating from the crappiest subject in the VCE!

I'm so happy to read about your good news also. It sounds like everything is coming together, even your career plans and all! Hope you enjoyed Monash today!

Keep in touch

Thank you. I really appreciate it what you have written.

[Maya24]

The last time I updated, It wasn't a very happy entry, so you will be glad to know that things have been going much better ever since.

The past 2 weeks have been good to me. It was really peaceful and by that I mean I only had one chemistry sac. The chemistry sac went alright. I wasn't upset about my mark nor pleased. Afterwards, I spoke to the teacher to see how I was going. I really liked the feedback that she gave me. It was somewhat along the lines of, you did your best and there is nothing more you could have done. I feel like my main problem with chemistry is that I don't fully understand the concepts in depth. We are currently doing food chemistry and biology is helping me a lot with this topic.

I have started doing unit 3 revision for biology. My plan is to write and summarise my notes again, as I learn best when I'm writing and rewriting concepts. Ideally, I plan to have it done by the end of next week so I can start doing trials.

For English, we are doing Ransom and Invictus. I find both these texts interesting. Hopefully, by the end of next week I should have an essay written.

Now let's talk about the fun stuff that happened over the passed 2 weeks.

I attended Monash open day and I really enjoyed it. I received further clarification on what I wanted to do.  The atmosphere and the vibe was nice. I do regret though not checking out their libraries and other facilities.
Our school had a character parade and it was nice seeing everyone dress up. This was followed by a festival with rides and stalls the day after. Altogether it was a good week.

After leaving methods, I discovered the great benefits. I could come late to class and leave early from school. This extra time gave me more time to study and focus on my other subjects such as biology and english, which have been neglected. There is also less stress and altogether my mental state is much better.

The next week we have 2 days off, so I can use that time to catch up as well as relax.

I also chose my preference. My top 3 is : Monash science, Deakin biomedicine and Monash health science. I suspect that these will be moved around a lot in the next couple of weeks.

I hope everyone has a good week:)

[Bri MT]

If you want to know more about the Hargrave Andrew Library (the one mainly used by STEM students) feel free to ask / I can send photos

(If you went in the science student lounge (where all the mathsy stuff and course specific info was) you might have seen me wearing a blue GC2018 hoodie on Open Day.)

I'm glad you enjoyed the day and that the past fortnight has been good for you

[Maya24]

So it has been a while since I last updated and I figured it was time for another update.

Term 3 has really settled in now. It has been a busy few weeks or so. I went to Deakin open day and I found that really helpful. It gave me more of an insight of the course I wanted to do. It was a lot smaller compared to Monash and Melbourne. I'm really glad I went, as before I really wasn't considering Deakin but now I am. I feel much more confident in my preference now.

English: I started writing essays for the comparative. It's a slow process but I feel like I'm getting there. Hopefully I can pick up my speed. I still haven't done any practice for the text response and language analysis. I have no idea how I'm going to do 3 essays in 3 hours. My sac is in 2 weeks so I'm mainly focusing on that right now.

Chemistry: We finally did our prac sac. It went alright but I feel like I could have done better with the timing. It was also difficult to stick to the word count. Now, we only have one sac and it's based on an enzyme prac. The sac is next week and I don't feel prepared at all.

Biology: Our sac is tomorrow. It's on evolution. I have one more sac in 2 more weeks.

I have started doing practice exams for biology. I have already done 3 so far but they were not in exam condition. I feel like I need to go over the content before attempting more practice exams. For chemistry, I attempted one and it didn’t go so well so I think I'm going to revise over the content more. For now, my main priorities are the sacs and just making sure I give it my best shot. Surprisingly, I'm not as stressed as I thought I would be at this time of this year. Doing 3 subjects contributed to this and I was lucky that I was able to spread my vce subjects across 2 years. I also seem to be procrastinating a lot hence why it took me forever to update this diary. The next few weeks are going to be tough but I know I'll get through them.

I hope everyone has a nice week.

[sarangiya]

Glad you enjoyed Deakin! Did you go to the Burwood campus, or the others?

Love the positivity too. I'm sure you'll do great and it's awesome that you've started practice exams... I'll have to follow your lead!
Good luck!!

[Maya24]

Glad you enjoyed Deakin! Did you go to the Burwood campus, or the others?

I went to the burwood campus.

[Maya24]

This week has been an alright week. There are  only 48 days until the exam. At this point on words my feelings are complicated. I’m a mix of emotions. School finishes in about a week or so and for some reason I don’t feel nostalgic yet. At this point of term,many people are going through tough times. I surprisingly am not.  I usually get stressed out really easily. When there are  a lots of sacs at once, I have breakdowns. At this point though I’m in the state of mind where I am calm and happy. The lack of a constant level of  stress is stressing me out. I also think the lack of stress is a result of dropping methods. Having that extra time allowed me to study but take time for myself.

I have finished all the vtac and school paperwork. It took longer than I thought it would. I’ve applied for scholarships and all. I just wanted to get it over and done with.

We had our last ever chemistry sac for food chemistry. It went alright I suppose even though more time would have been nice. Despite the bad marks I actually found myself enjoying chemistry this year.  I hope I end chemistry on a good note. I tried doing a trial exam today but I found myself too physically drained. I had that inner struggle with myself but decided to just take a break today. I feel like chemistry exams are physically draining. Over the next week or so I aim to do more. I need to find a way where i’m not drained after a trial. If you guys have any ideas, feel free to leave a comment down below.

We started learning new content for bio and I feel like I’m a bit behind. I had been to focused on chemistry and english that biology has been neglected. We got our sac marks and despite being one of the best I was a tad disappointed as I kind of expected a lot higher. It was also my favourite area of study. Next wednesday marks the last and final sac of the year. It would be nice to end it with a good note. Despite biology being my most hated subject so far, it is the one I’m doing the best at. I also have not done any more practice exams since last time

I have continued writing practice essays for English. So far I have written 5  for the sac which is on Monday. I realised that I need to increase my vocabulary as I keep repeating the same words and fix my spelling and punctuation. That has always been a long time problem since year 7. I also have to find a way to make my handwriting legible. I spend a lot of my time on English now as it was heavily neglected before. I feel like I should spend a bit more of that time on chemistry. English has now become the procrastination subject.

Hope everyone has a good week!

[Maya24]

There are 40 days until the exam and I am not ready at all. It is actually scary to think how close it is. It doesn't feel real yet.
 
This week has been a bit rough for me. I have lost all my motivation. I felt lost. I didn’t know how to study and what to study for. No matter how many times I kept reading, the words wouldn’t get to my brain. I’ve sunk back into my old habits like not eating. Extreme procrastination. Losing my concentration and being unable to focus. Overall it has been an unproductive week.
 
School ended this week without much fuss. The holidays start next week and it will be a tiring one. From now on it is all about the exam. The first week, I have a study camp and then just holiday classes on the rest of the holidays. I plan to spend as much of my time possible at the library.
 
 
On to specific subjects now
 
Biology: The sac was brutal there was no other way of describing it. Nothing was what I studied. I felt like giving up in the sac. I answered all the questions through bullshitting. It was the worst Sac of the year.
 
Chemistry: We got our results back for both sacs. The practical was my highest ever sac mark for the year. I am glad to have ended chemistry on a good note and have not failed any sacs.
 
English: The sac went alright. It wasn’t too difficult though more time for editing and reading over my work would have been nice.
 
 
I hope everyone has a good week!
 
 
 

[PhoenixxFire]

This week has been a bit rough for me. I have lost all my motivation. I felt lost. I didn’t know how to study and what to study for. No matter how many times I kept reading, the words wouldn’t get to my brain. I’ve sunk back into my old habits like not eating. Extreme procrastination. Losing my concentration and being unable to focus. Overall it has been an unproductive week.

Hey
Just wanted to say that not eating definitely isn't going to be helping your concentration. Try and have a set time when you stop what you're doing and go eat - It'll also give you a chance to have a break for a bit. If you just end up skipping meals to keep studying then you'll always feel like you're trying to catch up if that makes sense. Instead of just constantly trying to get it all done, separate your study into blocks and just do what you can in each one and then start fresh in the next one. You're human - You've got to have breaks sometimes, and having breaks to eat is definitely important.

[Maya24]

Hey
Just wanted to say that not eating definitely isn't going to be helping your concentration. Try and have a set time when you stop what you're doing and go eat - It'll also give you a chance to have a break for a bit. If you just end up skipping meals to keep studying then you'll always feel like you're trying to catch up if that makes sense. Instead of just constantly trying to get it all done, separate your study into blocks and just do what you can in each one and then start fresh in the next one. You're human - You've got to have breaks sometimes, and having breaks to eat is definitely important.

Thank you for the advice.

[Maya24]

The past 2 weeks have been a mix of up and downs. I got rejected from a job interview  I've had several mental breakdowns. Thankfully I was able to get through them thanks to ehead space and this motivational speech.
https://www.reddit.com/r/getdisciplined/comments/1q96b5/i_just_dont_care_about_myself/
It basically says that each day is valuable and we should do something to achieve our goal even if its writing one sentence. This speech helped me study the next 4 hours consecutively and I got all my notes done for biology.

The first exam is in like 23 days and I wish I could say I'm prepared but I'm not. Currently, for English, it's like I've forgotten how to write a language analysis. Language Analysis used to be my favourite but now I’m struggling with it. I’m glad creative is not on the exam even though I enjoy writing, I normally don’t do well. So far I have only written approximately 3 essays for section 1 2 for section 1 and only 2 for section 3. I feel like I should have written a lot more but I’m relying on my sac preparations to help me. The good news is that I have become more confident with Medea, so now I’m going to spend more time on language Analysis.

So far I have done 8 practice exams for biology. That should mean I should feel more confident but I don’t. My marks have not been that great either. Biology has been my best subject this year so I hope I do better. I feel like I know the content but I haven’t memorised and fully revised each section. At this point, it seems like everyone is just doing trials, but I think it’s time to step back and just relearn the content again.

Chemistry is not going so well. I struggle to complete a practice exam in timed condition. I also have trouble doing calculations. I feel like I struggle to fully understand the concepts below.  It made me rethink my career choice of becoming a pharmaceutical scientist as that has a lot of chemistry involved.


There are 8 official days of school left and I’m only going 3 them. This time period is mainly for trials.  Currently, all my focus is on my exams. Even if my days haven’t been fully productive I still do something.

I know this period is tough for a lot of us. This is our final stretch. Keep pushing and keep going. Also don’t be afraid of using resources to get help.  Put your mental health first.

Good luck and I hope everyone has a good week.

[Bri MT]

It's completely normal to feel unprepared and like you should be more ready at this time of year. I'm glad you've been able to seek support for your wellbeing and hope that this is something you continue to protect as exams drawer nearer. Good luck with your revision, and try not to read too much into scores atm

[Maya24]

It's completely normal to feel unprepared and like you should be more ready at this time of year. I'm glad you've been able to seek support for your wellbeing and hope that this is something you continue to protect as exams drawer nearer. Good luck with your revision, and try not to read too much into scores atm

Thank you