Avatar: The Last Schoolbender - Tako Edition

[TakoYee]

本1.1|Foundations - "That's Rough Buddy..."

"Long ago, the Tako Nations lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the VCAA nation attacked. Only the Avatar, master of all six subjects, could stop them, but when the world needed her most, she vanished. (6)00 years passed and I discovered the new Avatar, a schoolbender named Tako and although she wants to achieve her best, she has a lot to learn before she's ready to push further. But I believe Tako can save her ATAR"

In light of all the results coming out, I figured that this'd be a good time to start fresh and most importantly, reflect. I started this journal because I wanted something to look back on. Maybe even shed some light upon what different paths people can take to a similar goal. I'd like to improve upon what I've learned in 2019 and apply it to the year ahead.

 
In 2019 I completed the following subjects:
Literature 3/4 - I  loved Literature and its content. My only regret in this subject is probably not doing "enough" practice pieces. I say "enough" because I understand that it isn't always about quantity but rather quality. However, I believe had I done more specific and meaningful practice particularly in areas of weakness, I may have improved even more. I couldn't recommend this subject more to someone who enjoys deep and thorough analysis and flexibility. For the curious, I particularly enjoyed Delaney's Taste of Honey but I did my Passage Analysis on Ariel and my Literary Perspectives on Heart of Darkness + Post Colonial Theory.
 
Japanese - I had been doing Japanese since Year 7 and this is what I've learned:
1. You need to have commitment and dedication to learning the actual language as part of the assesments
2. You can learn your grammar patterns but if you don't learn your vocabulary as well..お前はもう死んでいる
3. Consistency! Once upon a time I was Japanese Jesus but once my study routine didn't incorporate Japanese consistently, people who went ham at least once a week got ahead easily
4. Sometimes it's time to let go. I've realised that learning languages at school really isn't for me. Absolute respect to those who can and have pulled through but I've learned that learning languages in school conditions aren't for me. Though I'd love to learn the language one day, alongside French.

Legal Studies - I'm really loving legal studies content and application. Sometimes it can get dry but once you start applying what you've learned onto case studies and having to really thoroughly explain your decision it becomes so rewarding. Something I'd like to improve upon though is to do more practice questions so I can learn how to really gain all those marks.

Biology - Biology's been a subject that I've gotten along really well with. Subjects that require learning information from per say lectures, books and videos then applying them into tests are for some reason I do alright in and bio is one of them. My issue with biology this year was once again answering questions! Unlike previous sacs where memorisation alone could make it, I realised that it's more focused on application to scenarios and linking the concepts together.

History - Everything about the topic of history this year was so interesting and engaging. I've always loved history and discussing it for a whole year with a politically active, hilarious and borderline communist class was one of the highlights of my year. However, I didn't really like or do well with the assessments so I've decided to drop it.
 
General Math - Throughout High School, I'd never really done well with math but this year I decided that I was going to change things. With the help of my tutor and legitimate consistent practice, I was able to reach my target scores. But what I have been most proud of here is that this became proof to myself that I can do this and I'm looking forward to improving more.

In 2020 I'll be doing the following subjects:
English 3/4
Further Math 3/4
Business Management 3/4
Legal Studies 3/4
Biology 3/4

Thanks for reading!

[eemmaa]

Hey! It's great to see another journal, especially one doing fairly similar subjects to me  I look forward to seeing your posts throughout the year!

[TakoYee]

Hey! It's great to see another journal, especially one doing fairly similar subjects to me  I look forward to seeing your posts throughout the year!

Thank you!! If Year 12 gives me the chance, I'll be sure to update through the year. Yea we really got similar subjects How are you feeling with doing bio and legal next year?

[caffinatedloz]

Looking forward to getting to know you more through this journal, both personally and academically! Which of your subjects next year are you most looking forward to?

[TakoYee]

Looking forward to getting to know you more through this journal, both personally and academically! Which of your subjects next year are you most looking forward to?

I'd say I'm both most looking forward to and terrified of English! I love writing and analysis but I haven't done English in a while so I'm not really sure how to get the ball rolling right off the bat there... I'd say I'm hype for Bio and Legal as well because I find them really enjoyable to learn.

One I'm not looking forward to is probs Business Management. It's interesting but I don't have any background in Busman so it's going to be a challenge to figure out my way around the subject and its assessments for the first time ahhh. I'll be the only one there who hasn't done 1/2 as well

[Geoo]

You subjects are quite diverse, as most people generally stick to one niche, like science, history, business, but you have a great range, which is a nice change. It will be interesting to see how you progress throughout the year! Good luck with business studies, it can be tough going into a 3/4 without the 1/2, so I wish you the best.

Do you have any interests outside of school?

-Love the reference by the way, are you excited for the new live action on netflix?

[eemmaa]

Thank you!! If Year 12 gives me the chance, I'll be sure to update through the year. Yea we really got similar subjects How are you feeling with doing bio and legal next year?

I'm pretty nervous to be honest, but I'm also really excited to get my first proper VCE experience! Are you feeling apprehensive for Year 12? What are some of your goals for the year?

[TakoYee]

-Love the reference by the way, are you excited for the new live action on netflix?

I am both terrified and excited for it. The last adaptation/"the film that must not be named" for it wasn't really..ahem..good and did not leave a good impression at all, but who knows maybe there'll actually be a spicy redemption arc for it

[TakoYee]

I'm pretty nervous to be honest, but I'm also really excited to get my first proper VCE experience! Are you feeling apprehensive for Year 12? What are some of your goals for the year?

I think it's wonderful that you're enthusiastic and have taken the initiative in doing a 3/4 subject earlier. It's alright to be nervous but remember you're really well supported here and that if you instill solid belief in your self and your abilities, you too can achieve whatever the hell you want!!

I'm feeling a little nervous too but I've just been trying to remind myself that I can do this. Generally, I'd like to focus on maintaining balance next year. I've really struggled with reminding myself that I deserve some time to myself whilst also remembering that I have goals and I must focus (no more midnight marathons rip) It's also a matter of maintaining balance between commitments, responsibilities, activities and even others so that's my big one. In another post, I'd like to outline my academic and personal goals in more detail but that's the gist of it

[TakoYee]

本2|There is No War in Ba Sing Se..."

Hey everyone! It's been a while since I've been here but as it's right in middle-end of the term, I figured this'd be a good opportunity to reflect upon my the start of Year 12. In all honesty, I'd say it's been a little tough. The academics have been alright, this month I will have:

two legal sacs (2/03 + 27/03)
one business management sac (13/03)
one english sac (11/03)
one further maths sac (20/03)

And I can say that I've been mostly prepared for them but in reality, I feel like I still have so much room for improvement. The main thing I've noticed I've struggled with is that I really need to work on: my time management skills and my actual study method. I think I've become complacent and it's really catching up to me. I'm still struggling a little to balance things and study in the most efficient manner for me but I'll keep trying my best.

Subject wise, I'm actually enjoying the subjects I've chosen a lot! They're mostly interesting and I really like the way they're being taught to me this year. My only issue would be that besides further math, I've chosen more "content-heavy" subjects in that requires a lot information attainment so I also need to work on being able to condense and thoroughly understand the topics quickly to make room for more effective revision. On a more positive note, I've started completing more practice questions for my subjects which was one of my goals from the start so a mini yay!

Despite not doing busman 3/4 I think I've caught up and latched onto the subject quite well and it's really just been a matter of trying to practice answering questions to get the full marks. I'm feeling confident and I'm hoping my results can pull through on Friday. I have my english creative sac tomorrow and possibly a debate tomorrow night so I'm hoping that'll be alright

Year 12 as a whole so far I'd say has been a nice experience. Besides the little personal troubles here and there (at home/friends etc) as usual, it's been nice talking to everyone I can, catching up and supporting each other. I'm surprised but I've started to talk to more people in my school that I wish I did much earlier but I guess realising that this was gonna be my last was the kick I needed to reach out even further than I already have. My teachers have so much support coming out of their ears and I'm really grateful to them too!

TakoYee

[TakoYee]

本3|Foundations - "The Beach.."

Just a small update for today. I hope everyone is coping well in these trying times. These changes have come in so fast that it's become hard for many of us to keep our heads level. I myself haven't been their best but I'm trying alongside everyone else. If anyone needs someone to chill with, I'd be more than happy to help keep the spirits up as much as I can.  It almost seems insensitive to discuss academics and scores while people out there are going through tough times but I suppose that this is a VCE Journal and honestly, I'd hope that someone can come across this and learn from how this whirlwind of a year must've gone for the class of 2020!

In academic news, I got my scores back for Business Management and Legal Studies. Solid 19/20 and 18/20! I was so surprised when I saw these. I never thought that I could pull of those scores especially since I hadn't done Business 3/4. I had put in so much practice into both of these subjects and changed my study method for them as promised and by some miracle it worked. I hope this momentum keeps up through the year but we're not going to be too optimistic just yet. I haven't got my grade for Further Math yet but I reallllly don't think I did well. I was disappointed for a solid while but I will be trying to redeem myself for the Univariate/Bivariate Data SAC

Our school has decided that they will be continuing to run SACS online with the use of zoom, google classroom and google docs. It's going to be really interesting how this plays out logistically and just in general. This hasn't really happened before and I'm both curious and worried and how this'll affect people's performance and in all honesty, more importantly, mental health. I'm already feeling the effects of online schooling and cancellations (such as our school musical) and whilst I am grateful that I can still get an education, I can't help but feel a unmotivated, what more of my friends and the people I care about? But of course, it actually isn’t too bad. The time to work on myself and even my studies is awesome! Just needs time to adjust is all.

I'm in no position to be a figure of anything but please reach out to others if you can! I don't want to be too much of a pessimist and feel so down but I don't want to be an optimist and patronise and say "everything'll be okay" when in these times it's not. It's okay not to be okay and the strength that comes from admitting that and expressing it is unbounded 😊

Will be back soon, I hope to start doing smaller weekly updates after this!
TakoYee
[/size]