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March 29, 2024, 10:15:47 pm

Author Topic: The VCE journey of a hums student  (Read 30466 times)

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sarangiya

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Re: The VCE journey of a hums student
« Reply #60 on: August 20, 2018, 10:48:11 pm »
+1
I’m starting to think that methods will be my bottom subject. If I can’t even get an average ranking at a school ranked ~150 in the state, how will I get a 40?
Same same same. I think this all the time about pretty much all of my subjects. My school is also ranked within 5 places of the 150th according to BetterEducation. But what I wanted to tell you is to not worry about it. It's a downer knowing that some kids can go to particular schools and almost be guaranteed great scores. But the problem is that it isn't always true.
I'll share a personal anecdote. One of the schools in my area is one of the top in the state. Everyone thinks that if you go there you're virtually guaranteed a great ATAR, and frankly they're probably not wrong. But they almost never do well in Japanese. I barely ever see any raw over-40s. As a comparison, our school gets some raw 40s and some more get scaled 40+. Just because there are 'superior' schools doesn't mean they are better in every way. Your school might do particularly well in maths. Have you checked previous records of study scores?

In any case, I know it's hard, but try not to get bogged down in it. You never know what might happen. Just give it your all and hopefully all will be well.
I digress: much sympathies for methods... I can really relate!! Have a great week :)
Sometimes you make choices, and sometimes choices make you.

♡ Subjects ♡
2015: Japanese SL [42]
2016: Psychology [43] Philosophy [36] Japanese SL [50] [Premier's Award]
2017: UMEP Further Advanced Japanese [4.5]
2018: Methods [24] English Language [41] Chemistry [31] Psychology [41] Cert III in Allied Health Assistance [4.3]
ATAR: 97.45
2019-2024: Bachelor of Medical Science/Doctor of Medicine @ UNSW

Sarangiya's 사랑하는 VCE Journal
Is Repeating a VCE Subject Worth It?

hums_student

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Re: The VCE journey of a hums student
« Reply #61 on: September 03, 2018, 10:45:01 pm »
+10
Update #12: 03/09/2018

59 days till November.

Damn, September already! I was talking to a year 11 the other day, who was marvelling at how close I am to graduation. Weirdly (and worryingly) enough, I’m still yet to feel as if I’m anything close to the end of my VCE journey. I’ve got 65 days till my first exam, which feels like ages away, and hence I’m still yet to fix my procrastination issue.

Subject Updates

Lit: Guess who just got absolutely roasted on his Literature SAC: me, in case that wasn't obvious enough.
Quote from: my idealistic thoughts of 2 weeks ago
I think I did well. Hope it’s enough to get me back to rank 1.
And here’s the harsh reality

Man, if only I knew that beforehand, I wouldn’t have bothered using the word ’ephemerality’ in my essay.
Note how he used ‘refrain from’ when ‘avoid’ would’ve been sufficient. Double standards???
This was my worst SAC for lit this year. Still A, but right on the border of B+. Needless to say, I didn't improve my rankings. In fact, I slipped.

Methods: LAST. METHODS. SAC. DONE. No doubt I’ll get another B but hey - AT LEAST IT’S OVER!!
I got a SS prediction from my teacher – 30 to 33. Not exactly what I hoped for, but my expectations are gradually lowering with each passing day.

Chem: We got back our SAC on org chem right after my last update, though I couldn’t be bothered making another post so I left it till now. I JUST missed out on A+, having lost 6.5 marks in total. I was pretty pissed at myself, considering 5 of those were due to sheer stupidity of not doing the BACK PAGE.
Last chem SAC is coming up next week. I’ve been spending far more time studying for it than certified health practitioners would probably recommend me to, but I’m desperately hoping for an A+.

History: Not going ideal. We are now more than 3 weeks behind schedule. This is extremely bad news as the 3 key figures all fall at the END of the period, meaning we won’t have time to cover them.
reading update
Stayed up till 3:30am to finish Rubicon. It was totally worth it. Who needs a healthy sleep cycle anyway ;D
a mind boggling history problem we were debating over in class
Just for funsies - not related to my VCE journal whatsoever but I just want to share it with people:

Hannibal Barca is universally recognised one of the greatest military generals of all time alongside figures like Alexander the Great. In the 16 years he spent in Rome he never lost a single battle. He was eventually defeated by Scipio Africanus, a Roman general most people don’t even know.

Question: Who was the greater commander - Hannibal or Scipio?

Sincerely hoping that VCAA examiners aren’t reading this and thinking ‘Hmm, nice essay topic!

Global: ARGHHH! *deep breath* ok This subject is currently in a bigger mess than the Liberal Party was in last week. First, our teacher was away AGAIN so now we’re probably about half a term behind. Then to make matters worse, we got audited by VCAA, meaning instead of a ‘normal’ SAC we’ll be getting some wacky assignment that has nothing to do with the final exam! And to think our class was just starting to feel more optimistic about this subject! Raw 20 here I come!
On a more positive note, we got our SAC back, and my result really exceeded my expectations. It was my best score in global this year, and I guess this proves that the *teacher swap* worked out.

Other news
I am now officially a financial burden on the hardworking taxpayers of Australian society.
So I quit my part time job, which was a music school that I’ve worked at since year 10 work experience. I really liked the place (man it’s weird to use past tense), my job was mainly helping kids out during practice and band rehearsals, and I’ve really formed a connection with the staff and students there. My manager told me to come back after exams, and I would love to. However now that I have a clear idea of what I want to do after school – which is unrelated to music – I’m hesitant to accept the offer.
I just hope that I do get into arts because if I failed then my plan would’ve hilariously backfired.

Hope everyone has an enjoyable week :)
2019-21: Bachelor of Arts (Politics & Int'l Relations / Economics)

DogBlackTheBlackDog

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Re: The VCE journey of a hums student
« Reply #62 on: September 05, 2018, 04:56:58 pm »
+1
a mind boggling history problem we were debating over in class

Hannibal Barca is universally recognised one of the greatest military generals of all time alongside figures like Alexander the Great. In the 16 years he spent in Rome he never lost a single battle. He was eventually defeated by Scipio Africanus, a Roman general most people don’t even know.

Question: Who was the greater commander - Hannibal or Scipio?

Scipio africanus all the way!! Without him carthage would’ve conquered rome.

Also how come I dont remember having that discussion in class?

Quote
Sincerely hoping that VCAA examiners aren’t reading this and thinking ‘Hmm, nice essay topic!
why would you give them ideas!
2018 - Ancient History [36], Auslan [28]
2019 - English [37], Further [45], Food Studies [41], Chemistry [32], Physical Education [40]

2020 - Bachelor of Nutrition Science (scholars program) @ Monash

hums_student

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Re: The VCE journey of a hums student
« Reply #63 on: September 14, 2018, 07:32:14 pm »
+10
Update #13: 14/09/2018

48 days till November.

So, my final term of high school is done. 66 days till freedom. Damn. I can’t believe it. Honestly. I can’t. In less than 4 months I’ll have to move out and be independent. I don’t know how I feel about this – kind of nervous, kind of excited. Definitely clueless.

Subject Updates
Literature
Last SAC done! Hoping for an A+, predicting an A.

In the holidays I’m going to a lecture on Gogol and Russian literature. It’s not specifically made for VCE, but I can’t find any other resources for it. Maybe choosing Gogol was a mistake, but now that I’ve made the choice, I’ve got to commit to it.
Methods
Get ready for this guys…
I, Lsjnzy13, the hums student who’s actually mentally retarded at maths, just got his very first A in methods!!
Ok, now that we’ve got the good news out of the way, the bad news:
The average for the SAC was a low A+.

Let us continue on on a rather awkward note
Chem
I was hoping to finish the year off strong and get an A+ in my final chem SAC. Long story short, I didn’t. I got a B.

My chem average is now back to B+, and the only way left for me to turn that around is to smash it out on the exam.

From all the SACs and practice exams I’ve done (one and a half lol), I can tell my worst area by a mile is calculations (why am I not surprised it’s the maths-related area). Like seriously, for my last chem SAC, I left an entire calculations question (7 marks!) blank because I couldn’t even calculate the mole right, and we learnt that all the way back in year 10 transition!
History
Last SAC done!

Reading Update
I’m putting a pause on books – and am now instead reading past high scoring essays, which is a pain, may I add, but sadly necessary.
I swear, the more I read, the more talentless I feel.
Global Politics
Our last SAC has been postponed to the holidays (yeah I know, our school messed up). The SAC is split into two - a debate and a written SAC. We’ve already done the written one, but the debate will be on Tuesday.
In four days, I would be able to finally say that I won’t have to do another SAC for the rest of my life.

Our debate is on Keynesian vs. Austrian economics, and this week our teacher went around with a survey on who leans more towards which side. I put down Austrian, so she gave me Keynes lol ;D.

Most people got the opposite to what they wanted, and to be honest I think that’s a really good idea – to force us to step out of our own little box and think on the other side of politics, so that we can understand the whole story better.
Next term
Week 1 - trial exams (they were supposed to be this week but most 3/4 classes still haven't finished the content).
Week 2 - final classes + revision..
Week 3 - muck up day (Thursday), farewell day (Friday)

I can’t believe how fast time is flying!

Final Music Captain duty
As the school year’s coming to an end we’ve started the hunt for next year’s domain and school captains. Unlike school captains, which are elected by a student vote, the domain captains (music, sport and debating) are decided by teachers and current domain captains.

Here’s the fun part – I get to look at everyone’s applications and decide who to shortlist. I also get to sit on the interview panel along with the head of our music department and interrogate interview students. I don’t get to make the final decision, but I’m cool with that - I’m 100% done with responsibilities for the year!

VTAC Preferences
So I was hit with the realisation that while I love music, I would not want to do it at uni. How can it lead me anywhere except unemployment? Also, if I really wanted another music qualification, then I’d rather get an LMus than a BMus.

I’m now leaning towards Fine Arts and teaching. I’ve never had the guts to fully consider Fine Arts, but after 4 years of productions, I realised that I adore the stage. I love the adrenaline of each performance, and honestly would love it as a career, however ‘unpractical’ and far-fetched it may seem. Also, I reckon it wouldn’t be that hard finding a job in theatre, as guys are heavily underrepresented in this stereotypically ‘female’ industry.

As for teaching, I’ve never considered UoM before, however my teachers encouraged me to put it as my top preference, as it would be a postgrad degree and I’m not obligated to continue with it after my first 3 years if I do change my mind.

The problem? My top preference now requires a 95 ATAR, unlike the previous 85. Pressure’s on!!
Preferences:
1. Melbourne – Arts / Teaching (postgrad pathway)
2. Melbourne – Arts
3. Monash – Arts + Education (Secondary)
4. Monash – Arts + Science
5. Melbourne – Fine Arts (Music Theatre)
6. Melbourne – Fine Arts (Theatre)
7. Melbourne – Fine Arts (Dance)
8. ACU – Arts (Humanities) + Teaching
Just for the lols: my sister’s preferences
Proof that not all twins are alike
1. Melbourne – Science Chancellor’s Scholars
2. Melbourne – Commerce Chancellor’s Scholars
3. Melbourne – Commerce / Engineering (postgrad pathway)
4. Melbourne – Science / Engineering (postgrad pathway)
5. Monash – Commerce + Science
6. Monash – Engineering (Honours) + Science
7. Melbourne – Commerce
8. Melbourne – Science.

Post-VCE Plans
I can’t put this off forever.
First item on the list - travel.
When? 6th – 15th December, 2018.
Who with? Ancient History class, plus teacher.
Destination? IRAQ!!!
The trip’s been thoroughly planned out! The year 12 sector of our history class, along with our teacher, will be travelling to Iraq, the present day site of ancient Mesopotamia, in December. It took a lot of convincing for the parentals to agree, but they eventually did, so now I’LL BE OFF TO IRAQ!
Why Iraq?
Several reasons. One, it’s the cradle of civilisation and has a longer recorded history than any other country on this planet. Two, we studied Mesopotamia for 1/2, so we actually know about the history. Three, due to present-day conflicts, a lot of ancient Mesopotamian ruins are being destroyed. My history teacher, an avid traveller, has been to Iraq multiple times and each time there’s less and less to see. Hence, we want to see as much as we can before any more is gone forever.
You know what this means? I’ll be finding out my ATAR there.

Next - finding somewhere to live.
My parents are moving back to Germany in January 2019 to enjoy retirement. Luckily, a couple of mates at school are also planning on moving out, so we’ll probably either get an apartment together, or crash someone’s place. No concrete plans yet, but hopefully we’ll have everything sorted out by December. My sister might be joining us, if she’s keen on sharing a space with guys that shower twice a week lol.

Finally - figure out what I’m gonna do with my life, because I am clueless.

The light at the end of the tunnel is finally approaching! I just hope it’s not an oncoming train.

Enjoy your holidays everyone! ;D ;D
2019-21: Bachelor of Arts (Politics & Int'l Relations / Economics)

DogBlackTheBlackDog

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Re: The VCE journey of a hums student
« Reply #64 on: September 17, 2018, 04:20:20 pm »
+5
Have fun in Iraq mate! If yr12 wasn’t a thing I would’ve totally joined you guys. And have fun finding out your atar there haha!

I see that you haven’t mentioned it, so I hope you don’t mind if I do, but congrats on getting the award for ancient! Looking forward to seeing you on stage when we get back! You deserved it, I don’t think anyone in our class worked harder than you, especially with all those ridiculous number of books you read!

btw, thanks for all the notes and summaries you’ve supplied me this year.  really kept me from failing lol!

Have a good break!
2018 - Ancient History [36], Auslan [28]
2019 - English [37], Further [45], Food Studies [41], Chemistry [32], Physical Education [40]

2020 - Bachelor of Nutrition Science (scholars program) @ Monash

sarangiya

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Re: The VCE journey of a hums student
« Reply #65 on: September 20, 2018, 11:32:55 am »
+2
Wow Iraq sounds great! As you say, it has such a rich history and the current political environment is certainly very interesting. I think it would become a very meaningful and memorable experience. Safe travels for when you go and enjoy it!!

Also I totally understand what you mean about accommodation...! Living so far away from your parents might be difficult. I might have to move interstate but I suppose we're still in the same country. I suppose we all have to take a big step into independence and adulthood soon, huh! Best of luck to you (and your sister - poor thing lol).

Best of luck!!
Sometimes you make choices, and sometimes choices make you.

♡ Subjects ♡
2015: Japanese SL [42]
2016: Psychology [43] Philosophy [36] Japanese SL [50] [Premier's Award]
2017: UMEP Further Advanced Japanese [4.5]
2018: Methods [24] English Language [41] Chemistry [31] Psychology [41] Cert III in Allied Health Assistance [4.3]
ATAR: 97.45
2019-2024: Bachelor of Medical Science/Doctor of Medicine @ UNSW

Sarangiya's 사랑하는 VCE Journal
Is Repeating a VCE Subject Worth It?

hums_student

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Re: The VCE journey of a hums student
« Reply #66 on: October 01, 2018, 04:55:08 pm »
+7
Update #14: 01/10/2018

Exactly ONE MONTH till November.
37 days till my first exam!


Hope everyone’s enjoying the break! For me it’s been seriously hectic as aside from practice exams, I also have dance rehearsal nearly every. single. day. It’s been productive overall, which is nice.

Subject Updates

Literature: No news regarding our final SAC scores. Looks like we’ll have to wait till term 4. Really hope I can get an A+ for this, to make up for my horrific score from the last SAC.
Practice Exams
I have done 4 practice exams in the holidays so far, 3 of which were under timed conditions. My most important discovery was that I simply write way too slow. There’s so much I want to write about, but so little time for me to put everything down on paper.

I want to blame my teacher for this, but I guess I should've seen it coming. For our SACs we always get a 30 minute planning period, plus another hour and 45 minutes to write one essay. Meanwhile for the exam we only get 15 minutes reading time (no planning), and two hours to write two essays. I went from writing up to 8 pages for SACs to 2 pages for exams. Also, I keep getting writer's block for Section A, which doesn't help.
Lecture
I also went to a lecture on Russian literature and 90% of it was on Gogol (how ironic…). It was totally worth the money, even though it wasn’t VCE-specific. Afterwards I may or may not have spammed all the presenters’ emails with questions, and have gotten some pretty helpful replies so far, including one lady who sent me two PDFs called - I kid you not - The Sexual Labyrinth of Nikolai Gogol and a Goose, a Horse, and a Nose - Exploring Gogolian Phallic Symbols.

I will be having a LOT of fun reading these. ;D

Methods: URGH… is all I have to say on this subject.
Practice Exams
I attempted the VCAA 2015 exam under timed conditions. Exam 1 was okay but I got absolutely roasted on exam 2. I used the ““proven method”” of doing short answer first and leaving MC to last, but the result was that I completely ran out of time for MC and guessed ‘C’ for 19 out of 20 questions.

Following that I entered all my SAC scores, plus my exam scores into a study score calculator, and got a solid 28~31 raw.

To quote my sister, “Why did [Lsjnzy] get all the retarded genes.”

I’ve done more practice exams for methods than any other subject, but I’m not seeing ANY improvement. At this point, I wonder if it's best for me to just be strategic and not bother with methods at all, instead investing time into other subjects I actually have a chance to score well in.

Chem: Chem actually ended up being better than I thought. Our last SAC got remarked and my B went up to an A!
HALLELUJAH MY STUDY SCORE IS SAVED!!
Now that the good news is out of the way…
Practice Exams
I did a practice paper, scored a 33%, then realised that I’ve completely forgotten everything from terms 1, 2, and 3.
Galvanic cell? What is that? Sounds familiar…

I did another one this morning, except I did it open book and without a timer. Needless to say, this one ended up much better. Now I just have to figure out a way to cram everything in the textbook into my brain.

History: I’ve started typing up all my notes because reading my own handwriting gives me headaches. I've also started rereading all my books from unit 3, including Herodotus, Thucydides, Kagan, all that juicy stuff, except this time I'm also taking notes as I read WHY DIDN'T I DO THIS THE FIRST TIME ARGH!.
Practice Exams
I have done 7 complete practice exams for history so far during the holidays, all timed, and my hand is positively dead.

I’m experiencing the same problem for history as lit, which is that I write way too slow and simply cannot finish the exam in the 2 hours given. The first practice exam ended with me leaving AN ENTIRE 20-MARK ESSAY blank. Luckily I'm slowly starting to get the hang of it. On the other hand, I've written so many essays to the point where every single essay I write sound exactly the same now.

Global: Woohoo! Final SAC done! I’LL NEVER HAVE TO DO ANOTHER SAC FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE!

Our debate went exceptionally well. It was by far the best SAC of the whole year. I don’t care if I completely bombed it but man I loved every. single. minute. of it. The debate wasn’t formal, and after the SAC our teacher just let us go off on tangents and argue for a solid 15 minutes. It felt good to just be able to banter with our classmates one last time before all of us get plunged into hell.

I’m so thankful SACs ended on a positive note. Who knew it would be global as well. Oh the irony.

As expected, I got a B on the written SAC. I’m slightly disappointed, as I feel like if only I put more effort into revision, I could’ve done better.
Practice Exams
Didn’t do one for global, and I’m not planning on doing one in the holidays.

My plan (which is horrible, may I add, and will definitely NOT work in my favour) is to not do any global work at all until after the chem exam, as six whole days is (hopefully) enough for me to cram all that content in my brain. In other words, I’m just going to pretend that I only do four subjects for the time being, as five is way too much for me to handle.

Other news
GUESS WHO CAN APPLY FOR HECS NOW!!!!
So as of last Monday evening, I am officially an Australian citizen!

So now that I can finally call myself an Aussie and speak Bogan without cultural appropriating, I’ve been spending the past few days contacting VTAC because on my VTAC application it still says German citizenship. I don’t know how long it’ll take before it changes around.

On another note, I think my dad is finally ready to disown me. (Germany doesn’t normally allow for dual-citizenships so I had to also officially ““abandon my heritage”” lol).

I finally qualify for HECS in university!

Is it true that HECS is just delayed poverty? lol
Dance Rehearsals
Yeah, I know I know… 37 days till exams and I’m still talking about stupid irrelevant stuff.

So, some of the year 12s are doing a medley of The Greatest Showman first week back. For most of us it’ll be our last performance at school EVER so we have to get everything perfect. We have rehearsals nearly every single day, 3-4 hours each. I absolutely love it and it’s the only way for me to feel not as overwhelmed for my upcoming exams.

At the same time, I feel conflicted. During every rehearsal there’s always a voice at the back of my mind saying “If you stayed home you could have written two essays by now”, or “That's a chem exam you could've done if you didn't go”.

AAARRRRRRGGGHHHHHHHHHHH

But all in all, I’m loving the rehearsals. I get ALL the male ballet parts (cos all the other guys are too cool for ballet) so I’m not complaining lol.

That’s it for now, hope everyone is enjoying their final school holiday!!

By the way, thank you AN so much for the MOTM! Glad I can give back to a community that has helped me download so many free notes!
2019-21: Bachelor of Arts (Politics & Int'l Relations / Economics)

Joseph41

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Re: The VCE journey of a hums student
« Reply #67 on: October 01, 2018, 05:22:46 pm »
+3
Congrats on the citizenship! ;D

Re: MOTM, you absolutely deserved it. Some stellar contributions, including this thread!

That reminds me - I must get around to updating the honour board. :D

Oxford comma, Garamond, Avett Brothers, Orla Gartland enthusiast.

hums_student

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Re: The VCE journey of a hums student
« Reply #68 on: October 15, 2018, 03:07:30 pm »
+11
Update #15: 15/10/2018

23 days until methods exam!!!

I didn’t go to school today, not that I was deliberately planning to wag. Thanks to some random pedestrian on the M1 Freeway I was stuck in traffic for 2.5 hours straight until I gave up, got off the bus (which had moved about two stops), and walked home. (I’M SORRY BUT I’M STILL PISSED! I WASTED AN ENTIRE MORNING! I COULD’VE BEEN IN LIT FORCING MY TEACHER TO READ MY ESSAYS GODDAMNIT! BUT NO, I SPENT AN ENTIRE MORNING ON A BLOODY BUS).

No subject updates today, as there’s not much to talk about. We got our SACs back – messed up history and global, but lit and chem far exceeded my expectations. For SAC averages, lit ended up being the highest, followed by history, global, chem, and methods. Isn’t it funny how in term 1 methods was one of my best subjects?
Living up to the ‘hums student’ title…

For trials, I got full marks for history (TOO BAD IT DOESN’T COUNT!). Lit and global follow at 80%, chem - 72%, and finally methods - 78% (exam 1) and… 39% (exam 2).
Indeed, I am still living up to my title.
Yeah I know. I messed up methods. It was the NHT exam, so I guess that’s a pretty good reflection of how I’ll go in the final thing.

For lit my teacher spent the holidays reading Gogol and he’s giving me extra tutoring after school. He is honestly amazing. He’s the type that reduces at least ten students to tears per year, but also cares about making sure you do the absolute best you can. If I ever become a teacher, then that’s who I aspire to be (except maybe not the making students cry bit).
On Saturday, I bought 16 high-scoring essays from a fellow AN user who got a raw 50 in lit in 2016, and I’m currently highlighting like crazy. I just hope it’s not too late to save my study score. Thank you @qwerty54321 for your amazing essays. And for making me suddenly insecure about my own writing ability.

Finally, I thought I’d use this space to share with you guys a piece of holiday homework I did. I had a lot of fun writing it so I hope you guys would also get some joy out of reading it. :)
Background info: In year 10 when we were learning about the Cold War, I wrote this for my teacher:
Lsjnzy’s greatest work of art: HOW TO BAKE A GLORIOUS SOVIET CAKE
My teacher loved it so much he ended up framing it up in his office. Fast forward to 2018, our homework was to write an A4 summary of AOS 2. As I still have the same teacher, I decided to do a throwback:
A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO OVERTHROWING THE GOVERNMENT (contains strong language)
Here’s another one I wrote earlier this year for unit 3. It’s not in the recipe format but I still liked it though. ;D
MAKE ATHENS GREAT AGAIN
This is the stuff I get up to instead of doing proper homework.

Other news
Audition for UoM’s BFA (Music Theatre!)
I’ve qualified for an audition for Fine Arts at UoM, taking place right after exams. I’m feeling really unsure about this. I applied for BFA because I wasn’t confident on whether I could get into Arts, and also because I was unsure about history as a career. Now that I’m set on doing a BA, I don’t want to ‘waste’ time preparing for something else. I mean, I love theatre, but after a read through the audition requirements, which includes two monologues, two songs, and a freaking jazz dance assessment (which I had previously stupidly overlooked), I’m not so sure anymore.

In the meantime, I’ve started looking at monologues within my lit text. My lit teacher suggested Big Daddy’s Mendacity monologue, though the email specifically said that I should choose one delivered by a character close to my own age, and Big Daddy’s 65 lol. ;D

I’ll figure it out in the next couple of weeks… Meanwhile, I’ll try to badger the career counsellor into giving me an ATAR estimate. If it’s safely over 90 then I probably won’t bother auditioning. For now, it’ll serve as a backup plan.
Performance!
Our final performance, The Greatest Showman medley was on Friday, right after trials, and it was a success!… unless you count the part when I was supposed to catch a hat thrown at me from offstage, except either the throw was off or my peripheral vision is slipping, as I completely missed it.

Other than that it went smoothly and I also got to show off some ballet moves. Towards the end a bunch of teachers joined us, including my methods teacher (and part time dancer) and we had a little improv right there on stage (highlight of my life ;D). The performance finished with all the year 12s singing MGMT’s Time to Pretend, a seemingly cheerful song with depressing lyrics about leaving your childhood behind as you become adults, which describes pretty much everyone’s moods at the moment.

Rehearsals aren’t over though. For our final day we’ve got a multicultural flash mob planned, which was SUPPOSED to be a surprise for the younger year levels except the news got out somehow :-/. It’ll still go ahead. The three cultures I’m involved in are Chinese, Indian, and European. For China we’re doing a song and for India we’re doing a Bollywood dance. We’re still figuring out what to do for Europe.

More on that next time!
Muck up day preparations
This, ladies and gents, is the event I’m looking forward to more than anything, possibly even more than graduation. I’ve heard legendary stories of muck up days since year 6, and have witnessed it first hand from year 7 onwards. But this time, I will finally be a part of one!

Sadly, last year’s cohort got a bit too carried away with pranks so this year our principal made this rule that everyone doing ANY activities on muck up day MUST have it approved by a teacher. So far, a number of hilarious pranks have already been rejected, including bringing an alpaca to school and editing our principal’s face onto Pauline Hansen’s body.

Thankfully the pranks my friends and I came up with have all been approved (though one NEARLY didn’t). As I know a certain year 11 from my school also reads this (looking at you Joel ;D), I won’t say what I’m doing yet. Again, more on that next time.

Expect an early update next time~ I’ll be graduating in 5 days!!!

[EDIT] - NOPE! Sorry for my mathematically inept brain. I'm actually graduating next week LOL.
Clearly I cant' do maths.

EDIT - typo
« Last Edit: October 18, 2018, 09:39:10 pm by Lsjnzy13 »
2019-21: Bachelor of Arts (Politics & Int'l Relations / Economics)

hums_student

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Re: The VCE journey of a hums student
« Reply #69 on: October 27, 2018, 09:04:50 am »
+12
Update #16: 27/10/2018

ELEVEN DAYS until methods!!!

So… WE’VE GRADUATED!!!!!!!!!

Boring stuff

Lit: With only 2 weeks to go, I’ve gotten myself a tutor for section B because I seriously need help.
HELLO
Methods: I’m actually slipping. In term 2 I attempted the VCAA 2016 exam and got a ~70%. Two days ago I did it again and got 58!
HELLO
Chem: My scientific calculator (which I’ve had since year 6) has finally died, conveniently 2 weeks before my chem exam.
HELLO
History: I’ve taped quotes to my bathroom door so I can study in the shower. #lifehacks.
HELLO
Global: Still haven’t finished the content, and have classes throughout Swot Vac guess who won’t be there.

ATAR prediction: 89~96. The gigantic range in between is due to the fact that it’s our first year running both lit and history, so there’s no historical data to compare with.
Seeing that I’m above what’s needed for Arts, I’ve emailed back UoM declining the audition offer.
Alea iacta est.

Awards

Awards ceremonies! We had several– one for legitimate academic achievement (the *serious* awards), a ‘joke awards’ ceremony, and also several ironic awards in our individual classes.
I got the academic award for history WOOHOO! My first (and last) academic award., as well as the ‘most likely to be deported in the near future’ award (so soon after my citizenship??? lol).
HELLO
Enjoy the list of my ironic subject awards:
Methods: The Tasmania Jones Award – for the student who never fails to get himself into ridiculous situations.
Chemistry: The Fluorine Award – for the student that always overreact.
Global: The Emmanuel Macron Award – for the fence-sitting centrist who refuses to make up his mind on anything politics.
History: The Mark Antony Award – for the overdramatic and hopeless romantic who will do anything for his girlfriend.
Lit: The Brick Pollitt Award – for the student who will become an alcoholic by his mid-30s.

Our final week

We had our final performances on Wednesday, they went well. Thursday was muck up day (yes I know most schools have muck up day last. My school’s weird). My friends and I dressed up as Mormon missionaries. (I even rode my bike to school instead of catching my normal bus. That’s how dedicated I was).
Some of our “practical jokes” involved
HELLO
list of possible pranks for future students
- a sign saying ‘FREE SAUSAGE SIZZLE ON THE OVAL!’ (there was no sausage sizzle).
- Interrupting classes with “Do you have a moment to talk about our Lord and Saviour?”.
- Our sax-playing friend barging into random classrooms playing ‘Careless Whisper”
- 100 x Mousetraps in the main school corridor. (This was the one my school nearly didn’t allow us to do.)
Friday was our last day. We had our final assembly, where all the captains made a speech before passing our badges to the 2019 captains (just a formal thing. We got them back later and the year 11s got new ones). During the sports captain’s speech, she joked about how our Class of ‘18 Facebook page would be inactive in two months and before you know it people were crying.

Finally, we had the guard of honour, where all the year 12s left the school with 7s to 11s on either side ceremoniously seeing us off. I managed to go through the whole thing with a dry poker face, but it was hard.
After I got home I saw a text from a classmate - we’ve been in the same class for 4.5 years, but never really talked. The text was long and it ended with “I just wish we could’ve gotten to know each other more. Seeing that it’s unlikely our paths will ever cross again, I just want to wish you all the best for the future.” That was when it finally dawned on me, that high school is over. Man, there are so many people who I’ve never talked to, and now I’ll probably never see them again.

So… That was my final week of high school. After eleven years, it’s all coming to an end. Eleven years of parent teacher interviews, school reports, roll-calls, Kahoots, faking medical notes, beep tests, scrambling for lockers, 7:53am buses… Eleven years of school is over. In eleven days I would walk into my first exam. In another eleven days I would be free.

A look back at my time in high school

We got these ‘reflection’ questions at school and I thought I’d share some below.
I’m not used to the past tense in all these questions.
HELLO
Some *deep* reflections
What was your greatest accomplishment in high school?
Winning the Class Clown sash at year 12 formal. ;D
Okay. Serious answer - being music captain.
I was never really into leadership positions (responsibility scares me), and never even did stuff like SRC. I applied for music captain because I lost a bet, and unexpectedly ended up getting it.

What was your most memorable event in high school?
2017 musical production - We Will Rock You.
This was the first time I was casted as lead, and it wasn’t just any lead – he was a freaking reincarnation of FREDDIE MERCURY. I got to sing his vocals for so many Queen songs, including Bohemian Rhapsody, We are the Champions, I Want to Break Free, and of course, We Will Rock You, and that was by far the most amazing experience of my life.
Our 2018 musical was cool as well, and playing the lead villain was a whole new experience. It doesn’t compare with channelling Freddie Mercury though.
Year 12 formal was also quite a memorable experience.

What was your favourite / least favourite extracurricular activity?
Favourite(s): Jazz band and cross country.
Whenever I tell people I do cross country they say “What? You can do sport? But you’re a theatre kid!”
Jazz band is just awesome. ‘nuff said.
Least favourite: Stage crew.
I did this in year 8, as I came to the school midway through and the musical cast has already been decided. This was torture.

What was one class you’ve always looked forward to / dreaded going to?
Looked forward to: Before VCE – music, PE (prac). Now – history.
Dreaded: Before VCE – Japanese, PE (theory). Now – global.

What was your most embarrassing moment?
Year 11 - Our drama teacher was leaving and on his last day, a bunch of us theatre kids did a re-enactment of the ‘O Captain, My Captain’ scene from Dead Poets Society, except the desk I was standing on turned out to be a prop that was NOT designed to hold weight. You can probably imagine what happened next.

What’s your funniest story about a teacher?
I think I’ve talked about this on AN before.
During a maths test in year 8 our supervisor was a sub, and being the mathematically challenged individual I was, I copied off my sister. Our sub saw, and dragged both of us out, but instead of a lecture on cheating, she lectured us on DATING. Needless to say, it was super awkward.
She later became a full time teacher at our school. Fast forward to 2018 and guess who’s my methods teacher??
We’re cool now lol. She was the teacher I had a ballet duet with during our Greatest Showman performance last week.
She still hates me for being intellectually inept though.

Do you have any regrets about high school?
Yes. Of course. I regret taking year 11 as a joke and not putting in any effort at all.
Another regret is quitting extracurricular activities in year 12 (Debating + Model UN). Looking back, they really didn’t take up that much time.
I also wish I talked to a lot more people. It’s just dawning on me that the people I’ve been seeing 5 days a week for the past 4.5 years are all going our separate ways and I’ll never see them again.

If you could give one advice to the younger year levels, what would it be?
Participate in as many extra-curricular activities as you can, whether it be sport, performing/visual arts, public speaking etc.
Also, try out for leadership positions. They actually aren’t that daunting, speaking from personal experience as someone who has never undertaken any leadership positions until this year. They really help you with time management, problem-solving and communication skills. You also get some sick as privileges (like using the staff bathroom ;D) Super rewarding. Even if you don’t get the position, just trying out is better than not doing anything at all.

All the best to the English students on Wednesday! Let the final countdown begin!

By the way, hope you guys like my newly updated personal text. It accurately describes how I’m feeling at the moment.
« Last Edit: October 28, 2018, 09:31:56 am by Lsjnzy13 »
2019-21: Bachelor of Arts (Politics & Int'l Relations / Economics)

Joseph41

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Re: The VCE journey of a hums student
« Reply #70 on: October 27, 2018, 10:47:35 am »
+3
^Congrats on your awards! Haha. What happened to Tasmania Jones?

Btw, I really like those questions you answered. Might have to steal something similar for a new reflection thread! ;D

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hums_student

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Re: The VCE journey of a hums student
« Reply #71 on: October 27, 2018, 05:16:07 pm »
+2
^Congrats on your awards! Haha. What happened to Tasmania Jones?

Btw, I really like those questions you answered. Might have to steal something similar for a new reflection thread! ;D
.
Thanks Nick! Not too sure what happened to Tasmania Jones... I think he retired from VCAA after the 2015 methods exam ;D ;D

OOoooh a reflection thread! It's still so weird to think that we're at that time of the year already!
2019-21: Bachelor of Arts (Politics & Int'l Relations / Economics)

Joseph41

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Re: The VCE journey of a hums student
« Reply #72 on: October 27, 2018, 05:17:10 pm »
+1
.
Thanks Nick! Not too sure what happened to Tasmania Jones... I think he retired from VCAA after the 2015 methods exam ;D ;D

OOoooh a reflection thread! It's still so weird to think that we're at that time of the year already!

Class of 2016 must have been super confused about the lack of TJ haha.

Oxford comma, Garamond, Avett Brothers, Orla Gartland enthusiast.

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Re: The VCE journey of a hums student
« Reply #73 on: October 27, 2018, 05:28:38 pm »
+1
Our sax-playing friend barging into random classrooms playing ‘Careless Whisper”
Oh boy! You managed that?

This was literally the only prank that I really wanted to do, but we had no-one who played the sax... :'(
Carpe Vinum

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hums_student

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Re: The VCE journey of a hums student
« Reply #74 on: November 05, 2018, 07:32:02 pm »
+9
Update #17: 5/11/2018

TWO. DAYS. UNTIL. METHODS!

HHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLPPPPPPPPPPP
Most people I know are already done with their exams, you lucky English + bio + further + psych people. Meanwhile, mine are about to start.

I’d do anything - anything - to be able to travel to the future and grab the Examiner’s Reports for all of my subjects. I feel that my entire future depends on the next three weeks and if I mess up I’ll spend the rest of my life leeching off of Centrelink.

I'll try to keep this update short.

Plan of attack for each exam

Methods: For tech free, I'll be working on the probability/statistics questions first (literally the only topics I can understand), then I'll (attempt to) work through the rest of the booklet in order.
As for tech active, I'll be doing short answer first, followed by multiple choice. If I do run out of time - which is highly likely - at least I can guess a couple.

History: Unless I get some really wacky question for Greece, I'll just work through the booklet in order. My plan is to spend no more than 26 minutes for each section, that way I'll have roughly ~15 minutes at the end to check through all my responses.

Lit: For lit I'll be starting with section B - close passage analysis, which is my stronger area. The plan is to spend 55 minutes on this essay, then another 55 minutes on section A, leaving myself with 10 minutes to check at the end.

Chem: Like methods, I'll be doing short answer first, followed by multiple choice. No doubt we'll also get two ridiculous questions - one for experimental design and one similar to that absurd Mars question from 2017. I'll be leaving these to last.

Global: Wait… there’s an exam?? :o

The subjects I’m worried about the most are lit and history. They’re my best SACs, but VCAA might just moderate them down into oblivion. I’m also still incredibly pissed that I lost my rank 1 for lit, just due to a freaking TRIAL exam.

Lit is my biggest worry. For Section A we only get one prompt – so we don’t even get a choice! If the prompt contains some fancy word that I don’t know the meaning to, then I’m legitimately screwed. This has happened to students before, who knows, maybe this year it’ll be me.

Predictions on exam topics
Come back to this post in 2 weeks to see how wrong I've been about everything.
.
Lit
SECTION A – Mendacity / entrapment / family / flaw of character / American Dream (?)

SECTION B – The Nose / The Overcoat / Nevsky Prospekt / Shponka / Diary of a Madman
Overcoat and Diary of a Madman definitely won't appear together. I'm 100% sure that The Nose will be on this year's exam though.
The dream combo would be Nose + Overcoat + Nevsky Prospekt.
If I get an Ukrainian story, I’ll actually shoot myself.
History
GREECE Source Analysis – Predicting either Sparta, or the end of tyranny in Athens. Hopefully it’s NOT Sparta, though my teacher seems pretty confident that it is.

GREECE Essay – I’m predicting that the key figure essay would be on Alcibiades, however I think EVERYONE in the state is expecting Alcibiades so VCAA might just throw a curveball. The other essay will hopefully be on their political systems.

ROME Source Analysis – Punic Wars. I’m almost 100% certain. Not sure exactly which one though.

ROME Essay – Like Greece, EVERYONE is expecting Julius Caesar for this year’s key figure. I’m hoping for Caesar too. VCAA better not let me down.

Well, gotta go and memorise some quotes now. My predictions are probably miles off anyway.

Best of luck everyone!! Hope you've all been acing those pesky exams ;D

The next time I update my exams would be done! Even just thinking about it feels mildly liberating.
2019-21: Bachelor of Arts (Politics & Int'l Relations / Economics)