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March 28, 2024, 07:04:57 pm

Poll

Which VCE subject would you prefer to do?

English
9 (17.3%)
Maths Methods
16 (30.8%)
Chemistry
13 (25%)
Legal Studies
7 (13.5%)
History Revolutions
7 (13.5%)

Total Members Voted: 50

Author Topic: Bean's Tumultuous Year 12 Journey  (Read 12075 times)

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smallbean

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Re: Bean's Tumultuous Year 12 Journey
« Reply #30 on: June 24, 2019, 11:25:29 pm »
+1
I thought I was the only one from Australia to see their videos!

Me too! I recently found out that some of my classmates are fans of them too. It's so interesting to see how similar the UK education system is to our own VCE system.

As someone who score 96% introverted on the 16personalities test, I totally feel you.

It's so hard to become self-reliant even with exams looming closer and closer but I think sometimes it's necessary to push ourselves out there and talk to others so that they can keep us accountable when we can't. It's scary, definitely, but I think the benefits in the long run far outweighs how intimidating opening up to others is. It's something I've been forcing myself to work on for ages, and I've noticed that once you take the first step things become a lot easier! Don't be afraid to talk to others, though I can totally understand how scary it may seem.

Also, revs and legal seem like fun subjects! Humanities subjects are underrated but they're the best. ;D

I think that opening up to others is perhaps one of the greatest challenges for introverts, but one of the best feelings is to have someone to share our thoughts and concerns with during times of trouble. Thank you so so much for your advice and words of encouragement. I'll definitely take it on board, no matter how scary it seems at first. Revs and Legal are both amazing subjects that I consider 'fun subjects' amongst rigid subjects like Methods and Chem (although STEM subjects will always have a special place in my heart haha). Humanities subjects are definitely the most underrated, especially at my school. They deserve way more recognition I reckon.  ;D
~Class of 2019~
2018: Chinese {SL}

2019: English, Maths Methods, Chemistry, Legal Studies, History Revolutions

2021-2023: Bachelor of Arts @Melb Uni

smallbean

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Re: Bean's Tumultuous Year 12 Journey
« Reply #31 on: July 01, 2019, 11:42:17 am »
+4
1 July 2019
Hey everyone,

I can't believe that it's already July, with the dreaded exams being closer than they appear.

Spoiler
My Exam Timetable
30th October: English
6th November: Methods Exam 1 (morning) & History Revolutions (afternoon)
7th November: Methods Exam 2
12th November: Chemistry (morning) and Legal Studies (afternoon)

Last week was my first week of the school holidays, a (partially) productive one. I've been trying to finish off my holiday homework by the second week of the holidays so that I can use the third week to dedicate wholly to revising for SACs and Unit 3 practice exams. My UCAT is coming up in 8 days and this is probably the most underprepared I've ever felt for something as important as this. I've completed a few practise exams, with no improvement whatsoever.


My 'school holiday' day in the life routine has been looking like this:

-Wake up early (around 8-9am)
-Make breakfast
-Work out (going for a run or cycling uphill)
-Library for most of the day
-Travelling home and doing UCAT preparation
-Sleeping earlier than I'll usually sleep on a school day

As a morning person, I've found this routine to be the most beneficial. I'm not really one to sleep in, as it makes me feel unproductive due to most of my 'working' hours in the morning having already passed. It's almost been impossible for me to get work done at home, especially with the distractions of noise and the tempting allure of my warm bed that just happens to be right next to my study desk. Going to the library has been a tremendous help for me in terms of getting work done, as seeing others hustling makes me want to complete as much work as I can before I have to travel home (the free wifi at the library is also a huge bonus haha).

For English, I've written my oral speech, with my Oral SAC being on the first week of Term 3. It really didn't take me long to write, as it's a topic that I'm rather passionate about and is also quite interesting.

For Chemistry, I had a little 'oh crap' moment at the beginning of last week when I 'attempted' (key word) to complete a Unit 3 practise exam and realised to no avail that I had forgotten most of the content covered way back in Term 1. It's time to get stuck into some revision!

On the weekend, I went to two 8-hour Chemistry lectures for Unit 3 and Unit 4. Although they were somewhat draining in that I had to pay attention for the full eight hours to the same subject being covered, the presenters were amazing and so full of energy. I immensely enjoyed the lectures as they were a massive help.

 Last week's productivity rating: 7/10

My teachers have warned that Term 3 will be rather hectic in the rush to finish all of the content before SWOTVAC in Term 4, so I'll try and give myself the upper-hand by being well-prepared for the storm of SACs that are to come at me. 

Hopefully, this week will be more a productive one!   :)

~Class of 2019~
2018: Chinese {SL}

2019: English, Maths Methods, Chemistry, Legal Studies, History Revolutions

2021-2023: Bachelor of Arts @Melb Uni

homeworkisapotato

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Re: Bean's Tumultuous Year 12 Journey
« Reply #32 on: July 01, 2019, 05:38:39 pm »
+1
Hey! It's great to see you so motivated and productive... good luck for the exam preparations!
2020: Biology [43]
2021: Methods, Chemistry, HHD, English, Further
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Joseph41

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Re: Bean's Tumultuous Year 12 Journey
« Reply #33 on: July 10, 2019, 04:41:31 pm »
+2
Looks like a good routine you have at the moment!

Do you find exercising earlyish in the day gives you better focus later on?

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smallbean

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Re: Bean's Tumultuous Year 12 Journey
« Reply #34 on: July 11, 2019, 08:59:34 pm »
+3
Looks like a good routine you have at the moment!

Do you find exercising earlyish in the day gives you better focus later on?

Hey Joseph! :)

I find that exercising early to be one of the factors that really help me to have a productive day. Something as simple as going for a walk can do wonders to my mindset, especially during stressful times of the year where the pressure just gets too heavy and I need a little escape. Breathing fresh air and just being content amidst nature keeps me grounded and also clears up my mind so that I can complete the tasks I set myself after feeling refreshed.
~Class of 2019~
2018: Chinese {SL}

2019: English, Maths Methods, Chemistry, Legal Studies, History Revolutions

2021-2023: Bachelor of Arts @Melb Uni

brothanathan

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Re: Bean's Tumultuous Year 12 Journey
« Reply #35 on: July 11, 2019, 09:01:27 pm »
+1
Hey Joseph! :)

I find that exercising early to be one of the factors that really help me to have a productive day. Something as simple as going for a walk can do wonders to my mindset, especially during stressful times of the year where the pressure just gets too heavy and I need a little escape. Breathing fresh air and just being content amidst nature keeps me grounded and also clears up my mind so that I can complete the tasks I set myself after feeling refreshed.

Everyone needs some Zen

caffinatedloz

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Re: Bean's Tumultuous Year 12 Journey
« Reply #36 on: July 11, 2019, 09:02:30 pm »
+1
Hey Joseph! :)

I find that exercising early to be one of the factors that really help me to have a productive day. Something as simple as going for a walk can do wonders to my mindset, especially during stressful times of the year where the pressure just gets too heavy and I need a little escape. Breathing fresh air and just being content amidst nature keeps me grounded and also clears up my mind so that I can complete the tasks I set myself after feeling refreshed.

Love a good walk to clear the head! Do you have a favourite spot to go?

smallbean

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Re: Bean's Tumultuous Year 12 Journey
« Reply #37 on: July 11, 2019, 09:28:20 pm »
+1
Everyone needs some Zen

Haha yes, agreed!  ;D

Love a good walk to clear the head! Do you have a favourite spot to go?

Walks definitely do wonders! My favourite spot to go would be around the neighbourhood or to the local park. As someone who has always yearned to have a puppy, my mouth always seems to curl up into a smile whenever dogs in the park walk past or run up to greet me.
~Class of 2019~
2018: Chinese {SL}

2019: English, Maths Methods, Chemistry, Legal Studies, History Revolutions

2021-2023: Bachelor of Arts @Melb Uni

caffinatedloz

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Re: Bean's Tumultuous Year 12 Journey
« Reply #38 on: July 11, 2019, 09:34:04 pm »
+2
As someone who has always yearned to have a puppy, my mouth always seems to curl up into a smile whenever dogs in the park walk past or run up to greet me.

Absolutely feel your pain!

smallbean

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Re: Bean's Tumultuous Year 12 Journey
« Reply #39 on: July 14, 2019, 08:52:37 pm »
+3
14 July 2019

“Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another.”
Walter Elliot



The fleetingly blissful weeks of the holidays flew past like a breeze, leaving me bracing for the term ahead that is, unfortunately, starting this week. As if almost foreshadowing the short semester to come, the weather has been dreary with rain almost every day.

With three SACs in the span of four days this week, I’m really starting to feel the monsoon of pressure to quickly wrap up my revision before I head back to the classroom for the last home stretch of the year. I’ve ticked off most of the tasks that I hoped to complete during the holidays off of my checklist such as textbook questions and memorising my oral presentation, but feel as though I’ve wasted a few days of the holidays by not being as productive as I should have. I guess that a few lazy days will ensure that I won't burn out anytime soon though.  :)
After receiving my result for my last Chemistry SAC, which was an experimental poster, I felt a tinge of relief. It was the highest SAC score that I've gotten so far this year, although posters don't really count for the end-of year exam haha. It seems as though my chemistry score isn't looking too doomed after all, which makes me feel a lot better about myself.

On a slightly frantic note, I’ve come to the realisation that the English Exam is in a little over three months, which means that I’d better get cracking in terms of exam preparation throughout this term. The end of the year is really approaching faster than I can comprehend. English is the subject that I hope to do well in, as my English teacher told me at the start of the year that she had high expectations for me (which is comforting I know, but now it’s slightly stressing me out because I really don’t want to disappoint her). 

I’d have to admit that technology is really making the academic world a greater challenge for our current generation. It’s just so easy for us to check social media platforms or to click on a youtube video and to get lost in a rabbit hole of procrastination as a couple of hours tick by, with no work being done. In Term 3, I hope to banish these negative habits which will, in turn, improve my quality of sleep (I ‘aim’ for at least 7 hours of sleep a night, but it’s increasingly becoming more difficult as the year progresses).

My careers counsellor has even sent us a reminder that we should start thinking about university preferences that will be due soon. I’ve written down a rough draft of the courses that I hope to be accepted into, with some being a bit of a stretch because, at this point, I'm starting to seriously doubt myself and my abilities to get a high enough ATAR.

Thank you guys for always being there as support, I appreciate each and every one of you <3

Productivity rating: 6/10



~Class of 2019~
2018: Chinese {SL}

2019: English, Maths Methods, Chemistry, Legal Studies, History Revolutions

2021-2023: Bachelor of Arts @Melb Uni

homeworkisapotato

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Re: Bean's Tumultuous Year 12 Journey
« Reply #40 on: July 14, 2019, 09:05:18 pm »
+3
heyyy it's nice to hear that about your results with chem! If you can't control yourself from procrastinating at all like me then maybe blocking some websites on your computer for specific times can work! Keep pushing through you're doing really well  ;D
2020: Biology [43]
2021: Methods, Chemistry, HHD, English, Further
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smallbean

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Re: Bean's Tumultuous Year 12 Journey
« Reply #41 on: July 20, 2019, 11:54:24 pm »
+2
20th July 2019

“We won’t be distracted by comparison if we are captivated with purpose.”
Bob Goff


News Update: Had to reschedule my UCAT exam for next Friday. In terms of preparation, I’ve done very minimal practise (instead, I’ve been focusing on the mountain of homework that I have). The sheer lack of effort that I’ve put into this test will probably come back to bite me on the day though.

Starting Term 3
Waving school holidays goodbye, I went back to school, determined to make this last full Term count. It was quite a hectic four days, as I was first greeted with a big scary Unit 3 Chemistry exam that was being used to rank our cohort, followed by two sacs back-to-back on Friday. Despite this, I was really glad to see my classmates and to spend time at school with friends, familiar faces that I know that I won’t be able to see everyday in just a few months time. It was nice to fall back into routine again just like clockwork, as the tight schedule of school days mean that I am kind of forced to be more productive after school to finish everything on time. My teachers have also started to hammer into everyone the warning that exams are nearing and the fact that it’s now basically “crunch time”.

English: It was time for the Oral Presentation SAC. Now public speaking really isn't my forte, but after doing a LOTE Oral Exam last year, doing an oral in English seemed to be much less fear-inducing. I think that my speech went alright as I only stumbled over a few words and maintained regular eye contact with the audience (hopefully without freaking the teachers out because I kept staring at them haha). Most of the time my classmates were staring at the pictures on my powerpoint, diverting their eyes from me speaking, which was somewhat a bit of a relief because it made me feel less intimidated, being the natural introvert that I am.  Fingers crossed that I did well on this SAC.

Chem: The Unit 3 exam in the first lesson back went way worse than expected. I'd spent a lot of time revising in the holidays in the hope that I could somehow use this to pull my ranking up and even walked in feeling confident (which hardly ever happens in chem). My heart sank deeper and deeper as I pushed through the exam because I just simply couldn't answer all the questions due to a lack of time. I'm really not looking forward to getting it back and seeing how badly I went.
On a brighter note, we've started Unit 4 in class. Naming organic compounds is both hard and easy at the same time. I wouldn’t call myself naturally good at spatial awareness which has made this quite a struggle, but organic chem was definitely my favourite topic in Units 1/2 so hopefully, I’ll get my head around it before the next SAC.

History: We're well into Unit 4 now. I'm really enjoying history at the moment, as my teacher puts in a lot of effort to make lessons engaging. He even made us write a rap about a particular event which definitely helped me to remember the heavy content.

Legal: Had a Legal SAC which (hopefully) went well. It felt really pressed for time, as I just managed to finish by the time pens were meant to be down. I was glad that I was able to answer all the questions fully though, a big improvement from Term 1 when I left a whole 10 mark question blank in a SAC due to poor time management.  :P

Methods: We've started differentiation and anti-differentiation which are both pretty straightforward topics. I will try and dedicate more time to doing more practise questions, as Methods was greatly neglected this week due to studying for my other subjects.

Productivity rating: 8/10
~Class of 2019~
2018: Chinese {SL}

2019: English, Maths Methods, Chemistry, Legal Studies, History Revolutions

2021-2023: Bachelor of Arts @Melb Uni

smallbean

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Re: Bean's Tumultuous Year 12 Journey
« Reply #42 on: July 20, 2019, 11:58:48 pm »
+3
heyyy it's nice to hear that about your results with chem! If you can't control yourself from procrastinating at all like me then maybe blocking some websites on your computer for specific times can work! Keep pushing through you're doing really well  ;D

Hey homeworkisapotato!
Thank you so much for your kind words and helpful advice! I've found an app that I downloaded on my phone which tracks how much time I spend studying and doing work, whilst also stopping me from using other apps such as social media. This has helped me immensely, as I found that I was a lot more productive this week as a result.
~Class of 2019~
2018: Chinese {SL}

2019: English, Maths Methods, Chemistry, Legal Studies, History Revolutions

2021-2023: Bachelor of Arts @Melb Uni

r1ckworthy

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Re: Bean's Tumultuous Year 12 Journey
« Reply #43 on: July 21, 2019, 12:50:53 pm »
+1
What app is it, if I can ask? Would be helpful for me too ;D ;D ;D
HSC 2019: English Advanced || Mathematics || Mathematics Extension 1 || Physics || Chemistry || Science Extension || Ancient History ||

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The Yr12 journey- a diary I "hope" to update... || Halfway through Year 12... lessons I've learned so far. || Check out my youtube channel!

smallbean

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Re: Bean's Tumultuous Year 12 Journey
« Reply #44 on: July 21, 2019, 04:05:12 pm »
0
What app is it, if I can ask? Would be helpful for me too ;D ;D ;D
I'm not smallbean but it sounds like Forest. I've got it and it's pretty good. Only bad thing is that you can't pause a timer.

Hey guys,
The app is called Flipd and it's pretty good because it's free and sends you notifications once you have completed a set time of study! I've also heard of Forest before and have it downloaded on my laptop but don't have it on my phone.  :)
~Class of 2019~
2018: Chinese {SL}

2019: English, Maths Methods, Chemistry, Legal Studies, History Revolutions

2021-2023: Bachelor of Arts @Melb Uni