The CASual Journey to the End | Ashmi's VCE journal アシュ

[ashmi]

If you have a lot of goals, or just some big goals that can be split into mini-goals, how about making them into a bingo card?

You could set up a grid on an A4 sheet of paper, writing small, achievable goals in each box. Add a number in a corner, stating how many times you need to do that goal before you can cross that box off. Each time you achieve any goals on the page, you can put a tally mark in that box. Once you have hit the number in the corner, cross the box off. Then, like a normal game of bingo, your aim is to have an entire row, column or diagonal crossed off by the end of the year.

To add difficulty, try to make similar goals as far away from each other on the grid and if it’s a small, simple goal, make it so that you have to do a lot of times e.g. 50. (Same goes for habits you want to create.)

The hardest part of this is not lying to yourself and doing this regularly enough that you keep yourself accountable.

I did this at the beginning of 2019 with a 7 x 7 grid and I stuck this sheet somewhere I’d see it regularly, with a pen nearby. It kind of worked; I achieved majority of the mini goals like drinking more water each day and getting more steps in a day than last year, with me about to hit bingo very soon (possibly today). I’m hoping to make a new bingo card today for 2020 and carry this on, as I found it quite helpful, so maybe this will work for you too.
 It looks great! Sometimes simple is good. 

This is an amazing idea!! I absolutely love the idea of making it into a bingo card. It sounds like a really fun way to stay on track with your goals (Might actually get my friends to try doing this too so we all have a yearly mini-bingo game of goals)
Thank you so much for sharing this, will definitely create one and use it for my 2020 goals

[AngelWings]

This is an amazing idea!! I absolutely love the idea of making it into a bingo card. It sounds like a really fun way to stay on track with your goals (Might actually get my friends to try doing this too so we all have a yearly mini-bingo game of goals)
Thank you so much for sharing this, will definitely create one and use it for my 2020 goals

No worries! Glad it helped. In true creative fashion, you could make it as pretty/ neat as you like and customise it as much as you like. If it's not too personal, feel free to share yours here, if you like, and we can keep you accountable! (By the way, I did get bingo yesterday.)

[Geoo]

Immunology sounds so cool! Where did you plan to study it at? (Melb Uni? Monash?)
I actually haven't realised how much work I've actually done till I was writing in my journal tonight actually. (PDT, Physics and Chem feels more like a hobby rather than a subject which is weird) Our time is actually disappearing so quickly and we are nearly at Christmas, let alone the end of the year
You probably don't want to be going out of the house when you are getting your wisdom teeth out. *sending healing powers*  At least you will get a copy of the lecture slides! Hopefully, I'll see you for Term 2 holidays then (The chipmunk bit had me laughing way too hard)

I'll definitely be uploading a lot of my folio for this year into this journal for sure! I might even have a few pages of visualisations done by the end of the week if I can get my PDT contract finalised.
VCAA really hates us and our arty subjects don't they? Like it takes so much work to do a folio (PDT SACs and Folio is 70% of SS) and then our exam decides the scaling of our folios? It is so bizarre and PDT and Food Studies scale down by at least -7 which is insane! Even with scores that are 46+, it scales down so badly still. We can suffer together Geoo
*A silent moment to all the VCE Art/Design/Tech students out there suffering from scaling*

Sorry for the late reply, I didn't see it until now. I'm still not sure where I want to study. I haven't seen either campus (so I will make sure to go to an open day next year) so I'm not sure on that, and another decision I have to make is commute. Melb is 2 hours and monash is 1 hour from where I live. So it really depends on if I can make that commitment to commute, although I really like Melbourne uni looking from the outside.
Yeah hopefully the term 2 holidays! Haha, I will take all of the healing, apparently it is going to take a while to heal so...

Anyway, i'm looking forward to you uploading your folio works throughout the year, and yes, we can suffer and make it through VCAA's scaling!!!! But in all seriousness it is really insane how much VCAA scales us down, and that really sucks for it to come down to an exam, especially since it is written work not taking into account all the hard effort it took to draw all the assessments throughout the year. Our exam is worth 40%, and doesn't take into account all of the cooking we do...  But good luck 

[ashmi]

No worries! Glad it helped. In true creative fashion, you could make it as pretty/ neat as you like and customise it as much as you like. If it's not too personal, feel free to share yours here, if you like, and we can keep you accountable! (By the way, I did get bingo yesterday.)

Congrats for the bingo! Must be super exciting to finish the game!
My bingo card is mainly goals to get me out of the house or stuff that I really enjoyed doing this year and would (hopefully) like to continue next year. AN, can you help me to make sure I stay on track? I've been procrastinating on the 'learning and making foam armour' one since 2017
I'll probably add some more but so far here is what I have.

Sorry for the late reply, I didn't see it until now. I'm still not sure where I want to study. I haven't seen either campus (so I will make sure to go to an open day next year) so I'm not sure on that, and another decision I have to make is commute. Melb is 2 hours and monash is 1 hour from where I live. So it really depends on if I can make that commitment to commute, although I really like Melbourne uni looking from the outside.
Yeah hopefully the term 2 holidays! Haha, I will take all of the healing, apparently it is going to take a while to heal so...

Anyway, i'm looking forward to you uploading your folio works throughout the year, and yes, we can suffer and make it through VCAA's scaling!!!! But in all seriousness it is really insane how much VCAA scales us down, and that really sucks for it to come down to an exam, especially since it is written work not taking into account all the hard effort it took to draw all the assessments throughout the year. Our exam is worth 40%, and doesn't take into account all of the cooking we do...  But good luck 

That 1 hour commute time for Monash sounds super tempting (My situation is actually the opposite, Melb Uni around 35min and Monash 2hrs+🤣).
Open day is going to be such a good time to explore around the campus and hopefully get some free stuff! I'm lining up for that Melb Uni Teddy Bear as soon as it is open. *Sending an extra wave of magical healing powers for those wisdom teeth. You are going to need it*

I'm so excited to see what you can come up with in Food Studies! If only VCAA had another way to assess our products other than an exam (an interview would be pretty cool).
The food you make I'm sure is going to look and taste absolutely delicious . Make sure you post some photos so we can see what we are all missing out on .

[ashmi]

So before I go to NYSF on the 1st and with 2020 fast approaching, I thought it might be time to update a bit about myself and my goals as a lot has changed since I've started this journal.  

~2020 Introduction~
Hi everyone and those that are new to this journal! I'm Ashmi, but really everyone calls me Ash. Next year I'm going into year 12 as the class of 2020 (Honestly, the best number to have on your Year 12 jackets).

Fun/interesting facts about me:
✰ I love anything with choc mint!
✰ You will never see me without my CAS, Pocky or an iced coffee at any point in my life.
✰ Pastel colours are my fav, but I also like the black and red combo~
✰ I have really bad grass allergies.
✰ I moved schools for one VCE subject.
✰ I have played every Pokemon game that has existed. (I love my Dark type Pokemon)
✰ I'm addicted to collecting artbooks/character-design books from video games.
✰ I'm terrible at drawing traditionally but can somehow draw digitally.
✰ Surprisingly, I'm a cosplayer and photo-editor.

~Subjects for 2020~
Next year, I'm doing Product Design and Technology (PDT), English, Physics, Chemistry and Methods!
 
Wait.....PDT?

Yep, PDT seems like the odd subject out of the bunch. A lot of people think I'm a maths/science-based person, but really I've always have been passionate in the arts/design subjects. (I'm just really put off doing more thanks to VCAA's terrible scaling)

~Plans after school and goals for 2020~
Now this is exactly where things get complicated. I'm being pulled in multiple directions by Mathematics, Science and Design but after much debate, it is looking like the middle ground would be engineering? It is really the only thing I could do that has enough Design, Mathematics and problem solving all in one! I'm pretty interested in Electrical engineering, but I also have my eye on mechanical with aerospace and mechatronics

My dream course at the moment is Bachelor of Science at Melbourne Uni/Masters of Engineering. The ATAR I'm aiming for is anything above 96. Will I get there? I honestly don't know, probably not. Am I going to try? Absolutely!

On top of that, I would also really love to get into Top Designs for 2021 (or at least shortlisted). Just the idea of having your folio and product up on display in a museum sounds pretty cool and I would really love if I could get my costume up there one day!

In terms of subject goals, the only one that is set in stone is an aim of 50 for PDT. I sort of made a bet with a friend that if I don't get at least a 47+ for PDT, a 40+ for Chemistry and a 44+ for English, I will be thrown into an ice bath. (I'm going to hope I do well enough for this not to happen. I really dislike the cold).

Well, that's it for now! See you guys again for the next update in 2020!

[Jimmmy]

Hi Ash!

Great summary and good way to lead into 2020....can't believe how quickly this year went and I'm sure you'll feel similar next year, but try to embrace it!

That bet sounds kinda mean...unless you choose a day like today for the ice bath, in which case it sounds like your friend is trying to do you a favour! In any case, I have a feeling you won't have to worry about it 

NYSF sounds interesting! What's it about?

[ashmi]

Hi Ash!

Great summary and good way to lead into 2020....can't believe how quickly this year went and I'm sure you'll feel similar next year, but try to embrace it!

That bet sounds kinda mean...unless you choose a day like today for the ice bath, in which case it sounds like your friend is trying to do you a favour! In any case, I have a feeling you won't have to worry about it 

NYSF sounds interesting! What's it about?

Hey Jimmy!
In a way, I'm sort of excited for 2020 and hopefully it will be a good year!
I completely forgot to say the other side of that bet so let me explain that 🤣. On the day of the ATAR release, if she doesn't get the same scores in Viscom, English and Chem (we share similar subjects) she would go into the ice bath! If both of us don't reach one of the requirements, then we either both go into the ice bath together or we both get thrown into the river next to our school by the rowing team. 😂👌 (I would rather take the ice bath). Hopefully, this inspires us to do our best and at least if we don't make it, the ice bath won't be so bad since it should be summer by then!

NYSF (National Youth Science Forum) is a type of science program for those entering year 12! It is about a 12-day program and is focused on the idea of STEM and aim for people who want to study something related to science in uni. For NYSF, you either go to Canberra (ANU) or Brisbane (University of Queensland) and you focus on a particular area, in my case, I chose to do engineering and advance manufacturing! For my group, we get to go on lab visits, take part in workshops, lectures galore and pretty much visit the facilities and learn from mentors.

Getting into NYSF is a whole other story. It is very selective (open to all of Australia) to get into the program and requires a whole pack of applications (both academic and extra-curricular) and a few interviews but definitely worth it in the end! You can also get a scholarship to go or get endorsed by a rotary club if you struggle to pay the full amount (I was able to get a full scholarship to go because of this).

If anyone reading this is going into Year 11 next year and plan to do something related to STEM, I highly recommend that you apply to the program! I might do a mini review about NYSF and the application process when I come back. If anyone wants to know a bit more about the program, just let me know!

[ArtyDreams]

Hi Ash!!!!

That bingo card looks amazing!! I think I might have to adopt one of those into my life to keep myself accountable haha 

It was interesting to read your goals - I can say theyre pretty similar to mine!! I'm also trying my best to get into TopArts next year!! I agree, itll be soooooo cool to see our folios on display for everyone to see!!

Have fun at NYSF!! It really sounds like a great program to be apart of 

[Chocolatemilkshake]

Nice intro into 2020 Ashmi! Can’t wait to read your journal next year  Also good luck with your goals, with hard work there is a very high chance you’ll smash them (at least your bet gives you good motivation!)

[ashmi]

Hi Ash!!!!

That bingo card looks amazing!! I think I might have to adopt one of those into my life to keep myself accountable haha 

It was interesting to read your goals - I can say theyre pretty similar to mine!! I'm also trying my best to get into TopArts next year!! I agree, itll be soooooo cool to see our folios on display for everyone to see!!

Have fun at NYSF!! It really sounds like a great program to be apart of 

Hi Arty!
You should make a bingo card too if you have the chance! If you feel comfortable posting your goals, I would love to see them sometime
If your folio gets accepted into Top Arts for 2021, guess who is going to be the first person on the day to run in and find your folio🤣. It would be amazing if we could both get our folios in!!
If you can, please post some folio pictures as I would love to see them!

Nice intro into 2020 Ashmi! Can’t wait to read your journal next year  Also good luck with your goals, with hard work there is a very high chance you’ll smash them (at least your bet gives you good motivation!)

Hey Choco!
Hopefully, I'll work smart enough to be able to achieve my goals!😂
As negative as this sounds, I've sort of come to a conclusion that if I work hard, I don't ever seem to reach any goals no matter how much I try to break them down into smaller chunks? Like I can get close, but never actually get there? 2020 please bless me with some luck so I can actually achieve at least one main goal😭. Also, thank you and good luck to you too~

[Chocolatemilkshake]

Hey Choco!
Hopefully, I'll work smart enough to be able to achieve my goals!😂
As negative as this sounds, I've sort of come to a conclusion that if I work hard, I don't ever seem to reach any goals no matter how much I try to break them down into smaller chunks? Like I can get close, but never actually get there? 2020 please bless me with some luck so I can actually achieve at least one main goal😭. Also, thank you and good luck to you too~

YES ASH! I BELIEVE in you SO MUCH and you can totally do it! When results come out next year I'll totally be holding out for your 50 in PDT!!!!!

Also, not sure why I'm writing this but I have a (bizarre) fear of birds. At the moment we are bird sitting and I held one! If I can do that you can do anything 

[ArtyDreams]

Hi Arty!
You should make a bingo card too if you have the chance! If you feel comfortable posting your goals, I would love to see them sometime
If your folio gets accepted into Top Arts for 2021, guess who is going to be the first person on the day to run in and find your folio🤣. It would be amazing if we could both get our folios in!!
If you can, please post some folio pictures as I would love to see them!

Thanks Ash!!! It will be amazing!! I'll be sure to do the same at Top Designs if that happens 
Yep! I'm planning to post my goals sometime soon - you made me motivated to get on to it ha ha.

Cant wait to follow your journal into next year 

[milanander]

I'm just really put off doing more thanks to VCAA's terrible scaling

Feels lmao 😥

All the best for this year Ashmi! And I absolutely love how you’re aiming high for PDT! It’s tough but also a really rewarding subject especially for engineering and design and it will give you a great head start in comparison to those who know all the STEM-related theory inside out without any practical knowledge or experience. Good luck for this year and for top designs!!

[Snow Leopard]

You can also get a scholarship to go or get endorsed by a rotary club if you struggle to pay the full amount (I was able to get a full scholarship to go because of this).

Sorry for the dumb question , but what is a rotary club?

[ashmi]

YES ASH! I BELIEVE in you SO MUCH and you can totally do it! When results come out next year I'll totally be holding out for your 50 in PDT!!!!!

Also, not sure why I'm writing this but I have a (bizarre) fear of birds. At the moment we are bird sitting and I held one! If I can do that you can do anything 

This is like the most inspirational thing I have ever read.😂 I'm just going to hope that I get extremely lucky in the exam and that it is going to be a 50. (Watch it be like 46 or something).
If you ever need someone to protect you from birds just summon me at any time! (How do you deal with going outside then with a fear of birds? Like what do you do about it? ) Thank you for the motivational support and hopefully, everything works out!

Thanks Ash!!! It will be amazing!! I'll be sure to do the same at Top Designs if that happens 
Yep! I'm planning to post my goals sometime soon - you made me motivated to get on to it ha ha.

Cant wait to follow your journal into next year 

I'm excited to see your goals soon then!
Let's help each other to make sure we actually stay on track to completing the majority of our goal!

Feels lmao 😥

All the best for this year Ashmi! And I absolutely love how you’re aiming high for PDT! It’s tough but also a really rewarding subject especially for engineering and design and it will give you a great head start in comparison to those who know all the STEM-related theory inside out without any practical knowledge or experience. Good luck for this year and for top designs!!

First of all, good luck with your Viscom folio!! I'm sure it is going to be amazing at let's make sure that VCAA actually gives us what we deserve. The one thing I do love about folio subjects as you said is the practical part of it! (STEM subjects + art/design = BOOM🤣) Good luck for you too and let's get our work into Top Designs!

Sorry for the dumb question , but what is a rotary club?

Not a dumb question at all! Rotary is basically a non for profit organisation that strives to make the place we live in better while giving opportunities to people to do something big who may have not been able to do it by themselves. The main theme of Rotary is "Service above self" and then there is a 4-way test each Rotarian stick by.

In terms of NYSF, NYSF highly recommends that you apply with a rotary club which would be one near your local school or home. Your school may actually be involved with a rotary club and it would be a good place to start to see if they would like to endorse your application. It would be really good if you could get involved in a club or even if you know a few people from it. (My old primary school teacher was part of the club and that's how I got my application endorsed).

NYSF and Rotary Australia work together to give young people who are particularly interested in Science a chance to be able to pursue it through this program! Do note, Rotary does not have any obligation to pay for your trip though. In my case, I got half of it funded by rotary and the other half from a scholarship provided by NYSF. The main idea of Rotary is to give without expecting anything back!