Hello, who are you and why are you here?
Hello! blasonduo reporting in, trying out this whole journal business!
I will be studying a bachelor of science, majoring in physics and a bachelor of education at UNSW which will last for 4 years with ~80 days of teacher fieldwork (there will be heaps of updates when this occurs), my timetable is as follows:
Spoiler
(https://i.imgur.com/yOhaoaA.png)
With about 2 hours 40 minutes on public transport a day, I’m very happy that I got that day off (Wednesday will be fun), can’t wait to be just sick of travelling :))
So, why teaching?
This wasn’t my original dream job, it used to be neuroscience, however, I felt like this was more of a hobby, and it wasn’t until years 11 and year 12 that I realised how much of an impact my teachers had on my wellbeing. They also gave me some really valuable life lessons. This is what really inspired me, I wanted to be an individual that lights up the lives of younger people, to inspire and to mentor. (I also don’t mind the paperwork that comes along with it :P )
But, why physics?
I have always been a science nerd, it was always the science classes that opened me up to a whole new world of thinking and testing, it made me so curious. I chose physics because there is normally a stereotype that physics is hard and boring, I kinda want to break this and introduce a world of how things work, I want them to develop a sense of wonder and amazement to the world around them. Also, I have this weird passion for physics, and feel like this passion can go a long way, in my teaching and towards the students.
Cool, but why UNSW?
You ask a lot of questions, don’t you? I really could have gone to a closer uni, and the distance to UNSW did throw me off a bit, but our school participated in a lot of UNSW related activities (such as excursions to the disease museum twice and UNSW science tests.) The fact that it was a very high-tier uni also helped, but what really convinced me was the vibe, UNSW also has this really positive vibe, and it has stuck with me since. (it also looks cool)
Any other information?
I am quite unsure about how often I will post, but I’ll make sure to post once every fortnight, so that should be long enough for me to have actual information and not be boring, but not too long to think I’ve stopped “journalling”.
Also, I really want to post animals I come across over my adventures in my posts (hopefully it isn’t just ibises the whole time), hopefully, I’ll have 1-2 pictures, I’m doing this to be more aware of my surroundings, and to appreciate what is there.
Also also, I have recently realised that I keep thinking of questions, not really related to anything, but just think, why does this happen? Why is this a thing? What's the use of this? And well, I just forget. I want to know, so to help myself in not forgetting, I shall post 2-3 of these questions in every journal post, and if anyone can answer, that would be awesome, I do want some community interaction in here too, so that's a bonus (if no one knows, or I get no responses, all good, I’ll google them, I just thought it would be cool to ask here first)
Also also also, Shoutout to katie,rinos and her journal Here. This journey will be very similar to hers (but vastly different), so if you want a whole different perspective on things, I really recommend checking hers out! (well, go check all the journals out!)
Entry #(https://i.imgur.com/8FrlpQJ.png)
Whew! What a hectic couple of weeks! O-week started out with a bang with a good ol’ AN meetup, with the wonderful Rui as our leader. With this being the first proper time being on campus, and with so many people there, it was quite overwhelming and took a while to take in; this was my home for the next 4 years.
That day was spent soaking up the uni, the areas and people that it consisted of, whether it was finding lecture halls or social clubs that would give you free stuff just for writing down your name. With the AN crew, this was very calming and reassuring. Even though we all basically had no clue what was happening, we were brought together by this, and it felt like a little family. Thanks, guys!
Wednesday consisted of the day of whole new people and friends, meeting new faces and trying to understand independently what I need to be doing day by day. Starting off with Peer-mentoring, I was introduced to a small group of people, not really sharing the subjects, but sharing the same new experience, and it was this that allowed me to slowly relax into this new uni life.
Later that day was the international night markets, where at the time, oblivious to the fact that I would meet two unique and very special people to whom I’d be sharing classes with for the semester. Although I only ate 1 kebab, I met a large number of new people, and for me, this is a huge accomplishment, something about that day scared me to the core, but I felt so alive and accomplished walking away from it.
Then came next week, and boy did it hit hard. The lectures themselves were exactly as I expected, but the contrast between my lectures are unbelievable. On one side I have physics and maths where I am just writing notes and making sure I don’t fall behind (especially in maths) and lowkey panicking about the like 15 individual assessments they have over the semester and how the tutes are something that I don’t want to miss.
On the other side, there is the EDST lectures/tutes where everything is really going quite slow, and to be honest, the content (so far) has not been too great. Half of one of my tutes was discussing to the person next to me the similarities and differences we had between us; it really feels like a bludge. Don't get me wrong, I'll 100% be learning in these courses, I'm just not sure if it'll be 13 weeks of learning.
Now, travel times. Looking forward to the next 4 years with 2.5 hours travelling to and from uni each day. From my experience right now, it's actually not too bad when you are able to get a seat and its relatively quiet, I am able to pull out my laptop and get quite a bit of work done, and the travel time does not feel that long, it’s just when it is absolutely packed and you are forced to stand, it feels like forever, and you get no work done, very tedious.
Oh woah, this is quite long already, this is probably very rambly and I hope it makes sense, and I’m quite curious if this is actually interesting to anyone reading this and if so...
See you in 2 weeks time!
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Here are the obligatory pictures of the 2 animals I came across during my journey in Uni:
A dog!
(https://i.imgur.com/mAYxPxA.png)
A lizard!
(https://i.imgur.com/Ul1QHbN.png)
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My 3 fortnightly questions that popped into my head:
Why do we only hear cicadas during the heat?
How do aeroplanes draw in the sky?
Why are floors tiled like this? Is it just aesthetic or is there a purpose?
the floor
(https://i.imgur.com/c0m1wKg.png)
Woah, 2 weeks already? Boy does time fly.
Finally, I’m getting into the swing of things, I understand how my assessments/online tests and labs work, and when to do them on a weekly basis, I finally feel like I’m not walking blind, and I no longer fear that I have forgotten anything. (I do owe a lot of this to the big ass uniplanner stuck to the back of my door. :P )
Physics, boy is this one fun and realllllly enjoyable. The content is only a minor step up from HSC physics as of currently, but the new stuff is fascinating! My current overall mark is 5.91/6.01 (out of the possible 100 so far) so I’m going strong! The lecturer (with a great German accent ) has found out what teenagers find funny (such as “dark humour”) and integrates them into the lecture, such as a cat jumping off a building to demonstrate terminal velocity, or analysing an event which killed several and calling it “a fun day out”, but as a cohort, we are really starting to relax into uni life.
Meanwhile education studies are really major inconveniences in this semester, they don’t really challenge me in any real way……… until the assessments draw close (which is now) and as someone who never really enjoyed humanity subjects in school (and hence only did English) I do not enjoy the assignments, and I really fear a low mark. I shall spend most of this day working on my first written assignment due next week :/ .
What is great is the fact that we are all really starting to relax with each other, and this is what really makes the education studies blossom; the tutorials. The table on which I sit at has really formed this niche group and we are now able to communicate effectively to each other share the common interests and goals, make jokes and really have a blast during the hour, which is very contrasted to week 1, where we all just sat there awkwardly.
Similarly, my lab partner for physics has been phenomenal, we’ve been really relaxed together, even though what we are doing is being assessed, we are able to share ideas and work super effectively, as well as having a nice chat with it :)) . I kinda wish other subjects did this too, it introduces me to familiar faces, and makes me feel more significant in uni, and that I’m not just going through the system. However, I do understand that this is difficult for some subjects. For example, maths doesn’t really have any moments where I am able to interact with other students because the whole time is learning, and not really a course for class discussion.
What are you terrified of in the next 2 weeks I hear you ask? Well……. The 2 written assignments for EDST due in 5 days and 14 days and instead of working on it now, I’ve delayed them until I finish this entry, I’ll start working on them now… I still struggle to figure out how to break down the assignment and to actually do well in them… and so I guess I’ll leave you with the worst cliffhanger ever…. Will I ever figure these 2 assignments out and finish them well, or will I buckle under the pressure? FIND OUT NEXT TIME (wow that was bad sorry)
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Here are the obligatory pictures of the 2 animals I came across during my journey in Uni: (well there's only 1, but I am getting better camera, so I can actually take a photo more than 5m away, so here's one of my cats!)
birds!
(https://i.imgur.com/dE4hLfA.png)
A cat
(https://i.imgur.com/ZPHuiAn.png)
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My 2 fortnightly questions that popped into my head: (also I never actually got around to answering my questions because just there hasn't been enough time in the day, and I don't want to procrastinate more than AN :P so during the break, I'll find them out, and post them here ^_^
Why do buses drip? (this may sound weird, but something I've noticed when a bus leaves, it almost always leaves a slight trail of... something...)
Why do wet dogs stink? (whereas cats don't)
Entry #(https://i.imgur.com/iOEiJla.png)
(Don’t look at the date plz)
How hectic have these 2 weeks been you ask? Well…..
As per the cliffhanger from 2 weeks ago (that no one did or has cared about LOL), I am glad to say, they both have been successfully submitted, I just hope that means they have both successfully passed… because if they haven’t, then it really shows the rocky path ahead, and that's a path I do not want to take.
The last 2 weeks have been packed with assessments and deadlines and now it is time for the “mid” semester break, and boy do I need it (speaking of, this means sometime in the next week I will post here with answers to the questions! :D ). I have this problem where I only study for 1 subject for 6-7 days straight, where all the others are kinda just left behind, this normally happens when an assessment or exam is around the corner. Because of this, I am behind is some of my courses, and so now I need to catch up on the content through “homework”. However, I have my first Maths (lets says midterm) exam first thing back, so as per my study practices, will probably spend more on that during break working on that. I can’t complain much really, Maths is the subject I am most behind in currently.
Things have gone pretty swiftly and quietly, I understand what occurs in lectures and tutorials, and well, I’m just crunching down the weeks. I've learnt some really amazing things in Physics. Rotational inertia was a concept I never really delved into much, but it’s so fascinating! My little fun fact that I learnt in physics, those projectile motion formulae… DON’T HAVE TO BE PROJECTILES!!! They can be used for anything that has a constant acceleration, and hence constant circular motion can be used with it! (different variables though)
Also, just a thing I have noticed with myself… I don’t really write down notes in lectures (I barely did the same in high school too, I’d write them when I got home.) I sit there, still very engaged and attentive, but nothing really gets written down. I know this could be a potentially really bad thing (is it?) but I just really like sitting and listening, so I can understand the concepts first. Writing notes for something I didn’t initially understand makes the notes very poor in my opinion. But yeah, it also could be laziness……. ::)
Well, since next week isn’t really considered a uni week, and nothing interesting will actually happen… (for anyone who cares ie only me) I’ll see you in 2 uni weeks time! (ie 3 weeks)
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Here is the obligatory picture of an animal I came across during my journey in Uni: (only one because the other photo was on my old phone and it's being an ass! (excuses, I know :( sue me!))
First Ibis!
(https://i.imgur.com/u4r83Tk.png)
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My 3 fortnightly questions that popped into my head:
Why does crying does your nose run?
Why does crying (in some cases) make you feel better? but laughing doesn't make you feel worse?
What is the definition of 1 calorie?
Entry #(https://i.imgur.com/nJYIVBj.png)
zzzzzZZZZZZZZ........zzzzzzz..... BAH!! What? Where? When??
Okay, It's been a while, a long while actually, and the main reason was just due to the fact that I was just so bogged down in uni work, and I felt like writing up one of these would be just a cop-out and a way to procrastinate, so I always put it off for another week... and another... and another... I was really amazed by how physically draining it all became, I was constantly tired and continuously had so much more to do, very contrary to HSC work.
This semester was something, very stressful and very tiring, and I've spent the holidays just recovering from this, but it was mostly enjoyable, I met some great people, and was able to attend (some) great lectures! I really hope the rest of my time here lives up to this standard :)) Overall, I'm really happy with what I'm doing :)
So.... The semester has completed, and I have my results (in which you can see in the UNSW reviews thread) and to be honest, the only mark I'm pretty happy with is my physics mark, and I do hope to improve this, I have used my one time only "it was my first, its was a learning experience" excuse card. However, I have looked at the EDST1101 course outline for next semester, and it already does not look great.
I do want to become a physics TA at UNSW in the future and to get that; I need to make sure my (physics mainly) marks are really good, and they were for the first semester. However, next semester (with help with Rui +1) I'll probably attempt to do the hardest physics one course; (special) Higher Physics 1B. I just hope that I am able to do well in this course, because I know its content and work heavy, and if I don't do well, it may cost me my dream. So fingers crossed! I'll probably update the most on this course in the future :)
It's a weird feeling, though, I felt so overworked, but now since it's been a while, I really want to go back, I really want to learn more physics and maths (and meeting Rui on a weekly basis just seems awesome ;) ) I'll get an update out hopefully 2 weeks into semester 2! :), sorry if this felt all over the place.
Some point this week, expect another post here with answers to (most) of my questions! Pinky promise this time!
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Here is the obligatory picture of animals I came across during my journey in Uni/holiday:
Wasp!
(https://i.imgur.com/y8XxYeF.png)
Injured Chicken :(
(https://i.imgur.com/h4OXTLI.png)
Lots of seagulls!
(https://i.imgur.com/0VoOh8Z.png)
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My two that popped into my head (I wish this were more :( ):
Why do beanies have that little ball ontop of it?
Why is whiteboard marker (not permanent) difficult to rub off after time?
Entry #(https://i.imgur.com/x3Fw9wa.png)
Howdy folks, turns out I have not made an entry for the new semester, and it's already week 5! So, now I will go over whats new and whats been happening :)
As timetabling goes, I have again secured another day off, which is lovely, having a day off to work and get money and just to have a day to relax without transport really allows me to remain sane :P Other days are pretty full on, and well, I guess if you’re interested, go see for yourself :))
Timetable
(https://i.imgur.com/SiYXtDp.png)
The main event for me this semester is PHYS1241, and woah is it demanding. This subject is just usually very difficult (I’ve been told by the lecturer as one of the hardest first year courses out there) with the questions it throws at you, and it is very time consuming with the assessments it allocates, I’ve recently handed in an assessment that took roughly 40 hours to complete. It was six questions and worth 5%... And I’ll have to do it three more times. It also has assessments on lab write-ups where we have to write up every week's lab experiment(s) to hand in for marking, this one isn’t really as difficult, but more time-consuming and kinda difficult to gain the marks (I don’t know this yet, but the criteria does suggest this). Also, everyone is just so smart and fluent in this course; it really is intimidating.
Due to physics’s demands, it sucks up all my time, making me fall behind in other content-heavy courses such as MATH1231. Maths has weekly online tutorials, worth 1% each, and even without knowing any of the knowledge due to falling behind, I should struggle with the questions, but somehow don't. But once I do problems from the book, I go “WTF is this” I’m hoping to catch up in maths this week, as its a slightly more relaxed week in regards to physics.
My other two courses are a lot more relaxed and easier to go through without falling behind, I’ve almost done no study for BIOS1101, but I’m still very up to date with the content. The lectures are very simple, and the final exam is just a simple multiple choice exam. The labs are 3 hours long, but not that stressful and content heavy, it’s kinda fun and relaxing Today, we received our first assessment back, and I got 98% which I'm just over the moon about :)). The weird part is that the directors of the course say that it is very difficult and that it’ll be very timeconsuming difficult to understand in the content, and they keep stressing this, which I found as weird, but that may be because I’m comparing it to PHYS1241 :/
Lastly, the good ol’ EDST classes, they were a blast (sarcasm) last semester, and it's exhilarating to have it again! Honestly, though, EDST1101 is actually wayyy more enjoyable than the other 2 I had to do in Semester 1, the content is actually pretty interesting, and it is fun to read into. The assessments aren’t nearly as awful as the other ones, two tests, one essay and one presentation. We had the options to pick what week we wanted to present in, and I picked the earliest one (week 3) just to get it out of the way for physics. We went pretty well, I thought, but our tutor thought we did amazingly well, and we got 18/20 :)) I’m super stoked about that. I’m hoping this course stays the way that it is, and it’ll actually be a beautiful course.
This has already gone for a long time, so I’ll end it here, thanks for reading :))
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Here is the obligatory picture of an animal:
Kitties!
(https://i.imgur.com/pn9TJMC.png)
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My 3 questions that popped into my head:
Why does riding faster on a bike make it easier to balance?
Why does toasting bread make it fresher?
How is it possible that Earth can flip its magnetic poles?
Entry #(https://i.imgur.com/QRg5qUs.png)
It’s been a couple of months, and a lot has happened, so it means time for another entry! (What? My last post was in August? HA, lucky for me no one is really missing out on anything anyway)
So, let’s start with the exciting news, At the end of last year, I had applied for a Teaching assistant position for phys1121/1131 (where I help run the problem-solving workshop) and I was successful!!!!! ;D This is really exciting for me in so many ways, especially since it allows me to have some experience in teaching before working in placement and allows me to develop my skills especially in confidence and clarity. I have been to a total of 2 lessons right now, and let me tell you, I have loved every second of it. In the future, I also hope to become a lab demonstrator too, but we’ll see.
Last semester for me went surprisingly well, (apart from maths :P ) and I finally achieved my first HD ;D and I did surprisingly well in my higher physics course too! Now it's a new semester with new courses, MATH2089, PHYS2111 and EDST2003. It isn’t a lie when I say that I struggled with 1st year maths, and was VERY worried about second year maths, but 2089 (so far) has been really, really easy! Like I understand that they do have to start kinda basic again, as it does include introductory topics to both statistics and numerical methods, but I hope the difficulty stays this way because physics is the complete opposite, I found first year physics to be okay, but second year has come around and it is really, really difficult. So far, I’ve been able to mostly catch up with the content since my other 2 courses have not been too demanding. Then we have the good old EDST courses, and currently, it has the same feel to first-year education in where the content is pretty straight forward, Towards the end, we are taught (and assessed) about lesson plans, which I’m both looking forward to and not :P .
So far, when comparing to trimesters, I’m definitely less stressed out, and it feels like I have not that much to do, but the days have been limited, and it might (probably) will get hectic again, Let’s hope I can keep up ;D and I'll hope to keep you updated on how I go.
Also, here is my new timetable! (for the 0 of you who care)
Spoiler
(https://i.imgur.com/qL4wtEe.png)
Here is the obligatory pictures of animals!:
Birds!
(https://i.imgur.com/E0kMztO.png)
Horses!
(https://i.imgur.com/yGx0jsz.png)
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Some questions that popped into my head:
What makes something sticky?
How do air fresheners keep their smell for so long?