Owlbird's uni journey!

[Owlbird83]

Hello people!!   :)

I’ve been wanting to start a uni journal for ages but been nervous to because the first post is the one people read AHHHH. Hi!

I’m doing a Bachelor of Psychology at Monash, and still not 100% sure if I want to stick to it or not yet.
My units right now are:
BIO1022 (biology)
CHM1052 (chemistry)
PSY1022 (psychology)
BMS1042 (public health and preventative medicine)
(the order is also how much I enjoy them them)

Fun fact (not very fun): In year 9 I did psych as an elective and after a few weeks, a year 10 told me that the "phycology" I'd written on the front of my notebook in permanent marker was not spelled right and forcefully leant me whiteout to correct it.

My current default goal is to become a psychologist, which when I think about jobs, it’s the one that seems the best for me, however, I enjoy bio/chem subjects a lot more than the psych subjects I’ve done this year, but hopefully it will get better??

Feel free to ask me questions about psych at Monash or anything else!

Right now is the tipping point for this journal entry, I can either stop now and keep it short, or end up writing hundreds of words hehe.

I’ve been very ‘take every single opportunity’ mindset recently, which has been good I think, but online, it’s easy to sign up and apply for stuff quickly and then afterwards realise the commitments you’ve made heheh. Most of the things I have kept up with, however, I am neglecting a ’21 days of coding’ challenge thing run through Monash that I only did the first 2 days of or 1.5 because I kept getting errors and gave up hehe and have been feeling guilty that I haven’t kept up, I want to come back to it if I have more time maybe. One thing I did achieve last week in the midsem break was doing a MHFA course (mental health first aid), and I got a certificate yay. I also applied for the MSA art committee for 2021 and got invited to attend an interview for it next week yay, so hopefully I won’t get too scared, idk how many places there are though ahhhh. I have been finding zoom so much more relaxed now though, I rarely even get nervous talking to anyone which is a change from last year! I’m hoping this confidence remains when we go back face to face!
I’ve started tutoring a year 9 science student, which I am enjoying so much! It’s so fun and it makes me really energised! It’s so much less stressful than tutoring VCE which I only did at the start of the year when the libraries were open (maybe next year if I get an opportunity).

One of my goals right now is to improve my leadership and communication skills. This semester I’ve been a ‘MSA chats’ facilitator along with 2 others ;) and we basically run zooms for any monash people to join and chat, and it’s been super fun even though the amount participants we get has not been any recently haha. Even though it’s not really ‘leadership’, it’s still sort of been a step in that direction, and made me a little more confident to sign up for leadership-related things in the future!

Ahhh I don’t want this post to sound like a resume oh no. Maybe I should balance it out with some insecurities or something.

I have been a little stressed recently about being 19 and never having a job. I was applying for jobs in the midsem break but when I tick the ‘no work experience’ box I feel like it sends my application immediately to ‘REJECTION’. Also, I almost don’t believe this, but one job at a nearby shop said ‘2,243 applicants’ ???

I’m also currently on the fence about whether or not to try and do a tafe course next year, I’m sorta not sure if I can handle it, I think I might try uni part time or something for the 6months, but the tafe person I spoke to on the phone seemed to think it was too much to handle and fit in both. The reason I wanted to do it (Cert 3 in allied health assistance) is because: I thought maybe I would be able to get a part time job because none of the retail/food places seem to want a 19 year old with no experience, and it’s gonna be like 6 years till I can become a psychologist, and it’d be good it I could have some experience working in the health sector before that, and I need to work because I need money to feel more independent, I dislike feeling so dependent. My other reason is that I’m not set on psychology, so maybe getting a feel for working in the health sector will give me more guidance on future career choices. Maybe it’ll still be impossible to get a job though idk.

Do you guys write down your goals? I have a mindmap on my phone where I write random things I want to achieve (some of the are too ambitious though, but I want to aim too high, so I can still fall somewhere that’s still slightly cool). I’m just checking my mindmap, and out of the 13 “week/month/6month” goals I achieved 3.5! (get better at winged eyeliner, pat a horse, run 6km, paint Jupiter’s surface (not finished yet)). I love the mindmap app (SimpleMind), it’s so useful/fun to jot down thoughts quickly for any random things, I use it instead of the ‘notes’ on my phone because you can put words in more directions than down the page!

Hope you guys have a good week!!!  :)

[katie,rinos]

Enjoyed your VCE journal! Keen to read through your uni one! 

[Sine]

Great to see you made a university journal, looking forward to future updates 

[homeworkisapotato]

You're such an amazing presence to the forums, looking forward to more updates <3

[Owlbird83]

Thank you for your replies katie,rinos, Sine and homeworkisapotato!! 


Hi people!! 

oh no a long paragraph with only 3 fullstops! it's okay no one will know if you just skim it 
I had the art interview on Wednesday, and I thought it went alright but not too good, and I wasn’t too sure if I had any chance. In the past when I’ve applied for random things I sometimes have had maybe a touch of imposter syndrome by not believing the things I say to 'sell myself', or thinking internally that if they pick me then they’ll have made a mistake because they wouldn’t actually want me, but this time I was actually a lot more confident that I would be a valuable candidate to them (a little bit). I was still very fight or flighting in the interview though, and the nerves were stopping me from getting out answers fluently and I kept pausing mid-speaking at the beginning, but then I was able to answer things a lot better towards the end, and also, I think one thing that helped a little was that in one of my nervous pauses where I was having trouble thinking I told them I was feeling really nervous which made me feel a bit less self-critical and cut a bit of my racing thoughts about how bad it was that I was saying too many ums and pausing too often instead of focusing on answering the questions.
 

^was initally going to write that at the start but then my interview related paragraph seemed redundant
YAY! I’m so excited!!! It’s actually like the best thing I could be part of! I’m very excited to run some art classes and help plan other art related events!

I have a lot of stuff to get done by the end of the week, I'm a bit behind, so I probably shouldn’t be writing this heh.

I’m also really excited because I actually got a response from one of the jobs I applied for (to be a disability support worker)!! I’m actually so surprised! They want to do a zoom with me! Hopefully the art interview will have like desensitised me a small amount??? Are there people who actually don’t get nervous for interviews? (the one time in year 12 when I went to a toastmasters meeting there was one guy who said he looks forward to job interviews because he sees it as an opportunity to show them how good he is! I wrote it down in a list of quotes I have heard real people/people I know say, (I think collecting quotes from real people you meet is more effective than googling motivational quotes cos idk you have experienced the context in real life, and it feels less disconnected and a bit more inspiring). (I haven’t updated the list since like last year though)
It’s actually the best job I’ve applied for too and I put the most effort into the cover letter email I sent them!! AHHH. I don’t want to get my hopes up. They specifically stated the advertisement directed to students doing health related degrees and mentioned psych students as one of the examples woo, however I still feel a bit inexperienced or unqualified and like I hope I’m capable of it. One thing that might be limiting is that they said you need a license heh heh. I mean I almost have finished my hours sort of, only night hours left, so my parents hopefully could drive me until then(?)
My brother who’s in yr 10 applied for like 2 jobs and one of them already asked him to come for an interview hahaha. Maybe he’ll get a job before me ahhh.

I don’t like to focus on regrets and don’t really have them, but possibly in hindsight things I would have done differently in highschool are:
-maybe gotten a job in year 9/10
-JOINED THE SCHOOL PRODUCTIONS EVERY YEAR (I’m thinking I want to maybe audition for a local theatre group or something (just as like a backround person cos I can’t sing or act, but I love dancing and musicals and broadway songs/music.) I had a dream the other day that I was in a musical it was so fun!)
-joined the eco team (and not gotten intimidated by the scary older kids when my friend and I were on the verge of entering the first meeting in year 8 )
-ok gonna stop now because I thought I was satisfied with high school and now I’m starting to think of too many things haha. But I don’t really think too much about changing the past, I’m glad I’m finally joining stuff this year.

oh dear, i am going overboard with changing sizes of text. I have drowned my journal-salad in salad dressing and now it's more like a soup of multi sized font with a few lettuce leaves of normal sized font floating around. 

I enrolled in a summer unit in case I follow through with the tafe idea next year, however after talking to someone really experienced and knowledgeable in psych, it’s helped strengthen the ‘maybe it’s not the best idea’ side. AHHH. The only summer unit I could do was biological psych, which sounds fun cos bio! But also it’s bio, so I want to relish it and not cram it into a short time haha.

Should I apply to be an Access Monash mentor? Idk. I remember thinking last year that I’d wait til 2nd year thinking I would have my license and more uni experience. I’m not sure if I can because I haven’t experienced ‘uni life’. Also do I have time? Idk. Do I have the people skills? Yeasmaybeidkprobablywouldfeelnervousatthestartbutgetmorecomfortable.

Have you guys been talking more to yourself during lockdown? I literally talk to myself all the time now haha. I’m also noticing outside smells a lot more I think (?).

The only written goal I’ve sort of done recently is learn how to photoshop, not anything fancy, just like the most basic possible part. I realised the fancy photoshop costs money, but I discovered ‘paint 3D’ allows you to move/edit images a little better than trying to use powerpoint.

Goals for maybe the next month:
-read a book! (has anyone read ‘how to win friends and influence people’?) I’ve heard so many times from a range of sources that it’s meant to be one of the best books in that ‘personal growth’ area, but never got round to reading it. I was talking to someone random on linkedin (because of a Monash thing), and they sent me this a copy of it, I have to start it! I also have fiction books I borrowed from the library eons ago that haven’t needed to be returned that I must get to.
-run 7.5km
-finish sewing a dress I started this week and gave up on because it was being annoying. (I’m slowly running out of pins because I have so many unfinished sewing projects that I cut up, stab my pins into and chuck them into storage for later but then end up leaving them to fester and die.)
-be able to hold crow pose (yoga) maybe this is an unlikely goal, like how can people do that and balance??

HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND!!

[Bri MT]

Hey,

Congratulations!!

Also, I like your dynamic writing style; it's entertaining to read

Re: Access Monash Mentoring, having uni life experience can be helpful to address questions BUT you still know a lot of stuff that a high school student might benefit from (what's a major? what's a tutorial? what can a uni timetable look like? how did you decide on a course?). If you're asked questions you don't know how to answer (e.g. about a different course) you can post in the mentors forum and get advice from others or ask your mentor leader for advice. I think the biggest question you should ask yourself is about the time - you've got the other skills from what I can see


Good luck with your goals!

[The Cat In The Hat]

Are there people who don't get nervous?! I mean, never gone for a job myself, but even just the thought of going to uni and having to meet new people makes me want to curl up and hide....

Great job!!!

(Agree with Bri MT, it is entertaining.)

Really interesting journal, even though I have approx. no idea what you're really talking about!

[Sine]

-snip-

I don't think pausing when answering questions is a bad thing. Shows that you are actually thinking and are careful in what you say rather than just regurgitating answers.

Hopefully, I make your quote list at some point in the future.

[Owlbird83]

Hey,

Congratulations!!

Also, I like your dynamic writing style; it's entertaining to read

Re: Access Monash Mentoring, having uni life experience can be helpful to address questions BUT you still know a lot of stuff that a high school student might benefit from (what's a major? what's a tutorial? what can a uni timetable look like? how did you decide on a course?). If you're asked questions you don't know how to answer (e.g. about a different course) you can post in the mentors forum and get advice from others or ask your mentor leader for advice. I think the biggest question you should ask yourself is about the time - you've got the other skills from what I can see


Good luck with your goals!

Thank you for the reply, that makes me happy that you find it entertaining hehe!!  And thanks for the info about the mentoring, that's helpful! I decided not to apply because of the time commitment aspect.

Are there people who don't get nervous?! I mean, never gone for a job myself, but even just the thought of going to uni and having to meet new people makes me want to curl up and hide....

Great job!!!

(Agree with Bri MT, it is entertaining.)

Really interesting journal, even though I have approx. no idea what you're really talking about!

hahaha when you say you don't know what I'm talking about is that like cos I'm talking about uni stuff? Or just writing chaotically?
Also thank you!! It's really nice that you find it interesting! 

I don't think pausing when answering questions is a bad thing. Shows that you are actually thinking and are careful in what you say rather than just regurgitating answers.

Hopefully, I make your quote list at some point in the future.

Yeah that's true, thank you for your reply!
Yes, I'm sure you will!!! haha 



Hello!

I started writing an entry last week, but it’s been too long so I backspaced the measly paragraph I had. I found out a lot later than I should have that the delete button is the opposite to backspace!!? How cool?!

I keep narrating random paragraphs in my head sometimes randomly, thinking I’ll write ___ in my journal, but I forget them come back pls thoughts. I made a photocollage as the focus of my journal entry rather than words, because I like making photocollages, and it’s sorta summarising my last weeks/month in a more visual way. I didn’t make it to look aesthetic, more just a random blob of screen snips/photos.



I’m very excited because I got the job as a disability support worker!! And I met with a client and their family on the weekend and we fit really well and I’m super happy! I can’t believe I actually got a job, I believed that it was near impossible. I’m doing a shadow shift on Friday to observe my manager/employer person and the child I’ll be supporting at school to learn what to do!

I tried and failed to start an Etsy shop, I got frustrated because I needed a credit card to complete the final steps and didn’t have one so I applied to two banks who both rejected me because I don’t have an income, which is fair I guess haha except at the time when it made me cry because I was already frustrated about my job applications being rejected lol . I want to revisit the idea during the holidays maybe if I get good enough at making stuff (also cos I'll have an income by then!) -see next paragraph or, click unread posts since your last visit to see if anything more interesting comes up

I’ve recently gotten overly excited about starting learning to solder jewellery and am gonna buy a blow torch as soon as exams are over. I’ve already ordered some wire online because I was too enthusiastic. (I’ve been pretty frugal/stingy with spending money most of my life (except sometimes when random fancy dresses at op shops are too appealing heh), however I really hope I can save money now that I have a job and not suddenly realise I can buy lots of stuff, because it’s suddenly become a lot more tempting to buy stuff knowing I can earn it back in an hour rather than 10 weeks of washing the dishes at home.)

I really gotta learn time management skills. I think I’m finding uni harder than yr 12? I can’t compare accurately cos I can’t remember last year as clearly. I keep starting major assignments a few days before, and it’s sorta bad that I always manage to get them done, because there’s not really any negative consequences so I keep doing it.

Also, I achieved [1] goal! Does seeing a 1 in square brackets make anyone else's brain get a tiny bit excited for a fraction of a second because Oh-look-someone-PMed-me-wait-nevermind-I'm-just-referencing-in-Vancouver (APA is better)
I ran like 8km!(it's somewhere in my photocollage). I didn't plan on it initially, but basically I kind of developed a tiny fear of dogs, which is so weird! Earlier this year a dog ran at me and tried to attack me and bit me (not badly, luckily through clothing). But I was a bit shocked, because I had had a 0% belief in the idea that dogs could actually intend to hurt people. It's funny because a few years ago a friend came over and we walked past the same dog in the neighbour's yard, and she said 'scary dog', but (inside my brain) I completely rejected that statement and all my thoughts were 'lol dogs aren't scary, that's silly'. Even when the dog ran up to me this year I didn't understand that it wasn't coming for pats. But yeah, it's given me an interesting very small insight into brain stuff, because if I see a similar looking dog around that area I immediately fight/flight/adrenaline a little, it's amazing how after only one mild encounter my body has decided to get a little scared now when I see a dog running towards me.
I saw a dog blocking my path on the way home on a run, and decided to 'flight' home another longer path that conveniently helped me achieve my running goal!

Have a good week! 

[K888]

Just quickly, re: credit card - can you do it with a debit mastercard? I have one (lets you shop online, have subscriptions, tap and go, etc) but just is attached to a savings account rather than a credit account.

[Owlbird83]

Just quickly, re: credit card - can you do it with a debit mastercard? I have one (lets you shop online, have subscriptions, tap and go, etc) but just is attached to a savings account rather than a credit account.

Oh yeah, I saw that, I think it costs a monthly fee to have (?), so I didn't follow through with it. Maybe if I have trouble with credit cards again I'll try that option. Thanks K888! 

[K888]

Oh yeah, I saw that, I think it costs a monthly fee to have (?), so I didn't follow through with it. Maybe if I have trouble with credit cards again I'll try that option. Thanks K888! 

Should be fee-free as a student and often under 25. Check out a few different banks. I'm with CommBank but know lots of others don't have a fee.

[katie,rinos]

Congrats on the job!! Hope your shadow shift goes well! 

Not too sure if it would work but I've used an Australia post load and go card before (think it's now just an Australia post everyday mastercard). It costs around $8 to buy and works like a normal credit card but it's not linked to anything-you just go online or into a post office to put money onto it. From what I remember there's no monthly fees and very minimal purchase fees (70 cents or something??). There pretty easy to get as well (my dad's a postie so that's what I've used to get stuff online before!).

[Owlbird83]

Should be fee-free as a student and often under 25. Check out a few different banks. I'm with CommBank but know lots of others don't have a fee.

Congrats on the job!! Hope your shadow shift goes well! 

Not too sure if it would work but I've used an Australia post load and go card before (think it's now just an Australia post everyday mastercard). It costs around $8 to buy and works like a normal credit card but it's not linked to anything-you just go online or into a post office to put money onto it. From what I remember there's no monthly fees and very minimal purchase fees (70 cents or something??). There pretty easy to get as well (my dad's a postie so that's what I've used to get stuff online before!).

Thanks for your replies K8 and Katie! 
I'm really glad I posted here because now I have a debit mastercard thing! Yay online shopping  sorry @future-house-that-I-might-not-be-able-to-buy-for-a-long-time-if-I-keep-spending-money-for-pakidges

The shadow shift did go well! It's been so long since I updated my journal ahhh.

I've been working at the school around 1-3 days a week with my student I am supporting! I absolutely love it!! I never expected this to be my first part time job, I really recommend looking into becoming a support worker if you think you'll enjoy it, because I didn't realise it was possible to do something like this with no qualifications or experience!

I'm tossing up between writing a chronological summary or just typing up my now-thoughts.
Firstly, I've started feeling a little attached to the school and the class I've been in, it has strong primary school vibes which I love.
I'm really happy that my (idk what to call him - student/client/child/person) child I'm supporting and I have been a really good match in terms of personalities and needs. It's not just a 'job' it's a long term relationship you are building with the person. I'm there to help him with becoming more independent and getting more comfortable socially.

here's a mindmap because otherwise I would have written too many words, and this suits layout of my brain better.

^this is not my real handwriting. It is my i-don't-have-a-stylus-but-this-is-my-attempt-to-write-using-the-rubber-end-of-a-melbourne-uni-i'm a traitor i know-pen writing
edit: actually probably write like this normally too

me sounding braggy so don't read

Also, I don't want to sound braggy, but a cafe I went to much earlier in the year and asked if there were any jobs at and left my number at, actually called me back! And now I have another job! (I was 90% sure I wouldn't get one job and I never considered 2 hehe).
It was making me a little stressed at the beginning because I started both at a similar time = exam time also, so it was a bit AAAHH for a while, but I'm not feeling like that as much any more!
The DSW people were planning on matching me with another client, however this job has pretty much replaced that, which I'm okay with. The SW job is a lot better in terms of learning/professional development/relevant to my career/(also pay is a lot higher), however this cafe is not as 'important' (for example, when I start uni next year, I could more easily lessen shifts at cafe, but I would not be able to neglect a whole person+family I have commited to), so I'm content with having a commitment to only one family.
I felt a little bad accepting this cafe job after telling DSW employers that I had full availibility + that I wanted the job because I would find this more rewarding than working in retail/cafe haha (I do though).

I like how I am learning different things in each job though. The cafe is a lot more fast-paced, thinking/remembering to do a lot of things and being efficient and vigilant. I'm too lucky I really enjoy both workplaces
I was surprised that a lot of people have asked me what I do there so in case you are interested:

screen snip of a message to friend cos I'm lazy

The only 'leads' I have gotten to jobs were through going in in person (except DSW that was an email directly to them), so I highly recommend that if you are being rejected by numerous online application things. Eg, my friend with past experience of working in cafes who knows how to use a coffee machine well who has a really good resume applied online to my cafe and didn't hear anything, and I was told they asked me in for the trial shift purely because they 'liked my vibe'.also I look younger so maybe they thought they would be able to underpay me

even more braggy

I get food during my break hehe. This was one of my life goals when I was younger; to work somewhere you get free food, and it's come true hehehehe.
avo on toast 😍'

oops should I be changing the title of this to 'Owlbird's work journey' 
Uni is just not that exciting to talk about right now haha. Here is the one line you have come to my 'uni' journal for:
I am doing biological psychology over the summer, it is good. There you go.Actually, I have always taken handwritten notes, but this is the first time in my life I'm trying typed notes (because it's easier for me to study on train/lunchbreaks etc) it's not as bad as I thought online notes would be.

(Also, in case you have read my first post--> tafe is definitely yeeted from my next year plans.)

One of my friends sometimes does tarot card readings for us, and although I don't believe in any spiritual stuff, she read the cards for me as: stop overcommiting, cut things out of your life you don't need, stop putting your energy into many different places and spreading it thin, stop applying for more things you don't have time for etc. Which may apply to a everyone haha but yeah good advice for me at this point in my life. Now that exams are over though, I do feel pretty calm/content and no longer like I'm stretching my time between things.

It's very satisfying to be able to have a laptop open on the train and make typy-typy noises to show everyone you area cool person who is being productive then get home and start looking at social media again.

Also, help, my good exercise habit has disappeared.

Hope everyone is going good and enjoying summer holidays and relaxing after exams!! You deserve this break! Take care of yourselves friends!!

Edit: removed some stuff for privacy

[Sine]

It's very satisfying to be able to have a laptop open on the train and make typy-typy noises to show everyone you area cool person who is being productive then get home and start looking at social media again.

hahaha 

glad to see you are enjoying working at the school.