Owlbird's uni journey!

[Owlbird83]

I feel like this is mostly negative so don’t read if you don’t want - (also i feel like my entry would sound different/different perspective if i was in a better mood).

Should I change courses? I feel so drained/tense. Aaaa. I haven’t met anyone at uni who doesn’t feel stressed at the moment (everyone’s experience of stress is different and valid). I don’t remember year 12 as too stressful but this is a lot harder. What course would I change to? I would rather study science that is not psych, but the jobs don’t appeal to me as much. (nursing/physio sounds a little appealing (I know it’s not too late to change, but it kind of is to me (also I like Clayton hehe))
I’m struggling doing three units how am I going to be able to go back to 4 units next sem? It’s honestly embarrassing how behind I am.

At least I’m probably a more well rounded person than year 12, I’m doing a lot more extracurricular stuff and probably learning more skills instead of getting good grades.
One thing I’m not happy about is that I’m becoming a person who puts minimum effort into things. I feel like if I could re start this year I’d commit to less so I could put my full effort into fewer things rather than spreading it thinly. (it eats into self esteem when you were probably the group member who was less prepared ).

I dislike how getting a 7 on a psych assignment is technically above average, it’s not very satisfying. 8s feel out of reach no matter the effort you put in. I feel like my WAM is only going to go downhill, I am predicting it to drop a lot next time results are released, especially because 2nd year units are weighted more. (I need to make a final brag/complaint before WAM plummets into an abyss: I didn’t even get it to 80, I’m 0.5 off aaa so close) I really need to stay above 70 because I need that to get into honours. I thought that would be easy, but now I’m not sure (sorry about this sounding braggy, I’m just trying to cling to remnants of the time when I was considered ‘high achieving’). Also, until recently I didn’t think it would be *too* difficult to get into masters, but I was talking to someone who sounds like they’ve had a broad range of psych experience and they didn’t think they could even get into masters because it’s meant to be uber competitive eek.

Also, if anyone is interested, I’m currently doing:
PSY3051 – Cognition and Perception
PSY2071 – Developmental Psychology
PHY2011 - Neuroscience of Communication, Sensory and Control Systems (physiology) 🤩

I kind of stopped doing a gratitude journal around the end of last year-ish, and I feel like I was a lot better at finding positives everyday back then. I might try implement that again.

I randomly bumped into 2 separate friends at uni today and it reminded me why I like uni! Aaa it’s so fun to spontaneously see people you know!

Also, I’m really lucky to be doing an internship at a sleep research lab! Its very exciting and feels so valuable that I can talk to all these people who have done psych and are kind of like further up in my potential pathway and see what research is like.

I submitted 2 major-ish assignments today so I'll probably have more energy again soon yay.

I hope everyone is doing okay and taking care of themselves 

[Geoo]

Super nice to see an update, even though I haven't even started uni I can really relate to the whole job vs passion thing when it comes to picking a course. The job market in science isn't great, and most of the lab based stuff isn't my cup of tea, but I love to study it. So I really appreciated you taking the time to write about it as well. I hope you can find out what direction you want to take, and as you said it's not too late to change your mind if you wish, good luck I know it's not an easy decision!

Good luck with all the assignments and I hope you're taking care of yourself! That internship at the sleep research sounds so interesting, glad to see that you're enjoying it! Can't wait till the next update 

[The Cat In The Hat]

I hope it all picks up for you. And I like that there's an update!

[heids]

Clayton offers nursing and it's only 3 years with a decent job market and really broad career range that could include mental health nursing if psych is your thing...

[Owlbird83]

Thanks for the replies Geoo, Cat and heids!   
A friend was telling me about her nursing placement and it simultaneously does and doesn't make me want to learn nursing, I have so much respect for them! I love how the course is training people to be a nurse from the beginning and how early they teach practical skills needed for the job. I think if psych doesn't work out I'd go back to uni to study nursing. All the people i've talked to who do nursing seem to love their course.
Hi!

I feel like I need another entry because the stress I conveyed in my last entry is not an accurate reflection of how I’ve been feeling since then. I feel more content and think I can catch up on everything. I think I was also somewhat avoiding studying with /catching up with friends when I felt like I didn’t have enough time, but I’ve since been studying more with friends

the not fun to read part

I made an excel spreadsheet with potential/actual marks for each assessment in each unit and have been adjusting them to see how each assessment score affects the potential final mark for each subject. I’m aiming for above 90 in physiology but that might be a little unrealistic so maybe 85+. I think I’m past the point where I can get HD in cognition&perception, hopefully mid 70s. As for developmental, I’m hoping to get higher than a credit heheh, I got 5.5 on a 25% lab report and it’s unrealistic for me to pull that up too much as the  subject mostly uses written assessments over tests.

I’ve gotten slightly less chill about marks after being told a mid 80s plus WAM is needed for masters. Last year I was thinking I only needed to stay above 70 so was more okay with bad marks even though I still wanted to try my best. I think I could just get WAM to 80 if I get 72, 79, 90 for my subjects so probably (very) unlikely.

I found out that if you fulfill everything in the criteria for psych that gets you 60% on assignments (and to get higher you need to go above and beyond lol), so its kind of good to know that, but also somewhat annoying haha.

random updates of stuff
-I’ve gotten really good at not buying clothes unnecessarily (except I slipped a bit at a neighbour’s garage sale, a lady was selling her daughter’s engagement party dress for $5 and it was pretty and they were nice, ...its too fancy to wear though aaaaa)
-I happy/proud that I ran a uni art session by myself (normally there’s 2 people but my co-host couldn’t make it). I have often felt self-critical thoughts about not doing a good job running them, but this time I felt more relaxed and maybe because of this the people were more comfortable.
-I’m excited for after exams I have a growing list of things to do, maybe I’ll post it here to keep me accountable because holiday-me often abandons the list of fun-productive things I want to achieve during the breaks.
-I got my ears pierced finally! Yay real earrings!
-I saw a real life wild owl pretty close, a youngish boobook !!! idk if I’ve ever seen a wild owl that well, if I have seen them they are just glimpses of silent birds flying at night that I assume are owls.
-

I made this!

I meant this to be super short, but then it became medium length. I want to write a more comprehensive entry, might be after exams.

[TheCappelienGuy]

Hey Owlbird!

I was just having a read through your subject reviews and found out you were doing the same course as me! I have found your progress very similar to mine, I enjoy the bio side of psych and have struggled with 7 being "above the average", but it does get better as you progress through the course!

I was just wondering if you had applied for any internships that are available through the B.Psych program because they will provide you with a greater insight into psych research. I have also discovered that finding the right tutor really impacts on the subject as a whole, I know it shouldn't be that way but the tutor can really change the whole subject.

Give me a message if you have any questions about anything B.Psych related, I am happy to give my advice.

Keep up the great work, I find your work ethic really inspiring.

[Owlbird83]

Hey Owlbird!

I was just having a read through your subject reviews and found out you were doing the same course as me! I have found your progress very similar to mine, I enjoy the bio side of psych and have struggled with 7 being "above the average", but it does get better as you progress through the course!

I was just wondering if you had applied for any internships that are available through the B.Psych program because they will provide you with a greater insight into psych research. I have also discovered that finding the right tutor really impacts on the subject as a whole, I know it shouldn't be that way but the tutor can really change the whole subject.

Give me a message if you have any questions about anything B.Psych related, I am happy to give my advice.

Keep up the great work, I find your work ethic really inspiring.

Hi TheCappelienGuy! Thanks so much for your reply! It's exciting to find other people doing B. Psych, there aren't a lot of people on here doing it! I did find an psych internship outside of the program at a sleep lab which does feel very valuable for learning about future pathways and the practical applications of psych. I do want to try apply for others after this to see what areas are like too. Have you done internships/what areas? I feel like all of my tutors so far have been "good" there haven't been any that have stood out so far in a bad or "amazing" way. Are you planning on applying for the psych masters at Monash? Thanks so much for the advice offer, I appreciate it! 

[lm21074]

Hey Owlbird!

How are things going?