ATAR Notes: Forum
VCE Stuff => Victorian Education Discussion => The VCE Journey Journal => Topic started by: clarke54321 on August 24, 2017, 09:23:36 pm
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Hey everyone!
I am Clarke54321, and if you are wondering where my awfully generic username of 54321 comes from, you can ask my Dad, who suggested the name when I first created my AN account. Little did I know back then that this site would become so important and that I might actually want to create a name with a little more zing. But nevertheless, this is my AN identity and it's kind of grown on me! :D
Given Zhen's courage to create his own thread, I thought I too should find it in me to create a VCE journey topic.
Like most VCE students, I've found this year to be completely unpredictable. There are days when you feel so in control and ready to take on all your goals and then there are others, where you feel utterly dejected and doubtful. Even though we are quickly approaching exams, I still endure both of these extremes. But personally, I think these oscillating emotions have been really important. They've taught me to reflect on my own thoughts, question why I feel certain feelings, and how I can look at one situation in multiple ways.
Looking forward, I just want to savour my last few weeks at high school. So easily can these moments become lost in stress and preoccupation. I know how fast these moments will slip away beneath me and how soon I will have lots of free time on my hands. Goodness, I am not sure if anyone else feels this way, but I am secretly worrying about not having the adrenaline rush of SACs and exams. Looks like I'll be spending a lot more time on AN during this period ;)
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Heya Clarke! ;D Looking forward to hearing more about your Year 12 experiences! What are you most excited for once exams are over? Any plans yet?
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Heya Clarke! ;D Looking forward to hearing more about your Year 12 experiences! What are you most excited for once exams are over? Any plans yet?
Hey Coffee!
Hmm....That's a tricky one. I really haven't thought much about the break after exams (apart from the fact that I am quite anxious about it!). But perhaps I am most looking forward to university preparation. After having a brief look at the subject handbook, there are tons of extraordinarily fascinating subjects on offer. Namely philosophy :D
Although I am studying German this year, it will be nice to immerse myself in the language without the stress of VCE. With all the extra time on my hands I might even take part in a few workshops or seek out some German communities in Melbourne!
I'll keep you updated on my plans as the year progresses :)
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Although I am studying German this year, it will be nice to immerse myself in the language without the stress of VCE. With all the extra time on my hands I might even take part in a few workshops or seek out some German communities in Melbourne!
This is exciting!
I did French in VCE, and although I can't study it at uni, I feel a lot more interested in the language now than I did back in high school, because it's outside of that schooling environment, and I don't have to please a teacher! Now I choose to keep my French skills up purely off my own bat, and it makes it a lot more enjoyable :) A lot more flexibility makes a huge difference!
Can't wait to read your other updates, Clarke! :D
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3/09/17
I've had a really productive weekend, which is always weirdly calming for me. At this time of the year, I've suddenly felt a huge surge in the workload.
German- Scary how close the oral exam is. Slowly but surely everything is coming together. While it can be such a lovely language, it can also be such a pain (ie. is it goddamn die, der or das?) Note to self: Listen to more SBS podcasts. I listen to lots of Easy German episodes on YouTube- the interviews that they record are so fascinating. I highly recommend this channel for language learners.
Methods- Coming in as least favourite subject. I find it to be so dull. I mean, I put in effort and am doing practice papers, but feel no connection to the subject (lol do people feel 'connected' to subjects?). It's important that I strictly time myself when doing practice papers. I didn't do enough of this for Further last year. The time isn't necessarily important for finishing purposes, but for stress control.
English- Becoming a bit boring. How many comparisons can one make between texts? Recently I've been doing more argument analyses under time. On average they are 4 pages long. I'm really trying to cut down by devising concise plans. I need to work on this. Also need to return to text response. Even if I don't get to write a full essay, I should just plan in-depth, detailed paragraphs. This will cut down on work load and stress!
Literature- Such a challenging, yet stimulating subject. Having a great time analysis poetry at the moment, but struggling to nicely articulate ideas in essays. Compared to English, you really feel absorbed by the language of Literature. Hopefully I'll be able to write some shorter CPAs this week. Again, I need to re-visit Lit Perspectives.
Feeling ready to take on the week ahead 8)
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German- Scary how close the oral exam is. Slowly but surely everything is coming together. While it can be such a lovely language, it can also be such a pain (ie. is it goddamn die, der or das?) Note to self: Listen to more SBS podcasts. I listen to lots of Easy German episodes on YouTube- the interviews that they record are so fascinating. I highly recommend this channel for language learners.
hahaha this omg
Viel Glück!
What's your detailed study topic if you don't mind me asking? :)
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hahaha this omg
Viel Glück!
What's your detailed study topic if you don't mind me asking? :)
Vielen Dank :D
Widerstand im Dritten Reich. Das gefällt mir sehr!
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Vielen Dank :D
Widerstand im Dritten Reich. Das gefällt mir sehr!
ahh sehr cool/interessant! :D
goodluck with it!
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9/14/17
Have been feeling more tired/stressed than usual this week. Perhaps it is because of how close exams are. But this has allowed me to truly evaluate the importance of VCE. Given that my desired course lingers around the 90 ATAR mark, I really don't need to be spending every minute of my day doing and thinking about school. It's surprising just how much energy you can take up by thinking about VCE. Once I pull down the expectation and accept that what I'm doing is the best I can possibly do, I don't think exams will appear as ominous.
Does anyone else have ways of dealing with expectation? :)
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9/14/17
Have been feeling more tired/stressed than usual this week. Perhaps it is because of how close exams are. But this has allowed me to truly evaluate the importance of VCE. Given that my desired course lingers around the 90 ATAR mark, I really don't need to be spending every minute of my day doing and thinking about school. It's surprising just how much energy you can take up by thinking about VCE. Once I pull down the expectation and accept that what I'm doing is the best I can possibly do, I don't think exams will appear as ominous.
Does anyone else have ways of dealing with expectation? :)
Hello.
Dealing with expectations. With this, I usually try to focus in the present moment and do what is best for that time only. So this is basically being in the now.
For example, when I'm waiting for a mark of a test, I get that anxiety about how I had done and if I got a decent mark.
However, usually when I got home or something, I usually forget about it and my mind is usually focused on the homework I have to do. Oh. Wait, I just realised that's what you were saying. Oops sorry about the ranting.
Another thing that you can do is meditation. Yes, believe me, it does help.
This really makes you focus and empty your mind so you're focusing on the tasks that are in the now.
Sorry if this wasn't helpful but I hope this helped.
:)
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18/09/17
Had my final methods SAC today. Quite simply- it was horrible. But all of them have been, so I wasn't expecting anything extraordinary. The school has set such difficult SACs, that I don't feel motivated to uphold my enthusiasm for the subject. If I decide to put it in my bottom two, it won't make any difference if I get a 25 or 35 (haha.... this makes a lot better! ;D) Have any of you consciously allocated a subject for your bottom two? I never know if it is the right decision to neglect a subject.
Tomorrow is my English comparative SAC. Here's hoping to a good prompt! I've really enjoyed the comparative part of the new English study design. In many ways, it's easier than the good old text response. Undeniably, English has been my favourite subject all year. Before I start timing myself, I want to write a few more quality text response essays. It's important that I establish quality before timing myself.
Also have a German SAC this week. Shouldn't be too bad.....
Lit. I still have some more poems to analyse. Will start doing sets of three now :D Should be interesting. I look forward to doing some creative writing subjects at Uni and maybe writing some poems of my own!
Looking forward to the break (if you can even call it that) 8)
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18/09/17
Had my final methods SAC today. Quite simply- it was horrible. But all of them have been, so I wasn't expecting anything extraordinary. The school has set such difficult SACs, that I don't feel motivated to uphold my enthusiasm for the subject. If I decide to put it in my bottom two, it won't make any difference if I get a 25 or 35 (haha.... this makes a lot better! ;D) Have any of you consciously allocated a subject for your bottom two? I never know if it is the right decision to neglect a subject.
I knew that Methods would be in my bottom two (was by far my weakest subject, I wasn't that interested in it, and didn't need it for uni), and had a fair inkling that Chem would be there too (only ended up there just!). I didn't neglect Methods, like I still studied for it, but if I had the choice between doing, say, study for Methods, or study for Bio, I did study for Bio, because I knew I was going to do much better in Bio, and if something was gonna be in my top 4 - even increasing my study score by 1 would have a bigger impact than improving something in my bottom 2 by several points.
Honestly though, like don't really stress about it. If you believe you have the capacity to do a lot better in a subject, put a bit more time into that. But still try for all of your subjects :)
Good luck for your upcoming SACs! I'm sure you'll smash them ;D
And make sure you take time to relax and enjoy yourself over the holidays! Definitely not gonna be bad for you to have a few days off. :)
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Lit. I still have some more poems to analyse. Will start doing sets of three now :D Should be interesting. I look forward to doing some creative writing subjects at Uni and maybe writing some poems of my own!
Looking forward to the break (if you can even call it that) 8)
Yasss (if you're reading poetry - I recommend a healthy dose of Larkin on the side if you can grab a collection of his poems in the library ;))
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Lit. I still have some more poems to analyse. Will start doing sets of three now :D Should be interesting. I look forward to doing some creative writing subjects at Uni and maybe writing some poems of my own!
What poetry are you doing for Lit?
My class is doing Seamus Heaney which I love!
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What poetry are you doing for Lit?
My class is doing Seamus Heaney which I love!
Hey!
We're studying Chris Wallace-Crabbe- a Melbourne poet. I just love his work. He tackles all those big, but sadly elusive questions.
Seamus Heaney seems like a wonderful poet too. Personally, I've never read his poems, but from what I've heard they're amazing. There's something so engaging and enthralling about poetry. It allows you to be 'in' the language, as weird as that sounds. Will you study poetry on the exam?
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Hey!
We're studying Chris Wallace-Crabbe- a Melbourne poet. I just love his work. He tackles all those big, but sadly elusive questions.
Seamus Heaney seems like a wonderful poet too. Personally, I've never read his poems, but from what I've heard they're amazing. There's something so engaging and enthralling about poetry. It allows you to be 'in' the language, as weird as that sounds. Will you study poetry on the exam?
Yes I am definitely doing poetry for the exam. I love how you are able to be super specific with language choices and poetic devices. Also there are only so many combinations that can appear whereas with a novel there are practically endless.
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30/09/17
Wow this day is significant for two reasons. It is the last day of September and Richmond won a premiership. Anything is possible.
But in all honesty, I can't believe how quickly the year is slipping by. In two months everything will be done and dusted. Still not too sure what I will do when it all ends, though. I'm not sure whether I'll feel elated or strangely flat. Probably the latter given the intensity of this year.
The holidays have been a good opportunity to gather my usually scattered thoughts. I love making lists... they make me feel so productive :D
It's hard to say whether my revision has actually been effective or not. For many of my subjects I've actually recorded myself and then listened to it back. It's much easier than continually writing out old essays.
While it may sound bad, I actually haven't started timing myself for subjects yet. I'm really big on quality and so want all my interpretations, understandings, arguments and general thought processes down pat first. This coming week I have practice exams so will be timing myself. Perhaps this will signify that I'm more ready than I think. Hopefully.
I'm also trying to work more on mental preparation. This is, well for me, the biggest part of any revision. It's so important to back yourself, even when everything isn't going as planned. As I've experienced in SACs, this attitude can turn things from the seemingly disastrous to the unexpectedly good.
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17/10/17
Not long now! :D I know I've always expressed anxiety regarding the end of school, but I'm actually looking forward to move on. Since my German oral, I've just been feeling ready to take on everything else and be done (maybe so I can stop obsessing over grammatical errors in the oral ) :P
English- Probably the subject I'm most prepared for and confident in. I'll just be refining my skills, breaking down prompts and doing maybe 2-3 more 3-hour practices. It's important that I don't get burnt out. Ha! In roughly two weeks time I'll be done with the complex woman that is Medea.
Literature- This requires a lot of mental energy. Without a doubt, Lit is the most intellectually stimulating subject I've done. I'm feeling good for my section A response. I'll need to spend some more time experimenting with poem combinations, though. Timed responses will come later.
Methods- It's growing on me. I've been going through VCAA papers again to familiarise myself with VCAA 'style.' Given the difficulty of the school SACs, I have no idea where I stand with Methods. I'll just keep going with practice papers and see where it goes.
German- Such a hard subject to study for. The oral has dramatically improved my vocabulary in the language, which I am so grateful for. I need to be more meticulous with grammar. Perhaps I'll continue with VCAA papers and hope for the best.
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1/11/17
Today has been a pretty good day. After having received MoM, and the completing a better than expected English paper, I'm feeling alright. Though I must admit that it was one of the most overwhelming things I've ever had to do. I need to learn how to not mull things over. My goodness... I've just been doing it with my Medea essay! It's so easy to question, double guess and feel angry over things not said. But I know that it was my best given the time restraints and general nerves. Now looking forward to lovely Methods ;)
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14/11/17
This is such a strange time of year. Everything seems disorientated and confused. All year I've been striving for this abstract, arbitrary number that would somehow reflect my schooling efforts. But after having done most of my exams I've come to realise how ridiculous this kind of mindset is.
It's so odd how you can walk out of an exam, feel ok, and then mull everything over; making it seem like a disaster in a few minutes.
I honestly cannot wait for this year to be over. Just to remove myself from this whole VCE system will be liberating. I think it is only then that I'll be able to unearth my true interests/passions. VCE, in many ways, has obfuscated my sense of clarity. The break is also looking very appealing at this point in time :D
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14/11/17
This is such a strange time of year. Everything seems disorientated and confused. All year I've been striving for this abstract, arbitrary number that would somehow reflect my schooling efforts. But after having done most of my exams I've come to realise how ridiculous this kind of mindset is.
It's so odd how you can walk out of an exam, feel ok, and then mull everything over; making it seem like a disaster in a few minutes.
I honestly cannot wait for this year to be over. Just to remove myself from this whole VCE system will be liberating. I think it is only then that I'll be able to unearth my true interests/passions. VCE, in many ways, has obfuscated my sense of clarity. The break is also looking very appealing at this point in time :D
Don't worry. This happens to basically everybody who ever cared about it at the time.
You work so hard, then suddenly it's over and you're sitting here going: "Well, now what?"
The good news is that the post-exam non-alcoholic equivalent of a drunken stupor is often easily cured by sleeping and getting your life back together.
You're almost there, Clarke54321! Just keep chipping away!
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All year I've been striving for this abstract, arbitrary number that would somehow reflect my schooling efforts. But after having done most of my exams I've come to realise how ridiculous this kind of mindset is.
God this resonates... couldn't agree more
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14/12/17
I can't believe it's been a month since I last posted here! To my surprise, the time between my last few exams and results day has come around fast. Throughout this time I've been on an emotional spectrum (much like my experience with VCE as a whole). On some days I've felt excited to see my results, and on others quite dejected. It's difficult not to lapse into a state of self doubt or overthinking. I'm sure every VCE student does this. All year I've had goals in my head, which have either diminished or evolved. But after these exams, I think it's safe to say that the goals will fall short (as much as I don't like to admit it). Confronting this fact is exceedingly hard, and even saddening. However, I've tried to build perspective in these last few days. Things are never as bad as they seem. After all, receiving my ATAR will just be a mere moment :)
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Hope you absolutely smash it! :)
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I think it’s finally time to close this journey :D
The last week has been tumultuous. With the release of ATARs, increased media coverage of scores and general VCE chatter, it’s been somewhat overwhelming. For something that should be, in my opinion, a time for personal and private gratification, it has in many ways become an opportunity to compare students. Only this year has such negative exposure become palpable.
I’m looking forward to cleansing myself of this toxicity. Many refuse to, or simply cannot, achknowledge just how damaging this VCE environment can be for students. Through some exciting new volunteering prospects I endeavour to ease the mental burden of this system (even if it’s only for one student).
In a different vein, I’m looking forward to studying a Bachelor of Arts at UoM next year! Who knows, maybe I’ll be back with a University Journal.....:)