Pressure is building up...

[Surgeon]

So as each day passes by, my inevitable final high school exams get closer.

I'm absolutely terrified of doing badly for a multitude of reasons.

1) "Failing" (I use that term lightly, not in the literal sense) my parents, grandparents, relatives and friends etc that have high expectations of me and see me as a very diligent and intelligent young man.

2) Failing to live up to my own expectations.

3) Living a mediocre life after a mediocre performance in year 12.

4) Wasting LOTS of money that my parents spent on my private school education.

5) Not getting into a course I want.

I completed two 3/4s last year and I went really badly so if I want a good ATAR by any measure, they need to be in my bottom two.

Quite comfortable with English and Business Management (aiming for 50) but Methods and Chemistry is going to f*** me. If I could get 35 raw in both Methods and Chemistry along with 50 in English and Business Management, I would be set.

Only problem is, my SAC marks have been shithouse for Methods and Unit 4 is going to make it or break it for me in Chemistry since I'm getting a derived examination score for Unit 3.

Absolutely petrified. The pressure is building up and I'm going nowhere quickly.

I have no idea what to do.

[paulsterio]

I honestly don't know what to say about the rest, but I can assure you that (3) will not happen - just because you do badly in Year 12 doesn't mean that you will live a mediocre life and just because you do well in Year 12 doesn't mean that you will live a good life. Life is about one thing - it's about happiness.

It's about finding happiness and joy in the things you do, the person you are and the life which you live.

Just because you won't make a lot of money doesn't mean that you cannot be happy with your life. I know many people who earn quite modest salaries, but are happy with their jobs, their lives and their family. Sure, to them, money would be good, but it is not the centrepiece of their life.

Similarly, you don't have to be in a profession of prestige in order to live a happy life. Just remember that when you are 70 and you look back on your life, you won't want to regret that you spent your whole life chasing plastic toys and luxuries which, in the end don't matter. You don't want to look back and regret that you sacrificed your happiness, your time and your own family and friends in order to earn more.

Lastly, just doing badly in Year 12 doesn't mean you'll get a bad profession, there are many paths to let you go where you want to go.

[nisha]

So as each day passes by, my inevitable final high school exams get closer.

I'm absolutely terrified of doing badly for a multitude of reasons.

1) "Failing" (I use that term lightly, not in the literal sense) my parents, grandparents, relatives and friends etc that have high expectations of me and see me as a very diligent and intelligent young man.

2) Failing to live up to my own expectations.

3) Living a mediocre life after a mediocre performance in year 12.

4) Wasting LOTS of money that my parents spent on my private school education.

5) Not getting into a course I want.

I completed two 3/4s last year and I went really badly so if I want a good ATAR by any measure, they need to be in my bottom two.

Quite comfortable with English and Business Management (aiming for 50) but Methods and Chemistry is going to f*** me. If I could get 35 raw in both Methods and Chemistry along with 50 in English and Business Management, I would be set.

Only problem is, my SAC marks have been shithouse for Methods and Unit 4 is going to make it or break it for me in Chemistry since I'm getting a derived examination score for Unit 3.

Absolutely petrified. The pressure is building up and I'm going nowhere quickly.

I have no idea what to do.

Okay, first of all. Calm the f*ck down. I remember a quote: Worry does not empty the sorrow of tomorrw, but the strength of today. Take heed to that.
Remember, quite a lot of people are in the same situation as you.
Lets see:
1+2) I know what you mean. But really, there is nothing you can do. All you have control over is yourself, not the marks at the end of the year and not even the difficulty of the exam. From what I know, you've had a tough year. Don't beat yourself up, you've gone through some serious shit. Take a deep breath, and keep going (I know its easier said than done). I've had a really tough year, and what I've learnt is that you only can do your best. Theres nothing else. (I did 50+ practise exams, atleast 4 studyguides -including thushans- heinamein,dimensions questions for chemistry and still only received a B+- and yea, I'm pretty shattered as it was my favourite subject and now theres little chance of a 40+at all. But theres nothing you or I can do to change that). All you can do is work hard for the end of years. And don't stress yourself out. Break up study into small sizeable chunks so you don't become disinterested too quickly. I guess, just believe (I know this sounds incredibly corny) that everything happens for a reason. Work your absolute arse off but remember that you cannot expect anything from the exam. Everything will be fine. Just be a little less hard on yourself, and slowly you will turn out to be happier while doing work-it will become eaiser-and less stressed. I cant tell you that you will or will not live up to your expectations. But what I can tell you is you can change the way and the pressure you put on yourself so that studying isn't so hard. The more pressure you put on yourself, the worse it gets. Just kind of read motivational quotes or give yourself treats for doing big tasks. It all helps. Do the best you can, and enjoy the journey.

3) Shut up. Honestly. There are so many backdoor entries into any course that you can get. Don't give up. What you define as mediocre is also important. Remember: if one door closes another one always opens.

4) I've gone to a private school my entire life. Sure, I'm scared of this too. But the more you think about it, the worse it gets. You cannot control the fact that your parents have spent money on you. They have. But stressing yourself out unneccessairly (I never know how to spell that word)is not going to give you any benefits either.

5) Refer to 3)

All I can say is: Do the best you can in the time you have. Just don't burn out (give yourself breaks) and be lenient towards yourself. You can do it. Consistently doing a few hours a night, I'm sure you will get there. Best of luck.

[Surgeon]

Thanks for the replies, guys. Feeling a little better after having read what you have written. It's just a tough time and worrying too much makes it so much worse.. Just have to work toward doing the best I can, little by little, day by day and hopefully things work out.

[Soul_Khan]

So as each day passes by, my inevitable final high school exams get closer.

I'm absolutely terrified of doing badly for a multitude of reasons.

1) "Failing" (I use that term lightly, not in the literal sense) my parents, grandparents, relatives and friends etc that have high expectations of me and see me as a very diligent and intelligent young man.

2) Failing to live up to my own expectations.

3) Living a mediocre life after a mediocre performance in year 12.

4) Wasting LOTS of money that my parents spent on my private school education.

5) Not getting into a course I want.

I completed two 3/4s last year and I went really badly so if I want a good ATAR by any measure, they need to be in my bottom two.

Quite comfortable with English and Business Management (aiming for 50) but Methods and Chemistry is going to f*** me. If I could get 35 raw in both Methods and Chemistry along with 50 in English and Business Management, I would be set.

Only problem is, my SAC marks have been shithouse for Methods and Unit 4 is going to make it or break it for me in Chemistry since I'm getting a derived examination score for Unit 3.

Absolutely petrified. The pressure is building up and I'm going nowhere quickly.

I have no idea what to do.

1) Is absolute bullshit, first of all how you define 'failure' will mean different things to different people. Some people would consider an ATAR of 60 a 'good' score while others might see it as a sign of failure and incompetence.  Remember - this is your life, you don't have to live up to anyone's expectations but yourself, living up to someone's elses expectations is not only dangerous it's stupid. It's your life - therefore your decisions and responsibility.

2) Well you're not the only one. But once again, what does this mean? You can simply create new expectations of yourself or try to tackle them again. Failure can teach valuable lessons on life and also help you to improve by learning from your mistakes.

3) Is just ridiculous. If you think getting a high paying or comfortable leads to an awesome life, it's actually not the case,there are heaps of people who have successful careers who suffer from depression and other illnesses. Your career is just one aspect of your life. What matters the most in life, is family, friends and the experiences and lessons that you gain each day.. that is what truly makes one's life worth living - not their job, wealth, or anything else.

4) Well going to a private school doesn't necessarily entail or guarantee achieving high marks - going to a private school might have been a great networking opportunity for you. Just because you didn't get a 'brilliant' or 'good' (whatever these mean) ATAR doesn't mean your education has been wasted.

5) Well you can always transfer into the course you want, heaps of people do it, it just takes a little drive and motivation that's all, also you can consider repeating at a TAFE institution (repeat a few subjects) if your ATAR is really that bad (<50) or get it into a TAFE course and then transfer into a Uni course later. I've heard stories of people who got into Medicine/Pharmacy/Commerce who initially started from TAFE. My cousin actually was forced to take the TAFE option due to her bad Year 12 performance, but she preserved - she didn't give up and eventually ended up in Bachelor of Commerce at Melbourne Uni, she could have given up but she didn't.. and you shouldn't either. Failure is giving up, not doing 'badly' on your VCE.

VCE doesn't determine your life - that's the bottom line, it may appear that way initially given that so much weight and attention is given to it by family, friends, teachers, and society in general; but it's actually not the case, it's YOU who determines your life not VCE. As cliche as it sounds, when there's a will there's a way.

If you take VCE less seriously and just view it as learning new and interesting things about the world instead of obtaining a score I feel that you will do much better. Goodluck!

[Furbob]

your life isn't made up of 4 digits. Your ATAR is just a one-month old key that gets you in a uni course, nothing more. What you do after that will either be working hard to transfer to your desired course/uni or working hard for the sake of a good WAM/GPA
....or being lazy and procrastinating at 11.58pm

I think what makes the ATAR so gratifying is a combination of a lot of social pressure from peers, competition and the fact that it's your final year of schooling - but try to block these things out and know that life still goes on after year 12 and it gets easier with all these factors gone

Anyway, you seem stressed so I made a list of things you can do to calm down

-download a game called Slender and play it with all the lights off in your room and earphones in
-read a book that isn't 50 Shades of Grey
-take a bat
-be like me and get excited over Pokemon Black/White 2 coming out in October
-watch Dragon Ball Z


do any of the following and go to sleep. Wake up the next day/in 2 minutes and it'll be a new day for you.

[brenden]