brenden's Ask Me Anything

[brenden]

Hi Brenden,
I just have a few questions:
- How did you study for Chemistry SAC's?
- How did you study for Maths SAC's?
- How did you manage to buckle down and achieve a 90+ ATAT?
- What did you of in VCE to keep motivated on a day-to-day basis?
- How did you not panic or stress during exam?
Thank you in advance!!

I didn't take Chemistry or Methods, so can't help you there, haha!

On Motivation:

Copy/Paste from previous question[/spoiler

My tip for motivation is to not worry about it. It’s a myth that you need motivation to do work. You can do work without motivation – you just have to do it, haha!

I mean,  what does motivation even feel like? Does it feel like desire? Does it feel like excitement? If I only did work when I felt excited, nothing would get done. The tip for motivation is to stop believing that it is your savior – stop waiting for it, and become your own savior!

Do you feel motivated to brush your teeth? Do you feel motivated to tie your shoelaces? No. You don't feel motivation for these things. You are motivated to do them, in the sense that if you brush your teeth they will look white, and if you tie your shoes you won't trip. So like, you 'have' motivation, but you don't 'feel' motivated.

Similarly, you don't need to feel motivation to work. Work can be part of your routine - then it just becomes something that happens. I think it's a myth that our capacity for work rests on our capacity to 'feel motivated', and it's a myth that I bought into for ages! I even made the ATAR Notes Motivation Corner (https://atarnotes.com/forum/index.php?topic=135846.0) when I was in Year 12. Every day I would get home from school and watch motivational videos and read motivational question but like... honestly... they aren't really helpful? They last for like an hour? They don't motivate you for the rest of your life. But if you want to achieve stuff beyond Year 12, you're going to have to figure out a way to do work even when the 'feeling' of motivation is missing...... and I guess that's my advice to you!

I will add one thing though - that I am motivated by positivity and opportunity. I don't get motivated by the idea that my life will turn to shit if I screw things up. Although, I do get motivated by the excitement of GAIN. Gaining learning, skills, gaining as a person, and so on. Get home and the house is empty? That's an opportunity to study - and opportunity is exciting. You ate breakfast today? That's an opportunity to study on a full stomach - and opportunity is exciting.

1. Commit to taking all opportunities in front of you.
2. Commit to seeing opportunity everywhere you go.

As for avoiding procrastination… I kind of just embrace it? I don’t feel bad for procrastinating. I just do what I want and get it out of my system, then when I’ve not-done-something for so long that I genuinely need to get on it or I’m fucked, I usually work uninterrupted hahahaha. If I don't want to procrastinate, I don't procrastinate. If I want to procrastinate, I do it until I don't want to anymore. The problem wth people asking "how do I stop procrastinating" is they are actually asking, "How do I stop procrastinating when I want to procrastinate?" and I guess my solution is just... don't. Instead, work on not wanting to procrastinate.

On Panic:
I'm not a panicky person in SACs/Exams, because of this:

Let me have the serenity to accept the things I cannot change
The courage to change the things I can
and the wisdom to know the difference.

If I don't know something, there is no point in panicking. I will perform worse in the exam. The best thing I can do is not panic and move on.

I am like this in most situations in life. Within a moment, I don't panic. I do my panicking/stressing afterwards. If I've ever been in a high-pressure, high-intensity situation, I chill out, but I usually get physical symptoms of shock later on (not talking about exams now, but high-intense life situations). But it's the same for exams. Within the moment, I relax. I beat myself up about it later, not in the middle of when I'm doing what I need to be doing.

On Buckling Down:

Modification of previous answer

I was scared about my score. I was really open with everyone that I wanted to achieve a 90+ ATAR. I fear social judgment a lot, so at the time it was a sort of self-manipulation. I knew I had a penchant for being lazy and giving up on stuff, but I also knew I had a penchant for being deathly scared of what people thought of me, and I really didn't want people to think I was dumb! So at the start of the year I backed myself into a corner by telling anyone who would listen that I would achieve a 90+, so throughout the year that caused me a fair amount of stress because... what if I didn't? What if I failed?

Back then, I also wanted to be a teacher, and it seemed so important to me that I achieve a 90+ ATAR so I had some sort of credibility when I taught my students. I wanted to teach at my old school, and I used to think "in 5 years time, once you've graduated and you come back here to teach, students will ask you what ATAR you got, and you need to be able to show them that they are in the best hands possible".

It was very consuming, and I thought it was the most important thing in the world.

Because of this, I worked harder than I had previously. I was very disciplined (half of the time) because of the way I felt about Year 12, and that's what made me buckle down. 

[brenden]

How do you study for a subject that you do not enjoy?

Waaadddddddup Josh

Basically man, I don't depend on motivation for shit like that. I just do it even though I don't care about it.

Click the spoiler below - the stuff I've coloured in red is the most relevant to this answer. I study for subjects I don't enjoy in the same way I study for subejcts that I enjoy..... I just enjoy doing it less- haha!

On Motivation:

Copy/Paste from previous question

My tip for motivation is to not worry about it. It’s a myth that you need motivation to do work. You can do work without motivation – you just have to do it, haha!

I mean,  what does motivation even feel like? Does it feel like desire? Does it feel like excitement? If I only did work when I felt excited, nothing would get done. The tip for motivation is to stop believing that it is your savior – stop waiting for it, and become your own savior!

Do you feel motivated to brush your teeth? Do you feel motivated to tie your shoelaces? No. You don't feel motivation for these things. You are motivated to do them, in the sense that if you brush your teeth they will look white, and if you tie your shoes you won't trip. So like, you 'have' motivation, but you don't 'feel' motivated.

Similarly, you don't need to feel motivation to work. Work can be part of your routine - then it just becomes something that happens. I think it's a myth that our capacity for work rests on our capacity to 'feel motivated', and it's a myth that I bought into for ages! I even made the ATAR Notes Motivation Corner (https://atarnotes.com/forum/index.php?topic=135846.0) when I was in Year 12. Every day I would get home from school and watch motivational videos and read motivational question but like... honestly... they aren't really helpful? They last for like an hour? They don't motivate you for the rest of your life. But if you want to achieve stuff beyond Year 12, you're going to have to figure out a way to do work even when the 'feeling' of motivation is missing...... and I guess that's my advice to you!

I will add one thing though - that I am motivated by positivity and opportunity. I don't get motivated by the idea that my life will turn to shit if I screw things up. Although, I do get motivated by the excitement of GAIN. Gaining learning, skills, gaining as a person, and so on. Get home and the house is empty? That's an opportunity to study - and opportunity is exciting. You ate breakfast today? That's an opportunity to study on a full stomach - and opportunity is exciting.

1. Commit to taking all opportunities in front of you.
2. Commit to seeing opportunity everywhere you go.

As for avoiding procrastination… I kind of just embrace it? I don’t feel bad for procrastinating. I just do what I want and get it out of my system, then when I’ve not-done-something for so long that I genuinely need to get on it or I’m fucked, I usually work uninterrupted hahahaha. If I don't want to procrastinate, I don't procrastinate. If I want to procrastinate, I do it until I don't want to anymore. The problem wth people asking "how do I stop procrastinating" is they are actually asking, "How do I stop procrastinating when I want to procrastinate?" and I guess my solution is just... don't. Instead, work on not wanting to procrastinate.

[brenden]

Hi!
I want to know if you know anything about the advantages and disadvantages of being a part-time student? There is a subject I want to do but unfortunately my school doesn't offer it, so I want to do it outside of school via distance ed. But that would leave me with three subjects at school next year, as I am taking 2 three four's this year. Should I become a part time student or just take another course at school?

Hey Alein!

You'd be taking 4 subjects, that sounds pretty "full-time" to me!

I know you mean that you'll be taking 3 subjects at school, so presumably you'll have a lot of free periods.

For me, that was a big advantage, because it gave me more freedom, and that's what I wanted. With free periods, if I needed a break, I could do nothing, and if I needed to work, I could work. If you're in class..... you have to be in class. You don't have a choice (unless you don't go).

If you're a person who desperately depends upon the structure of the classroom setting you would never ever do any work during a free period, it could potentially be disadvantageous but it sounds like an advantage to me. More flexibility is a good thing for someone who employs good strategy. If you have free periods before a SAC, it means you can study for the SAC and catch up on what you should have been doing later, maximising your SAC score but not sacrificing the other subject. You can't do that if you're stuck in a class learning other stuff. Personally, if you want to do the distance ed subject, I'd do it and be a part-time student.

If you hate that subject you can always drop it and do 3 subjects at school - you'll still graduate with 5 Year 12 subjects, which is plenty enough for a good ATAR!

[brenden]

Hello, would you be able to assist in Biology questions? What is your advice for maximizing your opportunities of getting into your desired course?

Hey Melody! I know literally shit all about Biology BUT... If you have Biology questions, I can tell you exactly where to make them, and then tell other people who I know that are good at Biology to answer your question to make sure it gets answered!

What is your advice for maximizing your opportunities of getting into your desired course?
Basically, work hard at getting a good ATAR. That's the best bet you can take to maximise your opportunity. If you don't get the ATAR for the course, hopefully you will get the ATAR for a similar course at the same uni, in which case the second part of my answer is "work hard at getting good university grades", because they make transferring really easy!

[brenden]

Thanks Brenden- love the analogy btw!!!

Yeah I kinda do get it, but what really stressed me out is that on my 2nd SAC I bummed out. I actually gave up half-way though the SAC and refused to complete it. I left out half of it as was legitimately thinking of dropping out. So that is where I gave rank 2 the advantage. and that's why I'm concerned. Because he is not as strong as me- I've been getting higher than him ever since I'm trying hard. So I'm freaking out because  wanna be rank one so that I can get above 45- you feel me

Thanks again Brenden

Fuck man, that sucks. Shit happens, hey - don't beat yourself up about it. I've certainly done worse in a SAC and it ended up okay for me haha.

You could still Rank 1 honestly, if you do consistently better than the other guy that SAC might not even prevent you from getting the top rank. You're still a chance at 45+, just keep working hard, and keep your mind level!

[brenden]

Hey man,
would you happen to know what you'd need to be averaging in subjects to get above 70?
Subjects: English, HHD, Further, Food, Business

Yooo jason.

Honestly, so much of that depends on your exam performance - because at this stage your SACs haven't been moderated yet so speaking of "averages" - what you're getting now might go up or down at the end of the year depending on a whole bunch of things, so it's super hard to say. Aim to get 100% on every SAC and see what happens haha. But like definitely try for 70-80% on SACs if you can, and at the end of the year make sure you do a minimum of like 3-5 practice exams for all subjects and you should be able to get it comfortably!

[brenden]

What is your favourite word in the English language?

Favourite word in the English language is 'fuck'.

What's your go to comeback? (Asking for a *friend*, not because I want to use it against you )

Anything that starts with, "You know what, <comeback here>" or, "Well... <comeback here>"

You hit up the 'filler' words to buy yourself some time to think of an original and highly unique comeback

Otherwise, I just say "Nup, ya dreamin'." No standard comeback for you, sorry, Alwin!!

[brenden]

How difficult is it to get a high GPA >6 in law? How much study did you end up doing?

Honestly, I didn't take that many Law subjects, but >6 is achievable but tough. It's not an insane goal or anything like that - definitely achievable if you work consistently over a number of years.

As for how much study I ended up doing - most of my time was spent on Uni/study, with some time on recreation, some time on work, and some time on socialising.

[brenden]

Is this 'ask me anything' just one large ploy to achieve this sooner??

Are you interested in quantum realities because the answer to this question is both yes and no.

Spoiler

give me your fucking upvotes

[brenden]

I love that in Blog post 6 you're like, I wish I were like Emily, as you're talking about English. You foresaw the greatness that is Ms Tyrrell!

Hahahaha you'd love it even more if you knew the Emily I was actually talking about! She ended up getting a perfect score in English as well, and from similar circumstances to the NSW Emily. It blows my mind to think about - I wish you knew the other Emily so we could be mindblown together hahaha, it's actually crazy.

[brenden]

i'm not quite sure if questions have closed, but if not:

if you had to go back and do another year of uni, is there anything you'd do differently? and also, did you seriously eat all that cake alone because holy shit that's probably the most motivating thing i've seen all year omg.

I’d be more social. I was ridiculously anti-social in uni. Would always wear headphones, have a hood on, and generally wear a scowl on my face to discourage social interaction, so I didn’t really make any ‘uni friends’. I think that’s a real shame – I was a bit too immature at the time. If I went back, I’d definitely make more of an effort to make more friends!

I SWEAR TO YOU  WITH NICK AND LAUREN AS MY WITNESS THAT I ATE EVERY LAST BIT OF THAT CAKE, AND THEN SPOONED UP THE MELTED PORTIONS AND DRANK IT. MAXIMUM CAKE WAS CONSUMED, PLEASE BE AWE-INSPIRED.

[brenden]

[OKAY I THINK I'VE ANSWERED EVERYTHING PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF I MISSED SOMETHING AND PLEASE FEEL FREE TO ASK MORE QUESTIONS]

[strawberries]

hey brenden
thanks for answering my questions

sorry I have one more question for you:
what are your opinions on tutorials? did you participate in them a lot?
(personally, I hate them, so how do you deal with it?)

thanks once again

[sweetiepi]

I SWEAR TO YOU  WITH NICK AND LAUREN AS MY WITNESS THAT I ATE EVERY LAST BIT OF THAT CAKE, AND THEN SPOONED UP THE MELTED PORTIONS AND DRANK IT. MAXIMUM CAKE WAS CONSUMED, PLEASE BE AWE-INSPIRED.

Was the cake good though?

(Lowkey impressed)

[brenden]

hey brenden
thanks for answering my questions

sorry I have one more question for you:
what are your opinions on tutorials? did you participate in them a lot?
(personally, I hate them, so how do you deal with it?)

thanks once again

No worries at all!!

Honestly, most of the time I was very participatory, and got a lot out of people disagreeing with what I said. Often, stating your view then having others disagree is the best way to improve your own logic and refine (or abandon) your argument... especially when you have an essay coming up and can basically figure out whether your tutor approves or disapproves of your reasoning ahead of time.

If I didn't like the tutorial I'd just shut my mouth and listen, and try to learn as much as I could from other discussions - again, spotting areas that certain arguments could be refined.

I think they are an awesome learning tool, whether you are participating or not, and very beneficial for assessments!