The Final Countdown- Zero

The essays have been written. The awards presented. The farewell speeches made. And the finish line finally crossed. Year 12 is over!

Huzzah, I say, HUZZAH!

After an exciting final week of school, our colourful cohort have experienced many “last” moments together. Hearing the bell ring at 3:12pm for the final time on Wednesday afternoon signified that our 52 minute classes were now a thing of the past. Uniform codes went out the proverbial window as daily dress-up’s  took over, making us stand out even more than usual. Food and music and dance became strong bonding ties as we celebrated each other as a peer group. Relationships with teachers eased considerably as they willingly allowed themselves to become the butt of jokes for Muck-Up assembly, while still giving us last minute tips on equation theory, historical content and essay structure. A whirlwind of a week has now come to an end, and so too has our secondary education.

When I started this series of blogs back in March (was it really eight months ago?!), I didn’t think I’d really cope with all the stress associated with Year 12. I didn’t think I’d get all the marks to succeed for the first half of the year, and I wasn’t sure what I’d preference for my further studies. Together with my friends, we’ve done the hard yards, survived the tears and the drama, stressed over deadlines, and applauded our triumphs.

I, personally, am quite proud of what I’ve managed to achieve this year. I’ve worked for the marks I’ve received, survived petty conflicts, and exploded with all the spontaneity and passion possible on stage. Now, as I leave behind the academic community and creative family that is high school, I am practically bursting to move on. Just like the tears that were shed at our farewell, the sadness of leaving fades pretty fast, replaced now by the anticipation that comes with moving on to something bigger and better.

As I am currently mixed between the elation of graduating, and the grudging determination to power through the next few weeks of revision and exams, there’s not much more to say.  The finish line has been crossed. Like any athlete, there’s room for relaxation, but maintaining discipline is key. We’ve jumped the hurdles, made the sharp turns, endured the marathon, burst through the sprints, and completed the course! Well done Year 12! 🙂

The Final Countdown- 100 Days

Study. Trials. Marks. Interviews. Applications. Future. Amazing how such seemingly insignificant words can suddenly strike terror into an 18 year old student. That’s right folks, with exactly 100 days until the end of Year 12; life is now under the status update of “Decisions, decisions”. Truly, at the moment it’s all talk of ATAR aspirations, TAFE and university, plans to move out, and most importantly- what everyone’s doing for schoolies week.

So far, I’ve compared the ups and downs of Year 12 to various athletic races. And as my final 100 days draw closer, I’ve moved on to another event- the Steeplechase. Yes the steeplechase; that crazy event you only see in the Olympics where the athletes run a lot, then jump over a bar into a big puddle. So why the steeplechase? Well, not only have we Year 12 students had to jump many hurdles, maintain stamina, and give the occasional short burst of strength to survive this HSC, but we’re now being confronted with many other obstacles. In my case they fall under two main categories; time-management, and future choices.

Firstly, while time-management is nothing new to me, it’s something I’ve recently put a lot more effort into. As of late, my main struggle has been balancing study time for upcoming assessments and Trials with the temptations of wider social life. Multiple theatre productions, new movies, church events, personal performances, sport commitments, and 18^th birthday parties every single weekend (including my own, hence the recent lack of posts) have finally convinced me that there aren’t enough hours in the day. Or not. Maybe I just need to keep working on a better study routine.

Secondly, it’s at this point I should confess: I am an extremely indecisive being. Study-wise, I’ve finally decided to knuckle down and persist for better marks. Life-wise though, I’m still hopeless when it comes to deciding what flavour ice-cream to buy at the shops. Speaking of ice-cream, allow me to use this cool confection as a parallel to my current predicament of university choices. Like ice-cream flavours, the possibilities for tertiary study are endless, all offering their own interesting advantages. Picture a big empty ice-cream bowl; this is my future. Now picture ten flavours of ice-cream sitting on the kitchen bench; these are my future study options. The way my crazy ambitions are looking, my ice-cream bowl’s going to end up pretty colourful. But it’s what type of ice-cream I scoop into the bowl first, that’ s got me on edge. All I can continue with is watch this space post-HSC people.

So, 100 days to go. That’s 100 days left of library books, uniform restrictions, post-it-notes, teacups in class, kitchen competitions, labelled sports equipment, practice essays, learning lines, dress-ups, party-planning, project proposals, dissing historians, assembly mayhem, Showcase performances, photos with friends and familiar faces. That’s one loaded Steeplechase event; you’ll have to wait another 50 days to find out how I cope with all that. In the meantime, I need some comfort food. Might see if there’s any ice-cream in the fridge…