study with me

so after selling my soul to vce these past 2 years i ended up with an end result of a 97.15 ATAR which for those of you who don’t know is out of 99.95 for all australian students. while this may not be an outstanding score to some, i just wanted to share some tips for those going into vce that i wish i would’ve known before i did! 

✓ put your mental health above everything

i spent countless afternoons and nights, browsing youtube and obsessing over my favourite band feeling varying levels of guilt. however, without this down time i would’ve gone insane. no one can study 24/7 and no matter how important your grades may be, your health always comes first. so know your limits and don’t feel guilty for taking a break once in a while. 

✘ don’t get caught up in the competitive side of vce

at the end of the day, vce is in fact a competition where you are ranked against everyone else doing your subjects. that being said, don’t get caught up in all the drama of who got the top score and instead, focus your energy on doing the best you can. i admit, i was a bit disappointed when i didn’t see my name on the list of english distinctions at my school, however this motivated me further and i ended up getting a better score than almost everyone on that list!

When I say I hate school. 

I do not mean that I hate the idea of school. 

I am lucky to get an education

I am privileged to be able to access the resources I do. 

I enjoy the subjects I study. 

I understand education unlocks opportunities for me that would not otherwise be in my reach. 

What I mean is. 

I hate the pressure put upon me that makes me feel like no more than a grade. 

I hate that I have only half an hour to show what I have learnt over two years or more. 

I hate a system that requires me to study all day every day, to feel guilty for ever taking time out to enjoy my life. 

That turns acquiring knowledge into a chore. 

I am unable to retain that much information, and be able to spell out a correct answer in limited time under pressure. 

I believe it is wrong that even in creative subjects creativity is frowned upon. 

I want to be able to think for myself, not churn out pre-learned answers that fall in line with a mark scheme. 

Written by someone who has already had their education, who does not even study this subject, who does not know me. 

I dislike the fact that I can not learn simply for the love of learning, but that everything must be a step to the next level, 

a job, 

a career,

 university. 

That I am expected to make plans for a future I have no knowledge off, whilst sticking to a system that allows so little diversity. 

I hate the cost of school books, tuition fees, trips and tutors, how to access opportunities everything has to be prepaid. 

And I hate the fact that no matter how hard I try, how much I strive, at the end school will still reduce me to no more than a grade. 

I don’t self-censor my inner critique of the education system to make myself seem cool. 

Yet at the end of another school day I’m to exhausted to say 

anything more than

I hate school.

— the love yourself highlight reels are an absolute work of art 

8-9-2017 . september . ♫ honeymoon - b.a.p ♪ today i: worked on my résumé, read part of a book, sent an important email

I haven’t read an actual book in a lot longer than I’d like to admit, but finally I picked up Letters to a Young Mathematician again, and it made me realize that my love for math is not something that will flourish if I leave it alone to fend for itself—I have to supply it with new material, new problems to solve, otherwise it will fade like many of my other loves have. I have to be careful, especially with math, because while it may be found in everything from architecture to agriculture to electronics, it’s always hidden beneath the surface. There’s no way for me to passively ignore math and still have my love for it grow, no matter how much I wish that were possible.