Cardamon's VCE Journal of Procrastination and Pain

Cardamon

Heyo! I'm Cardamon and I'm currently in my final term of Year 10 and next year I'll be starting the main VCE grind, so wish me luck!

03/10/23

Some current shower thoughts and reflections:
Ever since I've started Year 7 I was on a slight downfall with my grades, ironic since I got in an early enrichment program for Year 7-9 . As Year 6 ended, COVID came in and ruined my academic, social life..everything. My grades were high in primary and then I got hit with the reality of virtual learning and motivation, yikes! I was always pretty reserved and quiet at school (and I still am to an extent), wasn't engaged, didn't talk much with other students, heck, I wasn't able to secure a proper friendship till Year 9! I could go on towards other experiences, but I don't want you all to hear me vent on my mental health issues now, all I'll say is I've been getting better and I'm coping!

Anyways case and point: next year I'm going to be moving to a city school (also a public school, I was able to get connections to bypass zoning). Took a while, looked at private schools, failed select entry testing because I'm small brain (Math was my downfall) but I got a placement secured by some miracle! My current school borders regional Victoria so, needless to say I got to prepare for waking up early and for physical exhaustion. I currently go to a public school that ranks around ₅₀₀ for VCE ranking, and needless to say, I really need a better environment that'll let me more proper focus on my education and so I can make an effort to start anew with my social life (current schools absolute shit from discipline to academic standards, but that's a can of worms I don't want to rant about). The school I'm going to next year ranks within ₂₅₀-300, and additionally there's alot of things (atleast from an outsiders perspective) that makes this school stand out, so it's something I'm looking forward to!

Anyways, as for subjects I took a Pre-VCE LOTE class and I'm probably not gonna take it next year. I find the classes are slow, long, boring, it's 90% writing and the teacher isn't very organized either. I'd honestly rather just learn the language in my own time after VCE than do those classes, I don't think I'd have enough time to get good and the scaling wouldn't be worth it for me either.

For my main school subjects next year though, I'm doing English Language, Psychology, Buisiness Management, Viscom, General Maths and Extended Investigation (3/4) . I'm aiming for atleast an ATAR within the 70-80's, and perhaps if I try hard enough I can scrape the 90's! (I'm also going to apply for SEAS) Honestly, I am a bit scared of a 6 subject workload! But I'm hoping to start building a good study routine next year, I want to try and get 3-4 hours of study on schools days and such, I procrastinate ALOT so I'm probably gonna be camping in the library lmao. After VCE I want to get into Design and Research, talking about Graphic Design, UX&UI and such.

Anyways, I hope everyone who reads this the best wherever they are academically! In the meantime I'm going to savor the laid-back nature of Year 10 before it's gone..and maybe do some cram revision for the end of year exams, I'll be fine hopefully!

Cardamon

22/10/23

Heyo again! It's been almost 3 weeks so here's an update.

As for Year 10 currently, everythings alright. Most of my studying is dedicated to Pre-Methods, the rest of my subjects are pretty bludgy and I honestly don't feel the need to pass aside from the bare minimum. Most of my current school cohort just do not want to learn, which is fine, I guess for them but like what? An average day for most of my classes devolve into:

First 10 Minutes: Calm before the storm
-A group of kids proceed to come late and start talking loudly.
-Teacher proceeds to get into a heated back and forward debate. Learning gets disrupted for like the handful of kids paying attention. This goes on for almost the rest of the session.
-Usually by then the teacher gives up or keeps on giving them the repetitive shush every minute or two. Alternatively the teacher starts to yell and calls in for backup teachers. By that point everyone has given up and is doing their own thing

This has happened on a regular basis for at least 4 of my subjects this year and it has given me so much DISDAIN for my current school, or at least for the past few years. Yes, schools should give support for students with difficulties, but not at the cost of THE STUDENTS WHO WANT TO LEARN nor should they do it in this outdated, ineffective manner.
Anyways I digress since I won't be there next year. It's really a shame, I've been there since I was in Prep- TLDR, COVID and teacher shortages have really screwed the public school I grew up in.

On a more positive note though, I finished my applications for my new school! Got to go on a few tours, and I enjoy the more tight-nit community, artsy aesthetic the school has. The teachers and students there are very passionate and respectful which almost feels like culture shock. I'm sooo looking forward for next year, honestly haha...

Anyways, subject selections have been released so I went ahead and filled it in...then changed it 2 times before finalising it. I've been weighing out my tertiary options, prereqs and ATAR requirments so that's been a real help. My finalised subjects for next year.

English Language
~~Maths Methods~~ General Maths
Economics
Psychology
Viscom
Extended Investigation

Switched from Business to Econ (VSV) after comparing study designs, seems more interesting and generally useful according to other people, so fingers crossed!

Anyways not much else to say, just going to continue eating, sleeping and repeating for now! ...(+ some procrastination, studying, drawing and crying!).

Toodles!

Edit 11/24/23 : Subject Selections got messed over and now after getting it fixed and some deliberation (+pressure) and now I'm doing General Maths 1/2. Hopefully future me doesn't regret this 😃! Ah welp.

Rendezvous

Great read. I think the most important thing to remember is having confidence in yourself and your abilities. You seem to have a lot of maturity and I have no doubt that if you commit yourself to studying in VCE, then you can definitely achieve a 90+ atar.

Cardamon

Rendezvous Thanks! Alas, I still have a long while so gotta keep trucking!

11/14/23

"It's beginning to look a lot like Chr- Exam Season"

Heyo everyone! First of all, congrats to everyone who've done their exams, y'all are a big inspiration, be proud of yourself! Anyways, Year 10 Exams. There like in 2ish weeks time. Honestly, thank goodness this year is coming to an end; this year really feels like a filler episode in my life. Exam-wise, not too much to say. Definitely looking forward to VCE orientation week soon though when I move schools though!

English:
Other than some slight revision and a reference sheet, should be all good to go! For English, my main weakness..uhh..is honestly writing and overanalysing too much in each paragraph and not ending up finishing the essay. I'm working on that.

Maths:
In comparison to my other subjects, Pre-Methods is gonna take 80% of my revision time. I need to get through everything quick and efficiently and prepare a good reference. Honestly, if I get more than 50% I will be a happy boi.

Food Studies: IMO a major bludge and easiest content. I don't hate this subject as much compared to the others though since I get to eat food and the teacher and class are chill which I can tolerate compared to the following classes.

Sociology: Mostly just basic flashcards and 'apply concept to example' questions so no worries here. I really don't like this class mostly because the class is annoying and loud asf. I really wish they'd let me do Psychology for the whole year instead of just a semester, studying in this class is demotivating.

Biology:
My school forced us to do a science subject. I am personally not one for science subjects over other subjects but I digress. Content? It's fine, but hey! If you had an interest for Bio don't take my word- you'd enjoy it more than me. This class? There's the issue, both the teachers and students are an absolute mess. If it takes you 30+ minutes to get your stuff together, do attendance and shut up the class to turn the slideshow to the second slide then we have a clear problemo, my amigos. The irony that they taught more biological concepts in Psych than in actual Bio class is astounding. I genuinely could care less about Bio other than a bare pass- easily my least favorite class.

That's it for now, I look forward to the school holidays. Hoping to stop being a sedentary blob though and maybe start getting back into working out. Also aiming to cook more recipes and practice my art while I got the free time, I should probably also get back into learning some programming. See ya!

Cardamon

g4rl1cg1rl Oh wow thanks! In hindsight I should have probably applied for CHES EI instead of VSV this year but I was too late to apply lol. Good luck to you too! ৻( •̀ ᗜ •́ ৻)

aurum

following this journal! also going thru yr 10 exams rn my last one is tmr (war is overrrr!! for now)

Cardamon

aurum
Luckkkyyyyy (╥_╥) my exams are not until next week, then after I'M FREEEEEEEE !

Cardamon

03/12/23

Anyways update for y'all: I'm done with Year 10 Exams!

As for how they were...eh? Advanced English went surprisingly well as far time management went, I somehow got everything finished (except for the 3rd paragraph of the 2nd essay I didn't have time to write but still!). I don't know too much English Language exams are like yet, but hopefully the essay writing isn't too intense, cause I'm frankly scared.

Pre-Methods was...very interesting. For some reason, the staff had handed out the Semester 1 Pre-Methods exam instead of the Semester 2 one. This school for real never fails to boggle me, haha. My class literally protested to the supervising teacher who told us just to do the exam (bruh??) so for the first 20ish minutes I sat speechless with my head down. Fortunately they got it fixed and we got an extension, but if that ain't a spectacular way to end a year of intense Math classes, I dunno what is! I'm doing General Maths next year though, so rest assured I should be able to relax more-

Biology, despite doing jackshit I actually got decent results, which genuinely concerns me on the learning expectations of that class.

Sociology actually went really well, it probably will be my highest grade! My mind somehow didn't go blank as many times as it should of and I got everything done, even if it was a bit rushed at the end. All the questions were pretty straightforward with just 'explain + example' questions so, uhh yay!

Now with exams all done, I'm now technically in Year 11; we have reached the educational endgame, my fellow soldiers! I should be starting my transition classes within a week for two, which is quite exciting! Hopefully by next year, I'll find my footing in the eastern suburbs and meet new friends and experiences! ...That sounded very cheesy didn't it?

Enjoy your school holiday everyone! See y'all on the flip side-!

Cardamon

31/01/2024

awakens from hibernation

Hi everyone, school holiday is finally over! Time goes by quick when your having fun..or doing nothing productive. My break was pretty chill, got to see the Australia day fireworks and the decapitation of Captain Cook (the statue)...the usual! Also did the TSFX program for Psych: Was pretty grueling to sit in an auditorium for 6 hours but at least I got a stack of more resources to drill down- The ATAR Notes Psych lecture at RMIT was better taught though I'd say. Anyways, this week I fully moved to my relative's place to stay part-time so I'm not waking up at 6 A.M to get to school on time (my circadian rhythm is screwed up enough anyways..)

Moreover, yesterday I went to my Year 11 orientation! It was kinda boring at first: An hour long assembly and pamphlets galore, to be stuffed in my locker for the rest of the school year. Afterwards we got segregated into mentoring groups (a.k.a homeroom basically) and then we took class photos. (Offtopic, but I swear school photos always seem to make you as ugliest as can be, if anything they look like mugshots). At the very least I got to meet a couple people who'll I'll become friends with in the meanwhile, a pretty good start from my usual antisocial self-

Also good news: I got an job offer at Kumon! Bad news! Out of the places I applied to, it's the farthest from where I live..so yeah! Still surprised I got in despite the abrupt stumbling and the ".so...yeah!" I would frequently mutter, I guess the instructor pitied my nervousness too much-

Moving forward, my goals for the upcoming week:

Get VSV with the coordinator sorted before it's too late! Drop Economics and do Extended Investigation! I wanna study dem liminal spaccesss
Pass the Kumon Tests (Should be easy since most of it is grade school maths & english)
Finish rendering my art so I can move on to another piece!
Get that student myki pass registered so I'm not draining my bank account by the end of the week
Start going to the library to study but also just to hang out there (I NEED DAT FREE WIFI)
Hopefully get accepted into the Youth Council program or if I don't, join a school club maybe-
Don't burn myself out too much!

Anyways that's all for now folks! Now that we're back to classes, I should be posting here more frequently to journal for your viewing pleasure!

Adios amigos!

P.S Any of y'all wanna start a discord server to share study resources/chill during VCE?

Cardamon

22/02/2024

So it's been now a couple of weeks since Term 1 started, and so far the workload is manageable, though I definitely feel like it's going to be rising.

English Language is a pretty chill class, right now just being drilled with pretty easy grammar and word structure worksheets so not much-
General Maths is pretty easy, but also very time consuming as my teacher is expects us to breeze through everything quickly from class to class. I have my test coming up for the data topic in a week so gonna revise on the weekend-
Viscom is...interesting, I got assigned to print load of images for my folio annotations, though thankfully it is pretty easy analysis so definitely manageable.
Psychology is definitely my fave. I have no regrets not doing the 1/2 the content is pretty easy to apply and revise on so I'd recommend it. My teacher is also very supportive of everyone so there is that bias I suppose-
As for EI, I like it but damn are those research papers I gotta look at are long. I gotta submit my research question on the 26th so gonna have to prioritize this subject. MY VSV teacher is surprisingly good from what I had previously heard about VSV beforehand though- The coursework isn't all that bad either; maybe it's just cause I find independent study much easier and convenient.

Signing out!

FH ⭐️

Cardamon i agree with the general math stuff, my teacher wants us to try getting ahead because they cover content so fast T-T. also EI can be a huge pain in the ass when it come to reading papers - i have found stuff that goes for like 270 pages and i’m like yeah nah. who do you have for EI - rowan or will? (i’m team rowan he is so nice!?). i was scared with the whole VSV online learning kind-of thing (2020 and 2021 sorta traumatised me) but i really enjoy it thus far.

Cardamon

FH ⭐️

I have Rowan! I agree, he's very nice and he responds to my emails very quickly (I'm pretty shy on voice lol). I also really enjoy VSV and yeah those academic papers are a nightmare, I'm gonna try to quickly finish off with a shorter article so I can finish Week 2 content.

FH ⭐️

Cardamon SAME I HATE TALKING. i just had a meeting with rowan and spilt my cup of water (it is closed lid thankfully but i was humiliated). and it is so relieving to know i'm not the only one who chooses shorter articles for the last review. it is also relieving to know i’m not the only one sending him emails BECAUSE I SEND LIKE 3 A WEEK I DIDN’T WANT TO COME ACROSS ANNOYING.

FH ⭐️

g4rl1cg1rl so we have our weekly submissions that basically consist of readying at least 3 articles per week and writing up a detailed analysis using an evaluation template. then there are smaller tasks like making a mind map that interconnects each idea, inductive and deductive arguments, and the theory around research and that.

FH ⭐️

g4rl1cg1rl sure, it looks something like this.

summary: briefly state the argument and points of relevant research
synthesis: combined ideas in order to form an integrated theory or system through critical evaluation, compare/contrast, etc.
analysis: closely examine the structure of the research and interpret through the lens of the field
evaluation: assess the research based on criteria you choose, state, and explain. support your evaluation with research

Cardamon

22/04/24

It's been a while! I kinda forgot to go on ATAR notes forums for a while so yeah...
I also got sick (HELPP) for the last 2 weeks of Term 1 meaning I got bombarded with SAC's first week back so, yeah I'm doing good.
I also recently adopted 2 guinea pigs! Their names are Tiramisu and Espresso, both are baby girls and are extremely small and cute! Hopefully the cat doesn't get jealous...

So we're at the second week of Term 2, things have being pretty okay I'd say.
I somehow got 94% on my first Eng Lang SAC and 78% for the second SAC uhh..thank you rng gods /j
I forgot what I got for the Gen Maths SAC (probably around a B). Honestly, I do feel now why perceive this subject as kinda repetitive and nick picky, cause I'm pretty sure I got more points deducted for my wording than my working out :/ Right now we're finishing up the financial maths topic, which hopefully shouldn't be as CAS reliant as the first SAC-
Psych is actually going pretty good, mostly cause my teacher is just very nice and the Year 12's are comparatively more chill than the Year 11's. Right now we're the topic about memory and learning which is pretty interesting. I forgot to do VSV for a while so I grinded EI to get back up to date and everything now seems to be going fine. I'm still dreading that final presentation and all the niche stuff that comes with it.

And finally..Viscom! ..All I'll say is the grind isn't over for this one. Viscom is pain. Viscom is life.

Adios!

dissapates into thin air