post-hsc advice (:

Advice and general kandoodles for those doing HSC and thoughts and what I learnt and all that stuff about the HSC: 1. Don’t stress. HSC is overrated and as long as you do what you need to do, it’s all good. Yes, this does mean studying and I probably could have done a lot better if I was more organised, but it’s a lesson for the future. But you need to have time outs and chill sesh’s with your family and friends. Watch a movie the night before to clear your mind. 2. Relax! Don’t feel guilty for having breaks, sleeping or feeling like you haven't studied enough compared to everyone around you. 3. You will always feel like you haven't been as productive as people around you. This is probably just an illusion. Unless you actually haven't studied at all. In that case, get off your ass and go do some work! 4. ENJOY what you are studying. Take it lightly. It’s just an exam. Not the end of your life. Honestly. 5. Don’t think about the result. Just do what you need to do because that is all you can really do. Have faith in the system. 6. Have something to look forward to to motivate you. If I was going out with my family at night I would think about that for a few minutes and know that I would feel great, not at all guilty, if I knew I had done a good job of studying in the day. When you have nothing to look forward to, look forward to your meals. I did [still do] this a lot. I like food. 7. Don’t force yourself or think that “I HAVE TO KNOW THIS.” Take it lightly, and then a few hours later try and answer a question about what you had read about before. When you have a general understanding of the answer you’ll be encouraged and more likely to remember things. This was especially the case with economics and legal studies where it was a “learn as you go” thing. I picked up facts from the newspaper and 8. HAVE A LIFE! Don’t think “oh, HSC. I have to stay at home and study 24/7” because that is hardly possible. Join a sport, have a job, do something so studying isn’t your life. Think about it, and be realistic. If you don’t do as well as you could have in the exams, then you’ll feel like a failure because you’ve failed “your life.” Compared to doing various activities 9. Answer your own question. Stuff the markers. Especially in English. If you know your stuff and you are confident then it is probably right. Don’t be afraid to be original and express your own ideas. In your mind they might seem ordinary, but for others they really are original perceptions of the world. 10. PRACTISE! Past HSC papers, mark them, test conditions [make it fun by doing 20 marks in 20 minutes or something. This is a lot like ‘interval training’ during running ]. You know the drill. 11. If you’re writing notes, write down what you don’t know only. For chemistry I had these small palm card thingies where I wrote down the equations I wasn’t familiar with. After a few glances, and repeatedly writing them out, I memorised them. It was also a kind of visualisation thing; some were coloured, I had been looking at those palm cards for a long time for my other assessments as well, so I became familiar with it over time. 12. Remember that you will probably know things from your previous assessments. You just need to revise now. 13. Leave things alone. If you don’t get it for an hour or two after trying very hard, move on. Come back to it with a clearer mind, or the next day. You’ll probably realise in the middle of the night how to answer that maths problem. This will leave you feeling encouraged as well, so more likely to study! 14. Clear your mind. Use relaxation techniques including stillness and even praying. If you have faith in something, like a God or even just fate, a lot of the burden will be taken off your shoulders. I’m not saying “okay God, please make this all good. Until then I’ll just chill here doing nothing” because as they say “God (or whatever that FORCE is) only helps those who help themselves.” 15. Dealing with stress: if it helps you can even visualise your clogged up thoughts unclogging. Close your eyes and imagine the bad thoughts falling out of your brain. Be creative with this. You will feel quite refreshed afterwards. 16. Plan your day. Have a to-do list. These are AWESOME when you tick stuff off. It makes you feel so accomplished, encouraged and pleased with yourself. 17. Stay positive and believe in yourself. Nothing to explain. Just do it. 18. Visualise yourself doing things you want to accomplish. I tend to do this a lot with running; if I want to do a fast run the next day I imagine the wind in my face and my legs running swiftly. And it works! If you want to wake up really early so you have more time through the day to study, imagine yourself waking up in the morning to your first alarm (I literally have about 7 alarms for every minute because I tend to fall asleep). Think positively about it, not “ZOMG I HAVE TO WAKE UP. MY BED WILL BE LONELY T_T.” Think about how good you will feel after you’ve accomplished this task. It’ll make you want to do it. 19. Don’t cram. I don’t know, maybe it’s just me, but when I cram I feel more stressed and I don’t perform as well in the exam because I’m too busy worrying about what I’ve just learnt. Just a quick relaxed glance at your notes if you really need to in the morning. 20. Don’t study the few hours before, and possibly after dinner the night before. I basically only studied from 11:30 am to 7:30 pm with A LOT of breaks and meal times. 21. Eat good food. I lived on almonds (soaked overnight and peeled), dried fruit and green tea. And regular meals of course. These weren’t particularly healthy but whatever :P I’m alive. Protein and whole carbohydrates are important for concentration, fish oil’s good for memory. Eat it. 22. Exercise. I know everyone says this but it’s really important. Remember that your health comes first; physical and mental, so look after your body and your mind. Exercise makes you feel energised through the day, and quite accomplished. I played soccer, ran and danced throughout this year. These extracurricular activities also help your Uni resumes so if that’s what you’re aiming for… 23. Sleep. This depends on how much you need. 7-8 hours should be ideal for most people but if you can function with 4 hours or you need at least 10 hours, I’m no one to tell you otherwise. Listen to your body, it rules your life. 24. Keep adding to the post-HSC list to keep you motivated and excited. However, don’t get TOO distracted by this. You’ll probably find yourself doing this DURING the last exam. 25. Do the best you can with the time you have. There’s no point thinking about what you did before because that can’t change, stop complaining and get on with it. 26. Work means work, play means play. Don’t do a half assed job. When you’re studying, study fully, when you’re having a break, break 100%. This can be hard to do initially, but once you realise that your break will seem all the sweeter when you know you've worked your butt off, this will become a natural thought. When you’re on your break, let the thoughts flow out. Clear your mind. This is YOUR time. 27. Chill yo grill. So basically: Be happy ^^ like I said, the HSC is overrated. If you manage your time, stay calm and balance your lifestyle, it really isn’t any different to the rest of your life. Every stage has its stresses, this just happens to be the one for year 12. Whatever. Get over it, believe in yourself and just do your best. Take it as a game.