A Lesson About Life.

I have decided to take this time and dedicate this blog post to my high school teachers, especially the ones who I have become quite attached to during my HSC year.

First of all, to Ms. M. West. She has been the most kind-hearted teacher outside classroom hours, always giving us treats during exams and cakes during class lessons as a random act of kindness (She is strict when it's actually time to work). I really appreciate her dedication towards providing me with great knowledge on Economics, something which I am able to take away and apply it to my life as I open the paper each morning. I will not forget those lessons where I have been imbecilic and chatted away to my friends because I found the lesson boring. Mind you, I didn't like the writing aspect. I like the discussion aspect, even though I never usually discussed anything. Probably just me trying to get out of work. Nonetheless, she still continued to press me to work harder and study, to get the marks. I eventually did and I thank you Ms. West for the patience you have also put into me.

Secondly, to Mr. T. Petrohilos. I must say, he has a wonderful sense of humour. Mathematical humour that is. He looks old but his heart and spirit is young. He is lively, entertaining (it's maths), and very committed to his work. I have too many past HSC Trials and past HSC papers that I don't know what to do with them. Nobody burns maths! It's too full of the wisdom and knowledge in numbers. Thank you to sir who really showed the class he cared about our future and even surprised our class with pizzas and soft drinks one day. That was definitely memorable. Maths is something I must do because I don't know what else to do if I didn't do maths. I will be taking maths with me everywhere. It is inevitable, from mortgage calculations (loan repayments) to interest rates (compound interest) and even when I throw a few dollars around on the Casino tables (probability).

Thirdly, Mr. B. White. One of the people I admire for possessing such a phenomenal brain. I still don't understand how he is able to pick up any text and analyse it critically on the spot. I nickname him the walking encyclopedia. He possesses an enormous amount of information and is able to retain them. How he does it still baffles me. But what he did teach me is to try and develop a large vocabulary as well as how to write better essays. Even though it was primarily just reading and analysing, the concept was interesting to try and grasp. It took me a while before I finally understood what "Navigating the Global" was all about. It has been a very interesting experience together, constantly learning new things and appreciating the dedication he put into improving my essays and story.

Next, Mr. A. Shipp. He is the law. The one who taught me about how Australia and the world operated in terms of the legal system and the consequences if broken. I guess we all fear the law, but then again, we never fear it in other aspects. He has become more than a teacher, but a friend. He has treated me and the rest of the class with warmth and gratitude, leaving us with more than just class work to ponder until the next lesson. He is a great motivator and inspiring teacher with plenty of quotes to keep us entertained. I love philosophy and thought so he has provided me with hours and days of thought on some topics. He is passionate about what he teaches and does it with style. Will be missing this chap.

I have certainly saved the best till last. For obvious reasons.

Ms. C. Ansoul. I couldn't write everything I wanted to write about her on the yearbook so I will attempt to readdress that here. She is my favourite teacher (still is) and has been for the last six years. No lesson with her is a boring one, even when she is in a bad mood (cause unknown). There is some sort of aura around her which brings fun, enjoyment and interaction to every English lesson. There is talk, jokes and my all time favourite, stories about her youth, her teenage years (her crushes) and her travelling experiences. There is still so much to learn, but the time is up. Wish it passed more slowly. Her sense of humour is terrific (but there are some that get on her nerves). She loves to crack jokes (and only SOME laugh WITH her), and show off her interpretive dancing skills. Well, we still haven't seen any yet to be honest. I am disappointed. She has provided me with knowledge and skill on how to organise (or how NOT to organise) a classroom lesson. The method of her teaching is especially something I admire and wish to adopt: controlling a class with no effort. I thank her for all the work she put into improving my English (being my second language) and with few words spoken, told me how hopeless my creative stories are. Let's admit it, my stories are beyond confusing.

To all my teachers: Thank you once again. I appreciate the kindness you have placed thus. You are my idols.

Long time...

I haven't blogged in a long time. Very long time.

Well, with the trials and followed by the HSC exams, there really is not much time for fun anymore. Yet I don't understand how I still manage a few hours of chess a night.

I've almost hit word limit for poetry. Almost there. Just reflection statement and journal to complete. Well, wish me luck that I'll get 40+/50 for it.

Untuned.

Following the end of the first semester is the collection of the half yearly reports. The marks are thus:

Legal Studies:
Mark - 87/100
Rank - 2/32

Mathematics:
Mark - 84/100
Rank - 6/44

Mathematics Extension 1:
Mark - 33/50
Rank - 12/18

Economics:
Mark - 88/100
Rank - 7/23

English Advanced:
Mark - 74/100
Rank - 25/55

English Extension 1:
Mark - 35/100
Rank - 6/6

English Extension 2:
Mark - 67/100
Rank - 4/4

Overall Score on Self: 6.5/10

A coin has three faces.

Yay! Holidays! or Yay? Holidays...

No really. There are usually two sides to school holidays. One group of people cherish this moment to relax and enjoy themselves as much as possible before the next term, where it's back to cramming as much as possible into their heads. Alongside this is not looking forward to lessons. The other group of people go don't feel enthusiastic about the holidays, because it is a period of boredom. This can be due to the fact that they are the only child, or that they are really lazy and cannot be bothered to work the mind and matter to go out and organise something.

The last view is one that some people adopt. It is where they want the holidays to come quickly, do everything in the first week or even few days, then get bored and want the holidays to be over.

Personally, I much like school. Education, learning, wisdom and knowledge. A fountain at its best. I like my lessons and love my teachers. But love one in particular ;P

I hope these school holidays will come to an end quickly, which they will. During this period, I will read Pride and Prejudice, watch Pride and Prejudice, read Letters to Alice, do my Legal Holiday Homework, write more poems for Ext. 2 English, do Ext. 1 English assessment task and holiday work, revise Economics and do the booklet. And oh dear...I hate Year 12.

Race for first.

Good 'ole half yearlies have whipped around the corner and has lined up at the start line, waiting for the signal.

In first lane is Advanced English - Creative Writing. It is good that I have managed to make it really obvious what my story is about.

Next would be Maths. Only Two Unit but 25%. So...that's the drawback.

Then I have Saturday, Sunday and Monday to study for Economics, Legal Studies and Extension Maths. That should be enough time if I start at 8 and finish at 5. IF.

Well, I wish everyone luck.

A page in time.

It sometimes interests me on how the Board of Studies comes up with the syllabus...over 100 pages long. Nice reading to do there.

Anyway, seems like finally, one of my poems has gained a fair bit of popularity amongst the people I have shown it to, which is really only two people. Have to keep on working on it.

As the exams draw closer, more preparation is needed as well as study so I have no idea why I'm blogging here, don't ask.

But it seems to me that sometimes, just sometimes, that the work you do in class really has no more than 50% influence on your life. I find the most useful subjects to take are English, Maths and Legal Studies. Maybe Economics as well as Community and Family Studies. But everything else I find to be pretty useless, unless your career revolves around that, then of course, that's an exception. In the context of everyday normal living, really, you don't need to know that an acid plus a base will make a neutral solution, and you certainly don't need to find the area under a curve.

Anyway, enjoy! (whatever you are enjoying)

Time travel paradox.

Pretty pleased today.

Let us begin with english. It was fun, entertaining and interesting. Ms Ansoul has some of the most basic stories, but the way she tells them with so much enthusiasm and expression, it brightens up the class. I really enjoyed listening to them and I hope she tells more in the future. She really is my favourite teacher as well as the teacher with the best sense of humour. Plus a dozen or more other qualities.

Now legal studies. 9/10 for my speech, quite happy, not that bad. Also, I'm currently placed first overall in rankings. Just have to sustain that for the rest of the year.

Now why does maths have to be so complex at times? I walk out of the exam room realising I made about half a dozen mistakes at least off the spot. Damn. Oh well. The damage has been done. No crack in a fortress may be regarded small. Credit to Ms Ansoul for making sure that stuck in my head.

Reflecting back.

It has occured to me how strange and wonderful human beings can be. I remember during the years from Year 7 to Year 9, I had been given the nickname of being a nerd or a freak if you would rather at studying. People constantly torment you with phrases such as, "Your're such a nerd, stop studying. You have no life." But since Year 10, the School Certificate, there has been a dramatic change towards the more "intelligent" orders of school society. Instead of coming up to you and giving you remarks, they come up to you and ask for your help with maths, english, history and etc. Strange isn't it? Realise now that intelligence does some good to you huh? Well, I can't say that intelligence is everything. It's not. Post Modernism can argue that one for me.