I’m officially two weeks into Year 11, and boy has it been crazy! Lemme just catch you up on what has happened so far…
First Day of Year 11
If I had to describe my first day of Year 11, I would have to say it was very intense. By period 1, I already had a splitting migraine, and followed by 2 meetings of introductory welcomes and expectations for 2023 – it was a lot. I couldn’t even keep track of how many times I heard the teachers and Deputy say the word “HSC” and “Time management.”
Honestly speaking, so much has happened since that first day, that I can’t seem to remember it now. A couple of things definitely stood out from the day, like being asked out officially by my now boyfriend, and even talking to Iva.
Key Notes So Far:
- Experiencing all my classes for the first time – I’ve picked up 14 units this year: English Advanced, English Extension 1, Maths Advanced, Biology, Investigating Science, Economics and Software Design and Development. It’s definitely an interesting selection of classes, some which I enjoy and some that I’m finding a bit iffy at the moment (surprisingly English Advanced is one of those subjects.)
- Work Load – I’ve noticed that the work load for Year 11 is definitely a big leap from Junior Years. Many teachers do give out homework, and expect that classwork, if not finished in class, be finished as homework. Just in the first week, I burnt out twice from the amount of work that I had. However, I did have quite a good schedule and I did try and get out of my house and stay active. In the second week, school felt a lot slower, more quieter and monotonous, and I was able to finish my work well in advance. I’m finding difficulty reading my prescribed texts for both my english classes however, one being very monotonous and engaging, and the other being The Picture of Dorian Gray, which is a step in a genre that I don’t usually read. Overall, I’m feeling quite productive and focused on the tasks that need to be accomplished, and I’ve been doing some work everyday after school as well. I’ve also been trying to get out of my usual study space at home, and go to Gosford Library after school or even just stay in the school library.
- Social Life – In terms of my social life, I haven’t been as close with my friends from previous years. I still haven’t talked to quite a large number of my girl friends, such as Siyona, Ashita and Numerah, however, I don’t find myself feeling quite bad about it. I think the time has come that everyone is focusing on their own things, and since I don’t have any classes with many of them, I don’t feel the need or any point to continue making that effort. Everyone is quite busy with their own things, so it makes sense. I think one of the good things about Year 11 though, is the fact that you can weed out the good friends from just friends or acquaintances. The people who I still talk to and vice versa are people who I genuinely consider friends and people who I want to keep talking to consistently. I’m investing my time into people who really matter to me, and I find myself doing that with Sarah, for example. We don’t share any classes together this year, but we still make the time to say hi and talk to each other.
- Commitments – So far, I’ve only been attending music, jujitsu and tutoring so far. I think I’m balancing them really well with my schooling and other activities. However, I haven’t been practicing my instrument as much as I said I would, and have been focusing this time into other things such as doing homework. I’ve also found myself less motivated to exercise after a long day of school in this past week. These are just two of the things I want to work on continuing forward.
- Mindset – My mindset so far has been relatively optimistic. I feel productive and motivated to study, and I do take breaks and talk to my friends when things get hard. Something I struggled last year with was mathematics, and so far, I feel pretty confident and optimistic in my math classes. My teacher is also pretty good and he’s really nice as well, and despite the notorious amount of exercises he gives, I do feel my math abilities becoming stronger.
- Sleep Schedule – Ehhhh this is something I definitely need to work on. I haven’t been getting enough sleep, and I find myself talking to people until ungodly hours of the night. I definitely want to improve this in the upcoming weeks.
Overall, Year 11 is pretty good. There have been a few challenges already, and I know it’s going to get a lot harder too, but I’m doing reasonably well so far. I’m excited to see how the rest of the year goes!
– Lian Sequeira (Sunday, 12th February)