The Big Brain Tidy-Up (it's about time I revised for my A-levels) - GYG 2019
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23/01/19
There comes a point in sixth form when free periods are worse than lessons. Yesterday I had 3 hours between my 2 lessons of the day, and today I am currently sitting through another hour before I can go home. Of course, it's nice to be able to get homework done at college rather than having to do it at home, but at this point in the year we're getting less homework so that it can be replaced by more revision. I find it difficult to effectively use 3 hours in a row to revise - much more so than if I had 3 lessons in a row.
So far, I haven't been very good at sticking to my intention to revise biology for a couple of hours every week. I've done perhaps.... half an hour? Clearly I've got to fix it but lord knows I'm losing the motivation to actually do so. There's SO much.
Lessons have felt slow this week too, mainly because a huge amount of time has been taken up going over mock exams and doing more past paper questions. However, Geology is pretty great at the moment! At long last we are learning the topic on dinosaurs, and I think anyone in my class would be lying if they said dinosaurs weren't part of the reason they chose to do the A-level.
Don't get me wrong here - I really love my sixth form. I still stand by what I said way back at the start that it was the best decision I made to go here. I've made some amazing friends and I genuinely find my subjects interesting. That being said, I am really excited for university! During the next couple of months I'll be going to the applicant visit days at Bath, Loughborough and Cardiff and I'm hoping they'll be really useful to help me decide which one to go for. I always thought that once I visited the first time, one university would stand out as being the one for me, but in reality it's been really difficult to rule some of them out.
I apologise that this post is a bit all over the place. It's been one of those days...
I'll at least work on some Geology now so that my hour wasn't completely unproductive.
There comes a point in sixth form when free periods are worse than lessons. Yesterday I had 3 hours between my 2 lessons of the day, and today I am currently sitting through another hour before I can go home. Of course, it's nice to be able to get homework done at college rather than having to do it at home, but at this point in the year we're getting less homework so that it can be replaced by more revision. I find it difficult to effectively use 3 hours in a row to revise - much more so than if I had 3 lessons in a row.
So far, I haven't been very good at sticking to my intention to revise biology for a couple of hours every week. I've done perhaps.... half an hour? Clearly I've got to fix it but lord knows I'm losing the motivation to actually do so. There's SO much.
Lessons have felt slow this week too, mainly because a huge amount of time has been taken up going over mock exams and doing more past paper questions. However, Geology is pretty great at the moment! At long last we are learning the topic on dinosaurs, and I think anyone in my class would be lying if they said dinosaurs weren't part of the reason they chose to do the A-level.
Don't get me wrong here - I really love my sixth form. I still stand by what I said way back at the start that it was the best decision I made to go here. I've made some amazing friends and I genuinely find my subjects interesting. That being said, I am really excited for university! During the next couple of months I'll be going to the applicant visit days at Bath, Loughborough and Cardiff and I'm hoping they'll be really useful to help me decide which one to go for. I always thought that once I visited the first time, one university would stand out as being the one for me, but in reality it's been really difficult to rule some of them out.
I apologise that this post is a bit all over the place. It's been one of those days...
I'll at least work on some Geology now so that my hour wasn't completely unproductive.
25/01/19
I am SO happy it's Friday! Friday is my best day, because I only have 2 lessons and I get to go home at 12.40
- basically an extended weekend for me! I feel like it's to make up for my busy Wednesdays and Thursdays when I have all my subjects.
Despite it being busy, I had an enjoyable day yesterday. We're learning about how the kidneys function during biology at the moment, which is a bit confusing but I haven't felt completely lost which is a good sign. I think I'll watch a couple of YouTube videos about it, just to make sure I fully understand before we go onto the next topic.
The best thing yesterday was the Psychology talk I went to. I am usually one of the people responsible for organising them (I and two others run the Psychology Society), but since we had mocks recently the head of the Psychology department went ahead and organised one for us. It was by a lecturer who does research into attachment and relationships, and was really interesting! In particular he mentioned a couple of studies that looked into how experiencing a certain level of fear whilst with another person can make you more attracted to them (one involving a rickety bridge and another used a rollercoaster) - it may be because the physiological responses to fear and attraction (e.g. increased heart rate) are quite similar, so the brain may mix them up into mistaking fear as attraction. Simply put, you should take your date to a theme park
My Psychology lesson was also on the relationships topic, but this time we were talking about relationship breakdown. It's interesting but we learn about old models that have several flaws (why does the specification insist we look at Duck's old model rather than the updated model?). Geology was with my other teacher, whom we only have once a week. We just did some basic stuff on geohazards, nothing that exciting.
I'll have to wrap things up there for now, as I am due in a Geology lesson in about 10 minutes. I may or may not post later, just depending on how eventful my day ends up being!
I am SO happy it's Friday! Friday is my best day, because I only have 2 lessons and I get to go home at 12.40
- basically an extended weekend for me! I feel like it's to make up for my busy Wednesdays and Thursdays when I have all my subjects.Despite it being busy, I had an enjoyable day yesterday. We're learning about how the kidneys function during biology at the moment, which is a bit confusing but I haven't felt completely lost which is a good sign. I think I'll watch a couple of YouTube videos about it, just to make sure I fully understand before we go onto the next topic.
The best thing yesterday was the Psychology talk I went to. I am usually one of the people responsible for organising them (I and two others run the Psychology Society), but since we had mocks recently the head of the Psychology department went ahead and organised one for us. It was by a lecturer who does research into attachment and relationships, and was really interesting! In particular he mentioned a couple of studies that looked into how experiencing a certain level of fear whilst with another person can make you more attracted to them (one involving a rickety bridge and another used a rollercoaster) - it may be because the physiological responses to fear and attraction (e.g. increased heart rate) are quite similar, so the brain may mix them up into mistaking fear as attraction. Simply put, you should take your date to a theme park
My Psychology lesson was also on the relationships topic, but this time we were talking about relationship breakdown. It's interesting but we learn about old models that have several flaws (why does the specification insist we look at Duck's old model rather than the updated model?). Geology was with my other teacher, whom we only have once a week. We just did some basic stuff on geohazards, nothing that exciting.
I'll have to wrap things up there for now, as I am due in a Geology lesson in about 10 minutes. I may or may not post later, just depending on how eventful my day ends up being!
Original post by nyxnko_
I get you.. you can only revise for some many hours straight and honestly, 3 hours straight just sounds like a bit much 
would suggest you just break it up by chatting to people, but then you'd be distracting someone that maybe wants to work 
it really is a bit of a dilemma..
would suggest you just break it up by chatting to people, but then you'd be distracting someone that maybe wants to work it really is a bit of a dilemma..Yes, you're right that taking breaks is important. Unfortunately most of the time my friends don't have free periods at the same time as me (we don't actually take the same subjects)... Oh well!
Original post by ToffeeJoy
Yes, you're right that taking breaks is important. Unfortunately most of the time my friends don't have free periods at the same time as me (we don't actually take the same subjects)... Oh well!
welp, you could always just nap for a bit and then go back to work
Original post by nyxnko_
welp, you could always just nap for a bit and then go back to work
It's definitely tempting!
Original post by ToffeeJoy
It's definitely tempting!
definitely!
just don't do it when you've got a ton of work to get through 
01/02/19
So it's February and it's freezing and college is not really the place I want to be right now. I suppose I should be glad I'm not in the part of the country where there's so much snow people are having to abandon cars, and I'm certainly glad I'm not in the -30C temperatures in America! Honestly, we have it pretty mild here. There wasn't even snow in my village until this morning (although there is a fair bit at my college), and buses haven't particularly been affected for me (which is surprising, because in this area we are seriously unprepared for snow - or any particular weather for that matter, except rain).
Still, normal life goes on and college remains open. Lesson-wise it's been a very interesting week! I've learnt about the major mass extinctions in Geology (it's very interesting stuff, although disappointing to learn that the dinosaurs were probably not killed by dramatic global fire storms after an asteroid impact), and in Biology I've been trying to get my head round gene operons and how the kidneys function.
I had to have a sort of mini private lesson for biology, as I still needed to catch up on last week's lesson (which I missed to do my dance exams). Whilst I had notes from my classmate, they made little sense to me. Ironically, now that I've had a session with my teacher to learn about the lac operon, I understand it better than I would have done if I were in the lesson!
Of course, I've been enjoying Psychology too as I always do. We've very nearly finished the Forensic Psychology topic, and we're well into the Relationships topic now. One thing I've noticed about the latter is that there are far more contradicting theories than in the other topics. So far there haven't really been any explainations for relationship maintenance that really stand out as being the most convincing.
Oh, I did have to write an essay answer in class about relationship theories also. I admit, that was boring...
I'm still struggling to motivate myself to do revision as well as my homework and research tasks. All I can really say on that front is that I have a very organised system for my didgital notes now.
A notebook for each subject, a section for each topic and a page for each part of the topic. It's a system I think I will stick to!
I only have one more lesson of this week, which is Psychology in about half an hour. I'll be happy to be home and in the warm! Fridays are my best day, for sure.
So it's February and it's freezing and college is not really the place I want to be right now. I suppose I should be glad I'm not in the part of the country where there's so much snow people are having to abandon cars, and I'm certainly glad I'm not in the -30C temperatures in America! Honestly, we have it pretty mild here. There wasn't even snow in my village until this morning (although there is a fair bit at my college), and buses haven't particularly been affected for me (which is surprising, because in this area we are seriously unprepared for snow - or any particular weather for that matter, except rain).
Still, normal life goes on and college remains open. Lesson-wise it's been a very interesting week! I've learnt about the major mass extinctions in Geology (it's very interesting stuff, although disappointing to learn that the dinosaurs were probably not killed by dramatic global fire storms after an asteroid impact), and in Biology I've been trying to get my head round gene operons and how the kidneys function.
I had to have a sort of mini private lesson for biology, as I still needed to catch up on last week's lesson (which I missed to do my dance exams). Whilst I had notes from my classmate, they made little sense to me. Ironically, now that I've had a session with my teacher to learn about the lac operon, I understand it better than I would have done if I were in the lesson!
Of course, I've been enjoying Psychology too as I always do. We've very nearly finished the Forensic Psychology topic, and we're well into the Relationships topic now. One thing I've noticed about the latter is that there are far more contradicting theories than in the other topics. So far there haven't really been any explainations for relationship maintenance that really stand out as being the most convincing.
Oh, I did have to write an essay answer in class about relationship theories also. I admit, that was boring...
I'm still struggling to motivate myself to do revision as well as my homework and research tasks. All I can really say on that front is that I have a very organised system for my didgital notes now.
A notebook for each subject, a section for each topic and a page for each part of the topic. It's a system I think I will stick to!
I only have one more lesson of this week, which is Psychology in about half an hour. I'll be happy to be home and in the warm! Fridays are my best day, for sure.
06/02/19 (This was meant to be posted yesterday but I ran out of time)
Yesterday I received an email from the head of the Biology department at my college, to which there was a revision plan attached for anyone taking biology to use. Great, I thought, This will be useful! And then I looked at the document, and found that I need to revise two topics every week alongside a couple of weeks doing past papers in order to cover the entire course by May. That is a heck of a lot! I've been putting it off for so long, but with having a week off next week (we have 'progress review' meetings, which means no lessons) and a week after that for half term, I really need to knuckle down with my biology. On Saturday I will revise a topic, likely Biological Molecules (unless I feel like doing a different one on that day). I'm just going to have to force myself, because there's no other way I'm going to get that information into my head.
In other news, we're onto another interesting topic in Geology, relating to the formation of the solar system! I'm really glad that we are doing such interesting stuff towards to end of the year, as it makes it much easier to stay motivated.
07/02/19
Today I have my last lesson cancelled, which is nice because I can go home early and I don't have to have my homework done until the next lesson in a couple of weeks. Of course, we have catch-up work, but at least I have the option of when to do that and when to do revision.
Speaking of revision, I didn't do any yesterday in my time after college. However, I was very productive with my piano composition - I've been working on writing a piano cover (by ear) of 'Toxicity' by System Of A Down, which is a metal/rock song (sounds like an odd choice, I know, but the guitar riff is great and the tune is pretty once you take away the shouting). I've finished digitally writing a draft of the sheet music for the first verse and chorus, and I'm quite proud of it! My only issue is that I can't actually play it hands together yet... I'll work on that another time.
I do recognise that I could be using more of my free time to do college work, but I really feel that I need the time working on my piano to keep my stress down. It's my favourite hobby by far, and I don't intend on ever giving it up so I'm not going to stop now. I guess the balance between work and hobbies is a difficult one...
To make up for it, I think that during one of my (3) free periods today, I will make revision notes on the topics we just did in biology. I figure that it will be easier whilst it's fresh in my mind.
Yesterday I received an email from the head of the Biology department at my college, to which there was a revision plan attached for anyone taking biology to use. Great, I thought, This will be useful! And then I looked at the document, and found that I need to revise two topics every week alongside a couple of weeks doing past papers in order to cover the entire course by May. That is a heck of a lot! I've been putting it off for so long, but with having a week off next week (we have 'progress review' meetings, which means no lessons) and a week after that for half term, I really need to knuckle down with my biology. On Saturday I will revise a topic, likely Biological Molecules (unless I feel like doing a different one on that day). I'm just going to have to force myself, because there's no other way I'm going to get that information into my head.
In other news, we're onto another interesting topic in Geology, relating to the formation of the solar system! I'm really glad that we are doing such interesting stuff towards to end of the year, as it makes it much easier to stay motivated.
07/02/19
Today I have my last lesson cancelled, which is nice because I can go home early and I don't have to have my homework done until the next lesson in a couple of weeks. Of course, we have catch-up work, but at least I have the option of when to do that and when to do revision.
Speaking of revision, I didn't do any yesterday in my time after college. However, I was very productive with my piano composition - I've been working on writing a piano cover (by ear) of 'Toxicity' by System Of A Down, which is a metal/rock song (sounds like an odd choice, I know, but the guitar riff is great and the tune is pretty once you take away the shouting). I've finished digitally writing a draft of the sheet music for the first verse and chorus, and I'm quite proud of it! My only issue is that I can't actually play it hands together yet... I'll work on that another time.
I do recognise that I could be using more of my free time to do college work, but I really feel that I need the time working on my piano to keep my stress down. It's my favourite hobby by far, and I don't intend on ever giving it up so I'm not going to stop now. I guess the balance between work and hobbies is a difficult one...
To make up for it, I think that during one of my (3) free periods today, I will make revision notes on the topics we just did in biology. I figure that it will be easier whilst it's fresh in my mind.
(edited 5 years ago)
28/02/19
I'm sorry it's been so long since I last posted! Three weeks, in fact. Overall I was just finding it very difficult to get motivated to do anything at all during that time, and then with issues such as family illness over half term, I didn't get round to doing much of the work I had planned to do. It wasn't ideal and I will need to work to get back on track now.
I think I mentioned some time before that I had an extra week off before half term, due to 'progress review week'. Well, I was ill at the start of that week so didn't get any A-level work completed then, but I did have my progress review meetings with my teachers on the Thursday. Contrary to what I expected, the meetings were quite useful. It was really nice to hear from my Psychology teacher, who said that I am doing really well and I got the 2nd highest score in the year in my mock exam, which is certainly encouraging! The advice I was given was to complete some practice questions, even if they are done open book and just written as bullet points rather than in full sentences - I agree, and I think it will be easier than trying to do it "properly" as though it were in an actual exam. My teacher said that it will still benefit me for both revision and exam skills. I got similar advice from my Biology teacher. However, what she suggested which hadn't really occurred to me is that I don't really need to make revision notes. If I complete enough past exam questions using my class notes/textbook for reference, I will be able to learn the information, and I should be far more prepared for the exam layout than if I had only studied using neatly written notes. I suppose I have been too caught-up in the idea of finalising all my notes, that I haven't focused on what is most important which is simply learning the content however I can.
My meeting with my Geology teacher was not quite so enlightening, but he again pointed out that exam questions are going to be most helpful, because the exams are synoptic so there is really not much point in learning the content topic-by-topic - I will need to know all of it for every exam (unlike Psychology, where each exam has specific topics and there is little cross-over).
In all honesty, I hate the fact that exam questions need to be done. Even so, I have to admit that it seems far more doable than completing revision notes for every single aspect of my subjects.
The only other event over the half-term period worth a mention is my visit to Cardiff University. I went to the open day last year, but this time I was invited to the Applicant Visit Day. I have to say, I was impressed! The amount and breadth of research in the Psychology department is immense, so it's pretty clear I could study pretty much whatever I wanted in my final year. The two taster lectures I went to were really good, and whilst the accommodation isn't overwhelming, it isn't nasty either. I think I would be happy studying at Cardiff. The question is, would I be even happier studying elsewhere? Next month I am visiting Loughborough again, and then it's Bath after that. I have until May to decide, but it's stressing me out because I'm already getting emails about applying for accommodation - it's hard to do that without a firm choice!
A change of topic to college this week: I think I'm back into the routine of things, and so far I'm managing to keep up with homework quite well. I also have a Psychology talk on gender stereotypes from a local uni lecturer arranged for International Woman's Day, so I'm pleased about that. It looks like I'll have to wrap things up now, as I'm due to be at Book Society in 10 minutes or so. Hopefully I'll find the time and motivation to post again tomorrow! 
I'm sorry it's been so long since I last posted! Three weeks, in fact. Overall I was just finding it very difficult to get motivated to do anything at all during that time, and then with issues such as family illness over half term, I didn't get round to doing much of the work I had planned to do. It wasn't ideal and I will need to work to get back on track now.
I think I mentioned some time before that I had an extra week off before half term, due to 'progress review week'. Well, I was ill at the start of that week so didn't get any A-level work completed then, but I did have my progress review meetings with my teachers on the Thursday. Contrary to what I expected, the meetings were quite useful. It was really nice to hear from my Psychology teacher, who said that I am doing really well and I got the 2nd highest score in the year in my mock exam, which is certainly encouraging! The advice I was given was to complete some practice questions, even if they are done open book and just written as bullet points rather than in full sentences - I agree, and I think it will be easier than trying to do it "properly" as though it were in an actual exam. My teacher said that it will still benefit me for both revision and exam skills. I got similar advice from my Biology teacher. However, what she suggested which hadn't really occurred to me is that I don't really need to make revision notes. If I complete enough past exam questions using my class notes/textbook for reference, I will be able to learn the information, and I should be far more prepared for the exam layout than if I had only studied using neatly written notes. I suppose I have been too caught-up in the idea of finalising all my notes, that I haven't focused on what is most important which is simply learning the content however I can.
My meeting with my Geology teacher was not quite so enlightening, but he again pointed out that exam questions are going to be most helpful, because the exams are synoptic so there is really not much point in learning the content topic-by-topic - I will need to know all of it for every exam (unlike Psychology, where each exam has specific topics and there is little cross-over).
In all honesty, I hate the fact that exam questions need to be done. Even so, I have to admit that it seems far more doable than completing revision notes for every single aspect of my subjects.
The only other event over the half-term period worth a mention is my visit to Cardiff University. I went to the open day last year, but this time I was invited to the Applicant Visit Day. I have to say, I was impressed! The amount and breadth of research in the Psychology department is immense, so it's pretty clear I could study pretty much whatever I wanted in my final year. The two taster lectures I went to were really good, and whilst the accommodation isn't overwhelming, it isn't nasty either. I think I would be happy studying at Cardiff. The question is, would I be even happier studying elsewhere? Next month I am visiting Loughborough again, and then it's Bath after that. I have until May to decide, but it's stressing me out because I'm already getting emails about applying for accommodation - it's hard to do that without a firm choice!
A change of topic to college this week: I think I'm back into the routine of things, and so far I'm managing to keep up with homework quite well. I also have a Psychology talk on gender stereotypes from a local uni lecturer arranged for International Woman's Day, so I'm pleased about that. It looks like I'll have to wrap things up now, as I'm due to be at Book Society in 10 minutes or so. Hopefully I'll find the time and motivation to post again tomorrow!
05/03/19
Hello again! I didn't post anything on Friday as in truthfulness, nothing much happened. I only had one lesson, as Geology was cancelled, and there was really nothing to report from Psychology. As for my weekend, I spent a lot of that with my boyfriend who was home for a short while from uni
. I finally filled in some of one of my Biology revision booklets whilst waiting around at my drama rehearsal on Sunday (just a few weeks until our Hocus Pocus show! I can't wait!) - it involved answering questions on biological molecules after reading through a summary. I don't know what it is about that one particular biology topic, but it seems that no matter how many times I go over it, I can never remember the different molecule structures and properties! I'm at a bit of a loss on how to learn it (and it's my least favourite topic). 
Yesterday was just lessons and homework (academically speaking anyway. I had my dance lesson and zumba too, as I usually do on a Monday evening). Biology is really interesting for my at the moment, as it's all DNA analysis with one teacher and neurons with the other (so it's very relevant to Psychology!). For example yesterday we learnt how the Human Genome Project was done, which is really impressive! Of course, it did take 10 years and we can now do it with another method in 24 hours, but it was ground-breaking at the time and is still the most accurate method of determining the genome. I really wish I found all of Biology this interesting, or at least as easy to remember.
I had my progress meeting with my tutor today, which was mostly fine. I'm lucky to have a really kind tutor who is also a Psychology teacher, so we were able to discuss my uni plans. At one point she asked me, did I know why I was given a 2 for effort outside of lesson in Biology? I said no, I didn't even know I had been given a 2. To explain, for each of our subjects (around the time of progress review) we are given a mark for effort in lesson, effort outside of lesson, and for organisation. The marks are 1*, 1, 2 and 3 (the best being 1* and the worst being 3). A 2 basically equates to 'study behaviour may be detrimental to progress'. My teacher did not mention it at all during my meeting with her a few weeks ago, which is odd considering it seems pretty important that they think I'm not working hard enough outside of lessons! I suppose it doesn't really change things because I still know what I need to do, but it has put me down a bit - it's not as though I'm not trying.
I feel like sometimes I don't do revision at home as a sort of defense mechanism. I can feel that if I get more stressed I could shut down completely, and I really want to avoid that, so sometimes I just... don't... do work. I always do my homework, but not as much revision work as I need to do. As it comes closer to the end of the school year, I'm thinking more and more about how everything is going to change. I want to go away to university - I really do - but I also want to stay with my friends and stay with my dance group and my drama group and keep having lessons with my piano teacher. I can't have the best of both worlds and at times I really hate that.
To speak on a more positive note, I am applying for a summer job. An advert was posted through the college website for a Sales Assistant job at a music shop. Considering the amount of music I do (piano and FolkRoots in particular), it's seems to be a good choice for me. It would be good to get proper work experience before university anyway.
Oh, also I learnt a lot of a new grade 8 piano piece in my lesson today. I'm learning the first movement of Haydn's sonata in G minor ('Moderato'), which is difficult. I know I'm going to be so proud once I can play all 5 pages though, so I'm excited to carry on with it.
I'm hoping tomorrow will be a good day. I could do with it
Hello again! I didn't post anything on Friday as in truthfulness, nothing much happened. I only had one lesson, as Geology was cancelled, and there was really nothing to report from Psychology. As for my weekend, I spent a lot of that with my boyfriend who was home for a short while from uni
. I finally filled in some of one of my Biology revision booklets whilst waiting around at my drama rehearsal on Sunday (just a few weeks until our Hocus Pocus show! I can't wait!) - it involved answering questions on biological molecules after reading through a summary. I don't know what it is about that one particular biology topic, but it seems that no matter how many times I go over it, I can never remember the different molecule structures and properties! I'm at a bit of a loss on how to learn it (and it's my least favourite topic). Yesterday was just lessons and homework (academically speaking anyway. I had my dance lesson and zumba too, as I usually do on a Monday evening). Biology is really interesting for my at the moment, as it's all DNA analysis with one teacher and neurons with the other (so it's very relevant to Psychology!). For example yesterday we learnt how the Human Genome Project was done, which is really impressive! Of course, it did take 10 years and we can now do it with another method in 24 hours, but it was ground-breaking at the time and is still the most accurate method of determining the genome. I really wish I found all of Biology this interesting, or at least as easy to remember.
I had my progress meeting with my tutor today, which was mostly fine. I'm lucky to have a really kind tutor who is also a Psychology teacher, so we were able to discuss my uni plans. At one point she asked me, did I know why I was given a 2 for effort outside of lesson in Biology? I said no, I didn't even know I had been given a 2. To explain, for each of our subjects (around the time of progress review) we are given a mark for effort in lesson, effort outside of lesson, and for organisation. The marks are 1*, 1, 2 and 3 (the best being 1* and the worst being 3). A 2 basically equates to 'study behaviour may be detrimental to progress'. My teacher did not mention it at all during my meeting with her a few weeks ago, which is odd considering it seems pretty important that they think I'm not working hard enough outside of lessons! I suppose it doesn't really change things because I still know what I need to do, but it has put me down a bit - it's not as though I'm not trying.
I feel like sometimes I don't do revision at home as a sort of defense mechanism. I can feel that if I get more stressed I could shut down completely, and I really want to avoid that, so sometimes I just... don't... do work. I always do my homework, but not as much revision work as I need to do. As it comes closer to the end of the school year, I'm thinking more and more about how everything is going to change. I want to go away to university - I really do - but I also want to stay with my friends and stay with my dance group and my drama group and keep having lessons with my piano teacher. I can't have the best of both worlds and at times I really hate that.
To speak on a more positive note, I am applying for a summer job. An advert was posted through the college website for a Sales Assistant job at a music shop. Considering the amount of music I do (piano and FolkRoots in particular), it's seems to be a good choice for me. It would be good to get proper work experience before university anyway.
Oh, also I learnt a lot of a new grade 8 piano piece in my lesson today. I'm learning the first movement of Haydn's sonata in G minor ('Moderato'), which is difficult. I know I'm going to be so proud once I can play all 5 pages though, so I'm excited to carry on with it.
I'm hoping tomorrow will be a good day. I could do with it
12/03/2019
Oops, there goes by another week in a flash! It's been busy for me (hence few posts), as my dance/drama show is just next weekend, and dress rehearsal is on Saturday! I am really excited for it, but equally I'm going to be sobbing at the end. It's my last year being part of a dance show, and I've been dancing since I was 3 so it's quite a big deal for me. It took me a while to get to like my character, but now I have a tonne of fun playing them at rehearsals, and the dances are brilliant this year
One of the things I will miss most when I go to university is just seeing my dance and drama friends every week. I really will miss them.
I'm pleased to say that I've done a few topics of A level biology revision over the past week. I've had really long drama rehearsals, during about half of which I've just been sitting at the side, so I worked on answering biology exam questions. It's been easier than note-making by far, even though it is still quite boring. Perhaps it's easier because there's is a specific goal in when answering exam questions - once you get to the answer, you move on. No worrying about adding extra things you may or may not need, and you check what you've missed with the mark scheme afterwards. Write it into your answer, and try again another time. I wish I had started this earlier - I would have made my life easier, or at least a bit less stressful. There's a long way to go, but I'm further than I was before and I remember more than I did before.
This morning I had an end of topic test in Psychology for the Relationships topic. Admittedly, I had forgotten about it (what with rushing to sort out a drama costume yesterday) so I only revised during 2 hours this morning. Surprisingly I still think it went well! There was half of a question I didn't know the answer to (I needed to write 2 limitations of the absorption-addiction model, and I could only think of one) and I could had written another paragraph for the 16 mark question if I had time, but otherwise I'm quite happy.
In other news, during my free time I've worked on a piece of digital music. I think it's just about finished now! It's about 3 minutes long, but loops (so it could be the kind of thing that might be in a video game), and is quite a sad-sounding piece. I think it's nice, anyway. Now I can use digital music software, at least at an amateur level! Teaching myself new stuff like that is a hobby of mine it seems.
Oh, it turns out part of my post in the Grow Your Grades Revision Tips Competition was used in a TSR article, which is cool! I'm glad it may help out someone who happens to read it. The article (here) has a short section about extracurricular hobbies, but if you want to read the entire thing I wrote, it'll be somewhere on this thread.
Until next time!
Oops, there goes by another week in a flash! It's been busy for me (hence few posts), as my dance/drama show is just next weekend, and dress rehearsal is on Saturday! I am really excited for it, but equally I'm going to be sobbing at the end. It's my last year being part of a dance show, and I've been dancing since I was 3 so it's quite a big deal for me. It took me a while to get to like my character, but now I have a tonne of fun playing them at rehearsals, and the dances are brilliant this year
One of the things I will miss most when I go to university is just seeing my dance and drama friends every week. I really will miss them.I'm pleased to say that I've done a few topics of A level biology revision over the past week. I've had really long drama rehearsals, during about half of which I've just been sitting at the side, so I worked on answering biology exam questions. It's been easier than note-making by far, even though it is still quite boring. Perhaps it's easier because there's is a specific goal in when answering exam questions - once you get to the answer, you move on. No worrying about adding extra things you may or may not need, and you check what you've missed with the mark scheme afterwards. Write it into your answer, and try again another time. I wish I had started this earlier - I would have made my life easier, or at least a bit less stressful. There's a long way to go, but I'm further than I was before and I remember more than I did before.
This morning I had an end of topic test in Psychology for the Relationships topic. Admittedly, I had forgotten about it (what with rushing to sort out a drama costume yesterday) so I only revised during 2 hours this morning. Surprisingly I still think it went well! There was half of a question I didn't know the answer to (I needed to write 2 limitations of the absorption-addiction model, and I could only think of one) and I could had written another paragraph for the 16 mark question if I had time, but otherwise I'm quite happy.
In other news, during my free time I've worked on a piece of digital music. I think it's just about finished now! It's about 3 minutes long, but loops (so it could be the kind of thing that might be in a video game), and is quite a sad-sounding piece. I think it's nice, anyway. Now I can use digital music software, at least at an amateur level! Teaching myself new stuff like that is a hobby of mine it seems.
Oh, it turns out part of my post in the Grow Your Grades Revision Tips Competition was used in a TSR article, which is cool! I'm glad it may help out someone who happens to read it. The article (here) has a short section about extracurricular hobbies, but if you want to read the entire thing I wrote, it'll be somewhere on this thread.
Until next time!
18/03/19
The rest of last week was even busier than the week before! Whilst lessons were quite uneventful, my weekend was very busy and I am now pretty exhausted. Friday night I was at my friend's party (first time I had seen her in a while, so that was nice), Saturday I had dance rehearsal for several hours (as we needed to join groups together for each dance for the first time) and yesterday was the dress rehearsal. Show dress rehearsals generally consist of 6 hours of non-stop activity - either dancing, acting, getting photos taken in costume, changing costumes, touching up make-up and repairing costumes, or organising little kids who have very little idea of what's going on! Being one of the oldest in the dance school now, I have a fair bit of responsibility for keeping things going smoothly backstage (of course, I'm not the only one). When I finally got home, I spent the evening relaxing and left my work to do this morning.
I've done the work I need to do this morning, except I forgot my biology booklet which messes up my lesson today. The day isn't going too great so far... It's also awful timing for the end-of-topic tests I have coming up. One tomorrow, one next Monday and one next Tuesday. I have no idea how to fit in the revision! I'll have to hope I don't get too much homework this week.
I'm sorry this post is so short, but I ought to be getting on with college work whilst I have the time. It's going to be a busy week!
The rest of last week was even busier than the week before! Whilst lessons were quite uneventful, my weekend was very busy and I am now pretty exhausted. Friday night I was at my friend's party (first time I had seen her in a while, so that was nice), Saturday I had dance rehearsal for several hours (as we needed to join groups together for each dance for the first time) and yesterday was the dress rehearsal. Show dress rehearsals generally consist of 6 hours of non-stop activity - either dancing, acting, getting photos taken in costume, changing costumes, touching up make-up and repairing costumes, or organising little kids who have very little idea of what's going on! Being one of the oldest in the dance school now, I have a fair bit of responsibility for keeping things going smoothly backstage (of course, I'm not the only one). When I finally got home, I spent the evening relaxing and left my work to do this morning.
I've done the work I need to do this morning, except I forgot my biology booklet which messes up my lesson today. The day isn't going too great so far... It's also awful timing for the end-of-topic tests I have coming up. One tomorrow, one next Monday and one next Tuesday. I have no idea how to fit in the revision! I'll have to hope I don't get too much homework this week.
I'm sorry this post is so short, but I ought to be getting on with college work whilst I have the time. It's going to be a busy week!
20/03/19
Just a quick update here! Yesterday I had a biology test on the liver and kidneys - turned out it was pretty easy, as the practice questions I used to revise ended up making up the majority of the test! I suppose I at least was able to confirm I had learnt the information, since I remembered the answers.
Today I had to meet a Psychology speaker, who gave a talk on gender stereotypes in advertising (a late celebration of International Women's Day) - it was really great! We had a good turnout and plenty of questions at the end. It may be the last talk I am able to organise, so I'm glad it was a good one.
That's all I have time for, as I need to go catch my bus now!
Hope everyone is having a good week so far
Just a quick update here! Yesterday I had a biology test on the liver and kidneys - turned out it was pretty easy, as the practice questions I used to revise ended up making up the majority of the test! I suppose I at least was able to confirm I had learnt the information, since I remembered the answers.
Today I had to meet a Psychology speaker, who gave a talk on gender stereotypes in advertising (a late celebration of International Women's Day) - it was really great! We had a good turnout and plenty of questions at the end. It may be the last talk I am able to organise, so I'm glad it was a good one.
That's all I have time for, as I need to go catch my bus now!
Hope everyone is having a good week so far
01/04/19
I think I've just about recovered from my show weekend now! It was the weekend before last and I had so much fun performing with my dance friends - it was brilliant! Also emotional though - for I think 4 of us, it was our last show since we're moving on to uni or other things which take us away from dance. It was a massive low during the days after the show... I've got one more term of dance lessons left, so I plan to make the most of them. I'll carry on at uni, but it just won't be the same with different people.
Thankfully the week after wasn't too stressful, as I've finished the Psychology course so I have far less homework than I did before. It's nice, because we're doing revision in Psychology lessons now so I can dedicate those to my Psychology and use all of the rest of my time for Biology and Geology (which I find harder). Just one topic to finish in Geology and like, 2, in Biology...
The terrifying thing is that exams start NEXT MONTH. Study leave begins on the 17th May which is also the date of my first exam.
Hopefully I'll make it though in one piece!
I think I've just about recovered from my show weekend now! It was the weekend before last and I had so much fun performing with my dance friends - it was brilliant! Also emotional though - for I think 4 of us, it was our last show since we're moving on to uni or other things which take us away from dance. It was a massive low during the days after the show... I've got one more term of dance lessons left, so I plan to make the most of them. I'll carry on at uni, but it just won't be the same with different people.
Thankfully the week after wasn't too stressful, as I've finished the Psychology course so I have far less homework than I did before. It's nice, because we're doing revision in Psychology lessons now so I can dedicate those to my Psychology and use all of the rest of my time for Biology and Geology (which I find harder). Just one topic to finish in Geology and like, 2, in Biology...
The terrifying thing is that exams start NEXT MONTH. Study leave begins on the 17th May which is also the date of my first exam.
Hopefully I'll make it though in one piece!
heya, sorry i've not been keeping up with your gyg, hope you've been well
glad you've now recovered from your show weekend
hope you managed to get that summer job and have fun with the piano
it's good you aren't too stressed
best of luck with the revision and hope you get a break soon
glad you've now recovered from your show weekend
hope you managed to get that summer job and have fun with the piano
it's good you aren't too stressed
best of luck with the revision and hope you get a break soon Hey, that's alright! I haven't been the best at keeping it updated, and it's nice anyway to know that someone is reading it 
Hope you've been doing good too!
Thanks - I hope revision etc. goes well for you too (assuming you have exams too?)
It's a bit scary exams are so soon, but on the bright side the summer holidays are just round the corner too! 
Hope you've been doing good too!Thanks - I hope revision etc. goes well for you too (assuming you have exams too?)
It's a bit scary exams are so soon, but on the bright side the summer holidays are just round the corner too! Original post by nyxnko_
heya, sorry i've not been keeping up with your gyg, hope you've been well
glad you've now recovered from your show weekend
hope you managed to get that summer job and have fun with the piano
it's good you aren't too stressed best of luck with the revision and hope you get a break soon
glad you've now recovered from your show weekend
hope you managed to get that summer job and have fun with the piano
it's good you aren't too stressed
best of luck with the revision and hope you get a break soon 06/04/19
At last the Easter holidays have arrived! I'm feeling pretty good about the next two weeks. I'll be visiting my last uni applicant visit day, which hopefully means I will be able to decide on a firm choice soon. Other than that, I have a nice, clear schedule so I'll be able to get some good revision done.
My plan for the rest of this evening (I had a relaxed time today as my boyfriend visited, so no work) is to print out a calendar for the next 3 months, mark on all my exams, and then fill in some rough times for revision of certain subjects and topics. My initial priority will be the Memory, Social Influence, Attachment and Psychopathology topics for Psychology, as Paper 1 will be my first exam on the 17th May. Naturally I will need to revise all my other subjects this holiday, so I will plan that out also (however, I have another 2 weeks before all my other exams. Psych Paper 1 is just the odd one out!).
More than anything else, I'm going to make sure I stay optimistic and don't overwork myself. It's no help to anyone if I break down at this stage!
I hope everyone else taking exams in the next few months is doing okay - one final big push of studying, and then we can enjoy our summer! It's all going to be worth it
Keep it up, folks!
At last the Easter holidays have arrived! I'm feeling pretty good about the next two weeks. I'll be visiting my last uni applicant visit day, which hopefully means I will be able to decide on a firm choice soon. Other than that, I have a nice, clear schedule so I'll be able to get some good revision done.
My plan for the rest of this evening (I had a relaxed time today as my boyfriend visited, so no work) is to print out a calendar for the next 3 months, mark on all my exams, and then fill in some rough times for revision of certain subjects and topics. My initial priority will be the Memory, Social Influence, Attachment and Psychopathology topics for Psychology, as Paper 1 will be my first exam on the 17th May. Naturally I will need to revise all my other subjects this holiday, so I will plan that out also (however, I have another 2 weeks before all my other exams. Psych Paper 1 is just the odd one out!).
More than anything else, I'm going to make sure I stay optimistic and don't overwork myself. It's no help to anyone if I break down at this stage!
I hope everyone else taking exams in the next few months is doing okay - one final big push of studying, and then we can enjoy our summer! It's all going to be worth it
Keep it up, folks!
Original post by ToffeeJoy
Hey, that's alright! I haven't been the best at keeping it updated, and it's nice anyway to know that someone is reading it Hope you've been doing good too!
Thanks - I hope revision etc. goes well for you too (assuming you have exams too?) It's a bit scary exams are so soon, but on the bright side the summer holidays are just round the corner too!
Hope you've been doing good too!Thanks - I hope revision etc. goes well for you too (assuming you have exams too?)
It's a bit scary exams are so soon, but on the bright side the summer holidays are just round the corner too! Yeah, I've been well
I should be doing more for exams but it almost never works out 
Like you said, summer holidays are just round the corner!!
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