When Hard Work Pays Off

Hey!

Because this blog is apart of my life and is my area to express and write about what I wish, I thought I would tell you guys that I have officially been accepted into University! As soon as I saw I had been accepted I burst into to tears. It felt like a whole weight that had been built up on my shoulders for two years had finally lifted and I had finally achieved what I was working so hard for. All the hard work, stress, anger and tears paid off and I finally got what I wanted: to begin a career in Psychology. I had wanted a career in Psychology since I was 13/14 and now it feels like I can finally begin that path.

I am also excited to begin a new chapter. The sixth form I was at was also my secondary school so I had spent a long time there. I honestly didn't have the best time in school, or sixth form, so it felt liberating to walk out of there for the last time on Results Day. I was so worried I would have to come back and retake a year!

Now I can finally begin my gap year. I can finally have a well deserved break from education then know that I have a place in University to go to at the end of it.

I guess the moral of this story is cliché, but true. Don't give up on what you are aiming for. I worked so hard to get where I am; I fought with many demons of my own. But now I know when you work so hard for something, you will get what you want.

And it will feel glorious.

I hope anyone who has received any exam results or have any upcoming get the results they are hoping for!

Leaving Sixth Form

Hey!

Sorry I've been away lately. I've been busy finishing Sixth Form! After 2 years in Sixth Form I have finally finished- all I need to do now is do the exams. 

I'm not going to lie, leaving Sixth Form is the best thing that has happened to me in a while. I don't want to scare off anyone going to Sixth Form, but for me personally it was the hardest and most stressful time of my life. Without sounding too pessimistic, I spent most of my time feeling invisible to the people around me, feeling anxious and completely overwhelmed by the amount of difficult work I had to do. I mean in Sixth Form you do have more freedom than in high school and you're mostly doing subjects you actually enjoy, but otherwise I hated it.

In my first year I studied Psychology, Sociology, English Language and Law and then in Year 13 I carried on the first 3 subjects and dropped Law. Although I really enjoyed Law and hated English, I had to face the fact that I was crappy at Law and fairly good at English. Sometimes you have to make the decisions that are best for yourself which aren't necessarily the things that you really want.

To celebrate our end of sixth form we did various things. It is tradition at our Sixth Form to dress up in fancy dress on the last day. I didn't want to spend lots of money on something I'd never wear again so I put on the knee-high socks I already owned with playing cards on them and then printed out playing cards and suits to stick on to a white top that I never wore. All I paid for was the fabric glue! I topped it off with Mac's Ruby Woo on my lips and black winged eyeliner. It is also part of the tradition to watch a video of messages from the teacher's performed in a humorous way, alongside watching a music video the majority of Sixth Form made to 'Uptown Funk' and 'Thinking Out Loud'.

Another tradition that we have is a pub crawl. We began at 1 pm and finished about 9 pm going to 7 different pubs. That was quite fun, walking to each pub in a massive group of about 70 of us in fancy dress then getting more and more drunk. It is something I'll never forget.

It will feel weird not going there again. My Sixth Form is connected to the high school I used to go to so after 7 years of being there I have finally left. It will be weird to adjust to and kinda scary but I am looking forward to the change. I need to leave that place behind me so I can begin a new, adult, chapter in my life and meet new people. I've left that place with mixed emotions but I feel ready to have some change in my life.

In the mean time, I will study hard at home and do my dreaded exams! I have 5 exams to do and will be finished by the 19th June. Sorry if I post less in that time!

For those of you starting Sixth Form or College this year, I made a post a couple of months ago called '5 Tips for Surviving Sixth Form' if you'd like to view it here.

Are you in Sixth Form, left or are even starting Sixth Form this year? Let me know!

5 Tips for Surviving Sixth Form

Hey!

I am in my final months of Sixth Form now (thank goodness!) so I've decided now I have had pretty much the full experience I would now pass on some tips to you on how to survive Sixth Form (which can also account for college). Going to Sixth Form can be exciting when you realise you'll finally be leaving secondary school and feel a bit more like an adult but it can also be a super stressful time. 

1. Keep a folder for each subject right from the start. One of the mistakes I made in my first year was not having a folder prepared for my subjects. Then when I did, I kept forgetting to keep up with it and would end up with months and months worth of paperwork on my desk not organised into folders. Have a folder prepared and put your work in their daily or weekly.
2. Find a space in your house, whether in an office or your bedroom, where you can do your work quietly and keep everything organised. I don't mean to scare you but you will have a hell of a lot of work and essays to keep up with throughout Sixth Form! Having an office to store all your work and a desk to do your work at with all your necessary textbooks and stationery would be ideal but if that isn't possible then having a desk in your room will be good. It will make things a lot more difficult just doing work on your bed when you have books and paper everywhere.
3. Don't let anyone pressure you in to going to university. One of the main things that really angered me about Sixth Form, or maybe just my one in particular, was the immense amount of pressure to go to university. My Sixth Form always went on at us to go to University and barely gave us any information on other routes such as going straight to work or taking an apprenticeship. This is your life and you can what the hell you want with it. If going straight to work or doing an apprenticeship is what's best for what you want to do then do it- don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Not going to University isn't going to make you 'fail' or whatnot like some Sixth Forms give the impression of and it's just as good to do other things in life.
4. Don't stress about mock exams. I have witnessed everyone in Sixth Form stressing about mock exams and I just don't understand why! To me it seems unnecessary stress to put yourself under and it doesn't represent how well you will do in your actual exams. Use the time to relax, do any coursework if you do coursework subjects and make the most of the time you have before real exams. I got E's and U's in my mock exams because I didn't want to stress myself out for no reason but I still did as well as I wanted to in my real exams. Mock exams do not represent reality. 
5. Make time for yourself and for socialising. It can be so easy to get caught up in your work and you'll wonder where on earth you'll ever find the time to just relax. Through all the stress you need to remember to just be you and do things that you enjoy like watching YouTube videos, going out with friends and just getting outside in general. You don't want to spend all your time cooped up inside studying- go out and get some fresh air! You don't want to lose you.

My whole Sixth Form experience was a mix of things for me. I absolutely hated secondary school and I was glad to do something new, do subjects I enjoy and feel more like an adult. I wanted more freedom, free periods and to think about my future. However, it has also been the most stressful thing I have been through. Sixth Form forces you t o think about your career and make decisions for yourself which will affect the rest of your life. Sixth Form can get so caught up in grades, numbers and statistics so it is important to remember to just be you and take decision-making one step at a time.

What are you tips for getting through education? Let me know!