A Welcome to 2014

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!!! 

2013 has been an interesting year. I would say there have been many highs and lows and a lot of mediums as well. It's been a stressful year - in some aspects it's been a satisfying year, and for others it's been a regrettable year. I've enjoyed all my extracurriculars and I'm so happy I've gotten so involved with everything from debating to choir to habitat for humanity to dragon boating. In fact, I've realised that when it comes down to reflecting on your school life, as important as grades are, in the end they're just a number, or a mark, or an "endorsed with insert grade here". What really makes school interesting and worth it are the groups that you join, the sports that you play, the friends that you make. I've had lots of exciting new things happen to me and suffered through not only the gruelling recovery process of a life-changing jaw surgery but also the torturous stress of the IB. I've made great new friends, I've grown closer with so many people (thanks to IB lol), and I've freaked people out due to my infatuation with a certain older gentleman (WE'RE MOVING ON IN 2014, I SWEAR TO GOD).

In 2013 I was able to grow as a person a lot and flesh out my own moral compass and perspective on the world. A lot of this had to do with the people I surrounded myself with. I've had so many thought-provoking conversations and debates with friends over feminism/sexism, racism, the media, etc etc that I think have made me into a better person. I think school and it's emphasis on "service" and whatnot has really truly affected me a tonne in that it's one of those things I really want to do more of, and I've come to the realisation this year over how much the school has shaped me.

Good God that was cheesy, time to get to our yearly tradition: seeing how badly I failed at my resolutions! Note, I totally forgot what these resolutions even were.

• Don't look down upon anyone or have prejudices towards people.

I think this was something that was definitely really bothering me about myself towards the end of 2012, but it wasn't something I even thought about in 2013. I would hope that it's because I didn't do it as often but it may just be I wasn't aware, even if I did do it. I will say that in 2013 I (unintentionally) matured a lot and I would like to think I was friendlier to people at school in general even if they weren't someone I was particularly close with. I'm not sure how to reflect on this resolution considering I don't remember what specifically made me want to make it a resolution. Well, I hope I wasn't a snotty bitch to anyone (in my mind)???

• Learn to prioritise. Put school first.

Well, in the original blogpost, I specifically talked about prioritising school over tumblr, and I can say I've definitely done that, at least towards the end of 2013. Barely ever go on tumblr anymore and feel no need to get back into it. In terms of prioritising in general, have I told you the story of how my mum kept asking me how to pronounce "prioritise" one day in the supermarket? Yeah she asked me again two days ago, except she was asking so that she could tell my brother to prioritise real life over his league of legends shit. Anyway, I digress, I don't think I prioritised very well this year. A lot of the time I was lazy and chose to talk to people on facebook over sleep or over doing my homework that night. A lot of the time I fell into the youtube-videos abyss and a lot of the time I decided that my priorities lay in watching that new episode of insert tv show here. Yet towards the end of the year, around exam season I definitely did prioritise school and totally stopped watching all my shows, which I mean, yknw, it's okay, but I found other ways to waste my precious time anyway.

• Be willing to help others and go out of your way to help them.

You know what, even though I can't think of a specific instance I did this, I don't doubt that I did do it. That's not me being up myself, it's just in the context of how school has been this year and how close I've gotten with everyone in the IB cohort, it isn't unlikely I helped a brutha out. So, success?

• Arrive early at school every day.

YES, ONE I CAN PROBABLY DEFINITELY SAY I SUCCEEDED AT!!! I got zero, I repeat, ZERO "late because of traffic" late slips (i don't have a good memory, I may have had like, one) (however I was late to school a couple times in term 4 except teachers didn't bother sending me to get a late slip woohoo). I was really good in the first 3 terms of the year and would get to school at 8:15 and actually have time to talk to friends and whatever, but I began slipping after Big Sing I think and got into bad habits again. But overall, SUCCESS!!!!!!!

• Go to bed at 11pm-ish every night. Even on weekends. 

............. nope. maybe in the first term or something.

• All 7's in All Exams. Don't leave studying to the night before your exam.

Oh this is depressing. Did not get all 7s in all exams :'( This is actually really funny though because before I started IB I couldn't understand why getting 45 was so difficult, and a little part of me actually still thinks that if I put the effort in, I could get all 7s. But no, it didn't happen. And I definitely did leave the studying to the night before my exam. To be fair, I tried really hard, and term 4 was such a bitch and there was so much work every single night that even if I worked all evening and planned everything out, I still ran out of time to study anything. I guess I'll have to plan my study schedule for end of year exams this year from January onwards?

• Read books that will change your life and your views of the world.

Well, I read 1984. The books we study in class were pretty eye-opening. I've got a shitload of books out atm which will probably fuck with me for a long time.

• Exercise everyday for at least half an hour

Oh, past Vicky, you get me so bad.

• (one especially for the holidays) Get up before 11am four out of seven days a week

.... may...be...? Probably. I found 10am/11am to be the average time I would wake up in the holidays.

• Make the most out of 2013!

Fuck yeah I made the most of it!! I joined every extracurricular I wanted to join, I participated in every values project I wanted to be part of. I built a deck for habitat for humanity and (tried to) organise an Elgin build; I built and painted stone walls for stage challenged that humans fucking fit into and were one of the highlights of our show. I joined a dragonboating team that powered through as the underdogs and came in third and won my first medal for a sport. I was part of a debating team (the BEST debating team) that was a bloody semifinalist and only got knocked out by the winning team of the whole grade, and through that I gained so much confidence and had so much fun. I organised with Faizah a social netball team that always had missing players every week, but that eventually placed runner-up in its grade. I was a part of choir that placed silver at nationals but most importantly, I was a part of a choir where I made so many new friends and maintained so many of my old friendships. I applied to everything and got rejected by many, but it was worth it because I was accepted into a few. I got a PnF gold award that meant the world to me, and actually meant more to me than getting academic excellence because it was voted by my peers. I decided to completely switch subjects and drop something I hated (physics) for something that genuinely interests me (history) even despite the horrid essays and bullshit exams. I went to MUNA, and despite it being kinda shit, I made a good friend out of it. I went to Dunedin and I embarrassed myself a lot but I did everything knowing that I'd regret it more if I didn't (and embarrassing stories are always more fun to tell than "I wish I did this/that instead of missing my opportunity" stories) if ur not sure what I'm talking about, I'm referring to whEN I GRINDED AGAINST AND JAMMED WITH THE MAN WHO SHALL NOT BE NAMED. I had a fantastic birthday where I felt so special and loved and I went to my first ball with my friends who I love and I had FUN. I FUCKING GOT A NEW FACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So, yeah, fuck yeah 2013. You weren't so bad after all.

Onto 2014:

• Prioritise your school work. Specifically, when you get home, don't go onto facebook, twitter, youtube, tumblr. No one's online during then anyway. Get all your work done first and see if you can get everything done before 7pm. After that, what you choose to do -- whether it be tv shows or studying -- is up to you. Organise your own freedom by eliminating guilt from that pressing notion in your head of "it's 9pm and I still haven't started any work". You'll thank me later.
• Get all 7s in exams. Get above 2200 in SATs. Fuck yeah you can do it.
• Prepare for exams at least two months before. In saying that, you still need "cram" sessions the night before because, well, they work. But prepare so that you actually feel confident when you enter that exam hall. You enjoy studying, you enjoy learning your curriculum, WHY DON'T YOU DO IT MORE OFTEN?
• Go to bed before 12am every night. It's good for your skin, it's good for your mind, it's good for your health, and it'll probably save you from hearing 30-or-so identical lectures from your mum.
• Arrive early at school. Aim for 0 late slips that are due to your sleeping-in this year.
• Start using the mornings. Study in the mornings, exercise, read, watch an episode of supernatural for all it matters. Having done something in the morning makes you feel that much better for the rest of the day. Why would you avoid doing something that makes you feel good?
• Get over the obsession with older men. This is kinda a joke resolution because you know that when Big Sing rolls around again in 2014 it's going to be a hormone-fuelled nightmare. MAYBE GET A BOYFRIEND INSTEAD, VICKY
• Read more books, especially ones that will change your life. 
• Meet new people, make more friends, keep the ones that make you happy and make you want to be a better person.
• Help out around the house more often. Mate, your parents are getting old, you should probably show more gratefulness towards them since they're the best friggin parents ever.
• Try to improve others' lives. This can be by charity work and doing service, or just by not being a dick to your friends.
• Understand that rejection isn't the end of the world. You're going to encounter many opportunities this year. Naturally, you're going to want to take advantage of those opportunities.You're going to be rejected by many of them, and that's okay. Don't let it get you down and don't take it personally. Don't let it stop you from applying to other things, joining other groups, meeting other people. 
• And as always, make the most of 2014!