Saturday 10 January 2015

What I've Learnt So Far in 2015

Every day offers you the opportunboxity to absorb new information like a sponge soaking up the Tropicana juice that you spilt all over the pearly white floor: as we have the brains to process it, we have a duty to make an effort when learning something new. Besides, don't you feel proud of yourself when you discover a new French phrase or that LOL doesn't mean 'lots of love'? The little things are as important as the larger, revolutionary discoveries - regardless of its size, everything is definitely more valuable than nothing at all.

Now that I'm ten days into the new year, I've been blown into a wild storm of learning, studying and working ever since school returned earlier this week. Once again, I re-explored the path towards accepting that I'll have to put up with early starts for the rest of my life - a fact that, to be truly honest with, I have no desire to accept because it is miles away from what I'd call 'acceptable'! Gone are my care-free days of flicking through the TV channels on Sky, snorting with laughter at the millions of fitness programmes which have affected television like a zombie apocalypse (as my undead-mad brother would probably say): in its place are uncontrollable panics over how to complete pieces of coursework that I have no clue about.

Four days into school life, it takes me by surprise that I was only celebrating Christmas several weeks ago - where did all that time disappear? My mince pies have slipped beneath my fingers, while the festive decorations have escaped our home to return to the garage for another eleven months. In many ways, I'm pleased that school is back: it saved me just in time before I lost it completely with yule logs, which finally stole the limelight at Christmas after years of never making a show. Instead of filling me up with sugar-dusted slices of stollen, school is filling in the hole that Christmas has left - usually, I would slip into a miserable mood for several days after the decorations were taken down, but I haven't even had a spare moment to think about anything but school.

Maybe I am already staying true to my New Year's resolution of being more positive, which I didn't even notice until just now. A light is shining somewhere, even you think that you cannot see it. We often give January a negative reputation because it doesn't offer the buzz that Christmas does, but I'm determined to change that by reminding us that, unlike other months in the year, January holds the key to our reinventing ourselves. For some reason, we find it easier to turn a new leaf when a new month begins, yet isn't it better to start a new year on a positive note? People have a tendency to give up on their resolutions on 2nd January, but we are denying ourselves the chance to let our willpower shine: whatever you believe, everybody does possess a secret strength that isn't necessarily born out of daily sessions at the gym.

January can be a time for going back to basics which, when compared to the month before it, usually means returning to Earth - without the massive pile of turkey leftovers that you end up feeding to the cat once you've had enough of it! Believe me, the first day is always hard - as I learnt when school returned on Tuesday - but you make it worse if you keep thinking about the negatives, which may not even exist: it amazes me how we can trick ourselves into believing something that may be as fictional as the existence of Prince Charming. Hence why we should accept the way that nature sometimes is - if moaning is all that you can do about it, why plunge yourself into a pool of horror?

Though the bags underneath my eyes are particularly emphasised today (thanks to a combination of a late night and an even later wake up call!), I've nonetheless switched into let's-be-a-writer mode: the disappointment with not doing what I look forward to each week is far greater than the strongest flavoured coffee I could ever drink. Anyway, I'm proud of myself for adjusting to such a great change in my routine, which couldn't be more different from the one I was used to this time last year; despite the negativity at my old school overclouding many things, the mist is starting to clear, producing a wonderful image that I'm glad to be part of. My love of learning is getting its chance to shine, while I'm making friends whom I love hanging out with: although I often avoid thinking about it, it's a shame that I didn't manage to be offered a place at my new school sooner because it would have saved me from tons of hassle at my old one.

In case you are wondering what magic that will be blasting from my fingertips today, read on to discover what I've learnt so far this year - it's only the tip of the iceberg!

1. It's actually 2015, not 2014!
Something that, despite reminding myself not to repeat the same error, frequently occurs when I'm writing the date down in my exercise books - in one of them, I even wrote the month down as November! Give me another fortnight before I finally let go of 2014...

2. Eat a bit more at breakfast
Ever heard your stomach rumble during Science at ten in the morning which everyone, including your half-deaf teacher, can hear? Tres embarrassing indeed! No matter how many nuts I add to my muesli, I'm always starving ages before break time, which is an hour before I finally sit down to have my lunch. To combat these hunger pangs, I've come up with the concept of eating some oatcakes - the cardboard-esque circles of oaty goodness, who try very hard to resemble a Digestive biscuit - which, so far, are doing the trick. Still, I fill myself up way too easily at both breakfast and lunch - there is no perfect in between!

3. Coursework will define my life
Or at least it will remain so until the end of Year 10. Year 11 is mainly about revision, panicking about meaningless mocks and counting down the days to sitting your actual exams on a cute cat-themed calender: the year below it is renowned for pushing their pupils through controlled assessments, long boring pieces of coursework and making us worry about mock exams that we'll sit in the Spring. Ugh, I've already lost my patience with coursework, which I cannot even stop thinking about at the weekend - when will I be spared from its evil clutches?

4. Some things are not as difficult as you expect
For example, I freaked out at the prospect of answering an exam question in Sociology yesterday. Having only started to study it little over a month ago, I feared that I wouldn't perform as well as a more experienced pupil could. But, apart from forgetting to mention one or two sociological terms, I think that I answered the question pretty well! It was worth ten marks (which is nothing when compared to the 20 mark questions that I'm likely to answer in the actual exam!), so I hope to have gotten at least eight; it would mark a very good start! Now I've learnt that I shouldn't dismiss some things as beyond my ability before even having a go - I could be depriving myself of a chance to prove myself wrong and taste sweet success.

5. Fun is a compulsory part of the curriculum
Or so I believe! Meeting new people and getting to know them is helping me come out of my shell, which is teaching me how to be more light-hearted and less of a Lisa Simpson wannabe in the studious ranks. Instead of hiding in the library all the time, I count the seconds down to break and lunch when I will be reunited with my friends, where we can chat, laugh and wander around campus for a while. Even though I appreciate my own company, most of the time I don't want to be alone; being surrounded by others creates such a happy feeling that could never have been replicated at my old school.

6. And Just Relax!
When in need of calming myself down, read a book, watch some TV (though definitely not the programmes that your South Park-obsessed brother suggests) or go on the internet: anything that takes your mind off studying. The greatest thing about relaxing is that, when you do return to your studies, you are in the perfect state of mind to work well, which is reflected in the quality of your work. 2015 will be a year when I don't rush homework for the sake of wasting ten minutes surfing the 'net on my phone: my time, regardless of how much or little it is, will be used wisely.


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