Exam time

The fear of failure really kicks in during exam time and although you strive to achieve your best potential and aim to get the highest score possible, reality is that stressing so much over certain things makes you perform worse than if you relax and take things one day at a time.

To get my mind off things I have a day in the week that is to myself and I do whatever it is that I like. Whether that is hanging out with friends, going shopping or sometimes catching up on lost sleep due to study.... I make sure I have a day to myself which allows me to unwind and think about things that affect me.

I also do sport. I played football for 4 months and did training twice a week for 5 ½ hours for 6 months. Now I try to go for a run whenever I get the chance. I think there is something in sport that clears your head. Also doing sports helped me feel better and more energetic which resulted in an overall positive feeling towards not just school but life itself.

I have high expectations for myself in terms of the marks I get and how I perform during exams. I used to get really disappointed when I wouldn't get the mark I wanted, but I realised that 'you either make it or break it' isn't the right way to look at yr12.

The person that has been most supportive of me in year 12 has been my psychology teacher. She has been there for me whenever I have needed her and is a great help. She is always one phone call away and is willing to sacrifice her time to help me get through any tough times I am experiencing. I can't really rely on my family to help me through yr 12 as they have never experienced it themselves before, so finding a mentor and friend in my psych teacher was a blessing for me. Also friends - they are usually really helpful to talk to because they experience the same things and sometimes even just telling someone your problem takes a big load off your shoulders.

If a friend of mine was to ask me how to get through the exam period with minimal stress involved I would recommend:

- finding someone they trust other than their friends that they can confide in and that they know they can get reliable advice from
- giving yourself an outlet is very important as is 'me time' because sometimes the whole world seems to get on your nerves when an essay is due the next day, it's 10pm and you haven't eve started!
-  and the main thing that has gotten me this far... taking year 12 day by day.... because if you focus on the past or the future too much it can get overwhelming and you can start to feel as though you won't make it.

On January 1st 2006 - I see myself sun baking on a beach and celebrating getting through year 12 with some of my closest mates.