Leaving High School

A couple of days ago I wore my school uniform for the last time. I can't believe I've finished high school. Since I've left, I've had a bit of time to reminisce about the last five years. The memories I will be taking away are primarily my happiest and proudest moments however that doesn't mean I didn't experience sadness or disappointment during my high school years. Even though I prefer to remember the positives, I can't pretend like the negative times never happened as the challenges I faced in high school play a very important part in this five year journey. Even though I'm prepared to continue on the next chapter of my life, I can't say I'm not grateful for the things high school has given me. Not only am I leaving with new knowledge, memories and friendships, I'm also leaving with a confidence my Year Nine self didn't enter the school with. I know that what I have to say has value, as do my strengths and abilities. I'm no longer that shy 13 year old who was to afraid to speak up or put myself out there. I've grown so much as a person during the five year timespan and I'm so thankful to be leaving the school as a wiser, bolder version of myself.

I'd always imagined what my final day would look like. Tuesday definitely didn't pan out the way I expected it to. To be honest, it felt like any other school day. Final assignments were due and since I was so busy trying to complete them, it felt like my typical Tuesday. The only thing that made it special was the fact that we opened our time capsules from Year Nine. In our first year of high school, we were told to write a letter to our future selves. These were to be opened in our last year. When I was finally reunited with my letter I was surprised to see that my handwriting hadn't changed one bit. Anyone could easily mistake the letter as something I wrote recently. In my letter, I talked about my form class as well as my favourite things at the time. At the end of my letter I had written "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened." Am I sad to be leaving high school? Of course, but a part of me is definitely ready to move on. And since I've finally settled on what I want to do next year, I'm excited to see what's to come.

How did you feel after graduating high school OR how do you feel about graduating high school? Let me know down below! Thanks for reading!

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My School Ball Essentials

Since my school ball is less than a month away, I have decided to write a post dedicated to the occasion. There is quite a lot of thought and preparation that goes into this one night but that just adds to the fun of it all! I recently checked off the last of my to-buy list and am now looking into different hairstyles, nail designs and makeup looks. In today's post, I'll be sharing with you my top essentials for the night. Hope you enjoy!



Dress
Out of all things ball-related, the dresses excite me the most. Ball dresses have definitely been a constant topic of conversation at school lately but that doesn't bother me at all! I love hearing about other people's dresses as well as telling them about my own! My ball dress is creamy white with pearls around the neckline and pleats in the skirt. It's simple, sweet, glittery and pretty much me in a dress. I can't wait to wear it on the night!

Jewelry
My dress has quite a high neckline so I probably won't be wearing any necklaces for the ball. Instead, I'll compensate with hand and wrist accessories. I recently went ring shopping and came back with six rings to pick and mix with. When choosing which rings to buy, I was definitely drawn towards the more dainty and delicate of the lot. These were the ones I knew would compliment the aesthetic of my dress quite nicely. Having jewelry for the night is definitely a top essential for me as I don't think a formal look is quite complete without a bit of sparkle here and there.



Makeup
I'm pretty terrible at applying makeup so to disguise my lack of ability, will be sticking to the softer colour palettes and tones. The lipstick I'll be wearing is only slightly darker than my natural lip shade, and the blush colour I have decided to use is the palest of the five shades. The school ball is the perfect opportunity to really showcase your makeup artistry but I think in my case I'll be keeping it light and subtle.



Small Purse
I'm obsessed with this floral purse I bought a little while ago. It's the perfect addition to my school ball attire. The contents of your purse are definitely worth thinking about. This would be the best place to hold any make up wipes or bobby pins in case anything needs fixing up throughout the night. Not only is this purse super cute, it's functional too. Definitely a necessity for the ball. 

Camera
They'll be heaps of chances for me to take photos so I'll definitely be having my camera close by. I'll want to be able to look back on this night in years to come so taking pictures is definitely a top priority for me. As well as during the ball, I'll be able to snap lots of photos before the ball too, when everyone is getting all dressed up and ready to go. I'm bound to make heaps of memories on the night so it's important I have my camera with me to capture these. 

Thanks so much for reading! 

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Why I'm Scared About Next Year

If you were to ask me what I saw myself doing this time next year, I wouldn't have a clue. I'm leaving high school in a few months time and instead of having a better sense of where I want to go, I feel as lost as ever. My initial plan was to take 12 months off and allow myself time away from the classroom but upon further reflection I realised just how hard it'd probably be for me to return to school after a break that long. When I wrote my post explaining why I was so keen on taking a gap year, I wasn't really thinking ahead. I thought a lot about the break itself without really considering where I would go once the year was over. I'm scared that after I finish my gap year, I won't have the motivation/drive to get back into studying. And since I know I want to go to Uni and experience the student life there, I don't know if it's worth the delay. 

Next year feels like its approaching too fast, too soon and I don't know how I'm supposed to make all these life-changing choices in such a short space of time. It feels like so much is riding on each decision from here on out which makes everything to do with next year much more daunting. Now that I've decided I do want to go to Uni in 2018 and I have some idea of what I want to study, I have to figure out whether or not I want to stay or leave my home city. This is something that I'm constantly turning over in my mind. I love where I live yet know that I can probably afford to lose some of the reliance that I have on my parents. While studying, you're guaranteed to save quite a bit of money while staying at home. On the other hand, you're guaranteed to gain a stronger independence in a new place surrounded by new people. It's choices like these that are getting me worked up about next year and when I'm neutral about both options, I almost wish that someone would come up to me and tell me what I needed to do right then and there. 

That's definitely not the way to go though. No matter what I'm feeling now, I want it to be me who decides how next year pans out, not someone else. It is up to me what happens next, and as scary as that sounds, I know that I'll make it work one way or another. 

How did you/do you feel about leaving high school? Let me know down below!

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How to Stay on Top of Homework

Today's post is all about keeping up to date with school assignments outside of the classroom. Because of the subjects I take at school, I get little to no homework throughout the year and then an overwhelming amount at the end. While its not always possible to avoid homework stress, here are a few different ways you can make handling the workload a bit easier. Especially if you're like me and get all your assignments at once!

Keep a Planner to Record All Your Assignments And Their Due Dates
It's always good to keep a study planner with you so that the moment you receive homework, you can record it down straight away. When you know the deadlines for each of your assignments, it will help you to complete the work accordingly. People tend to gravitate towards the task they are most looking forward to doing however it's better to refer to due dates when deciding what assignment to work on first. Ordering your assignments by their deadline is the most effective way to get all your homework handed in on time and having a study planner will make sure you're prioritising the right task over another.

Set Yourself a Time Frame And Then Stick With it
Time management is essential when it comes to staying on top of your homework. Decide how long you want to spend on something and then follow it through, otherwise you can end up going overboard on just one task. This is especially important when you're given a lot of homework at once. If you focus too long on one assignment, the others lose out. Try and be consistent with your timeframes because then you're not working hours on one task only to work 15 minutes on the next.

Don't Leave Things to The Last Minute
It's understandable to set your homework aside when you have other chores and commitments to attend to but the best way to keep up your assignments is to get them out of the way as soon as you can. Don't wait until the night before to complete them. If you're really busy outside of the classroom,  make sure you're making the most of the down time you get inside of school such as lunch breaks and study periods. The amount of work you complete during that time is just less work you'll have to complete later on.

Know What Conditions You Study Best in
Find out when you're most switched on and where you feel most inspired, whether that's alone or with others, outdoors or indoors, morning or night. When it comes to studying, having a time and place that you can can rely on is really beneficial. Everybody's different so make sure you know what works best for you and you only.

Hope this was helpful in some way! Thanks for reading!

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