We go through the present blindfolded. Only when the blindfold is removed and we examine the past, we realise what we have been through and understand what it means. That’s exactly what it feels like now after completing my HSC five years ago. I can truly see and understand the impact the HSC had on my personal and professional life, my confidence and self-esteem, and more importantly I can now understand how to effectively manage the HSC without stress and with ease. I wish all teenagers can experience this realisation whilst completing the HSC but presently, for parents and your children, it’s a roller coaster full of tears, stress and (hopefully most of the time) pure joy to excel.

There are five key understandings I have gained from my past:

•  Importance of Year 11
•  Attitude
•  Study program
•  Balance
•  Failure and Opportunities

Importance of Year 11

Just like learning your first words. You start with what a word is by sounding out syllables, repeating it over and over again till a whole word comes to form. This grows over the first five years – with more syllables and words. Ultimately, you reach a point when it becomes natural. Natural to sound out a word and use it. You keep building your foundation till you achieve a sophisticated, larger vocabulary. It’s the first five years which were crucial. Without those first five years we wouldn’t be able to talk. And that’s exactly what the 365 days of Year 11 is. Year 11 is the foundation in mathematical, verbal, written and functional problem solving and learning. By excelling in Year 11, you have already set yourself to excel in the next year to come. You have set a layer of knowledge that will only build as you move onto your HSC. So pay attention – Year 11 is important!

Attitude

Hans Seyle, a pioneering Austrian-Canadian endocrinologist once said “Adopting the right attitude can convert negative stress into a positive one.” Wise words that profoundly resonates with the HSC. One of the first things I started to work on consciously with my own personal development through my HSC and after was to improve my outlook on life. An attitude that would over time become more and more stable so that I could not only look at world in a positive way during the good days but also so I could stay positive, focused and constructive even during tough times, and keep working towards something better. The HSC opened my eyes to strive to build my resilience to stress and pressure. It pushed me to have an attitude of optimism in a negative situation. There were many days of poor marks and effortless work – stress built up and negative thoughts about anything started to well up. But if I slowed down just for a few minutes – even if it was going for a run, talking to friends on social media or watching television – then my mind and body relaxed. It became easier to think things through clearly and easier to find the optimistic and constructive perspective of the HSC. However, everyone has their own methods of dealing with stress – it’s your choice to find a constructive way to handle the stress and stay positive or let it eat you up!

Balance

Many parents’ place different expectations on their children during the HSC. Some students are burdened by great expectations while others, receive support for their efforts regardless of the outcome. My parents were not the latter. Now five years down the track I owe this structured, focused and disciplined lifestyle to excellent marks, acceptance into one of the top five universities in Australia and a degree in my hands with valuable work experience in my field. I owe my parents the sacrifice they made of sitting endless hours to teach me, nurture me and love me even when times were tough.

Reality is, this method doesn’t work for most children and as parents and HSC students finding the balance is a difficult one. All students are different and need to be handled by their parents in a way that is in keeping with their own ability to cope with stressful circumstances. The crucial element is communication between you and your child. Teenagers are thirsty for independence and freedom – if that means taking 1 hour of the day to “close your eyes”, watch television, meditate, play video games or one day in the week as a “day off” from study; then it should be discussed by parents and your kids. Attending parties, social functions and dates with your boyfriend (if you have one) are rampant during these teen years, and it’s vital to have communication between parents and children to set boundaries. HSC requires focus and dedication, and swaying off this path can be detrimental to marks and confidence. As we all have heard; balance is the key to success – so let’s live by it.

Study Program

There is no right or wrong way to study. No rules, guidelines or methods of a correct way to study. No one taught me to “study.” It was my own drive and dedication to achieving good marks to implement a study program. A weekly structure of revising what had been taught, what will be taught and assignments that need to be completed. Daily, I would dedicate a certain time to revising a subject and covering the content according to the HSC syllabus. This time limit was set by myself – 1 hour or 4; it’s entirely your discretion of what you can strive to sustain. Recently, a study of 722 student surveyed painted an unhappy picture of life for the students during the HSC. This study showed 42% registering a high level of anxiety – high enough to be of clinical concern. Of the total survey group, 16% of students reported extremely severe levels of anxiety, while 37% registered above-average levels of stress. A study program can to some extent relieve this overwhelming stress experienced by our youth. Many universities and colleges provide HSC preparation courses, study skills courses and training programs across a wide range of subjects to help students maximise their HSC results and pace themselves throughout the year.

Additionally, your study program should not stop during school holidays. Within each holiday period, students should prepare for key HSC dates and revise content that has passed. It might seem overwhelming but the HSC was not set to be easy. By implementing a structured routine of study, the HSC will become much easier to accomplish successfully – trust me!

Failure and Opportunities

Failure was not an option. Again, that’s what I thought during my two years of the HSC. I thought my parents would hate me if I failed any test, subject or assessment. But that undoubtedly was not the case. Now when I look back – I was more afraid of disappointing myself. I was frightened of failing – my own expectation I had set in my mind. The reality is we all will fail in something on many occasions throughout our life. It’s the ability to pick yourself up and keep moving forward that makes you successful. The two years of HSC will have many ups and downs – days of disappointments and poor marks but it doesn’t mean the world will collapse. It means keep striving to improve and do better. The HSC is a mark – a ticket to allow you access into a world of opportunities of study in university and colleges. To some, it’s the only access to what life goal they want to accomplish but to many the HSC is a stepping stone and there are other pathways to their goals. Whatever your goal is for the HSC, at the end of the day you have to put your 110% in everyday over those 2 years and be pleased with your efforts. As Colin Powell once said “A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.”