Last Blogpost Of The Year

                                            To Follow The Stars

Doing the blog post's this year has certainly been ideal medium for sharing information on how well I am doing at school, what struggles I have encountered etc. But I prefer to write in my journal that I carry with me at all times. This is the last blogpost of 2018 therefore it is a reflection on this year from my point of view. 

 At the start of the year I thought that following in the footsteps of  my idols would be a good idea. But  soon after I realised that while these people were great in their own right, replicating their every move would just leave me feeling lost. I believe we are all voyagers and every individual has the opportunity to carve their own path in life. The more I know, the more I realise how much I don't know and the world seems more vast than ever before. And though this year has been great so far, it is probably the most exhausting also. This I presume is due to NCEA Level 2 being a big jump in the amount of learning that you have to do in comparison  to NCEA level 1. 

Luckily I have many teachers that have supported me throughout the year in my learning and I couldn't have done it without them. So I would Like to close of this blogpost with a quote from the late physicist Steven Hawkings and a picture of Earth taken from the Voyager probe 1 from 6 billion Kilometers.

“Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious. And however difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. It matters that you don't just give up.”  
― Stephen Hawking

   

Week 8, Term 3

This week the National Indian Language and Culture trust held its annual Oratory Competition. And I am proud of myself for participating and bringing home the 3rd prize trophy. This is definitely an improvement from when I had participated last year and I hope next year I do even better. Looking around I saw many students from various schools, in fact a majority of them came from the best schools in Auckland. And so I am thankful and honoured to have represented Papakura High at this event. 
 

Week 7, Term 3

This week I learned about the importance of taking a break. I have a Hindi Speech Competition coming up on the 12th of September so I am pretty excited for that. It is also a time of concentration and with only three weeks left to go, an important period for finishing any assessments. I am trying to do one or two things at a time so that I don't stress myself out. It also ensures that I am still enjoying the subject and learning along the way. My weakness is that I can spend hours on a certain subject. So by doing one/two things at a time I minimize the chances of losing attention and that increases productivity. 

Week 6, Term 3

The tensions grows as we near the finish line, we all are running a great race of which, each track spans across various subjects. I've got a speech to learn, a geography assessment to finish, a biology assessment to finish and many more. As I gasp for air in these stressful times, It is a constant reminder that as much as we all wanna breath, we want to succeed just as much. And maybe some of us will fail but that is not an excuse to stop being your best and working yourself up to the top. As the term nears a closing, remember that life will beat you down and you can get hit and fall. But learn from your mistakes and you will be unstoppable.   

Week 4, Term 3

 Though I had been sick all week long, it did not mean I had to stop learning. I decided to listen to Nelson Mandela/ Madiba's autobiography (Long Walk To Freedom). I learned how Madiba got the name Nelson, and his upbringing as a child in South Africa. During the week I also learned about Isaac Newton and his hobby of building sundials and water clocks. But most importantly I found things that I could relate to in both historical figures.  

Week 3, Term 3

Week 3 went by in silence. In biology I got to see a glimpse of a sheep's pluck, while in physical science I learned about the various ways on how steel is made.On Friday I learnt about the quadratic equations. I also got shortlisted for the First Foundation Scholarship and I believe I have to schedule a meeting with them somewhere between 21st-23rd August. Apart from that, this week wasn't quite as spectacular as the weeks before.As I slowly work towards getting ready for the externals in term 4 I realise that 2018 might be one of the most important years of my life, a small change could lead to greater outcomes. And I hope for the best....      

Week 2,Term 3

Time seems to be getting faster, day's feel even shorter than they were two, or three years ago. My academic career is just getting started and I expect many failures to come my way. The road to success may sometimes seem deceivingly clear. But there's always a bump in the road that'll throw you off. This week I have learnt the importance of connecting with others. I had the honour of helping the Prefects set up for the Junior Sports Day.  I also got to instruct the juniors on how to play the game. This week also had me up and running around the school, as I tried to get my Scholarship application sorted out. In Biology my classmates and I got to dissect fish heads and learn about a fish's respiratory system. In English we all waited in anticipation, grinding our teeth to the gums. Waiting for who came first on a quiz, which was based on last week's Movie; Hidden Figures.  In geography I learned about the different kinds of maps and graphs required for the externals. And as I learn more about Mathematics, it's quickly becoming one of my new favourite subjects.