Graduated Today

[lizzyjane101]

After 13 years at the same school, I'm obviously super emotional. Most of my best friends are captains (Art and Design, Debating, Music, and School Captain) and they had such wonderful speeches. Two of the four I've known and been best friends with since Kindergarten. My other closest friends got IB dux, IB art prize, and one didn't get any prizes, but she's just put on a super successful musical co-working with one of the teachers and I'm just so so proud of everyone. It's surreal, and I just think of all the teachers who've had me this whole time, especially in the music department where I've basically lived my whole life.

 

A lot of stuff has happened in the past few years at my school. We were famous for our music department and even had a documentary made about us by a world-renowned film maker. But we got a new principal and the director of music had to leave. She was my mentor for so long and gave me opportunities I'd never have dreamed of. It took me a long time, but I've decided that I won't let these events taint my memories of my school. I'll (hopefully) be going to the most prestigious music conservatorium next year to study music education. Inspired by all the wonderful teachers I've had in my life, I hope to make a difference, even just the smallest one, to the life of a student. The old director of music is now at another school and I'll be going to teach there next year.

 

I'm so grateful for everything I've had and I'm so excited to see what I can do with the next stage of my life. I'm obviously terrified of growing up and terrible at adulting, but I'm just starting out. Anyone who expects me to get it right first time obviously knows nothing about human nature.

 

Sorry if this sounds all cliched and newsletter-y, I just needed to get that off my chest. I'm going through a lot at the moment with exam preparation and friendships, I thought it'd be nice to reflect a bit on all the emotional turmoil of today.

[Grenthine]

First of all, congratulations on your graduation! :D YAY YOU DID IT!! Secondly, let me warn you that many of us adults are terrible at "adulting" too. In a couple short months, I'll be a mother, and although I'm almost 35, I still don't truly feel like an adult. Each experience lets us grow a little, and I believe life is a continuous journey, rather than a series of set stages. Enjoy the new opportunities this new beginning brings you, and may your instrument of choice be always in tune. ;)

[Katsuokai]

Congratulations! :D It must be nice to finally have graduated after all those years, even though you'll miss your friends. Nowadays we have the internet, so keeping in touch with your friends is now a lot easier than it was before. :) Don't worry about the endeavors of adulthood, eventually you'll get the hang of it! ;)

It's nice to read that you want to make a difference in the students' lives. Teachers that cares about their students and that are passionate about the subject they're teaching is truly marvelous; those are the type of teachers you'll remember your entire life for how fun it was to learn with them instead of the sour memories of how some not-so-great teachers managed to kill the spark and interest you had in some subject.

I wish you the best! and remember, if ''adulting'' doesn't always seem so fun you can always come to Neopets to relax and have fun! or watch MLP:FiM... or something else entirely! :P Not everything in this life is responsibility, you have to make time to have fun and relax too in order to be a healthy and productive adult! :glasses: /)

[nightfall8705]

Congrats on your graduation, hun! I know what you feel. I felt the same way after my own graduation long ago and all of my friends went their separate ways. <3

[lizzyjane101]

First of all, congratulations on your graduation! YAY YOU DID IT!! Secondly, let me warn you that many of us adults are terrible at "adulting" too. In a couple short months, I'll be a mother, and although I'm almost 35, I still don't truly feel like an adult. Each experience lets us grow a little, and I believe life is a continuous journey, rather than a series of set stages. Enjoy the new opportunities this new beginning brings you, and may your instrument of choice be always in tune.

 

Thanks, I think the whole grown up thing really only hit me recently when I realised that there was a conversation I needed to have with my friend that was going to be incredibly difficult. You're right in the idea of continuous growth. I've been putting this conversation off for three years and I'm finally mature enough to just bite the bullet and do what needs to be done.

 

Congratulations!!! :thumbsup:

The idea of having a kid is terrifying to me at the moment, but I know that'll change as I get older. Do you know the sex of the baby yet?

 

 

Congratulations! It must be nice to finally have graduated after all those years, even though you'll miss your friends. Nowadays we have the internet, so keeping in touch with your friends is now a lot easier than it was before. Don't worry about the endeavors of adulthood, eventually you'll get the hang of it!

 

It's nice to read that you want to make a difference in the students' lives. Teachers that cares about their students and that are passionate about the subject they're teaching is truly marvelous; those are the type of teachers you'll remember your entire life for how fun it was to learn with them instead of the sour memories of how some not-so-great teachers managed to kill the spark and interest you had in some subject.

 

I wish you the best! and remember, if ''adulting'' doesn't always seem so fun you can always come to Neopets to relax and have fun! or watch MLP:FiM... or something else entirely! Not everything in this life is responsibility, you have to make time to have fun and relax too in order to be a healthy and productive adult! )

 

 

Yeah, most of my friends will continue to be my friends for a long time to come. One of my best friends is moving to England next year to study film, so that's going to be hard. I'm not to worried about the whole adult thing, it's coming to me gradually :P

I'll just keep doing the things I'm doing and skills will come.

 

In my opinion, education is the most important thing. It's what shapes people: Their skills to tackle life's problems, their values for making good decisions. So many of the world's problems would be fixed with a really good education. That director of music I was talking about earlier, she said that she had an ex-student come up to her once who was in the New York orchestra or something like that, and told her that if it weren't for her, she would never have discovered music. Her life was changed by this fantastic teacher. If that happens to me once in my life, I can die happy.

 

Yes! Neopets and MLP. One of my favourite poets wrote about the creative restraints placed on adulthood by society. He said:

Now, to pry into roots, to finger slime,

To stare, big-eyed Narcissus, into some spring

Is beneath all adult dignity.

(Personal Helicon)

 

It's a fantastic poem. The idea of certain things being 'not grownup' stems I think from insecurity. If someone is afraid of being seen as immature, they're more likely to impose strict rules on other people about what denotes maturity. It's the same with all issues. Gender, cultural identity, sexuality, social class.

 

Congrats on your graduation, hun! I know what you feel. I felt the same way after my own graduation long ago and all of my friends went their separate ways. <3

 

Thanks Angel sweetie! I'll try my best to keep contact with my best friends. I know a lot of my more distant acquaintances I'll probably never see again. Most of my friends are staying in the same city for tertiary education because we have a lot of very developed resources. The uni I'm going to was the alma mater of the inventor of wifi :P

[nightfall8705]

You're welcome hun! Keep in touch with them. I reconnected with a lot of my high school friends recently on Facebook. Some of them are successful, and a lot of them are parents now. It was nice to hear from them again!

[tk421beth]

Congrats! How awesome that you are going to do something with your life that you LOVE. I'm totally jealous. I didn't think when I was in high school that I would be working for the Government, but here I am.

 

And let me tell you...I am still not an adult, and I'm 45! Hahahahaha!

 

Congrats again! You should be proud of all the hard work you have done! :happydance: :headphone: :cool: :thumbsup: :rock:

[Katsuokai]

Yeah, most of my friends will continue to be my friends for a long time to come. One of my best friends is moving to England next year to study film, so that's going to be hard. I'm not to worried about the whole adult thing, it's coming to me gradually :P

I'll just keep doing the things I'm doing and skills will come.

 

In my opinion, education is the most important thing. It's what shapes people: Their skills to tackle life's problems, their values for making good decisions. So many of the world's problems would be fixed with a really good education. That director of music I was talking about earlier, she said that she had an ex-student come up to her once who was in the New York orchestra or something like that, and told her that if it weren't for her, she would never have discovered music. Her life was changed by this fantastic teacher. If that happens to me once in my life, I can die happy.

 

Yes! Neopets and MLP. One of my favourite poets wrote about the creative restraints placed on adulthood by society. He said:

Now, to pry into roots, to finger slime,

To stare, big-eyed Narcissus, into some spring

Is beneath all adult dignity.

(Personal Helicon)

 

It's a fantastic poem. The idea of certain things being 'not grownup' stems I think from insecurity. If someone is afraid of being seen as immature, they're more likely to impose strict rules on other people about what denotes maturity. It's the same with all issues. Gender, cultural identity, sexuality, social class.

Good you're taking it easy with this whole being an adult thing. No need to make it a bigger issue than what it really is. ;)

 

Education is truly the most important thing, that's why denying access to education is a tool many persons continue to use in order to control others all around the world and it's also hampering the proper development of our societies. So many things would be better with a proper education, it's something painfully obvious and still not enough people understand exactly how important it is. Many people in this day and age in developed countries still thinks that knowing how to read and write is enough, but it's not, education is so much more than that; it's not only the few things you learn in elementary school and the values your family may try to teach you, but it's also to learn to think by yourself, how to put together pieces of information from many different sources and use them to shape your very own view of the world and most importantly, sense of self. As I said before, it's nice to read that at least some people, like yourself want to make a difference in at least one student's life; it can be a life-changing opportunity for a student to have a teacher that opens new doors to them and guide them on that new path full of possibilities.

 

That's a nice poem with a lot of meaning to it. One thing that hit me and that I thought was quite hilarious once I was old enough to have those kind of thoughts is how adults are just like kids. When I was a kid I thought that adults had to do all this complicated stuff like doing their taxes, work and whatnot, but once I grew up I understood that while adults may seem to be all mature and grown-up, they're really not. They like to have fun, party, joke around and play ...and when they get into conflicts with other people they behave in quite childish ways (to not say worse than children sometimes) in order to solve them. The only things adults do differently is that instead of drinking milkshake they drink coffee, instead of playing a simple card game they play poker and so on. That's something I still find quite amusing when I think about it. :P

Being mature is to be responsible of one's actions and to be able to understand the full consequences of said actions, it's not about dressing in a certain way, doing certain things and behaving in accordance to some archaic social roles... and it's definitely not about trying to impose one's lifestyle on everyone else.

 

Once again we have managed to make a topic go off on a tangent, but there are so many interesting things to discuss! /haha Oh well, enjoy all the free time you have left until you start studying again, you deserve it! ;)

[nijiroppi]

Congrats on graduating! That's a big step in your life. Let loose, eat some chocolate, and just bask in the knowledge that you made it. :)

 

Definitely going to recommend you at least stay connected with your high school friends. You may never see them again, or they may be your bestest buds throughout your entire life. (I'm not much to speak of that, since I just graduated 5 months ago :) Haven't talked to my high school friends once since coming to uni.)

 

Being an adult is terrifying when you put it in a simple white box, but it's just a word. Just remember to breathe when you're nervous, to relax when you're stressed, and to enjoy yourself when you need to.

[lizzyjane101]

Thanks everyone for your support and congratulations. You're all so sweet and totally make my day <3

 

I'll definitely be keeping in close contact with my current friends. Only last night I had a fantastic girly sleepover with my best friend. Rom coms, icecream, pizza, and booze. I completely rely on my friends as a strong extravert with abandonment issues. Not letting them go any time soon :P

 

Good you're taking it easy with this whole being an adult thing. No need to make it a bigger issue than what it really is. ;)

Education is truly the most important thing, that's why denying access to education is a tool many persons continue to use in order to control others all around the world and it's also hampering the proper development of our societies. So many things would be better with a proper education, it's something painfully obvious and still not enough people understand exactly how important it is. Many people in this day and age in developed countries still thinks that knowing how to read and write is enough, but it's not, education is so much more than that; it's not only the few things you learn in elementary school and the values your family may try to teach you, but it's also to learn to think by yourself, how to put together pieces of information from many different sources and use them to shape your very own view of the world and most importantly, sense of self. As I said before, it's nice to read that at least some people, like yourself want to make a difference in at least one student's life; it can be a life-changing opportunity for a student to have a teacher that opens new doors to them and guide them on that new path full of possibilities.

That's a nice poem with a lot of meaning to it. One thing that hit me and that I thought was quite hilarious once I was old enough to have those kind of thoughts is how adults are just like kids. When I was a kid I thought that adults had to do all this complicated stuff like doing their taxes, work and whatnot, but once I grew up I understood that while adults may seem to be all mature and grown-up, they're really not. They like to have fun, party, joke around and play ...and when they get into conflicts with other people they behave in quite childish ways (to not say worse than children sometimes) in order to solve them. The only things adults do differently is that instead of drinking milkshake they drink coffee, instead of playing a simple card game they play poker and so on. That's something I still find quite amusing when I think about it. :P
Being mature is to be responsible of one's actions and to be able to understand the full consequences of said actions, it's not about dressing in a certain way, doing certain things and behaving in accordance to some archaic social roles... and it's definitely not about trying to impose one's lifestyle on everyone else.

Once again we have managed to make a topic go off on a tangent, but there are so many interesting things to discuss! /haha Oh well, enjoy all the free time you have left until you start studying again, you deserve it! ;)

 

And yay education! And I don't know whether you've ever watched/ read Gokusen, but it's amazing. Completely ridiculous, but I get so much passionate inspiration from it. I WILL FACE MY STUDENTS HEAD ON AND THEY WILL KNOW MY TRUE FEELINGS. TOGETHER WE WILL SWEAT FROM THE HEART. It's almost silly how excited I am. Although, I am freaking out a little about exams. In Australia, we graduate a month or so before our final exams, so I'm not quite done yet. I just have to study really hard until then.

 

Have you read the whole poem? It's so lovely. Heaney's command of imagery is just stunning. And yes. As far as I can tell, that's all it is. Taking responsibility for things, doing the hard stuff, and sometimes going it alone. Adults still need fun. Not everything is about work.

[Katsuokai]

And yay education! And I don't know whether you've ever watched/ read Gokusen, but it's amazing. Completely ridiculous, but I get so much passionate inspiration from it. I WILL FACE MY STUDENTS HEAD ON AND THEY WILL KNOW MY TRUE FEELINGS. TOGETHER WE WILL SWEAT FROM THE HEART. It's almost silly how excited I am. Although, I am freaking out a little about exams. In Australia, we graduate a month or so before our final exams, so I'm not quite done yet. I just have to study really hard until then.

 

Have you read the whole poem? It's so lovely. Heaney's command of imagery is just stunning. And yes. As far as I can tell, that's all it is. Taking responsibility for things, doing the hard stuff, and sometimes going it alone. Adults still need fun. Not everything is about work.

 

Sorry for taking a few days to reply, when I first was about to reply a few days ago TDN went down alongside Neopets' unstable comeback. lol I have a math test in a few days so I'll probably be busy studying until then.

 

I love manga and anime, but I haven't for the longest time read nor watched much at all. :/ Idk, I suppose stress got the best of me; I'm a little bit disappointed with myself that I've not spent more time doing the things I like, but meh, haven't been able to bring myself to do stuff. Now things are beginning to go the way I want them to, so hopefully I'll be able to start spending more time doing things I like. ;)

I haven't read Gokusen, but just reading the description made it look like a very entertaining manga! I've added it to my bookmarks, so let's see if I start reading it soon.

 

/haha I don't think it's silly that you're so excited about it, it's great that you are! That's the proof that you've made the right choice. You'll probably be a great teacher! and that's what students need, passionate teachers that cares about their students, all of my yes! :D

 

I haven't read the whole poem. I used to read the occasional book when I was a kid, but I think that all that compulsory reading in elementary and secondary school and especially the tedious essays and other related work that we had to write about them made me lose most of my interest in reading... . :( Hopefully one day in the near future teachers will have enough resources to adapt the school curriculum to each student's needs instead of having the students suffer through years of pointless schoolwork. Now I take distance classes and man, it's great to be able to arrange my classes schedule and work to this extent! Oh well, back on track! What I was saying was that even though I haven't read the whole poem, just these few lines convey a lot of meaning to them. Creativity is the key to the further advancement of our societies, so not letting adults explore their creative side is not doing our societies any good and it isn't good for the mental health of the adult population either. Adulthood is just that, to be responsible for your actions. That's all it is to it... and all it should be, so it's good to remind yourself that just because you're a responsible adult doesn't mean that you're not allowed to have fun.

 

Oh, so you still have your final exams left? Don't be nervous, just take it easy and the things you study will stick to you more easily than if you're stressed out. I'm sure you'll approve! ;)

[Raichi]

Oh man, congratulations :) That's wonderful to hear ^_^

 

I'm studying visual arts for games myself which is heaps of fun :D and also very time consuming xD mostly in a fun way of course ;)

 

I hope you have a lot of fun at the university, but it already sounds like you can be super proud of your achievements so far :) so don't worry too much about achieving more and just enjoy :)

[lizzyjane101]

 

Sorry for taking a few days to reply, when I first was about to reply a few days ago TDN went down alongside Neopets' unstable comeback. lol I have a math test in a few days so I'll probably be busy studying until then.

 

I love manga and anime, but I haven't for the longest time read nor watched much at all. :/ Idk, I suppose stress got the best of me; I'm a little bit disappointed with myself that I've not spent more time doing the things I like, but meh, haven't been able to bring myself to do stuff. Now things are beginning to go the way I want them to, so hopefully I'll be able to start spending more time doing things I like. ;)

I haven't read Gokusen, but just reading the description made it look like a very entertaining manga! I've added it to my bookmarks, so let's see if I start reading it soon.

 

/haha I don't think it's silly that you're so excited about it, it's great that you are! That's the proof that you've made the right choice. You'll probably be a great teacher! and that's what students need, passionate teachers that cares about their students, all of my yes! :D

 

I haven't read the whole poem. I used to read the occasional book when I was a kid, but I think that all that compulsory reading in elementary and secondary school and especially the tedious essays and other related work that we had to write about them made me lose most of my interest in reading... . :( Hopefully one day in the near future teachers will have enough resources to adapt the school curriculum to each student's needs instead of having the students suffer through years of pointless schoolwork. Now I take distance classes and man, it's great to be able to arrange my classes schedule and work to this extent! Oh well, back on track! What I was saying was that even though I haven't read the whole poem, just these few lines convey a lot of meaning to them. Creativity is the key to the further advancement of our societies, so not letting adults explore their creative side is not doing our societies any good and it isn't good for the mental health of the adult population either. Adulthood is just that, to be responsible for your actions. That's all it is to it... and all it should be, so it's good to remind yourself that just because you're a responsible adult doesn't mean that you're not allowed to have fun.

 

Oh, so you still have your final exams left? Don't be nervous, just take it easy and the things you study will stick to you more easily than if you're stressed out. I'm sure you'll approve! ;)

 

Well I'd be a bit of a hypocrite if I minded, wouldn't I? :P

Yay! I recruited someone to my fandom. I actually liked the live action series better, but meh.

 

Wow, that's terrible. That's a serious flaw in the education system D:

I'm a huge literature nerd myself. It makes me so sad when I hear people at school hating Shakespeare because we have to study it. School should definitely not make people dislike things. It's supposed to do the opposite. Australia has a relatively good education system, but it still makes me sad sometimes. They just don't get it.

 

Yes! That's exactly what I want to do. Education hasn't had any major reforms ever. That's a serious problem as students nowadays are completely different from students 50 years ago. I love English, but my two worst courses are currently both English. It's a problem when it's expected that kids hate school and it's expected that they resent the things they learn because they don't apply to what they want to do.

Mhm, I totally agree. What is humanity without creation? What would we do if no-one were creative? Society would grind to a halt.

 

Thanks. I have a hell of a lot of work to do because I've been lazy for the past two years. I've improved, but I still procrastinate way too much and don't get around to studying. Everyone says not to stress, but I really need to. I've not been stressing enough and I've got myself into a bit of a pickle. Time to pull my socks up :)

 

 

Oh man, congratulations That's wonderful to hear

 

I'm studying visual arts for games myself which is heaps of fun and also very time consuming xD mostly in a fun way of course

 

I hope you have a lot of fun at the university, but it already sounds like you can be super proud of your achievements so far so don't worry too much about achieving more and just enjoy

 

Thanks <3

That sounds super fun. It's great that you're doing something you really enjoy.

 

Thanks man, I just need to work really hard in the next two months and then I can relax until February.