That’s the way I like it! October 26, 2009

Free Like a Bird

THE END OF SCHOOL!

End of thirteen years of an institution…I have survived with my individuality intact! And that is a feat my friends.

I remember in Year 7 running around like a wild, wooley fairy, me and my fellow non-conformists with flowers in our hair, climbing trees, imagining, avid followers of Anne of Green Gables.

I finished in red suspenders and a jazz hat dressed like a boy. Finally accepted to some degree I guess from the others. A little pruned I guess, more stylish, tactful, knowledgable…

Now the real world starts and boy am I pumped for it!

 

Exam Advice October 10, 2009

Ok, so I only have one down
But I blitzed it!
So let me share  some great damn advice which I am working on following myself!
1) Have a time where you regulary do the subject you hate the most.
This helps you do it automattically instead of waiting until you feel motivated to do it. For instance I study for one hour after tea Math Methods (which is a tortuous subject for me)

2) Know you stuff backwards

That how I blitzed todays Music Performance Exam – I knew my pieces from heart which meant that even if I got nervous my fingers would automatically trace the patterns of Bach (or whatever piece I was playing) and allow for my mind to get in gear again. I was confident because i knew I could do it because of the hours I had put in. I had the freedom to show off! I aim to put this into work by writing an essay a day (at least) until the English Exam. Now that I’ve written that I’ll HAVE to do it!

3) If your getting nervous about an exam DISTRACT THYSELF
Nerves can kill even an exam you’re prepared for. So don’t think about it. And if you do,  think positively. I found that if I thought about my exam today the nerves started pinching my insides. So in the car on the way down I immersed myself in reading my Literature books and played my favourite music in the car (bopping along and singing as loud as possible!). Other-study distraction is probably best but if it’s what you need I give you permission for a bite of Facebook.

4) Be confident.
If you’ve put in the hours it will pay off. You have never been as ready in your life to tackle these challenges as you are now.

Here’s to us suffering the rigours of exams! See you on the other side when I can get a chance to kick this blog into shape!

ASSORTED NIBBLIES #1 April 24, 2009

Being a busy (newly) 18 year old with her final year of high school, production and violin to keep her constantly on the go…it’s hard to write my usual superbly crafted articles for this blog on a regular basis (note sarcasm intended) therefore every so often on a much more frequent basis I will include these ‘Assorted Nibbles’ – much like assorted nibblies you find at party they are small interesting snippets full of flavour that satiate your taste buds until the next meal arrives.

So enjoy!

Party Aftermath

“You left your mask behind

Hanging on my tree

And with a fixed grin it is

Completely mocking me”

Erin’s Study Tip: Do not do you study within arms reach of food. But do have it in arms reach of water

“He looses it in the most beautiful way” Julia Lester Classic FM Radio Announcer. What we could hope for every musician at one point in their careers.

Song I have a crush on at the moment: ‘Times Are A Changin’ cover by Tracey Chapman yeah I know classic oldie right but I am young and so have only just discovered it for myself. The words are so powerful and I’m just praying that they have as much relevance to this decade as it did in the 70’s cos there’s so much out there that needs some ‘changes’ and yes i do want to be one of those ‘writers and prophets’…and Tracey’s voice just fits suits this song so well.

Latest Mission: Making people I come into contact with feel like they matter and that they’re worthwhile. Inpisred by Gandhi who I’ve been reading about lately and how he abolished the Indian caste of the ‘Untouchables’ – let no one be an Untouchable in your life – instead reach out and touch their lives and who nkows you could change it. There’s also an Indian Caste of the ‘Invisibles’ who people dont even see. Wouldn’t it be amazing to them if someone actually looked them in the eye and noticed them for who they were. So dont ignore people even if you feel awkward around them – meet their eye and even with a simple nod acknowelge their prescence!

Why it doesnt really matter that you have the longest dress in the school March 29, 2009

Ok, so your Mum absolutely refuses to take up your dress even a half of an inch because she hates sewing and as she says, “besides as if you want to look skanky I bought you up to be a decent girl you have brains you don’t need to be there showing off everything etc etc etc I’m sure you get the picture. So you are forced to go to school everyday amongst all these other girls simply flaunting it infront of you and the guys asking why you dress “like a nun”. There has to be some good in this situation right? Let’s do a Pollyanna and paste a smile above our long dresses and think of the following positives:

• Hardly anyone will notice that your dress is long and how worthy are their opinions anyway?

People are too busy worrying about their giant pimple on their nose and their “frizzy hair” and their late homework assignment and their sloppy lunch to even SPARE a thought to the length of your dress. It really doesn’t matter. People are dying in Africa and here you are worrying about a few inches of material. And anyone who makes fun of you for this seriously needs a life and is probably feeling so insecure about their person they’re taking any little tiny weeny thing they can point out about you that is different

• Your other features will become accentuated without the distraction of a short dress

My boyfriend agrees with this one. You know when you’re walking down the street and see a girl with a realllly short dress. You don’t think ‘man her hair looks fantastic today’ or ‘that’s a really individual fashion sense’ or ‘she has cute dimples’…you think, ‘man she has a short dress she looks like her self esteem is way low’. Whereas you see a girl in a long dress and you look at all the other things – you’re not distracted. And guys will see you as a person not an object to be lusted over. They will be listening to your sparklingly wittingly conversation and not constantly having “slippery eyes”.

• You don’t have to worry about flashing people inadvertently (or not)

There is seriously nothing sexy in flashing people all the time. I find it quite disgusting, and people especially older people (such as you boss and teachers i.e. people who you WANT to think better of you)

• You will either not remember when they look back that you had the longest dress. And if they do you can become known as the girl with the long dress and wear this badge proudly unlike those other conformists in the short dress

Who wants to be like everyone else? It’s way overrated. People wont even remember that your dress was a tad longer than most but WILL remember when they’re lives were falling apart and you were the one who stopped and asked them if they were alright. Or that you were this cool non conformist who jumped in the pool fully clothed and could play a mean mandolin… It’s your choice…be like a sellout pop singer or like an Indie artist who invents their very own genre and amaze the world…

How to Have Your Best Swimming Sports Ever! February 28, 2009

Here’s some ideas based on my 6 years of experience of attending Swimming Sports both the good and bad…

Getting Into the Spirit of Things

1. Get into and push the spirit of the day!

This starts with the House Captains. They have to be sold out to winning and having fun, but all the same not taking it too seriously…make sure all your team members feel like they’re valuable and contributing to the day and you will find them willing to do anything for you…even an Individual Medley…This means rousing speeches to motivate your team, lots of encourgaement, make up some chants – maybe you would even consider having a cheerleading section for your team. This means decorating the pool with more decorations than the other teams, it could mean dressing up in a large animal suit of the colour of your team….whatever it takes!

2. Have a commentator

Get some of your gregarious Year 12’s or a funny teacher to commentate the day so that those sitting back under the trees and stuff can still know what’s happening. This also generates excitement and atmosphere.

3. Have a DJ

Fact: Nothing creates atmosphere like music. So gets some beats happening (even if it’s just someones Ipod with Ipod speakers) to have that Summer-by-the-pool vibe about the event. This is also a good feature for your non swimmers (and there’s also more non swimmers than actual swimmers so be nice to them!)

4. Use imagination when designing Events

Make the day memorable. For example our House Captains utilized a giant “pool monster” for the traditional ‘Captains Race’ which the kids could then use in the free swim. My Dad speaks fondly of his Swimming Sports where they had mostly novelty events such as a watermelon being thrown into the pool where you had to try and get it (but it’d be slippery and heavy so it would be a real team effort). The high school has mostly novelty events such as the clothes relay where you dress your member in clothes they then have to swim to the other side and exchange their clothes with the next person (obviously not ALL of their clothes!). This makes swimming sports much more accessible for those non swimmers, and, dare I say, more interesting.

5. FOOD! Have a BBQ or a Cake Stall or both

School Athletic events are the perfect opportunities for the SRC or a social justice group to make money from hungry competitors who even better have parents around to give them cash. Design a roster, make sure you advertise and get numbers so you dont cook too many sausages. Also gives non swimmers something to do!

6. Bring a Guitar

This works trust me, it will get passed around more than a newborn baby.

IF YOU TOO HAVE BEEN PART OF SCHOOL SWIMMING SPORTS PLEASE OFFER YOUR COMMENTS/ADVICE/TIPS BELOW!

Pancake Tuesday in Quotation Form February 24, 2009

I dont usually do personal posts, but i had to get this one off my chest. Hope you enjoy…

I never want to see one again....

____________________________

This year is a series of “lasts”. Every day is a last day of it’s kind for me in my last year of highschool. Today was my last pancake Tuesday thank goodness.

ERIN’S DAY IN QUOTATION FORM

Mum/Dad: (repeated refrain) “I don’t like you going to Shepp today. You’re missing out on too much school. Stop doing extras for people”

Annie: “Erin, can you just oversee the making of the pancakes for the first two periods?”

Erin: “But I’m the worst cook in the world. I burn crumpets”

Lyam: “I had a girlfriend in prep to grade two.”

Choir girls (on the way to Shepp, repeated refrain): “Maccas Maccas Maccas. Can’t wait for Maccas”

Ms Zierk; “What is it with country people and their fixation with Maccas?”

Erin (spontaneously introducing choir song): “This song is about peace cos you know that’s what we’re all about”

Kerry (Boss of Pancakes): “Just fold these boxes”

Erin: “Best jobs go to Notre Dame kids again”

Ms Zierk Choir Master Extraordinaire (to mysterious handsome stranger): “Oh hello there”

Choir girls: “Is that Ms Zierk’s man-friend?”

Mz Zierk: “I’ll give you three guesses and no he’s not my cousin”

Choir Girls “Erin please don’t do interpretive dance in the middle of Shepp”

Reporter for the Shepp News: “May I interview you for our opinion poll?”

Erin: “Sure”

Reporter: “Are you going to Bush Week?”

Erin (thinks this question quite silly): “I haven’t even heard of it”

Choir Girls: “We’re not doing anything now let’s go to Maccas”

Erin: “But I have to do that Presentation thing representing the school that there was all this conflict over yesterday”

Ms Zierk: “It’s at 12.30 we have time”

Ms. Zierk: “It’s twenty past twelve you should go now”

Shon: “WHERE WERE YOU ERIN YOU MISSED IT! I HAD TO DO IT ALL BY MYSELF AND I WAS HANDING OUT BOXES AND THE BISHOP WAS THERE AND EVERYTHING”

Erin: “I was at Maccas”

Shon: “MACCAS?!!!!”

Erin: According to the clock I’m still early for it anyway. Don’t tell anyone about this Shon please”

Back at School

Erin: “I don’t think I can stomach another pancake”

Random curly haired yr 7 guy: “Can you pour maple syrup in my mouth?”

Erin: “Only if you do interpretive dance”

*random yr 7 dude does interpretive dance*

Lucy: “OMG Erin Mrs T’s like so mad you went to Maccas. What a rebel”

Erin: “I’m never speaking to Shon again”

Mrs. T: “ERIN! I CANT BELIEVE YOU WERE AT MACCAS WHILE YOU WERE MEANT TO BE…”

Erin: “Shon you are my FBFF: Former Best Friend Forever”

Thomasy: “You just spoke to him”

Erin: “The choir girls wanted to go to Maccas I went with them”

Nikki: “Some school leader you are giving into peer pressure”

Mum and Dad: “Told you. You shouldn’t be doing extra things for people”

Renee: “Erin,. Tomorrow, can you just…”

THE END I WISH

CREDO FOR INDIVIDUALITY February 7, 2009

“Cool denotes an impregnable sense of self, aloof from the crowd even as the crowd rushes to embrace it. It’s an elusive combination of good taste, composed self-assurance and own-terms independence. Cool is the confidence of aesthetic conviction and the strength of personality to impress one’s vision on others. Cool requires imagination and a unique perspective. It’s magnetic because it makes the mundane sublime.” The Age Fashion Blog

I’m just going to have to, “do my own thing on my own terms”. Just be unapologetically me and equally unapologetically do the things I want to do and talk about the things I’m interested in. I’m over craving for acceptance. I just do not fit in at school; never have and – thank God – never will.

Neither do other people who I consider cool (Thomasy is one of them actually cos he is so totally himself and does what he does. Alena, that percussionist I was friends with years ago is pretty much the coolest person I know, her personality was so imprinted on me. A bit like Lachlan’s ‘Dan’ who he always states as his inspiration. Alena introduced me to herbal teas and jazz, she knew her stuff about music and is amazingly skilled. She had opinions but never pressed them – though she stated them when something came up to trigger them!)

Lachlan finds this individuality thing incredibly easy and it’s that strength of self assurance that draws people towards him. And then they start to imitate him. The problem with me is that I’ve always had this craving to be liked by everyone. It’s just not going to happen. Especially with Nikki around. So I’m just going to be who I want to be and say what I want to say in class without worrying that I sound like a know-it-all. I’m going to talk to all year levels and damn well sing in choir and do production because those are the things I love. I still want to be approachable and make a difference in people’s lives, but carrying on like an ego-centric fragile collection of neurosis is hardly going to help anyone or anything.

I’m going to talk to teachers without worrying I’ll be called a “teachers pet”. I’ll read The Age on the bus if that so interests me (even if it may be “the old mans newspaper”. Home and Away sucks. Of course I’ll still be tactful and nice but I will not get sucked into their games or even waste a thought on it. So what if I’m not invited to Tom’s 18^th, I hate alcohol anyway. If I want to go hyper on the glockenspiel in Music Styles I shall and no Jen, I will not “tone it down’. (even if everyone confirmed to what some people’s idea of the perfect mould, they would still find a problem with it!)

Bridget was cool. She read the dictionary for fun and watched Iron chef just for the heck of it. She played guitar at lunch and no one told her to shut up. She had the funkiest haircut in Nathalia and once they got over it they thought it was hot and now some tote the same one. She was original from the time I knew her at age of 6, wanting to be a fashion designer and using old scrapbooks to design them.

If I adore Jane Austen and Shakespeare in Literature and everyone else is whingeing about how much they loathe them, well, guess who will top the exam. I do not care if I appear attractive or nor. Lach loves me for who I am at any moment (as proven with early morning rendezvous while I had bed hair, morning breathe and the remnants of pimple cream on my face). I will not check myselfconstantly to pinpoint where or where not I am presentable to the public. I’ll smile and have fun and let them decide for themselves. I have a right to be an optimist and idealist. I can believe in God without having to act as his lawyers constantly. I can talk to a boy without worrying whether or not he finds me attractive. I can use the most elongated and enormous words I can muster and you can look them up when you get home. I can have fun at school.

Stuff those who say I can’t!

 

From The Age’s fashion blog

Follow the Beat of Your Own Drum

 

 

Follow the Beat of Your Own Drum

I’m just going to have to, “do my own thing on my own terms”. Just be unapologetically me and equally unapologetically do the things I want to do and talk about the things I’m interested in. I’m over craving for acceptance. I just do not fit in at school; never have and – thank God – never will.

Neither do other people who I consider cool (Thomasy is one of them actually cos he is so totally himself and does what he does. Alena, that percussionist I was friends with years ago is pretty much the coolest person I know, her personality was so imprinted on me. A bit like Lachlan’s ‘Dan’ who he always states as his inspiration. Alena introduced me to herbal teas and jazz, she knew her stuff about music and is amazingly skilled. She had opinions but never pressed them – though she stated them when something came up to trigger them!)

Lachlan finds this individuality thing incredibly easy and it’s that strength of self assurance that draws people towards him. And then they start to imitate him. The problem with me is that I’ve always had this craving to be liked by everyone. It’s just not going to happen. Especially with Nikki around. So I’m just going to be who I want to be and say what I want to say in class without worrying that I sound like a know-it-all. I’m going to talk to all year levels and damn well sing in choir and do production because those are the things I love. I still want to be approachable and make a difference in people’s lives, but carrying on like an ego-centric fragile collection of neurosis is hardly going to help anyone or anything.

I’m going to talk to teachers without worrying I’ll be called a “teachers pet”. I’ll read The Age on the bus if that so interests me (even if it may be “the old mans newspaper”. Home and Away sucks. Of course I’ll still be tactful and nice but I will not get sucked into their games or even waste a thought on it. So what if I’m not invited to Tom’s 18^th, I hate alcohol anyway. If I want to go hyper on the glockenspiel in Music Styles I shall and no Jen, I will not “tone it down’. (even if everyone confirmed to what some people’s idea of the perfect mould, they would still find a problem with it!)

Bridget was cool. She read the dictionary for fun and watched Iron chef just for the heck of it. She played guitar at lunch and no one told her to shut up. She had the funkiest haircut in Nathalia and once they got over it they thought it was hot and now some tote the same one. She was original from the time I knew her at age of 6, wanting to be a fashion designer and using old scrapbooks to design them.

If I adore Jane Austen and Shakespeare in Literature and everyone else is whingeing about how much they loathe them, well, guess who will top the exam. I do not care if I appear attractive or nor. Lach loves me for who I am at any moment (as proven with early morning rendezvous while I had bed hair, morning breathe and the remnants of pimple cream on my face). I will not check myselfconstantly to pinpoint where or where not I am presentable to the public. I’ll smile and have fun and let them decide for themselves. I have a right to be an optimist and idealist. I can believe in God without having to act as his lawyers constantly. I can talk to a boy without worrying whether or not he finds me attractive. I can use the most elongated and enormous words I can muster and you can look them up when you get home. I can have fun at school.

Stuff those who say I can’t!

Advice for Surviving Year 12 (in style)! January 26, 2009

So, gearing up for Year 12, I’ve been hearing and hearing mountain loads of advice on what to do, what not to do, how to achieve that highest possible glittering gold enter.

So, in sum, I shall collate it here:

MARTY

Study! Study! Study!

Qualification: Just finished Year 12 with an Enter of 93

“dont think of it as a whole year, it feels overwhelming, just look after the current day and it will work out

and do it in the interests of education rather than enter score

so if your enjoying what you do as much you can then it should be a good year”

ESTHER

Qualification: A Camp Leader of mine who has some great advice

“The best thing I did for year 12 was to have coffee with my friends once a week”

“Read all your English books in the summer holidays”

Nicholas Mannering

Qualification: Kwong Dow Lee Young Scholar

“You’ll see the HSC is a test on you as a person, where you are what you want to be and if you’ve got the guts to hang in there.”

Matthras

Qualification: Kwong Dow Lee Young Scholar

“Definitely maintain your social life. I personally think you shouldn’t drastically change it because your brain needs ‘break time’ to take in and process the information you’re studying (which is the same reason why sleep is important). For me, I actually decided to commit myself to an hour’s study a night. However you all know as well as I do that it’s not the hours, it’s how you study.
And if you have a hobby or something, or regularly go out somewhere different every weekend, that’s always a good distractor.”

Xavier Snell

Qualification: Kwong Dow Lee Young Scholar
“Just a couple of tips I found useful last year, and yes keeping in the theme of ‘balance’

Sleep is important and cannot be compensated with caffeine, staying up to 1am may get some homework done, but it will be of poor quality and the next day you will be tired and this will cause your workload and stress to increase.

Find a group of like-minded (ie study orientated) who are doing some of the same subjects, being able to talk with friends is a great help, for you and them, and if you share subjects you can draw paralells between the subjects and study effectively

Use your school’s facilities as much as possible, most teachers are willing to help students who want to learn at lunch time and after school, and the school library (or other areas that are quiet and have resources) is a great place to study, if you feel your not getting study done at home or a friend’s house.

But with that, you need balance. Year 12 is not entirely about studying, you have to take time out to enjoy life, friends, family, a party every now and then, a good book, that isn’t on the text list, or just watching the odd movie or favourite tv show are always great relaxation and stress relievers.

But no matter what you’ve got to remember that it is your year, not your parents’ not your teachers’ or a future uni’s year, you have to find a balance, and how you want to work, and within a few weeks of year 12, the euphoria and excitement of the final year wear off and hopefully you will find your niche and enjoy the year.”