Now Hiring

Hello HSC year!

Amidst the joy of doing well, the disappointment of doing poorly, and the absolute thrill of passing when you barely tried (ring any bells, two maybe?) – there comes a time when we need to GET REAL.

GET REAL because top marks won't determine the rest of ones life, may that be to a persons relief or disappointment. In my point of view, the marks I leave year 12 with are merely an INFLUENCE on my future.

I remember reading an article that said employers are more impressed by a candidate's outgoing personality, enthusiasm, manners, neat presentation and social skills – rather than the UAI mark, degrees and qualifications. That is unless you're applying for the secretary position of Hermits Limited.

I'm not telling every reader to stop turning up to class nor deprive themselves of homework. If it wasn't for those primary school title pages I'd never have established my love for art. I'm saying that if you genuinely try your best at school and haven't turned out to be the new Aristotle, Newton or Einstein your parents had long hoped you'd be… NEWSFLASH: ITS ALRIGHT! If everyone was academically inclined there'd be no such thing as talent.

I know it's easier said than done because of my supportively 'cool parents'. I still go to parties. I still go shopping. I still talk on the phone. I still have a part time job. And the fact that I can still manage my studies without the enforcement of their boundaries is a skill all in itself.

So set aside this mumbo jumbo (because even I haven't grasped the concept of them yet) about ranks and scales of up and scales of down. I mean, does anyone know exactly how it works? Because at the moment it's all a game of Chinese whispers in the playground about what one teacher against another, about what someone's graduated sister said against someone else's graduated cousin. If such a formula about ranks and scales existed, why haven't we received a newsletter about it? They can update us monthly about incorrect uniform but they can't inform us about the scaling/ranking system.

Geez, if I was that kid that didn't talk to anyone, I'd never have heard about it. But heck, at least I'd have a chance at that secretary position of Hermits Limited, right? SCORE!

I say your best bet is to try your hardest in the subjects you've chosen. Because only Tryhards are allowed to say 'At least I tried my best'.

No matter what you do, NEVER be too busy to have a nice big laugh, to listen to a friend in need, and attend to those boring family trips to the middle of nowhere. Don't be the person who gained a career but lost all else. Because with your $50 000 pay and your one-man mansion, the joke's only on you.

Good luck to all readers undergoing their HSC, and the others counting it down a year from now.