-The before and after: on the left is the obligatory parent photo of my first day at high school in Feb. 2009. The second one is me on my last day of high school (on the far right) with my girls Laura and Jess.
-Yeah, so this whole post is going to be dedicated to the end of my high school career. This is one of the last times you'll ever have to hear about it, so bear with me.
-Wednesday was my final day of proper high school. It isn't officially over, as I have four exams this month, the ball in December and then things will officially end when I do my valedictory speech not too long after. However, Wednesday was my last day of classes. Which is kind of ironic since I don't think any of us spent much time in class.
-Wednesday was a very cool day, though. Most of us went down to school at 6.20am because our Year 13 prank was to park all of our student cars in the staff carpark (which 95% of people found hilarious...the other 5% need to go buy a sense of humour or something). Then we cooked breakfast before going off to our three classes. To finish off our high school careers we had our last assembly, where my Deputy Head Prefects Seth and Emma gave the most wonderful speeches (seriously, what Seth said about me was about the nicest thing anyone has ever said about me - he said I was the most hard working person he knows, which is probably true). I got a few awards, including my excellence certificates for my last English assessment and my excellence for The Crucible, an Honours for Attitude award and also a certificate of Merit for English, Drama and Biology (ha).
-However, there was a bit of a surprise at the end of the assembly when they were doing special awards. Turns out that I got the cup for "Contribution to Senior Drama", for my efforts with Stage Challenge and also getting everyone's shit sorted for The Crucible. I was so shocked, it was what I imagine winning an Oscar would be like. I've secretly wanted it all year, so it was a nice way to top things off.
-Then at the end of the assembly Chad (my Head Boy) and I had to lead all our Year 13s out of the assembly while everyone was clapping. Naturally I cried.
-Just a few pics from the last day: in the top left is me and Georgia, who I've known since 2001 and has been my editor for everything. Next is me and Tania, who I've known since kindergarten and has been my buddy in Drama through high school. Then there's Hannah, who has been the most amazing support to me this year (I don't think there's been a day when she hasn't asked if I'm okay). In the middle is most of my Year 13s before breakfast. On the bottom is me and William, who was my John Proctor in The Crucible and probably knows the next most about movies after me. Then there's all of us prefects. And last is me and my Head Boy, Chad, and our prefect teacher Ms Loader, who is incredible.
-That night we had Leavers Dinner which was pretty cool. I did a fairly inspirational speech that was double the allowed time but oh well. And of course, there was an after party. Which allowed me about two hours of sleep that night. That wasn't the most helpful in kicking me in to study mode.
-I must say, this week has been a strange one. Despite having exams (which are going to be the death of me if this weekend has been any indication), it is so weird that school is going to become a memory. It is weird that I no longer have to clean the common room and do other Head Girly things. This year has had a few downs (and I mean bottom of the bottom downs), but it has been so successful.
-My Principal said I was the hardest working Head Girl he'd ever seen. Likewise for another teacher, who said I was one of the only ones who made it through the year of Head Girl that remained well liked throughout the entire year. She also said I push myself way too hard.
-And that last thing there kinda stuck with me, and it has made me rather clear about what I wanna do in the future. Anything in the film industry, whether it be acting or producing or writing or directing is exactly where I want to be. High standards? Yes. Hard work? If this year has been any indication, I have a lot of hard work in me. Just imagine this song as my soundtrack (as it has been all year). This town is just a bit too small for me now, and I just wanna do some amazing things. Well, I hope to, anyway.
-All sounds very naive, and I'll probably laugh at this in 10 years time when I haven't really achieved all that much, but gotta keep those eyes on the prize, I guess.
-In this week's fun trivia, though, the last movie I ever had to watch on a school night was This is the End. Which was a coincidence, I promise.
And yeah, sorry about the nostalgic post. How's everyone's week been?
Lovely post. I was kind of glad when high school got over but yes, I missed it a lot afterwards. Congratulations on all the awards!
ReplyDeleteAbout the film thing, totes get what you mean. For me this also includes working in Pixar cafeterias, of course. I had a similar feeling when I was about to graduate from school but then I went and did the exact opposite thing and was miserable for about a year but now life's back on track :) MOVIES FOREVER!!!! WE WILL DO IT!!
I will see you at the Pixar Cafeteria! I will literally do anything in the film industry, but I so want to direct! One day we'll be in Hollywood together, darling!
DeleteIt's always nice to read a post that shows the positive experiences of secondary school and it sounds as if you had just that, especially with the success you've had in your school work.
ReplyDeleteI had the complete opposite - it was an absolute nightmare, some of the worst times of my life (particularly mentally and emotionally) and couldn't wait to get out of there - so I'm happy to hear that those solely negative times a lot of us have haven't brushed off onto the rest of the planet, yourself included!
On the naive note, it totally doesn't sound like that to me - it seems completely genuine. And honestly, if you work your arse off you can definitely get to where you want to be. If you're going down the film route, it is a tough one - especially with the kinds of people that are involved in the industry - but if you have that firm goal and it is driving you day in and day out, you'll ride through it.
Hopefully your out of school experiences will be a lot more positive in that industry than mine have too!
It has been rather successful, but I must say, it hasn't come easily! That's not good that you didn't have a good time at high school :( I do get that, though, some people have a pretty hellish times (though I must say, our school, or our year group, at least, is a really good place).
DeleteI'm apparently too driven haha, so hopefully that keeps me going!
Congratulations on the awards, and good luck on your exams. Hope your moviemaking dreams come true! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, exams have been going well! And I hope so too!
Delete