Sixth Form was kind of strange as it was probably one the best/worst times of my life so far. I certainly worked my brain harder than I ever have before and achieved things I never thought I could. When people warn you of the ‘jump’ from GCSE to A level they defiantly weren’t lying.
I finished my A2 exams in June (precisely on my 18th birthday lol) and naively thought that once I had finished them all the stress I was feeling would be eliminated from my life. Multiple times I thought about dropping out and some days I woke up and couldn’t think of anything worse than walking into the school building but I pushed through despite the hatred. Apart from the A levels itself this is a list of things I discovered within the 2 years…
- Expect the unexpected
Unfortunately you can’t predict outcomes. As much as I wished I could have got an A in every exam/test I took that would just be unrealistic. With my GCSE results although I was nervous I kind of knew what I would get but with A levels you could come out of an exam feeling confident and get a U. It could honestly go either way but even with hard work you don’t always come out on top.
2. It’s normal to feel stressed
This is the most obvious point ever but A Levels are SO HARD!!!!!! And you will feel stressed but need to remember that everyone else is in the same boat and you’re only getting stressed because you want to do well and want to achieve. Whether you like it or not you’re going to have to take them exams so just take a deep breath and get on with it because the closer they get the closer you are to having them over and done with.
3. Everybody’s changing
I feel like I developed more as a person within sixth form way more than I did within the high school due to the classes being smaller and not as consumed with fear of what everyone else would think. Even just the change of being able to wear my own clothes to school gave me that little bit of freedom to perhaps express myself in ways I was too scared to in school. You aren’t treated as just a kid anymore and I feel like this is the first step into ‘adulthood’. Everyone changes, some for the better and some for the worse but that’s just a part of life. You win some you loose some.
4. Grades don’t define you
At the end of the day you can only do your best, whether its an A* or D as long as you know you tried your hardest you should feel proud regardless of what grade you achieve. In English Literature I got a D and was so disappointed when I opened the envelope on results day, so disappointed I cried. I felt like a massive failure but mainly upset within myself as that was the exam I tried the hardest for and generally enjoyed the subject. However success is relative and it should be defined on your own terms not what UCAS define as ‘intelligent’.
5. Live in the moment
I said multiple times to myself that I couldn’t wait until I finished Sixth Form but now looking back on it I really do miss it sometimes. In a sense I was very comfortable as I had been going to school with mainly the same people since I was 6 and was still very dependent on my parents. I had no real responsibilities and defiantly focused on the negatives in life and didn’t realise how easy I had it. I got to see my best friends everyday and studied three subjects that I generally enjoyed no matter how difficult they were. What i’m trying to say is to just enjoy the moment as it is only 2 years of your life.
Emily x
Tu es belle 