Oscar, who also prepared for his HSC during a year of COVID surprises, said “I never took my mind off of study and school in general for the entirety of 2020 because I wanted to be ‘motivated’.”
“I’d be playing soccer games or be out with friends, and I would think about what homework had to be done when I got home, Oscar said.
“Admittedly this was much harder to do in lockdown,” he said, adding that the challenges were even greater for this year’s cohort.
“Try not to sacrifice things that you love to do for study, now more than ever (I know that’s much easier said than done).
“Try to concentrate on yourself the most, and give yourself a break for an hour or even a day or two off if you’re not feeling okay.
“Missing one day of study really doesn’t affect your results, but they will be affected if you are mentally and emotionally drained.”
Oscar said meeting HSC expectations and goals were only part of the picture in the long run.
For him, a lower than expected mark opened the door to a gap year which he described as “the best decision I’ve ever made”.
“It has made me realise that every person should follow their instincts, whether it be going to straight to uni (which you should 100 per cent do if you want to) or booking a ticket on the first flight out of Sydney once lockdown has ended.
“I followed mine, and now I’m working in a hotel in Kakadu National park in the Northern Territory. I just bought a car and plan to drive back to Sydney via Queensland over a few months and I’m the happiest I’ve ever been.”
His other piece of advice was to “appreciate your teachers, because you’ll miss them”.
He acknowledged the going was tough, but said “just keep going”.
All the best to our Class of 2021 in their final few weeks of formal schooling!