Why is it so hard?

jaydunkfull SG

Frustrated, discouraged, depressed, angry, highly emo

7 more weeks. tell me how to jump from U to an A? tell me how to jump from SSU to AAA?

i admit that i havent been the perfect student. i havent been paying attention all the time, havent been doing work all the time. i swear i studied. i put in the effort. i read my notes, i memorised my stuff, i did practice prelim papers. i tried.

now my parents think i havent been studying all those last nights out. my teachers think im stupid. people are talking about getting As at this stage, and me, still trying to pass. my peers think im lousy. stay back in school to study so many nights still fail.

i dont need all these discouragement at this point. i dont feel any motivation to work harder because i feel so alone in this sinking ship. i want to prove everybody wrong. but my motivation comes from myself, which is so weak and so without conviction. i dont feel like ive gotta study because my teachers and friends and family are behind me. no. im alone in this race with all these skeptics just waiting for me to fall.

ive been trying since J1 last year. i swear i studied for every exam. i already did all that i could. am i really destined to fail and cry on the day of A level results? its not like i didnt study you know. i tried already. or is it really not hard enough? i used to be able to say without a doubt that i did my best and so accept the disgusting grades, but after so many times of thinking i did my best, and yet not performing, im starting to doubt if i really did my best?

i know my stuff. i know the big picture, but i dont know the tiny tiny details. i cant memorise for nuts.

i know i mustnt give up. i cannot give up. but throwing in the towel feels so damn easy now. seeing my peers just stresses me out even more. im scared. i often think about the day next year when i get back my results. and i get the sinking feeling in my heart. i cant picture myself victorious. i can only see myself crying. and its gonna be because i did badly again, even after i did my best.

fudgester SG

If I have to be frank, the reason why you're finding it hard is precisely because (in your own words) 'i havent been paying attention all the time, havent been doing work all the time.' Like it or not, consistency is the key to success.

All I can say right now is that you have seven weeks to make a difference. Don't tell yourself 'I'm doomed, for I'm left with just seven weeks'. Instead, tell yourself: 'I still have seven weeks to do something, and I'm gonna make full use of these seven weeks'.

Same facts, but different mindset. It makes a lot of difference. Really.

More importantly..... understand, not memorise. Some topics can't be helped, and you must memorise (e.g. transition metals in Chemistry). However, for many of the other topics and subjects, instead of memorizing every single algorithm for every single problem, you should focus on understanding the basic underlying concepts behind them.

If I may ask.... what's your subject combination?

ghast. SG

i swear, you're definitely not alone.

hisoka SG

too many things. i might be as simple as you are trying too hard. too many late nights and not enough sleep actually hampers your ability to study and remember.

depending on your area of study, you may need to understand and not just memorise.

and lastly unfortunately not every one can excel in studies, you might have to see if you are one of those....

jaydunkfull SG

PCME

finding it very hard to get motivated. because for so many years, study also fail, dont study also fail, its reached a stage its easier to just give up, it feels so pointless

gd4u SG

U will feel that life will be even more meaningless for the next 2 yrs or more when u see ur ACTUAL A lvls results is like pure shit ...

Seven weeks, it is time, and there is time to salvage everything. It means not sitting here whining about "i am useless", it is about spending the time with ur books. It will be truly miracle if u get AAA or similar. But i can assure u, that, if u start NOW (which means this very second) ... A "CCC" or "BCC" or similar grades awaits u ...

At least, it will look better than "SSU" ... Go ahead ... Mug all u can, time of is the essence ... (Please follow a study smart system ... and not steam blindly ...) JIA YOU!!!

fudgester SG

PCME

finding it very hard to get motivated. because for so many years, study also fail, dont study also fail, its reached a stage its easier to just give up, it feels so pointless

Physics, Chemistry, Maths C, Econs? My exact combination seven years ago.

Maybe it's not so much about the amount of effort you put in, but the quality of effort you put in. It's like.... there's no point in studying for six hours straight overnight in a zombified state when you can study for two hours in a peak mental condition.

If I may ask..... how do you study for your Prelims?

jaydunkfull SG

to make it worse, my teachers suck. totally.

my math teacher ignored me for the entire year. whenever i ask her questions, she seems so reluctant to teach me. and i get so fed up.

my physics teacher is a tyrant. he screams at you when you dont know stuff. and asking him anything is like not asking anything at all. he’ll say things like ” like that la. like that also dont know” you like that like this, how i know. and he never gives answers, and expects us to know how to do the working. is it good? i learn from reading worked solutions.

my chem teacher is ok i guess. she just thinks im stupid and not trying hard enough. and even though im like one of her weakest students, she doesnt seem to want to put in effort into teaching me. like theyve all given up on me, because so lousy already, teach for what. might as well teach the students who can get A and help pull up the school’s msg.

my econs teacher is ok too i guess. but he kinds of ignores me. like leaves me to my defences. if i get A, good. if i fail, too bad.

why??? why do my teachers suck so bad. they are not encouraging at all. they put me down all the time. they make me think im stupid. i dont feel like i have to study hard for them. i wish i had nice teachers so i feel motivated to study for them, to make them proud. part of me feels like failing and just blaming it on them. another part feels like getting my As and shoving that in their faces and telling them ” There! i got my As without you farkers! ” i dont know what to do now. Sad Sad

fudgester SG

Hey, hey, before you talk about your teachers, how about you tell us how you study?

jaydunkfull SG

for me, national schools ended in july, i started hardcore studying quite late, say about 4 weeks to prelims. but i started studying in april, actually, like really doing my tutorials and studying my notes. i read through my notes, memorised stuff, and whack prelim papers. i did the papers, then i corrected myself by checking with the answer sheet. i didnt clear all the questions i didnt know, because too many, but i managed to ask my friends some of them. quite the standard studying method?

Physics, Chemistry, Maths C, Econs? My exact combination seven years ago.

If I may ask..... how do you study for your Prelims?

jaydunkfull SG

you know, to make it worse, i know that i will not be happy with anything less than all As, and thats whats making me feel so depressed. because im so far away from that. i kinda feel im capable of that, but my results have so far been proving it otherwise, ive so much at stake by not doing well. not getting into uni, getting looked down upon by my fellow competitors. we started out from the same secondary school and at that time, i was near the top, then they went off to the top jcs, while i opted for a humbler, lower ranked jc. i need to show them that i can do well even though im not in the top jcs. oh, thats besides the point now. i know what i have to do. i just have to put all my emotions aside and just get my ass down to do some serious work. its kinda sad im drawing motivation from over here. :)

Tencho SG

dun blame your teachers. blame only yourself. what you sow you will reap. got time to complain now on forum and look for comfort? must as well spend the time looking for those teachers you wanna fark so much for help. no use cry over spilled milk. and why ask friends? all get the same misconceptions over and over again. study lah... 7 weeks more only. dun bother logging in here anymore. maybe still can get CCC

onigiri SG

Frustrated, discouraged, depressed, angry, highly emo

7 more weeks. tell me how to jump from U to an A? tell me how to jump from SSU to AAA?

i know my stuff. i know the big picture, but i dont know the tiny tiny details. i cant memorise for nuts.

hey there, i'm taking the A levels this year too and i can understand how you feel. i was in this situation some months back but now i'm feeling better already.

please don't give up at this very critical moment. i'm sure things will all get better in time.

i don't know if this will apply to you but seriously, when i always think "i've already tried my best.", i will ask myself "is this really my very very best?" and push myself on further. now i'm trying to find back the motivation which i felt 2 years back, before O levels.

you are definitely not alone in this situation. i havent gotten anything like A, B or C so far either. and yes, i'm aiming for As too and like you, i won't be satisfied with anything less than an A. but to achieve that, you have to really work hard and stop filling ya mind with all the negative thoughts. and adding on to what fudgester had said, instead of thinking A is almost unattainable, trying thinking "hey, A is only 70 marks!".

there's kinda no point blaming your teachers at this point of time. what can we do about that right now? also, usually jc will emphasise on independent learning. and sigh, that means we've gotta depend on ourselves and not expect our teachers to spoonfeed us anymore. (yea, it took me damn long to digest this fact initially.)

find friends to study with you or something, maybe? but yea, find those who won't despise you for ya results, or else it can be quite a demoralising experience. i'm quite sure there are friends out there who don't judge you by results.

anyways, i'm sure we will do well in the end if we really put in A LOT of efforts and really MUG HARD from now onwards. as long as you have REALLY done your very best (and by that, i mean, you have been really consistent in studying and revising and doing the work required), the results will reflect it. and even if the results does not meet ya expectations, you shouldn't have much regret since you have really put in your very best. there is still time left, though not much. change that negative mindset of yours, start thinking positive and you are gonna make it! remember, you are what you think! lol!

JIAYOU okay! we are all in this together! =)