And now comes the hard part

Week 12.... the end of semester.
This is the week where all the past 11 weeks hard work will be down to rivising for exams or finishing that last assignment.
Also, you may be preparing to find out about the next lot of courses you might be taking up over the spring/sumer semester or finalising plans to go home or picking up more work.
So even though this week may seem pointless to go to class, it is essential to remember that the lecturers and tutors are there to help you in any way they can to get you to do the best you can.
Good luck for exam week and final assignments.

Health

Being sick can affect you in many ways- financially, physically, mentally, work/ study.
Normally I get sick at the end of semester around exam time when that final assignment is due, this time I was sick for almost two weeks just after submitting my second (out of three) assignment. Not only did i miss a class, but buying medicine to get better put a hole in my pocket.
Even though it is spring, colds and flu's are still passed around. Try to ensure you stay healthy by eating fresh fruit and vegetables, getting enough sleep to rest your body, and destress with some alone time.
By now it is week 11, meaning only this week is the last week for any questions and queries that you have to be asked. Next week, week 12 is usually a week that lecturers and tutors will take for revision.
Happy studying...

Bad News Week

Lately the news has be littered with a lot of bad news like the floods in China and Victoria, the earthquake in New Zealand, the match fixing from a cricket team, train derailments, shootings in the U.S, and so on. Sometimes it is hard to wonder if any good news will come for the world, let alone good news for us.
Taking one day at a time and stopping to smell the roses, so to speak, can sometimes 'pep' up your day. Try to start with a smile first thing in the morning, and who knows, maybe you'll be laughing with friends in no time.

Keeping in touch with Family

Once a month I have dinner with my mum (my parents divorced earlier this year) and we tried a great new restaurant- Mongolian BBQ in Ringwood north. As we were eating and catching up on family, work and our lives, she told me that my cousins' wife, who lives in China, was in an accident had had to have many stitches in her head.

She and I used to be really close good friends, almost sisters, when she lived in Melbourne up to 3 years ago when they went back to China. We kept e-mailing each other every week, then we lost touch for the past year.

What I am trying to relay here, is that just because you are here in Melbourne and busy with study, work and creating a social life, don't forget that your family is important too. Even just a 5 minute phone call once a week will keep you grounded to know that your family is alright or that you are doing well to your family.

Saving Money is Hard

A the start of this year, my new year's resolution was to save as much money as i could. At first I did rather well, every time I got paid, i would put almost 50% into a high interest online only savings account. The came the car rego, new work clothes, and unexpected little things. Soon I was taking out the money that I had put in.

Budgeting your money sometimes helps and sometimes if you aren't able to stick to it for one reason on another, sometimes doesn't work. Even if budgeting and saving your money doesn't go to plan, and you go off the track for days, weeks or months, try again. But devise a plan that is realistic, and will leave you with money in case of emergencies.

Half Way Mark

With the end of week 6 upon us, now would be a really good time to start buckling down and start looking at starting assignments that are due in the next and last 6 weeks of the courses.

If you haven't already done so, read the course profile for assignments and if there is an exam, to read what kind of exam it is and what materials are allowed.

Even if you have failed assignment 1, you can still pass if you do a good job on assignment 2 and/or 3/ exam. Don't give up just because of one disappointment. Be brave and try, try, try again.

Work Study Life Balance

Getting the right balance between your social life, study and work is really hard sometimes. Yesterday a friend was telling me how depressed she was feeling, when I asked why, she replied it was because she had worked over 9 days in a row for at least 7 hours each day.

Many of you will be saying, that's nothing or if you really want something you have to sacrifice, and yes i agree to the latter. But if you are constantly feeling bad about something or feeling sad, you should think about what it is that is making you feel like that and perhaps re-prioritise what you want and are doing. Maybe get out and exercise, have some friends over for lunch or dinner, or find some other way to relax and get your mind off everything for a few hours or so.