For the Form 4s, the battle is over but there's still the war to come, a war that's about to be fought by the Form 5s and 6s. Alright, I sound cheesy but you get me, right? For the Form 4s. there's just the prospect of almost two whole months without school ahead while it's the opposite for the Form 5s and 6s. Here's a good luck from the guy writing this as well as the entire team that makes up Seafield.FM. You're going to need it. Hopefully, you won't do as badly as I did, and that's without getting my Add-Maths marks back yet.
I guess I'd like to dedicate this post to the Form 3s, who are going on 4 next year. From someone who's just lived through that period, "4" really means die if you don't make the right choices. Before we begin, I'd like to wish the person who said it was the "honeymoon year" a very slow and painful death from sunburns or perhaps from stepping on Lego (Nothing hurts more that that, right? Or maybe getting a bazillion paper cuts.).
This is a survival guide; everything to expect - the truth and all of it.
First of all, you'll be getting your PMR marks sometime after Christmas. There will be joy and tears but you know what? Even if you bombed the PMR, there's always next time. It isn't over. I'm saying that because it's true. Looking back, it as practically nothing now. Anyway, Form 4 is about five times harder on the pain scale. ~Just saying. From there, you will be asked to pick a stream. There's Pure Science, Sub-Science, Arts and... I'm sorry but I don't know of the other streams. Nothing personal but I was just too preoccupied with life in 2011 to take notice. No offense meant. Anyway, picking a stream is your first step in Form 4. The stream you're looking to be into is determined by your PMR results. All those brainiacs will want Pure Science while Sub-Science is reserved for the "chill" types (Again, no offense meant. It's based off personal experience.).
Now here's possibly the hardest decision you'll ever make in secondary school. If you were like me: 7As and deciding on whether you should pick Pure Science or something else, DECIDE VERY CAREFULLY. You have to know what you can handle and I couldn't cope in Pure Science. First of all, I has horrible at most of the core subjects. The change was just too much for me, made even worse by other factors like moving far away, the extra tuition classes and also certain people in my life. We all have that, right? Now, before we get into the detains, I'd like to ask you a rather unconventional question. Are you moving? Far away from the school and your friends? Then get your parents to HALT IMMEDIATELY. Threaten them! Say your marks will drop! Anything! Trust me, you'll think you can handle it. Maybe you can but if you can't, it can get very ugly. It's the same with other "light" matters that quickly snowball into something uncontrollable.
They say that determination is the root of success and determination comes from the will to do something; to succeed. When those hard to deal with moments like moving gets into your life, you have to deal with it ASAP! There's no stalling for that in Form 4. You'll only make it worse by procrastinating on it. You'll lose everything you ever cared for. It will seem like there's no hope. Then you'll start to see people judging you. You know they're not but you just won't be able to shake that feeling. Life's too short to be a depressed maniac, especially at sixteen. . Here's a fun song to get you through the pain, alright? After all, your minds are tender and innocent (I'm assuming anyway.)
Okay, *AHEM. I've put far too many intros in this. Let's just get straight to the facts. First fact: Form 4 is not the honeymoon year. In fact, it will probably be one of the worst years of your life. Why? Here's why (*There's a longer version of "Living In the Sunlight, Loving In the Moonlight. Look it up if you're afraid of what's to come. No? Alright, your funeral.):
ADDITIONAL MATHEMATICS. I wanted to make the words all edgy and scary but I'm technologically impaired so anyway... ADD-MATHS! Just typing out the words made me reel. Okay, what is it? It's like Maths, just... additional. You'll choke and die if you don't start buying revision books, take tuition or at least look at some of the questions. It's not a threat, it's a warning (See what I did there? I went all creepy and... Never mind. Also, if you're tired of the song, look up "Double Rainbow."). Tonnes of formulas to remember and you'll give yourself migraines if you don't stop and ask a friend how to find X when it is inversely proportional to 9u838qyred739823rf when Y is r8u9234w094rf3hf22w0988243f89hyh.
HISTORY. It's probably the third most horrible subject I've had the misfortune to be forced to take. The second is Moral, by the way but I'll get to that in just a second. Why is it so bad, you ask? Is it that you have to remember the odd names of countless people? DATES? Oh, no! Nope, it's none of that. It's the format. You have to write it in essay form with suitable points. Here's a tip, just write whatever that's at the top of your mind in a test/exam. DO NOT follow a reference book format like I did. If you're planning on acing it, READ it till the end. I didn't finish the Form 4 textbook and I just got my marks back today... Yep, still burns.
MORAL. Like History, you will also have to answer it in essay form. Fair enough but why do I rank it higher up on the "URGH" list? You remember Moral in Form 3, right? With all the memorizing of the EXACT definitions and stuff? Also, there was the OBJECTIVE section? I can't believe I still remember that! Well, this time, you will have to do that (memorizing) as well as write several essays with a fixed format. Also, NO OBJECTIVE! Any slight deviation will cost you dearly. I'd suggest you look up the format or ask someone good at it (Don't look at me.) if you intend on passing.
The rest? They're not too bad from what I've heard. I liked Chemistry, Physics and Biology before the teachers I was under made me rethink that. They're all great subjects but you really want to take a leaf out of a psychologist's book and do some character assessment here. Like I said before, the TRUTH and the WHOLE TRUTH; no hiding anything, so here goes. Now, I won't mention any names and this is all from personal experience but certain teachers look out for certain criteria when they assess your work. Some want it exactly like the text book, some just don't understand "high" English and insist that you explain it as simple as possible. ("Not an English lesson you say? Then why don't you quit it with the classy words you hypocrite.") Teachers are people, and people can be divided into two kinds: good and bad. So if you get the "good" teachers, then congratulations, you've just procured a wonderful guide through the year in that specific subject. On the other hand, if you get a "bad" teacher... then sayonara. Just get lots of tuition and study hard. Lots of exercise and some medication will help restrain yourself from hurling a chair at their faces whenever these people open their mouths to speak.
I guess that's all for now. But hey, lighten up! It's not the end of the world. Apart from the things above, you will need, above all, someone to depend on: Your BEST FRIEND. Laugh together! Grow one year older together! He/She's probably one of the most important people you will need to get through life next year and that's coming from someone who's only just realized that. Get along with your friends in Form 3 well enough and you should be fine. I failed Form 4 because LOL (League of Legends) killed all of mine and also because I moved and also because I had an annoying friend in class (won't mention who), and I took some things too lightly.
Don't make the same mistakes I did.
PS: Don't fall in love. Heartbreak comes at the most unexpected times and there's always someone crying in my Facebook News Feed with the swearing and the drama. Seriously, guys. Grow and pair and make good decisions in life.
DJFox,
Proud member of Seafield.FM
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