HELLO! : Stranger

To the familiar and the unacquainted,
Hello, it has been a while.

But within reason, might I add. My life has been seized and evaluated by the constant god damn hierarchy that is VCE. But you know what, as sucky as it is not have a life and have partially become a paranoid Polly and constantly worrying that your friends are your enemies because you are really competing with EVERYONE even if they tell you it will be okay if they copy your homework just this ONCE, you get major sympathy votes.
From every single person ever.
And I love it. I truly do. And maybe I might like it if I had to stay year 12 forever because I get a kick out of people doing an "oh, your really in for it" expression and wishing you luck, because you both know that the only shit going to get you through it is a miracle.
When, at any other point in your life, can people relate to your misfortune and are willing to be compassionate without pretentious pity? Never, not unless you are enrolled in units 3 and 4 of various subjects and forfeiting any social life/sleep/peace of mind/health in exchange for a number that dictates the rest of your life.

That being said, the end of VCE is really the only motivator for me at the moment. But when the time comes that I walk out of my last exam, leaving behind me high school and its riveting bullshit, I will not only lament the passing of my longest rite of passage, but the lady at the Clinque counter. The one who told me I could "do it!" as she applied my makeup. And the other lady who chatted to me about how ludicrous our curriculum was compared to what they had to do.
Who's going to pat me on the back at university? No one. People only want you to pull up your socks and get your head on straight unless you are studying medicine.

God I sound like such a baby. But whatever. I am entitled to it, you have entitled us to the odd whinge and eating badly a little to often. You wish you were in my shoes. My straight-laced, cant-work-on-this-nice-day-because-I-have-study shoes.

Hopefully, I see you less cynical and with breath on the other side.
Until then.