different ways to deal with your stress:

1. take it out on your siblings and friends. this course of action is quite commonly seen generally around assessment times and when emotions are running high. however, this action carries a level of high-risk to all persons involved and doesn't really help you deal with your stress at all.

2. sit down at the computer and do as much as work as you humanly can, omitting food, rest, and a life. though this may lessen your workload slightly, you end up at the end of day dissatisfied and really tired. you're more irritable and grumpy because of lack of food and energy and you drop exhausted into bed every night, wondering why you still bother to get up the next morning. stress levels gone down? nope.

3. forget about your work and have a jolly good time doing whatever you want. all this does is hide all your stress until the night before an assessment is due and you are almost on the brink of mental and emotional collapse, when all your stress is suddenly released and it's time to face reality. not to mention that sinking feeling you get everytime you get an assessment handed back because you know that you didn't do your best...

4. have a balanced life. do work regularly, and have fun as well. don't stay up late every night trying in vain to finish assignments- work done at 1:30am is generally not of very high quality. rather, go to bed early, and wake up the next day feeling refreshed and energetic, and get your work done twice as fast! makes sense, doesn't it?

seriously, yr11 and 12 may sound scary...but it's not. with a bit of time management and self-control, you can get your work done, and still manage to have a life! *gasp* whether you think it's far away, or it's too close, the reality is that yes, in less than 2 years, HSC will come around...and it's a good idea now to learn how to deal with stress. because if you can't manage your workload now...what is it going to be like when you are facing the HSC? and it's also a good idea to keep a little perspective. HSC isn't everything- it's not the end of the world if you don't get into your first uni choice.

and finally, remember that God is in control. He is always here if you need him, all you gotta do is pray. He is your Creator, and loves you beyond what you can imagine. Whenever you feel stressed out, try praying...

"Cast all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you." 1 Pet 5:7