[Khione]

My attendance has been crap. Putting it bluntly, no one in my college thought I could do well, exam wise. Currently my attendance is around 65%. It's improved by around 15% since I had a disciplinary hearing regarding my attendance. They questioned me on whether I thought I could do well. They even had the balls to ask how I thought I would manage at University or getting a job..

Anyway, a few weeks before that meeting I handed a piece of psychology work in. Didn't get it back and the first I heard of it was in the meeting when they told me I did okay in my psychology work. I have handed in law essays all year and have been getting As in everyone.

I got my psychology essay back today - I got 1 mark of full marks which equates to an A. I got an A and they told me I did "okay". Whatever. I also got a B in my religious studies essay, which I have been behind in attendance around 40%. Not good, but I still managed a B and I've handed in a better essay yesterday which I'll get the results back next week. I've also handed in a psychology essay which I'll get back next week too.

Not quite sure what else I can do to make college happy. But I'm happy nonetheless. I am proud of myself and I feel like I'm slowly proving to them that yeah, I have missed a lot of work but I am catching up and I'm doing well.

I was thinking of asking all three of my tutors if they mind marking a past paper I do. I ****ed all of my mocks up, U in 2 and didn't attend one. So I was thinking I might do a past paper for each subject and hand them in to be marked as a basis for what I could have done.

I think I'll need all the luck I can get when it comes to proving to college I can actually be good. My psychology tutor said I have the potential to be an A grade student if I put the time and effort into revising and improve my attendance (simply so I can have all the material).

Anyway, I'm happy. Sorry if I seem like I'm bragging or being self-centered. I'm simply happy I'm achieving well and it's making me see what I can possibly achieve if I work hard.

[kim_johnson]

congrats! that really is a wonderful confidence boost!

sometimes is about going a slightly longer way around... feeling things out.

i did poorly in school because they kept telling me what to do... and things they were telling me were things like 'pull up your socks' (we had uniform) or 'stop smoking behind the bike sheds at lunch'. it got me in the WHY SHOULD I space... feeling resentful. how could i focus on learning in such an environment when they were so distracted from it themselves?

then when i started university... it felt like coming home. because people weren't at me to attend... and because the lecturers were mostly passionate about what they were teaching... attending didn't feel like a chore. and i could just come and go from the lectures... there wasn't all this social bullcrap around who you are going to sit with etc etc like there was at high school.

getting entry... often you need to write a letter. you need to write a kick *** letter as to why they should give you the opportunity to study there. and it might be a process of applying to a few places and taking what you get and hoping to work your way up / transfer your way in.

glad to hear that things are looking / feeling up for you