Just finished my exams - my one and only exam, in fact. Wrote till my hands were so painful that they needed a massage! And I couldn't even put my hand down for at least half an hour after the exams as it had been in the same position for 3 whole hours! I'm glad I managed to finish the paper, but I'm a little dissatisfied with some of the answers I gave. Blame it on my slow writing - I could have written more content as I had it all in front of me (it was an open-book exam). But I had to control the amount of stuff I wrote in the booklet as I only had 3 hours. Ah well, let's hope for the best but also be prepared for the worst! I hope not to have nightmares about this exam - I slept very badly before the exam and sleep deprivation causes me to become absolutely wasted. My fate now lies in my final semester's results and the thesis. I already have my results from my first semester, and I'm happy to say that all the intense work I did for first semester really paid off! One thing for sure - I feel that this semester's hard work has not gone to waste.
This one and only exam also marks the end of my Honours year. My year in Perth has been quite a good one, especially with my university being one of the most student-friendly places around. Admin was very efficient, people were extremely nice, and the campus itself had a very welcoming feel to it! Not to mention, the campus had a very encouraging atmosphere. I've chosen to re-apply for postgraduate studies at this university. In case you were wondering, this awesome university is Murdoch University. To sum up my Honours year - I had a wonderful supervisor, made a few really good friends, experienced an amazing campus, had the opportunity to attend lots of helpful writing courses...and the list goes longer and longer. Murdoch University is practically perfect...in every way.
Anyway apart from the many photography trips I did in Perth and in Murdoch University, here's the main highlight of Honours - the submission of the THESIS!! I went all-out and did a Thesis Photoshoot, one day before submitting it. Here are some of my favourite ones!
The night before I submitted my thesis, I didn't sleep a wink. I was really excited, yet really relieved that it was done. But on the day I submitted my thesis, I felt extremely anti-climaxed. "What next?" I kept asking myself. I knew that I had to focus on exams, yet I was really burnt out after 8 whole months of working on the thesis. For a while, I felt aimless - as the thesis had been such a big part of my Honours life. Now that it had been submitted, 90% of my Honours life was over. My very first thesis - submitted. I actually put in quite a fair bit of effort to celebrate its submission (including going for a really amazing concert!).
8 months of hard work. All finished by 22nd October 2012. And now, 3 weeks later, on 12th November 2012, my exams are over! And my Honours life is officially over! One year has just gone by like that. Psychologically, I felt that my first semester was really draggy, but the second semester was really fast! My undergraduate days have officially ended. I'm now a graduate.
What next? I really wonder. Where to from here? I really wonder. Who to work with? I really wonder. Ideally, I'd like to carry on studying.
Would really like to go back to Melbourne - where my university life and young adult life began. Melbourne's since become my second home - and well, I had the privilege to go back for holidays in the winter break. I got to see Seraphim Trio perform at the Melbourne Recital Centre, got to visit University College again, got to see my friends (whom I miss so dearly!), got to catch up with my aunt and Uncle Bob (who gave me new jokes to add on to the repertoire!), and of course, I got to see my favourite black-and-white ball of fluff - Aggie! And I got to experience the cold Melbourne winter, which is seriously different from the Mediterranean-like climate I experience in Perth. Melbourne is beautiful in its own ways. No wonder it's the world's livable city!
Perth is nice too. It has been the third place I've lived in, and I have fallen in love with its friendly, laid-back culture and beautiful surrounds. Cruising down the Kwinana Freeway has always been fun. Going to Fremantle every weekend? Even more fun. And speaking of Fremantle - I'm going back there for a final visit. For sure. This time, instead of going somewhere else for holidays - I'm staying back in Perth till the end of Exam Season, as I'm embarking on something new - a joint paper publication with my current supervisor. It's an exciting project which extends my thesis and the thesis done by last year's student. I envisage that it's going to be an interesting experience, but it's all very worth it. A paper publication as an Honours student is a rare opportunity and I really treasure it. I'm really thankful to my supervisor for providing me this wonderful opportunity, and also for helping me all the way as I struggle with my thesis. I really owe him a lot. I do hope to have more research opportunities with him, apart from this one. Like Millie Dillmount from "Thoroughly Modern Millie" (1967) would have said, he is "terrif!!"
Right now, let's put all sentiments aside. It's time to celebrate post-exam freedom and balance it with working on the paper publication with my supervisor! YEEAAAAHHHH!!!!!!