Year 12

as the work was eventually done, we had the freedom to do it in a way that we usually would not be able to do. However, there was one major downside to the experience, as already mentioned before: the absence of a full class and a teacher. Something that I did not realise until we returned to physical learning was how important the physical environment could be. Content from a textbook is a lot easier to remember when you review it as a class while a teacher explains it, instead of just pouring over it by yourself at home. In that regard, I will be relieved to return to normal learning. Year twelve Dulcet tones of an angelic gold harp echo across a rusted brown sunset glazed ocean. You walk along sunset sand, the music crescendoing in your ear, care free, with a salty summer breeze fresh on your face. Suddenly, an aggressive metallic noise blurts in the distance getting louder and louder, until you realise, wait, that is my alarm. Your 9 minutes of snooze is up, and you are now late to class. Slowly rising out of bed, the major exercise of the day begins as you walk towards your computer to log in and join the Google Meet. Thank goodness for the little preview screen before you join because footy shorts without a shirt is not appropriate for class. Instead you opt for the closest hoodie, give it a smell check, not like it matters, and chuck it on. “Oh sorry sir, my internet was being funny” works an absolute charm. Not because the teacher actually believes it, but they honestly can not be bothered disproving a half asleep student. Probably not paid enough either. Now, as we all return to normal, or as close to normal as we can get, we will always have this experience to reflect on as a unique part of our high school lives. The return to normalcy in itself brings its own challenges, namely the tsunami of SACs that we had all tried to pretend did not exist. We may not be doing Semester 1 exams, but with the amount of work that is still to be done, the education system is as good as ever at putting us through the wringer. However, in the end, as much as we all miss being hard at work while hardly working, I think that we can all agree, to an extent, that it is good to be back.

Mateo Acosta Fernandez Then before you know it class is over, you have not done much work either but oh well, it is time for your next class. Again you join the Google Meet. But wait, no one else is there. “I'll wait for the first few to join”. 2, now 3 minutes pass and you check the time on the clock to make sure you have not messed up the timetable. Still no one has joined. Who knew you could separate the boys from men just based upon who joins a video. These are the important lessons we learned from isolation. We even sometimes learnt relevant class content as well...

Ultimately, whether the experience was enjoyable... hard... or made you laugh... or made you cry... or even made you a better person, it was. An experience. I am sure there are lessons of self motivation, hard work and patience that were learned. But, perhaps most supreme of all, was we realised how much we all just bloody miss and need each other, the good and bad and the ugly.