Managing A levels....

I am currently only 1 paper[H2 Chemistry P1] away from the end of my A levels. The whole process has been a really eventful one, which while I will reminisce, I definitely do NOT want to relive. I am no studious, hardworking student with straight As, instead I struggle as well to meet up to the expectations of the society. During my entire journey, I have met with some problems and would have appreciated it if someone would have given me a heads up. And so, here I am! But just remember, my experiences may give you an insight on how life could be during the 2 years of preparing for A Levels, but it is ultimately up to you to define how your experience will be like:)

Just some background information about my academics:
1. I am in the Integrated Programme i.e. I did not take the full O levels. I only took German[A1] and Higher Chinese[A2].
2. My subject combination[which did not change for the entire 2 years of JC] : H1 GP and PW + H2 Math, Chem, Econs and German
3. My Grades for my JC1 Promotional Exams: GP- D, Chem- D, Econs- E, German- B, Math- C
4. PW- A

Basically, I am not the ideal student who has had quality grades. In fact, I performed atrociously in my July Common Test in JC2, where I got DSUC[not including H2 German]. Getting that sort of results right before Prelim which is right before A levels is definitely not ideal at all. I was really scared. Really nervous. At the same time, ashamed. After the July Common Test the cohort was split up based on their grades and obviously I was streamed into the bottom classes. I don't know how others would have felt, but I just felt really ashamed, and embarrassed as well. It felt like a humiliation, to be streamed into the worst classes. Whenever I made my way to the class, it felt as if a thousand eyes were on me, judging me for my terrible grades. Suddenly my future seemed bleak. Would I even be able to get into a University??

No, I did not fall into depression or start abusing myself or whatever. It was simply stress, healthy in my opinion because it pushed me to study harder and give up youtubing(meaning watching youtube videos). But it was definitely one of my down times. I used to simply finish whatever homework was given and then youtube the rest of the day away on meaningless youtube videos and animes. But after that I slowly shook off my habit of youtubing so often. I still do, but in moderation.

Things started to look better when I obtained optimistic grades in my Prelims. I got A for German and Math, D for GP, Econs and Chem. After getting those grades, the joy I had, and relief! Relief because I no longer felt judged and looked down upon. Relief because I felt that I had slapped all my judgmental teachers in the face with the healthy grades. That satisfaction is insane. All that's left, however, is to perfect my GP, Econs and Chem and maintain my German and Math. And that's when the next problem will probably arise sometime in the middle of A levels. The Boredom.

Or at least for me, it was extreme boredom and lethargy. Just imagine having terrible stamina running your 2.4 for Napfa and you are at round 4. Yeah I have completed 3 rounds, but there is still 3 more rounds and all I wanted to do was to plop on the ground and stop moving. Everything was becoming repetitive and meaningless. If it wasn't a math paper, it was chem paper. If not, look through the same freaking notes you have been looking through for the past 2 years. This is really the time when your perseverance is tested. When all you want to do is just to forget about everything, you can't. You still have to do the same papers and read through the same notes. I could remember the exasperation I felt and me bitching to my mom.

If you are in top schools, another trouble you may have is having to plan your future. Schools somehow expect 17 and 18 year olds to know what exactly they want to do for the next 50 years of their lives. A select few may be privileged with a clear goal in mind, but for me, the future consists of clouds of unknown. If you happen to be like me, eliminate what you know you will definitely not do, and then collect information on things you think you may be interested in. Be receptive to all types of possibilities. One way or another, the future will become clear to you, just like for me now, where accountancy or law are my final 2 options. Also be an opportunist! Whenever opportunity comes knocking at your door, take it! It could be tiring and burdensome later on, but you never know how it could benefit you! [Could be in terms of portfolio or simply character building]

Another likely problem you would encounter is either excitement or anxiety. For me, anxiety resulted in insomnia, a problem that only surfaced this year. The night before GP A level I barely slept. I probably only had 45 minutes of unconsciousness. Otherwise I was just tossing around in my bed and cursing everything and anything for my insomnia. But apparently I wasn't the only one. After GP paper you could hear almost everyone talking about their sleepless night. But after that insomnia was not such a big issue. I could at least sleep by 1 am. And sleep is REALLY REALLY important! So if you think you are likely to meet with this problem, you gotta start researching on methods to help you fall asleep. For me, it was mental strength, to push away those thoughts of anxiety and simply forget about my troubles till the next day. It is really important to cultivate and maintain a schedule for sleeping and waking. What I did was to make sure I sleep by 11 every night and wake up by 8 every morning. This really works as long as you maintain this schedule for at least 2 weeks. By 11 pm I am yawning and even if I wanted to do something else, my eyes will shut automatically.

To give you a better idea of the benefits of good grades and thus hard work, and also to give you an idea of what type of student I am for your reference, using my prelim grades, I successfully obtained invitations to NTU's early admission and scholarship application as well as NUS' USP Conditional Application[Note: These are invitations to APPLY for a spot in the Uni, not an actual offer for a spot!] In addition, while I failed to obtain an internship for Ministry of Forein Affairs(MFA), partly due to me using my July Common Test grades[DSUC rmb?], using my prelim grades I succesfully obtained an Internship in PwC, one of the Big 4 accounting firms. On a side note, I have also received the Language Elective Programme(German) Scholarship that lasts for 2 years starting from JC1. So am I an ideal student? NO! But with some natural abilities and hard work, I managed to become a slightly better than average student.

Whether or not I can become one of those ideal students is still dependent on my eventual A level grades. I am currently hoping and praying that my grades will turn out as I desire. But what I am trying to achieve through this post, is simply to provide empathy to those who may experience similar problems, or to those who want to understand how life could be like entering Junior College and taking A levels. Is it competitive? Definitely. Is it fun? Yeah, if you exclude the studying part. Is it worth it? Well, that depends on you. There are increasing options in Singapore for students. Poly, IB, IP etc. They each have their plus and minus. Do your research!

Most importantly though, don't give in to pressure. Grades definitely matters. But it's effect doesn't last! So try your hardest to achieve the quality grades. But if you don't, while partly too bad, go on and mope around and feel sad about it. But after that, make sure to rebound back! If you have any questions or would like some advice, feel free to leave a comment!

Lastly, if you are currently stressed out for whatever reason, work! My chemistry teacher gave me this really useful method of simply taking out papers to do whenever I feel stressed, instead of resorting to youtubing. It works amazingly well for me. Perhaps it will too for you.

Althea Korea Mini Haul + Review

Recently, the Korean Makeup craze has caught up to me and I have been researching rather intensely, out of curiosity as well as boredom 'cos we all know studying is anything but interesting. There are really quite a few websites out there that offers to ship korean makeup internationlly, however their prices are often not as good as buying from local stores in Korea itself, and shipping costs has always been a pain in the ass. Finally! I came across this website, Althea Korea, that started out shipping authentic Korean makeup goodies to Malaysia, and has since expanded to Singapore. So here's my experience with them!

Website experience:
Compared to other more established websites, Althea Korea definitely lose in terms of variety. There are not many brands carried by Althea Korea and the variety of products each brand features is also limited. 
Also the website is not very user-friendly in terms of browsing through the options. What I mean is that while they have sections for makeup, skincare etc. and further mini sections like eyes, face..., When you click on a product, it is not possible to return to where you were before clicking a product. 
Otherwise it is still acceptable, mostly due to their lack of variety.


The goods:

As you can see, I bought this haul during a promotion. It was 11% off original-priced items and 1-for-1 for the Laneige BB Cushion [Pore Control]. Even without promotion, the price of the goods were really affordable and generally cheaper than other websites I have visited. 
Remember! Free shipping for orders over S$50!

The goods came wrapped up in a bright hot pink sleeve with all the delivery information and inside the sleeve contains the althea beauty box. While I like the concept, I would much rather they save the cost of making the box and simply replace it with more samples. Also they tried to squeeze all my stuff into the smaller sized box, which resulted in the box being slightly deformed. So....I don't think I can really use it for any other purposes already.....wastage of resources....
But if you are those that pay lotsa attention to packaging, althea Korea is definitely the ideal shopping site for you.

The goods came in good condition, although certain boxes were deformed due to the squeezing. Otherwise the actual product itself was fine. 

The shipping:
Shipping was really the main highlight of this website, in my opinion. They shipped their products using Ecargo and when it reaches Singapore it was directed to the local post office, Singpost for delivery. As said earlier, I bought this haul during a promotion, hence a longer shipping time is definitely expected, however I got my stuff literally within a week[7 days]! That is including weekend. Tracking is available and promptly updated as well so it's a almost smooth process, save for the excitement of receiving the goods.

Freebies:
Many online shopping websites offer free samples when you buy from them. While previous reviews of Althea Korea that I have read mentioned nothing about samples, they must have up their game as I received the Greentinol Mask Sheet for free. Yeah it's only 1 mask, but considering I already got 1 laneige BB cushion for free due to the promotion, one more mask just makes everything perfect. It can't compare to the amount of samples other websites seem to offer, but considering the free shipping and much cheaper pricing, having no or few samples is hardly a sacrifice. 

That pretty much wraps up my first experience with Althea Korea. I definitely see myself going back for more! Do look out for their Daebak deals as well, they are pretty generous with their promotions:)

Disclaimer: These are my personal experiences. While I may have mentioned certain attributes of other websites, I have actually never purchased from other Korean makeup websites. Information on the other websites are obtained through my research and reading others' reviews.