A week in the life of a 16-year-old student in Australia

16-year-old Australian student Tanisha Iqbal writes about her busy week. (Courtesy of Tanisha Iqbal)

Studying, a birthday party and more studying, Tanisha writes about her busy week.

Monday, 13 June

Usually, I’d wake up at around 6:30 a.m., get ready and take the train to go to school, but today I got some much-needed sleep because school was off due to a public holiday (the queen’s birthday). I ended up waking up at around 11 a.m. with the intention to study for my upcoming exams. I’m in year 11 and will be doing my Higher School Certificate (HSC) next year so it is a lot of pressure right now and I am stressed A LOT of the time. But I think I’m doing pretty well with managing everything (key words being “I think”). Anyways, my plans to study were derailed because I had to run some errands with my dad and sister for my 16th birthday party this coming Saturday. 

“I ended up waking up at around 11 a.m. with the intention to study for my upcoming exams,” Tanisha recalls. (Courtesy of Tanisha Iqbal)

Every Monday I tutor two classes of year five students from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. over Zoom. I help them with any homework questions and yes, they do get distracted from time to time, and yes, my patience is tested A LOT. But in the end, all the work tends to get done and I genuinely enjoy it. However, as I usually tutor straight after school, it does take a huge toll on me and is extremely exhausting. So, after this term, I’ll be stopping the classes and might resume them after I graduate.

After tutoring, I drank a cup of coffee (my love) and organised everything to start studying. Usually, I just chill after the class ends because, like I said, they’re EXHAUSTING. But I couldn’t afford to do that today because of all my assessments coming up. I have a maths advanced exam coming up this Friday, so I just prepared for that. If I’m being honest, I have a really bad habit of procrastinating, so I tend to complete all my tasks last minute. I am trying to overcome this, so we’ll see how it goes. I also tend to get distracted by my phone and other stuff a lot, which I turned off and put away. I lost track of time and when I finally looked at the clock, it was 3 a.m.! 

Tuesday, 14 June

I woke up greatly regretting my choices last night (not the studying, the staying up late), and got ready for school. I had a biology excursion to the Royal Botanical Gardens and the Australian Museum today, which I was really looking forward to. At the Botanical Gardens, we learned about animal adaptations from a Taronga Zoo employee and got to touch a tortoise, a snake and a lizard. After the lesson, we went on a tour around the Royal Botanical Gardens and studied eucalyptus evolution. The view from the gardens was really nice, and after the tour ended, we had a short break to rest and eat.

“At the Botanical Gardens, we learned about animal adaptations from a Taronga Zoo employee and got to touch a tortoise, a snake and a lizard,” Tanisha recalls. (Courtesy of Tanisha Iqbal)

After the break, we made our way to the Australian Museum, where we looked at many different types of fossils and animals. The excursion ended early, so a couple of my friends and I decided to go check out the Art Gallery of New South Wales as it was nearby. It was my first time going to the gallery, and I loved all the unique collections and exhibitions. 

After that, my friends and I sat and talked in a park for a while before separating and heading home. It had been a long day, so I was extremely worn out and fell asleep when I got home. My mum woke me up after a while and I remembered that I had chemistry tutoring. As I do the tutoring online, I was so glad that I didn’t have to physically go there. I reluctantly got up and somehow managed to get through two hours of chemical reactions content before showering and going to sleep. What a tiringly long, yet fun, day. 

“After the break, we made our way to the Australian Museum, where we looked at many different types of fossils and animals,” Tanisha shares. (Courtesy of Tanisha Iqbal)

Wednesday, 15 June

Every Wednesday I get to sleep in a little bit because I have no classes during first period, so I can come to school later than usual. When I got to school, there were a few minutes left till my next class, so I just sat outside in the sun and read my book “Our Violent Ends” by Chloe Gong, which is the second book of the duology “These Violent Delights.” I highly recommend it! 

I had modern history and maths today where I learned about the Russian Revolution and further trigonometry. At lunch I attended the Women’s Collective, which is a student voice group that discusses issues faced by women. This week, some students gave an insightful presentation on gender inequality in athlete’s pay. 

“It was my first time going to the gallery, and I loved all the unique collections and exhibitions,” Tanisha says. (Courtesy of Tanisha Iqbal)

Thursday, 16 June

I was supposed to have netball training this morning before school, but I missed a huge chunk of it because I overslept. For my first class, I had advanced English, where we were studying “Othello.” Every Thursday lunch I attend SHOUT!, which is a student voice group advocating for children’s rights all over the world. This week, the presentation given by some of the students in the group was on gun violence in America, more specifically the Uvalde school shooting. Gun violence statistics in America are unbelievable. It is incredulous how the American government is more concerned about banning abortion and regulating bodies rather than addressing these constant mass shootings. 

After lunch I had maths, where I had a revision lesson to study for my exam tomorrow, followed by chemistry, where I learnt about metal reactivity. Then it was time to go home. Thursdays are one of the only days of the week where I don’t have anything after school so I got to work as soon as I could, prepping for the maths test tomorrow. In the midst of studying, I received news that my niece was born! I was a bit down since I couldn’t go to see her, but my parents went and sent me pictures of her, which was all good. She is so adorable. I also read my book in between breaks of studying and I finished it. I have a goal to read 75 books this year, and so far I have read 42. I ended up going to sleep quite early as I wanted to get a good night’s rest for my exam tomorrow. 

Tanisha celebrating her birthday with family friends. (Courtesy of Tanisha Iqbal)

Friday, 17 June

I woke up today coughing uncontrollably. I tested negative for COVID-19 using the rapid antigen kits we have at home, but I still felt awful. I had to skip school and my maths test and go to the doctor. Turns out it was just a virus that was going around during winter, so there wasn’t much to do. Because I missed my exam, I had to fill out a form for school to ensure I can do my exam next week. Anyhow, I spent the day living off cough medicine and natural remedies and lying in my bed binge-watching “Criminal Minds.” Soon enough my coughing subsided, and the rest of my family and I prepared the house for guests that were coming that night. Family friends were coming for a pre-birthday celebration, so my parents bought a cake, and my mum made a lot of food. I had to keep all the kids in line because they were all messing about in my room. At 12 a.m., it was officially my birthday, so I cut the cake. To be honest, the cake was not the best. Everyone left a while after as it was quite late, and I went to sleep after opening some presents. 

Saturday, 18 June

I woke up at 8 a.m. because I had a netball game this morning. It took a while to get there because of all the traffic, but I made it on time. I warmed up with the team, and then we had our game. This season we had a couple of games that were cancelled due to the rain. So, to make up for it, a different system was established. Each game is usually played in four quarters, but with this new system, each half of the game signifies a different game. This way, we can make up for the points we lost for the games cancelled. Anyways, after the game (or games, which we lost the first and won the second), we had some food and I cut a cake with my team for my birthday. 

Tanisha celebrating with her friends and family at a New York-style diner. (Courtesy of Tanisha Iqbal)

I left soon after to go home, and on the way, I picked up balloons, my cake and my friend. By then I was cutting it quite close for time, so I rushed to get ready. At around 5 p.m. people started arriving at my house, and by 7 p.m. we all left to go to the restaurant, which was a New York-style diner. Our parents dropped us off and went back home, and my friends and I were all in the restaurant. We talked, took pictures, had some really good food and I ended up cutting another cake. Our parents picked us up at around 9 p.m. and everyone went back to my house. All the parents and little kids were there, so it was a fun, full house. After everyone left, I opened the rest of my presents and went to bed. Overall, it was a really great day and one that I will cherish forever. 

Sunday, 19 June

Sundays are quite hectic days for me. On Sundays, I mark writing pieces for the kids that attend the writing centre (where I also take classes). It’s a three-hour shift, so I usually go home afterwards. But today I went to my cousin’s house to see my newborn niece. She has two other siblings, so I played with them for a while (they’re ADORABLE babies). I went home afterwards and got some work for school done. Next, I have my rescheduled advanced maths exam, a maths extension exam and assignments for English extension and biology. It’s a crazy week ahead, so it’ll be a week of little sleep and coffee. After all my exams and assignments are done, I’m going to take a long break and just chill. I also have school holidays for two weeks soon, so I can’t wait for that either. It’s been a chaotic term at school, so it’ll be nice to have a break.