A Letter to My Future ATAR...
3 years ago
To my future ATAR,
I know we’ll meet soon, and I won’t lie, I’ve never been more nervous.
We hear it all the time. ‘Your ATAR doesn’t define you’. But at the end of the day, you’ll be the number that sums up my entire school-life.
The hours spent sitting in stuffy classrooms. The years of lunchtime games and gossip. The good teachers and the not so good ones. And lately, the study, the practice exams, the afternoons spent in the library, the friendships, the tears, the memories… How do you wrap all of that up into one number?
It’s easy to say that you, my future ATAR, won’t define me. But the scary thing is you’ll dictate a lot of what’s possible for me in the future.
You’ll decide whether I get into the course I want next year. You’ll decide whether I get that scholarship I applied for.
It’s hard not to feel anxious.
What if you aren’t high enough? What if all my friends get higher ATARs? What if I’m just not cut-out for academic success?
The truth is you won’t ever define me or my school years. There’s no way you can punch in each of my school experiences and calculate a total.
School has taught me way more than just curriculum content, and no number can take that away from me.
In the end, I just hope you reflect all the hard work I put into Year 12. And if not, I know there will always be other options for me. Courses offered at uni's with lower entry-scores, careers that don’t require ATARs at all.
My future holds way more than an ATAR could ever calculate.
But for now, I’ll sit and wait patiently. I know I’ve tried my best. I know I’ve worked hard. Either way, I’ll be proud of myself and what I’ve achieved.
See you soon, Your student.
Words by Ella Katz