By Kimia Degani
Everyone changes throughout their high school journey, whether that include their goals, skills and favourite things. I’ve interviewed Normo girls who are both ex-students and currently in year 12 to see just how much they’ve changed over the years. A special thank you to all the girls who contributed to this article.
Amelia Kenny – Year 12
1. What was your favourite subject in year 7 and what is your favourite subject now?
I think my favourite subject in year 7 was probably integrated because I LOVED being
with all the Maye girls, and my favourite subject now is definitely food tech.
2. What job did you want in year 7 and what are you going to study after graduation?
I used to change my mind heaps, but I think I might of wanted to be an interior designer in year 7 and now the plan is to study primary teaching.
3. What was your favourite artist/music in year 7 and how has that changed?
Evie would tell you that I was obsessed with the song ‘Ugly Heart’ by GRL in year 7 and I used to just listen to the top 40 on repeat. I think I am probably still pretty similar now and listen to old and new top 40 songs, but I love country music now too!
4. What is one of your favourite memories from school?
I have so many but I think one of the highlights would be when we were doing that swimming lesson in PDHPE in year 7 where you swim in your clothes, and as soon as our whole class jumped in, the fire alarm went off and we had to stand on the oval for an hour in our wet clothes and swimming caps.
5. What is a vital skill you’ve learnt from school?
Normo has definitely taught me so many things but I think a vital skill I have learnt would be the value of good friends and how much of an impact they can have on your life.
Katrina Duff – Year 12
1. What was your favourite subject in year 7 and what is your favourite subject now?
My favourite subject in year 7 was design technology but now it’s music, specifically singing. I used to struggle in music but when I applied myself, I really improved and eventually achieved my goals. This made me so much more engaged in the subject.
2. What job did you want in year 7 and what are you going to study after graduation?
In year 7 I wanted to be a journalist or psychologist, but I realised psychology needed 6-7 years of studying which wasn’t for me. However social work is 4 years and it gives me a broader range of opportunities such as being a counsellor or working with women who experience domestic violence.
3. What was your favourite artist/music in year 7 and how has that changed?
I used to like all the generic stuff like pop and top 40 with Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift but now I’m into more alternative and interesting songs with artists like Imagine Dragons and Pond.
4. What is one of your favourite memories from school?
I loved year 10 camp because it was really fun having so much trust from the teachers and we all watched the Bachelorette together. I enjoyed the whole experience, especially going back to parliament since year 5 with all this new knowledge. I felt quite sentimental, especially at the war memorial.
5. What is a vital skill you’ve learnt from school?
Good things take time – in my experience, with trying to get good marks I had to be driven and work hard. I had to keep trying and not get disheartened if something went wrong.
Ariyana Hossain – 2018 Graduate
1. What was your favourite subject in year 7 and what was your favourite subject in year 12?
I wasn't at Loreto in Year 7, but my favourite subjects were Humanities and English. Flash forward to 5 years later, my favourite subjects were the Histories and Legal Studies so really not much changed.
2. What job did you want in year 7 and what are you studying now?
I had some random interests back then; I think I wanted to be an author or a forensic scientist. As of now I'm in my first year of university studying Politics and International Relations but I still don't think I could confidently tell you what I want to do career wise.
3. What was your favourite artist/music in year 7 and how has that changed?
You'd need a time machine to answer that question, but I think I was listening to a lot of mainstream 2013 Pop, your Imagine Dragons and your Taylor Swift. I still love Taylor, but my music taste has definitely diversified and evolved. One look at my Spotify and you'd see a lot more Indie and R&B.
4. What is one of your favourite memories from school?
Tough question, I'm lucky to say I have plenty. Weirdly enough though, one of my favourite memories was grad week in general. It's such a sentimental time, but the love and support you get from this community of people you've grown close to over the years is unparalleled. Super emotional time but also my favourite.
5. What is a vital skill you’ve learnt from school?
Critical thinking. I think a lot of people tend to take things at face value or confine themselves to the one perspective--which can be quite dangerous I've realised. I'm really grateful that I was able to develop these skills through high school, it's taught me to question everything and consider alternative views.
Annabelle Leonard – 2018 Graduate
1. What was your favourite subject in year 7 and what was your favourite subject in year 12?
Year 7 would have been drama because I loved playing all the games and it taught me how I could love things that weren’t the conventional English/maths but still went towards my school marks. Year 12 would have been CAFS, I don’t know why, I guess it’s just a really enjoyable subject.
2. What job did you want in year 7 and what are you studying now?
At the moment I’m studying nursing, in year 7 I think I wanted to be a teacher – still along the same lines of helping people I guess but I’m really happy with what I’m doing at the moment.
3. What was your favourite artist/music in year 7 and how has that changed?
In year 7 I mostly listened to pop/top 40. I was always really scared to listen to music that wasn’t mainstream because of the risk that it would isolate me but now I realise that it really doesn’t matter what music you listen to, so I mostly just listen to whatever I think is good – old or new from whatever genre depending on my mood.
4. What is one of your favourite memories from school?
My favourite memory from school was probably my first Wednesday long recess in my first week at Loreto. I remember seeing everyone dancing and just being like ‘Oh my god WHAT have I gotten myself into.’
5. What is a vital skill you’ve learnt from school?
A vital skill I learnt in school was probably not to always pay so much attention on what people think of you, if you are kind and friendly to everyone, no matter how they act towards you, you will be liked and you’ll be given so many more opportunities in life.
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