So excited you might burst....

I'm sure thats how a lot of you are feeling right now, I know this time last year there was the feeling of was I going to fit in? What were classes going to be like? Was I going to manage to keep up? Was I going to get everything done? Who are these scary people who know so much?

Do you want to know whats maybe worse? my first term there were 40 of us in Slytherin house and I still didn't say anything til about half way through the term, it was scary - there were all these awesome people, now we're up to 135 per house.....thats massive and very easy to get lost in - your snake nest can help, it gives you people to talk with, ready made friends to cheer you on

The anticipation can be almost too much, I know we've all been there no matter how many terms we may or may not have under our belts. Does it get better with time? of course it does - well a little bit, there's still the rush of the brand spanking new classes each month and getting to know your new friends in the dungeon.

So in that spirit I would like to offer a few words of advice for the new and the overexcited (not necessarily the same people) for when the classes go up tomorrow.

Firstly - Breathe - simple eh? sit up take a deep breath it makes a difference

Secondly - take your time to read the prompts, make notes, jot down idea's , get up walk away and come back, think about it. You don't have to cast on on the first just because the classes go up - sometimes I've only cast on something the day that assignments are due (gasp).

Thirdly - ask questions if theres anything you are unsure about - BUT read the first few pages of each class - you may find that the question you have has already been answered - your professors will thank you for not asking the same question 500 times - trust me on that ;)

Fourthly - use your big/middle snakes to bounce idea's off - especially for OWL's

Fifthly - be realistic - by now you've probably read about - The Slytherin Quest - and while it may sound appealing, it's not possible for everyone and this is good. For every crazy (yes i hold up my hand to this - my name is Cattiekins and I'm Crazy) doing the Slytherin Quest there are the equally awesome snakes who work full time, have a family to look after and do an OWL and one class a month - we are all awesome.

Sixthly - so you want to get as many things done as possible - remember that you can often get bonus points for larger objects and that there are starting points - so you don't finish - hand in for starting points - you'd be amazed how often starting points can bump up a houses score.

Seventhly and last of all, pay attention to ways of getting bonus points - house colours don't mean they have to be Slytherin - any house will do, use purple and claim it as house unity colour and remember to SAY in your hand in that it is house colours -we sometimes miss what isn't pointed out and with potentially 500+ assignments handed in for each class, the more you tell us the better. Photograph it in interesting ways, babies and cute kids/ pets, thoughtful poses, inspiration pictures they can all help.

Ok I've talked your ears off I'm sure, I hope it helps and if anyone else has some advice - leave a comment :D

Tracy
who will be back to the regular schedule of posting the oooo look at the pretties we've made once term gets into the swing of things