The end of my second full day is drawing near. The sun's setting as I write this; it's quite a sight. My window faces west, so the sun sets outside of it. And with the road being nice and wide, I can see a lot of sky from my room, which means in the evenings I have a spectacular view of the sunset.

Two days in and I still feel a little weird in a new house. But it doesn't feel as weird or oppressive as my old house did. When I lived there, I was picked on an awful lot and there was a lot of stress regarding the local area - so in moving, I've put all that behind me. Dad's much happier here, as well, and I have a bigger room with bigger windows. I don't feel claustrophobic any more. It still feels odd because most of my stuff remains packed and I'm still adjusting, but it's better.

Music's helping an awful lot. Huzzah for stealage of Dad's stereo. I've got Kevin Ayers and the Whole World's 'Lunatic's Lament' playing right now, listening to Mike Oldfield unleash that blistering guitar solo. I've worked a little on the novel but it's proving hard to get back into. I just planned chapter fifteen and the start of sixteen.

( Anyway, here's some bedroom/college supplies waffling )

Well, there's some mixed news here. I'll start with the bad news first so the good news has more impact. The last thing I need right now is to fall into the Swirling Pits of Pessimism - and I certainly don't want to drag anyone down with me.

So, let's get it over with... I got Es in both Art and Photography. I want to resit Art but I've no idea how to go about that. I'm going into school again tomorrow to sort my courses for next year out (the place was hectic and I frankly just wanted to get home to mope in peace) so I'll ask when I see Mrs. Vernazza then.

This means that I'll probably be in Sixth Form for another two years to make sure I get all my grades needed for university.

Now for the semi-bad: I got a D in my English Language exam. I got an A in the coursework (original writing), which makes my overall grade a C. Satisfactory, but I feel I could have done a lot better. Again, a possible resit.

Now for the good news: I got a gold award in both English Language and Literature! It says on the back of the certificate:

"One pupil is nominated from each teaching group for attainment and one for achievement. The attainment award is for the pupil whose work is of the highest standard in the group and the achievement award is for the pupil who has made the most progress based on their effort and application. Few pupils achieve gold awards and any pupil who gains one can be extremely proud of the recognition they have achieved."

And last but not least, my English Literature overall grade. This one totally makes up for my flop in Art and Photography.

I got an A. An A! I am so unbelievably chuffed with that.

See? I saved the best news for last as a pick-me-up. As a result, I am not a gibbering mess on the floor.

I think the problem I had with Art and Photography, as I've said many times before, is the fact that there was so much work to do, and I wasn't putting the necessary effort in. I'm stupidly lazy. Not only that, but I didn't anticipate when I started the course how much work it would be. So, if I can resit, I'm going to give it my all.

This next point is sort of related to next year. I now have a desk lamp, so I can pretty much work throughout the day and have sufficient lighting at night. And while I have one of those irritating little windows above my door (one of the things that prevented me pulling all-nighters in my room), I'm just going to whack a piece of board over it. In my old house, if ever I had my bedroom light on when Dad was asleep, he'd know and I'd get told off for waking him up. Hence the many nights where I'd sit up for about an hour, waiting for him to start snoring, so I could creep downstairs to work.

Next year I'll be able to do all my computer/internet stuff during the day, get that shifted, and do any handwritten work or art coursework in extra time and by night.

If this year was tough, next will probably be hell; there's no denying it. But today was my wake-up call. I thought I could get by on talent alone - and yes, while I have the potential to get an A, I've been neglecting something: talent only flourishes with effort. I have talent. Teachers have told me I could easily get an A. I just need to put the work in.

Come on, year thirteen! Let's tango!