Josie Edmonds and Nick Ratliff are far from feeling hard done by after going through not one but two lockdowns right at the pinnacle of their high school experience.
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In fact, Nick goes so far as to describe it as "the best year of my life".
"We can look back and say, we went through the COVID lockdowns - it really spiced up our year," Nick laughed.
"It was all over the place, but it was really good to get through," Josie added.
"Our studies may have been affected to a certain extent, but we've also learned a lot of other things that we otherwise wouldn't have. It was a real eye-opener."
The Macintyre High School students said this second time around was easier than the first, however the challenges of staying motivated remained one of the key issues.
Knowing the vaccination was around this time and that there was an actual release date made it easier to cope.
Josie found the best way to stay on top of work was to follow the same timetable she'd have had at school, whereas Nick said he'd flip it, make it work to his time instead.
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Both missed the face-to-face interactions with their teachers, and said even being with their friends again helped boost their morale and keep that friendly competition spur them on in their studies.
"We have missed out on a lot of face to face time with our teachers - it's different being at home without that contact," Josie said.
"It's so good to be able to have that personal feedback again," Nick noted.
But it's not just their day-to-day schedules that have been put back. The State Government has pushed back the HSC exams to start on November 9 to help counteract the missed time at school.
"Pushing the HSC exams back, I think it's fifty-fifty good and bad," Josie said.
"While it's good that we have that extra time to prepare, we do just want to get them over and done with."
But the status-quo of their post exam plans remains the same: Josie hopes to study a bachelor of nursing, and Nick off to complete a four-year apprenticeship to become the third generation builder.
It's not all work and study though: Nick celebrated his 18th birthday the day after lockdowns were lifted, meaning he got to mark the day with his first drink with friends.
Josie was also lucky, having the milestone birthday just before lockdowns - both pleased one coming-of-age tradition remained the same for them.