ancient greek notes and current reads

october was filled with pumpkin spice and everything nice 🍁

ig: studylustre

27. sept 2020

i should be more active whoops haha! this semester has been super hard and im falling behind a bit, i hope i can catch up this week.

for those who are struggling with having and finding purpose: maybe, for now, your purpose is waking up in the morning and taking on the day ahead. maybe your purpose is continuing to live despite it all.

January 16, 2020

It’s been a whole week of ‘snow day’ and I’m getting cabin fever. I’ve been able to leave the house to study but I need to hang out with friends. The benefit of all of this though is that I have time to get stuff done!

Around November a kid in my class got the chickenpox. This caused our class to be quarantined for a little more than 2 weeks, which sucked even more because it started on the day before our over-night field trip. And it was pretty chaotic since we’re seniors. I didn’t see the need to post this before since not many of us on here lives in China, but now that most people are going through the same thing I decided to post some of the tips I have on staying at home and staying productive. Enjoy~

1. Set an alarm and wake up on time

I cannot tell you how many times some of my classmates missed homeroom (for us it’s mandatory cause they take attendance and it affects whether you graduate or not). Setting an alarm makes you wake up on time and prevents you from oversleeping. I admit there were times where I forgot to set my alarm, hit stop and contined to sleep, or literally slept through it. It happens. But you can’t let it keep happening. This messes up your whole day and might causes you to procrastinate even more because ‘everything is ruined anyways’ (though this may have smt to do with my mental health..). So remember to set an alarm to get started on your day on time!

2. Have a schedule and (try your best to) stick to it

Routine helps. When you literally have nothing to do, having a scheduled saves you from boredom and also from wasting your time thinking about what you have to or should do today. It doesn’t have to be packed, just a simple list of chores and activities would do. This also refrains you from delaying schoolwork for ‘tomorrow’.

3. Exercise!!

Yes. Staying at home and not moving much will not make you feel good. Especially to those who live in dorms or apartments. So move around, exercise a bit. You could do yoga, stretch a bit, or just freestyle jump around to music. Anything to get you moving, do it. It’ll help you from feeling cramped, stop you from gaining weight, and also make you feel better. Why? Because exercise=endorphins=happy people (and happy people don’t kill their husbands) . Doing some chores would work too! So get up and start moving!

4. Open the windows

For all those who grew up with your mothers opening the windows, you get it. You need to ‘change the air’. Right now you’re not getting any fresh air. And you can’t just go out to take a walk, right? Open your windows for half an hour in the morning, and you’ll feel a difference.

5. Have something to look forward to each day

This one is kinda related to the second point. I strongly recommend you to have something new to look forward to everyday. It could be eating a slice of the cake you decided to bake, an episode of your favorite tv show, or trying to achieve your goal of touching the ceiling idk. Having something to look forward to motivates you to get up everyday and keeps you from having your days mashed up together till you don’t remember whether you ate the bananas on Tuesday or Wednesday. Personally, I look forward to what I’m having for breakfast, that way I have another incentive to get up early and enjoy it before the rest of my family wakes up. So create a list of things you like to do (or would like to try), go over it right before bed, and choose one for the next day.

6. Change your clothes

Staying in your pajamas is really really tempting. However, your brain associates your pajamas with sleeping. So staying in it the whole day will make it question whether you should sleep or do something productive. This could also mess up your sleeping schedule. So lay out an outfit before you go to bed, and change into it when you start working.

7. Shower, please. And do your chores.

I don’t mean to sound like your mother, but just because you didn’t go outside, it doesn’t mean that you don’t need to shower. If you are staying in your pajamas the whole day and for a few days now, go shower and get a change of clothes. And chores? Yes you still need to do them. It is your job to keep the area you live in clean and tidy. Plus, cleaning it would get rid of germs. Take care of yourself, please.

8. Journal

Last one, stay with me kids. This was a habit I developed during the chickenpox quarantine. Although it was solely for my mental health, it helped a lot to just sit there and write about my thoughts, feelings, and what happened during the day. For those of you who are alone and have no human interaction, this might help you when you feel like ranting. Just sit down at the end of the day, and pour your heart out. If you don’t feel safe having a physical book lying around containing all these intimate and vulnerable parts of you, download a journaling app. Some have locks, and worse case you can just delete it to never see it again.

9. Human interaction

Wait no, this one’s the last one sorry! Contact your parents or friends once in a while. For those of you who often see them physically yet don’t have a habit of holding conversations with them online, call them. It helps with the loneliness that creeps In sometimes. Catch up with them, make sure they’re ok.

So far these are all that I can remember, I’ll reblog this if I have more. Thanks for reading! I hope it helped~

20.03.2020 ⁠— some calc lecture notes from before school closed… life’s been a bit chaotic these past few weeks, to say the least.

radioactivity 💥☢️ 

i’ve been really productive this weekend, just cleaned out my desk and it feels so freshh!! also managed to fit all my washis into 2 drawers perfectly (no gaps!), so satisfying :-)

hope you’re all enjoying your weekend !

studygram: mid_afternoon_tea

ig: study_ambitious

Rainy days call for studying in bed (even though I have a perfectly good and clear desk I could work on...)

I say this literally all the time, but when it comes to getting work done, starting is truly the hardest part.

today I was so discouraged to get any work done because of the overwhelming amount of studying I have to do this weekend for two midterms this upcoming week. just the idea of having to study for these exams left me feeling hopeless. sometimes your body/mind tells you that you cannot push yourself any further.

after scribbling into my planner and shuffling notes around, I decided to take a walk into the city and grab some pizza for dinner. when I came back, I was in a better mental space to make some real progress. after stepping back, taking a breath, and setting some broad goals, I was able to take things one baby step at a time. and baby steps really do go a long way.

so, if you’re feeling stressed, anxious, overwhelmed, and hopeless tonight, please remember to take a step back. taking a break is never a waste of your time. clear your mind, and find even the smallest entrance into a positive headspace. 

5 / 100 days of productivity

Woke up early to review French and write some lyrics. Rewarded myself with a trip to the bookstore. Oh how I miss the intimidation of the first page in a new notebook 📔 

Tunes: Finally // beautiful stranger - Halsey

Free MCAT Study Materials!

Here’s master post of some great MCAT study materials and resources. Click on the bold titles to open links to folders containing the files listed below. Good luck!!!

2015 KAPLAN MCAT REVIEW BOOKS (pdf links listed below)

BIOLOGY

BIOCHEMISTRY

GENERAL CHEMISTRY

ORGANIC CHEMISTRY

PHYSICS

PSYCHOLOGY / SOCIOLOGY

SCIENCE

MCAT PRACTICE TESTS / QUESTIONS

OTHER MCAT STUDY MATERIALS

Examkrackers Complete MCAT Study Set (2007)

These materials will help build your knowledge and test taking skills, they may not fit the current MCAT exam criteria but it will definitely build your knowledge of the subjects being tested.

2/100 days of productivity.

Bravo to me. I have managed to successfully do two consecutive days of productivity. Can everyone please give me a round of applause. What a milestone this has been. 

Just been writing out and reviewing my thermochemistry notes. I have mock exams coming up in a couple weeks and my goal is to at least pass every single one. Wish me luck. 

some old calligraphy practice ft. a cute postcard!! instagram: studyplants

Finally reading some papers on the common pipistrelle, my Bachelor paper topic! They are seriously so cute and interesting.

But anciety about my masters degree and where to do it, when to do it is troubling me quite a bit. This "study session" with an amazing cappuccino after some plant shopping (got a Hoya carnosa compacta whooooo) was really therapeutic. 🍃☕