frieren | sousou no frieren 1.01 - "the journey's end"

8/18/2021

First post!! I wasn’t super productive today because I went to the art museum with my mom but I completed a full daily spread today and figured out my plan for how I’m going to organize my school assignments- I start junior year of high school on the 23rd. I’m also trying to find some more studyblrs to follow so interact if you’re a studyblr!! <3

This needs to be said.

I believe it is important to address the other side of studyblr; we all talk about how important mental health is, and should be, in this community. But what we don’t talk about enough is the fact that it’s more clique than anything. By which I mean that certain studyblrs are so big they can seem unreachable; and that can be factored into another issue, the desire to have enough likes and reblogs; we have to have the perfect notes, or there won’t be any other type of notes, if you catch my drift. It’s stigmatic, it’s unfair; some small blogs rely on reblogs from bigger blogs, some rely on posting consistently (or constantly), but the fact remains.

We must change the aesthetic, once and for all, to include the smaller blogs, the dark blogs, the ones that aren’t as actively; it’s a community, not a clique of who has the most stationary or the most followers. Those who have the certain notes that are so admired are wonderful; but not all of us have that time to put into it, and we work just as hard at our academics, at becoming the person we would like to be, as they do.

Studyblr community, love yourselves, even if you don’t have the notes; or the followers. There’s no use beating yourself up about it. We can’t all be big, but what we can do is be proud of our own accomplishments and how we strive towards our own goals. Who cares if your notes don’t get that many reblogs? You made it, and you worked hard on it, and that should be enough.

Study tip

Y'all I put on some makeup today after being depressed for weeks and holy shit I feel like the living description of every ya protagonist girl ever. My hair is in a messy fishtail braid and you can see my freckles faintly and my highlight pops and my eyeliner is sharp and just overall I feel like a total badass. I have that I can do whatever attitude and no one can fucking stop me from getting perfect scores in everything, especially hand to hand combat.

And my studying has improved. My notes look killer, I’m actually paying attention and not reading the textbook like it’s a chore and I’m getting shit done. I even managed to make my dentist appointment without stuttering.

I feel confident and great because I know I’ve got the kind of looks that would kill a man and I own this shit. This is my life and I have the ability to shape it however I want to and by hell I will make it amazing.

So just a tip for you guys. If you really need to study and learn some stuff, put some makeup on, do your hair, and know that you look absolutely amazing and your smile and confidence alone could bring a civilization to its knees.

yet another “reblog if you’re a studyblr” post

I’m unfollowing a bunch of inactive studyblrs and my dash is dead, so please reblog this if you’re a studyblr and I’ll try to mass follow everyone who reblogs this!

following people now!!!

I’m not joking when I say I’m going through every reblog’s blog

College Note-Taking System

Having cohesive and effective notes is one of the key skills I think one should have, especially in an academic setting. When you’re receiving a ton of information each day, you want to be able to keep track of that and remember what you’ve learned. I’m constantly trying out ways to make my note-taking more effective and tailored to my needs. Here’s what my note-taking system looks like so far.

Quick note: click on the images for better quality!

Class Notes

Taking notes in class is an invaluable way to keep track of the new knowledge you’ve gained. However, depending on the mode in which the lecture material is conveyed, I take my notes differently. Here’s a summary of how I take my notes for each type of lecture, as well as some examples from the classes I’m taking now.

Slides (e.g. Macroeconomics)

Macroeconomics is a class in which you should be able to intuitively understand a lot of concepts but also remember a lot of things. Because of this, I’ve tailored my note-taking method and habits to achieve that goal.

I write my notes by hand because handwriting is more effective in committing things to memory.

As for what I actually do - and this is what I’ve done for other classes in which the professor/lecturer uses slides:

Here’s an example from a Macroeconomics lecture.

Oral Presentation (e.g. Anthropology)

During classes in which the professor just speaks and doesn’t use much visual material, I listen before I write instead of attempting to write down every single detail mentioned.

Also, I type up my notes instead of handwriting them since the exams are all open-book so I don’t really have to commit things to memory.

Here’s what I do:

Here’s an example of a Google Docs document from an Anthropology lecture.

Demonstrations and Sample Problems (e.g. Computer Science)

Classes in which the lecture is mainly going through demos and problems are kind of tricky, because you want to know and understand what the professor is doing, but you also don’t want to be writing down every single step that’s being executed. Here’s what I’ve found to be the most effective so far:

Also, these kinds of classes are usually classes in which you’d learn better when you actually do problems yourself, so I definitely learn more when I do assignments and labs than when I’m in class.

Here’s an example from a Web Programming lecture.

Here’s one from an Object Oriented Programming and Data Structures class. I often draw things to help me visualize the general points.

Rewritten Notes

My rewritten notes have definitely changed a lot since high school. Since most of my classes don’t require a lot of memorization, I organize my notes in such a way that they’d be easy to index or find information from. Here are some of the ways I do that:

Establishing a Visual Hierarchy

Having a well-defined hierarchy helps me flow through my notes really well as i read them. It helps me organize information like a mind map without actually making a mind map - I know the big topics and their subtopics and sub-subtopics and details … basically it’s easier to see how these ideas fit together.

But why don’t I just make mind-maps? See, the thing is, a lot of my notes require sequential or linear thinking, e.g. in macroeconomics it might be the sequence of events following a change in the economy, or in computer science it might be a general algorithm for solving a certain type of problem, or it might be proving or deriving a certain equation. These sorts of things just generally don’t work well with mind maps. Instead, establishing a visual hierarchy in my notes helps me organize different ideas while retaining the linear nature of the information.

Here’s what the hierarchy looks like.

Here is an example from my Web Programming class, which is a purely project-based class, so no prelims or exams. As you can see, I draw rectangles around important terminology so that I can easily find them while I’m working on a project. I also include examples from in-class activities as well as notes on syntax so I have an idea of how to implement certain things. These examples and notes are further grouped by terminology/concept.

Structuring Them for Easier Flow

My syllabi for my college courses are nowhere near as detailed as the syllabi for my high school courses - those of you who take/have taken Cambridge exams would know. In college, my syllabi are only lists of topics and not what you’re expected to know for each topic. Because of this, I have to find a way to arrange information so that I can achieve the most comprehensive and cohesive understanding of that topic, i.e. so that the flow of my notes is similar to the flow of my thinking.

For example, in my economics notebook, I like to have the details first (e.g. the separate markets: the goods market, the assets market, and the labor market) and then the big picture later (IS-LM-FE). Some people prefer the other way around - seeing the big picture and then going into the details - which I can understand and have done myself for certain topics.

Making Use of Proximity and Spacing

I very much dislike notes without good use of spacing and grouping things together. Keeping related ideas in visual proximity helps your brain (or at least mine) organize this information. It’s also a lot easier to find things and visualize your notes when they’re not just a huge chunk of text.

One thing I should probably mention is that I don’t use colored pens anymore because it just takes a lot of time to switch pens and think of a color palette. I also don’t have much use for it. In the past, I used color to help me memorize and group things in different categories, but now, I’ve found that there aren’t a whole lot of categories I need to keep track of, and when I do, I can do so with just one pen but changing the style of the text.

And that’s what my note-taking system currently looks like. It’s working well so far, but I still think there are other things I could try out that might be a better fit.

So yeah, hope this was helpful, and as always, feel free to drop an ask if you have any questions, or even if you have any suggestions or would like to share your note-taking system. Have an awesome week!

i saw a post saying that younger studyblrs are afraid of talking to older ones. and lemme say, as an older study blogger, that i freaking feel the same with you guys fdasfsf. like i’m afraid to talk to people who are like 13? 14? because i don’t wanna sound like a creepy adult TT_TT i mean mentally i’m like 5 but physically i’m (almost) 22. yikes. double yikes. maybe i’m just that awkward. idk.

College Morning Routine

Hey guys, so after one semester of college, I’ve found a morning routine that works for me. Here’s how I start my mornings so I’ll have a productive day ☀

P.S. click on the pictures for better quality.

Check out this YouTube video for more!

12.03.18 // and so the finals crunch begins

16/03/19 - A grey morning study session, preparing for all the work I have to complete today… 

Good morning my friend. Just a reminder to start your day off right. Stretch, take a shower, eat a good breakfast, and take care of yourself. Really. Remind yourself that today is a new day and that the world holds many wondrous things for you. You are loved, treasured, and will only be supported today.