I Hope Your Studies Go Well And Have A Great Day! X

Happy Saturday:)

Making summaries on a really rainy day

6/10/19 Sundays are fun!

So I got a big tesco delivery and I made my first ever mug cake, which was HEAVEN! I also did a couple of small assignments and carried on with my summaries.

13-14/11/18 - 65-66/100 days of productivity

14th - well today has been long. I had an applicant visit day to the uni of Birmingham, which was so much fun - until it came to getting home. I was supposed to be on a quarter past four train to be home for half seven. It is now ten to seven and I am waiting another 30 minutes for the final leg of my journey home to start after standing for 2 hours on a packed and very late train. I should arrive at my finial station at nine.

It’s not the staff’s fault necessarily, but we were turned away by a staff member when our train was actually boarding, so we missed it.

HOWEVER I did get to make good progress with Selam Berlin! And I got to play with sodium alginate and calcium chloride, and experience a lecture on why transition metal compounds are coloured.

I did my German catch-up work on the train to Birmingham, too. Now to make some important emails!

2/2/21 Thermodynamics

They call it physical chemistry because it makes people who study it cry physical tears haha 😭

It does give me an excuse to use my favourite colour pen on my whiteboard though

(The green highlighter shows equations that only hold under constant volume; the pink shows those under constant pressure; the yellow is for other key equations)

Happy 2020 :)

My resolution: to get this account more active next year! In all seriousness, 2019 was a complete upheaval of everything I knew and wanted, full of salutations and goodbyes in equal measure. It brought me new friends and experiences but also new anxieties. I’m still working on feeling comfortable in this world and I have a long way to go but I’ve come so far. I am proud of myself - and I wish it didn’t sound so arrogant to be able to say so. So what if my A levels weren’t quite what I was gunning for? So what if the university I am attending isn’t the one that filled my childhood dreams? So what if the course I am pursuing isn’t the one I maybe should have chosen based on my personal talents? I’m happy and learning so much every day. I can’t wait for 2020 and I hope it brings you all good things as my super supportive followers.

I used to think scientists were mortal gods; that I should never be clever enough to be one of them. Even now I am astounded every day by the minds that solved some of nature’s most incredible problems. Maybe that’s why I took no interest in science until I was 14.

Or maybe it was because of all I have been told over the years. I was told I was hopeless with maths - my secondary school maths teacher admitted that I was only in the top set because my confidence was already on the floor and would not allow them to move me down.

I was told that if I needed to be medicated for depression and anxiety, I would have no hope in the “real world”.

I was told that given my socioeconomic status (my single-parent family is among the poorest 10% in the U.K. based on income) and postcode, all the predictions pointed to my failing school. I don’t suppose the truancy due to constant bullying helped my case. If I didn’t even have a desk to work at, how could I ever expect pass any of my exams? (Look carefully at the picture and you’ll see carpet. It’s 23:56 on a Sunday and I am reunited with the only study space I have in my family home - the top of the stairs!)

And yet here I am, despite all the odds. I did not fail in school: I was top in my year, twice. I am striving for a first in my chemistry degree at a Russell Group university. I taught myself an A level in maths and got a top grade. I am now so totally in love with my degree and with learning that it hurts.

I did all that from the top of the stairs.

[Sorry for the rambles, and I hope that the wall of text doesn’t look like bragging. It’s just that lately, I’ve been so overwhelmed with how far I have yet to go, and I’ve only just realised how far I’ve come.]

4-5/11/18 - 55-56/100 days of productivity

I love getting the answer right, knowing all my hard work is paying off. Particularly because maths doesn’t come naturally to me and I’m doing it without the help of a teacher.

I’m posting early because I have a long evening ahead and don’t know if I can post later, so I’ve not left for school yet and have just under an hour until I do. I only have two lessons so all should be well.

29/09/18 - 18/100 days of productivity

I must admit, I didn’t do all that much today because I spent it chilling out with 3 of my most favourite people in the world having a sleepover 💕 (No, 17 years old is NOT too old for sleepovers.)

However, I did FINALLY finish my personal statement and send off my UCAS application to my referee - eep! I also read a few pages of Le Père Goriot before I left and made myself a massive to do list for when I get home.

Luckily I have Monday morning to stay at home and work to make up for not using Saturday. But do I regret it? Nah. I’m chilled :)

27/3/19

Coordinate geometry with circles!

I love overcomplicating things, apparently! Anyhow, I got the right answer so I’m good.

Happy Wednesday :)

TIL!

Nickname

Nickname - “An. Eke. Name”

Nickname is one of those words created by people talking too fast. The original phrase was “an eke name” from “eke” meaning “also” i.e. “Aristocles is my real name but Plato is an eke name” Said fast “an eke name” sounded like “a nickname”, and the phonological word evolved.