Dorm Shopping 101: Making A List

"Don't be afraid to reach out and make new friends with people that will show you the respect you deserve."

Here’s a little reminder that friends should not belittle your interests, whether personal or academic. Your answer to “what do you want to be?” should be enough. Your decision not to leave the house because you’re studying for the midterm should be enough. Your desire to pay attention in class should be enough. If you have friends that mock or disregard your desire to do well, they’re not friends worth having. Even if they don’t want to do well themselves, they should respect your desire to. Don’t be afraid to reach out and make new friends with people that will show you the respect you deserve.

“Lack of direction, not lack of time, is the problem. We all have twenty-four hour days.”

— Zig Ziglar

i love pdfs

No im not doing it i dont care

i’m on summer break right now.

relaxing

▸ cleaning out last year’s papers. separate everything into things you may need next year (important papers, prerequisite course papers, etc.) and things to throw out. it feels so so refreshing to get old papers out of the way

▸ going outside. schoolwork sometimes makes it difficult to get outside during the school year so I take advantage of the summer break to get some fresh air and unwind. I like to garden and go for runs / walks. nature makes me very happy.

▸ eating good food. it’s so so great to be able to take the time and enjoy what I eat and try seasonal foods and new things. also: fruit always tastes so much sweeter during the summer + there’s a lot of fruit picking going on so I usually go with friends and family to pick and eat together. and there are usually more vendors that come to farmers markets during the summer so check those out!

▸ catching up on books. during the school year I don’t get time to read a lot so every summer I look forward to going to the library and getting books to read. 

▸ visit new places you’ve always wanted to go to. I’m planning on going to a couple cool places downtown with friends + family and there’s a botanical garden in my area that holds fun summer events. you can have fun without it costing you much at all!

learning 

▸ skills. try something new, start a new project! I’m going to try and learn something new on the piano and work on a scarf for the winter time.

▸ preview for the upcoming school year. don’t stress about it. go at a relaxed pace and skim through the material a bit. you’ll get a better understanding of the topics and it will be easier to grasp concepts during the school year. Here’s a post I’ve made on summer studies.

▸ learn something you’re interested in. if there is a topic you’re really passionate about or something you really like, learn more about it. I’ve always wanted to know more about the evolution of language so I’ll be reading about that during the summer time.

▸ visit museums. they often have cool and interesting exhibits. if you hear about one you think you would like, go for it!! 

▸ writing. if you like that sort of thing. I like writing poems and I’m also working on a story. I feel like my brain is more open during summer break and just works better in general.

reminders

▸ hydration hydration. drink lots of water and try different lemonades and teas.

▸ skin care. sunblock is necessary for healthy skin and you need to put some on so that you don’t get a painful sunburn. also be sure to moisturize your skin during the summer so that it doesn’t dry out. I like to use a ginger cream because it smells wonderful and it’s very light (I don’t like sticky and thick moisturizers).

▸ don’t stress. just relax and go about your day, don’t make a confining schedule because it’s often stressful when you aren’t able to do things exactly at that time and suddenly summer doesn’t feel so relaxing or free anymore. you need to find the balance between being productive and having a day that flows smoothly.

have a lovely summer! -hana from kiyoko-studies

Okay fuck it if this post reaches 666k notes by the end of 2023 I’ll practise basic self care

Why 666k? Because it’s funny and impossible so good fucking luck

random studying 101

Remove all distractions. When I was in 9th-10th grade, I let my sister hide my phone and I also said to her that don’t give it to me until the specific time. Now, I hide it in my cabinet or under my pillow. Hide it so that it will be gone in your sight. 

Music. Don’t play music that is distracting and with lyrics. Make sure they make you concentrate and focus on the task. (Use earphones or headphones!)

Motivate yourself. Sometimes, no one will motivate you so you have to motivate yourself. Find quotes, videos and things that will motivate you enough to study.

Study beverage. This is really important to me. I always study while drinking something. Tea, hot chocolate or coffee. I don’t know but they help me focus. 

Study in places with natural light. 

If you can’t focus in your room, study in the library. Sometimes, my siblings are noisy and I can’t really understand my lessons anymore, I will go to school early. ( I have afternoon class.) So, I will go to school two hours before class. 

Don’t wait until the day before or cram because you will not remember anything. When you cram, your brain can’t encode the information to your long-term memory. Because of that, you will not remember anything in the morning. 

If you believe that you can’t keep up in the lesson, make sure that before the lesson you advance study. I always do this especially in math because I need tons of practice before I get it. 

Organize your time and follow it. Don’t just make a time plan, you need to implement it in your day.  

What i’ve learned from college thus far

Stop studying the night before. I have noticed that if i keep forcing myself to learn until last minute (which it’s not gonna happen, you know what you have been processing for a while not just right before they hand the paper sheets) i start doubting myself more

Go with an “i don’t care anymore” attitude to the exam. This one is my fave. With this i mean letting go of every single worry you may have of failing in that moment (not ignoring your books the whole semester) If you don’t care about failing there’s no tension or stress during the exam, therefore you will be able to think more clearly than under pressure.

Figure out your minimum hours of sleep. I learned that i need at least 5 hours to function properly. Find yours and use it in your favor.

Relationships with classmates. You probably will only see your friends in some classes or just one, dont let this unmotivate you and not attend to lectures!! Everyone is asleep and no one will think you’re awkward for sitting alone. Don’t force friendships or try acting like someone you’re not, people can see it and repells them.

Relationships with teachers. Can’t stress this enough, if you’re gonna put effort in creating a bond with someone in college, it has to be your teachers. Try getting there early and pick a seat in the front, make questions via email or in person, if you’re shy like me wait until the end of the lecture and talk to the teacher instead of asking out loud.

Learn from failure. Don’t waste precious time giving yourself a hard time, it won’t make you any smarter. Pay attention to details and correct them for the next time, that’s how champs do it AND YOU’RE ONE OF THEM!

Relaxing. I know how guilty you feel when it’s been days and you haven’t looked at your notes, but hey we all go through that. It’s important to disconnect a little sometimes and come back with a %100 battery instead of a %35, am i right? Just don’t let the relaxation become 2 weeks or a whole month.

Hope these few tips may help you if you need them ♡

Part 2