for those that need a little motivation.

A full list of my guides to college success!

How to get your best grades in college (x)

The ultimate guide to college organization (x)

How to write the perfect college essay (x)

The ultimate guide to packing for college (x)

How to stay calm and reduce stress during college (x)

45 tips for staying organized in college (x)

How to prepare for college over the summer (x)

5 best apps for college students (x)

How to make a study plan for finals (x)

*All these are free. Just sayin’.

Websites

Blank Slate  // Lets you type notes straight into your browser. Can save notes, export into Google Docs or pdf. Recommend pinning as a tab so it’s always available for a quick note.

Convert Files // Convert files online to a different file type.

PDFescape // PDF editor. Can edit files online, directly in browser or can download Windows program.

Pocket [also on Android and iOS] // Lets you save all your bookmarks in one place. Uses a tagging system to keep track of bookmarks. Automatically filters bookmarks by article, video, images.  Recommend for those of us who have multiple platforms to work on (ex, I own Apple, Android and Windows products), easy access to bookmarks if tablets/phones have trouble running Chrome or similar web browsers, and for bookmarks that can fall into multiple categories.

Pushbullet [also on Android and iOS] // Syncs devices in real-time. Send items from your computer to phone and vice versa. No compatibility between iPhones to Windows for text messages (assuming same goes for Android/Mac). Most effective for those who use one singular platform (if your computer + phone are both by Apple, and if you own an Android + Windows).

Pixel Thoughts // 1 minute meditation website. Watch your worries shrink, then float away (literally). 

Pomotodo [also on Android and iOS] // Simple, yet very effective. Tracks Pomodoros for those who use the Pomodoro technique. Includes to-do list. Charts completed pomodoros and shows graphs when pomodoros take place.

Sleepyti.me // Fix your sleeping schedule.

Cold Turkey + SelfControl // Block yourself from using specific Internet websites for a time period.

Coffitivity // Ambient coffee shop noise.

TitanPad // Multiple people working on one document simultaneously (pretty much same as Google Docs).

HabitRPG [also on Android and iOS] // Treat habits like leveling up in a video game.

Chrome Extensions

Prioritab  // Very simple interface. Shows daily, weekly and monthly to-do lists. Replaces the new tab page.

Overtask // Organize and save tabs into folders, which then can be opened at any time as needed without losing those tabs. Uses a tagging system, priority ranking and has a deadline alert feature. Recommended for when multiple projects are coming up and need to keep track of different websites for different things, or to group large amounts tabs into different sections. Replaces the new tab page.

Momentum // Shows weather, photography background, quote, goal for the day and has a to-do list feature. Replaces the new tab page.

New Tab Redirect // Replace the default new tab with a page of your choice.

Be Limitless // Photography background, goal for the day, a notepad feature with countdown and reminders. Shows how much time is spent on certain types of websites (shopping, social, etc) and most visited sites. Replaces the new tab page.

Cool Clock // Includes stopwatch, alarm and timer functions straight in your browser. Hourly pop-up alerts. Has to-do list function. Can be synced to Google Calendar. Can replace the new tab page.

Polar Clock // Simple, futuristic-looking clock. Shows the year by month, day, hours, minutes, seconds etc. Colors are customizable. Replaces the new tab page.

Black Menu for Google // At the click of a button, all (and I mean all, even the obscure ones no one knows about) of Google’s websites are a click away. This includes everything from YouTube, Gmail, Drive, Maps, etc.

Hola Better Internet  [also on Play Store, App store. Firefox maybe?] // Free VPN proxy service. 

Apps

Flat Tomato [iOS] // Pomodoro app. Minimalist design. Includes calendar function.

Focus Now [iOS] // Free version of Forest app. A few translations errors.

Forest [Android, iOS] // Free on Android. $0.99 on iOS.

Timeful [iOS] // Smart calendar app. Schedules reminders, project time blocks, to-dos, habits and everything for you. Integrates with multiple calendar platforms, Google Calendar included.

30/30 [iOS] // Schedule your tasks into time blocks, and alerts you when your time is up.

SolCalendar [Android] // Calendar app with color-coding, stickers and widgets available. Can sync to different calendar platforms, Google Calendar included.

Tasks: Astrid To-Do List Clone [Android] // Simple to-do list app app. Can organize by priority, type and reminders are included.

and the people thats still tryna transfer out of community college

Shoutout to the dropouts who made it back but are still struggling

and to those thinking of staying in community colleges but getting hate for not transffering or going to big name schools

who wish they could get their degree but don’t have the confidence or money to go back

who can see exactly where they went wrong in picking their school/course/major and just feel like they’ve wasted everyone’s time

A Nap Infographic I did for class.

Now take all the high-intensity battle music and make a playlist called “Boss Fight.” This music is supposed to make you feel just a bit desperate, but also empowered and badass. This is good for VERY CLOSE DEADLINES and “HOLY SHIT THREE PARAGRAPHS TO GO I GOT THIS.” It helps you get reenergized and gets you pumped to push through the last bit.

This is how I study and write papers.

going through life at your own pace does NOT equate laziness or failure.

You know what’s awesome?  Research.  You know what’s not awesome?  Not being able to get access to research because it’s stuck behind a paywall and you don’t belong to an institution/your institution doesn’t subscribe to that particular journal.

FEAR NOT.

Here is a list of free, open access materials on a variety of subjects.  Feel free to add if you like!

GO FORTH AND LEARN SHIT, MY FRIENDS.

Directory of Open Access Journals- A compendium of over 9000 journals from 133 countries, multilingual and multidisciplinary.

Directory of Open Access Books- Like the above, but for ebooks.  Also multidisciplinary.

Ubiquity Press- Journals covering archaeology, comics scholarship, museum studies, psychology, history, international development, and more.  Also publishes open access ebooks on a wide variety of subjects.

Europeana-  Digital library about the history and culture of Europe.

Digital Public Library of America- American history, culture, economics, SO MUCH AMERICA.

Internet Archive- In addition to books, they have music and videos, too.  Free!  And legal!  They also have the Wayback Machine, which lets you see webpages as they looked at a particular time.

College and Research Libraries- Library science and information studies.  Because that’s what I do.

Library of Congress Digital Collections- American history and culture, historic newspapers, sound recordings, photographs, and a ton of other neat stuff.

LSE Digital Library- London history, women’s history.

Wiley Open Access- Science things!  Neurology, medicine, chemistry, ecology, engineering, food science, biology, psychology, veterinary medicine.

SpringerOpen-  Mainly STEM journals, looooong list.

learn how to coupon

how to get free therapy

clean bathroom tips

what to do when you can’t pay your bills

learn time management skillz

recipes that take 30 minutes or less

see if you’re paying too much for your cell phone bill

create a resume

how to make a doctor’s appointment

organize your closet

find the right career

a list of stress relievers

how to pick a major

how to take care of yourself when you’re sick

things to bring to a doctor’s appointment

what the hell is a mortgage?

buying a used car

how to pick a health insurance plan

read the news

leave your childhood traumas behind

how to quit smoking

a list of hotlines in a crisis

what to expect from your first gynecologist appointment

what to do if you get pulled over by a cop

I got 30 credits on PC search (because sometimes they double PC credits on the weekend), 10 credits for mobile, and one credit each for clicking the links listed above and letting them take me where they wished. Bam, 45 credits in one day. Anyone under Gold status hits 525, they get $5 just for searching. Get 750 credits (including the ones you’ve spent), you hit Gold status and need 10% fewer credits for all the rewards.

Also, check out some of these rewards.

I know there are people out there who struggle with money, and this is just a few of the things offered (most of the others are for games or Outlook or w/e)

Trust us, we get it, saving money and keeping track of school is challenging. In between classes, take-out, and going out, sometimes we forget to save our pennies. 

Also, it’s a universal known fact that most college students are broke. We barely have enough money to buy all our textbooks. And there is no shame in treating yourself to a night out with a couple of drinks. 

Plus, we have the perfect solution for those lazy days when you don’t want to leave your room to cook some ramen in the kitchen!

Below we have compiled a list of amazingly intelligent college hacks for class and your dorm room essentials. Take a peak.

I’ve compiled a list of readings that speak to issues of nationalism, indigeneity, colonialism, and resistance/decolonization

The list is of course limited to what readings I’ve encountered at some point. They also come from a variety of academic disciplines and political movements (settler colonial studies, native studies, queer theory, postcolonial studies, feminist studies, trans studies).

And, with a few exceptions, these files were legally uploaded and shared… a lot of the time by the authors themselves, which I feel the need to point out because I love when authors can/do share their work online for free. (I say this not because I’m worried about the sanctity of ‘intellectual property’ but because I’m worried about things being deleted.)

Also re-linking to this list of pdf readings, “Natives Read Too,” from The Yáadihla Girls!  human rights/war/nationalism/sovereignty 

“What Do Human Rights Do?” by Talal Asad

“On Torture: Abu Ghraib by Jasbir Puar

“From Cold War to Trade War: Neocolonialism and Human Rights" by Susan Koshy

“Necropolitics" by Achile Mbembe

“Algeria Unveiled" by Frantz Fanon

A Dying Colonialism by Frantz Fanon

History and Imperialism: A Century of Theory, from Marx to Postmodernism by Patrick Wolfe

Who Sings the Nation-State? Judith Butler and Gayatri Spivak

“Where Lawlessness is the Law: The Settler Colonial Frontier as a Legal Space of Violence" by Julie Evans

“1492: a New World View" by Sylvia Wynter

Frames of War by Judith Butler

“Purchase by Other Means: The Palestine Nakba and Zionism’s Conquest of Economics" by Patrick Wolfe

Manifesting America: The Imperial Construction of U.S. National Space by Mark Rifkin 

transnational/native/postcolonial feminisms & feminist critiques: 

Woman, Native, Other: Writing Postcoloniality and Feminism - Trinh T. Minh-Ha

“Lynching, Empire, and Sexuality in Black Feminist Theory" -Hazel V. Carby 

“Transnational Feminist Pedagogy: An Interview with Inderpal Grewal and Caren Kaplan”

“Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and Colonial Discourses" by Chandra Talpade Mohanty

“Feminist Problematizations of Rights Language" by Jasbir Puar and Isabelle Barker

Feminist Genealogies, Colonial Legacies, Democratic Futures by M. Jacqui Alexander & Chandra Talpade Mohanty

“The Subject of Freedom" by Saba Mahmood

The Spivak Reader

Borderlands/La Frontera by Gloria Anzaldúa

“Colonialism, Nationalism, and Colonialized Women: The Contest in India" by Partha Chatterjee

“Can the Subaltern Speak?” Gayatri Spivak

The Politics of the Veil - Joan W. Scott

“Decolonizing Feminism: Challenging Connections between Settler Colonialism and Heteropatriarchy" by Maile Arvin, Eve Tuck, and Angie Morrill

“Native American Feminism, Sovereignty, and Social Change" by Andrea Smith 

decolonization, art, and resistance (not necessarily feminist):  

Edward Said and Critical Decolonization 

Culture and Resistance: Conversations with Edward W. Said 

“Decolonization is not a Metaphor" by Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Yang

“Decolonizing Antiracism" by Bonita Lawrence and Enakshi Dua

Bury My Art at Wounded Knee / R.I.S.E  

The Boarding School Healing Project 

Center for Third World Organizing 

Queers Against Israeli Apartheid 

queer theory/sexuality studies/native studies/trans studies 

Imperial Leather: Race, Gender, and Sexuality in the Colonial Contest by Anne McClintock

“Homonationalism As Assemblage: Viral Travels, Affective Sexualities" by Jasbir Puar*

Conquest: Sexual Violence and American Indian Genocide by Andrea Smith

“Un-settling Settler Desires" by Scott Morgensen Also the Unsettling America wordpress.

Race and the Education of Desire: Foucault’s History of Sexuality and the Colonial Order of Things - Ann Laura Stoler

“Romancing the Transgender Native: Rethinking the Use of the ‘Third Gender’ Concept" by Evan B. Towle and Lynn Morgan

“Transing and Transpassing Across Sex-Gender Walls in Iran." by Afsaneh Najmabadi

“Queer Settler Colonialism in Canada and Israel: Articulating Two-Spirit and Palestinian Queer Critiques" by Scott Lauria Morgensen

“Queer Theory and Native Studies: The Heteronormativity of Settler Colonialism" by Andrea Smith 

*Actually just going to link to this page of Dr. Puar’s work because it’s  great and relevant (and she also has a lot of work on Israel/Palestine). critiques of humanitarianism/developmentalism: 

“Stealing the Pain of Others: Reflecting on Canadian Humanitarian Responses" by Sherene H. Razack

“The Rationality of Empowerment: Microcredit, Accumulation by Dispossession, and the Gendered Economy" by Christine Keating, Claire Rasmussen, and Pooja Rish

“Reflections on Violence, Law, and Humanitarianism" by Talal Asad

“How to Write about Africa" by Binyavanga Wainaina

“Militarized Humanitarianism Meets Carceral Feminism: The Politics of Sex, Rights, and Freedom in Contemporary Antitrafficking Campaigns" by Elizabeth Bernstein

“Coca-Cola, Labor Restructuring and Political Violence in Colombia" Lesley Gill 

[Really wish I knew more about this kind of work.] 

Biopolitics, science, environmental justice 

“Peversity, Contamination, and the Dangers of Queer Domesticity" -Nayan Shah 

“Your DNA Is Our History:’ Genomics, Anthropology, and the Construction of Whiteness as Property" by Jenny Reardon and Kim TallBear

“Displaying Sara Baartman" by Sadiah Qureshi

“The Biopolitics of Settler Colonialism: Right Here, Right Now" by Scott Morgensen 

“Black Bodies, White Science" -Brian Wallis 

The Violence of Green Revolution: Third World Agriculture, Ecology and Politics by Vandana Shiva

“The Seed and the Earth" by Vandana Shiva

“Earth Democracy: An Interview with Vandana Shiva”

“Putting knowledge in its place: science, colonialism, and the postcolonial" by Suman Seth

and…. U.S. politics  

“Workfare–Warfare: Neoliberalism, ‘Active’ Welfare and the New American Way of War" by Julie MacLeavy and Columba Peoples

“Women and Chile at the Alamo: Feeding U.S. Colonial Mythology" by Suzanne Bost

“The People of California are Suffering’: The Ideology of White Injury in Discourses of Immigration" by Lisa Marie Cacho