♡ Believe in 朱朱 ♡

Why did it take 5 years for me to stumble over this mnemonic for adrenal hormones?

Zona glomerulosa (outer zone): mineral corticoids ➡️ salt

Zona fasciculata (middle zone): glucocorticoids ➡️ sugar

See full response to anon’s ask here.  

For anon who asked;

hey can i ask your advice on feeling better after an awful exam? last week i had my hsc half yearlies and i had 5 exams all in one week and i have adhd so study is really hard for me and i did a lot of last minute stuff…and i’ll be lucky if i get 12% and i’m so worried about what my teacher’s going to say…and i’ll embarrass myself and i’ll go from top in the class to irredeemably bottom and it’s all over now but i feel so so awful, i can’t sleep at night bc of stress about it and i don’t know what to do 

“Effort will never betray you”

This quote gets circulated around a lot. With good reason. 

But you know what?

Sometimes effort will betray you.

So here’s some tips on what to do when that sonofabitch stabs you in the back.

(Aka learning to get up when you’ve been (metaphorically) kicked in the balls)

Immediately after the exam

Fight or Flight? 

Everyone responds differently to post-exam stress. Some people find it cathartic to discuss their asnwers immediately after the exam. Others don’t. If you fall within the latter group then don’t be afraid to hightail the fuck out of the exam room as soon as possible. There’s no need to exacerbate your stress levels. Take care of yourself.

What can you control? 

Be honest about what you can control after the exam. You can’t sit the exam again, you can’t rewind the clock two weeks and change your study habits. Whilst its natural to feel a sense of regret or dread over the questions you found challenging, realise that these feelings do not change what has happened. The decisive step is how you respond to these negative emotions. For example, try not to let your feelings about your performance in this exam affect your performance in your next exam. Whether it be ‘compartmentalisation’, ‘crying it out’ or ‘ignoring it’ - stick it in the “IOU” box of emotions to unpack later. All you can do now is to wait for your results.

Quick review 

While it’s still fresh in your mind, write down three positives of the exam, followed by three negatives. Did your study methods correlate to the areas examined? Were you nervous? Was time management an issue? How did you feel walking out of that exam? What song best describes the entire experience? This quickfire stream of consciousness review will serve as an honest reflection from which you can target and refine your exam preparation technique, both academically and emotionally. I also find writing things down a great way to ‘let go’ of those residual emotions from the exam.

Take a break

Chances are, you’ve been highly strung for the past few weeks (or heck, the all nighter you’ve pulled to study for the exam). Congratulate yourself - fuck yes you’ve completed an exam! Find an activity to break up the cycle of study-eat-rest-study. You’ll be back to that routine in a few hours. Let yourself breathe. Listen to that album, watch that movie, catch up with that friend you’ve been rescheduling for the past month, read that book. Mindlessly scroll tumblr, binge watch netflix - Reset and recuperate so that you’re ready for the next hurdle.

Comparing yourself to others

Its natural to judge your performance against everyone else in the exam, how much they wrote, what answers they got, how they solved a problem. Don’t give too much weight to what people say they’ve done. You don’t know what they wrote, and just because five people wrote the same response doesn’t mean that your response is incorrect. . In the end you can only control your own performance. Putting it bluntly, after the exam, it doesn’t matter what your peers wrote. Because it doesn’t change the fact that you can’t go back and change your answer. What’s done is done.

Upon receiving your results

Break it down

What were your strengths and weaknesses? What types of questions did you do well in? Is it a substantive or procedural problem?  (e.g. is it because you don’t understand the content, or is it because you can’t manage your study time/ write that quickly/ poor time management during the exam). Use this as a matrix to target your study method and review for your next exam

Ask for help

Don’t be afraid to ask your teacher or professor for advice. Even when you’ve done well - it doesn’t hurt to ask where those extra marks could have gone, or how you could further develop your response for future exams. Its always daunting to ask for advice when you’ve done poorly in an exam. But don’t forget, your teacher is paid to help you. Literally.

Special Consideration

If you feel as if your performance has been affected by a health issue, don’t be afraid to ask for a formal review of your marks or for special consideration (alteration of your marks) for your next exam. Check your high school/ university policies on this matter. Some will require formal documentation, and there may be a strict deadline you’ll need to adhere to. Asking for SC is nothing to be ashamed of. It doesn’t mean you are any less deserving of your results. Its simply a recognition that “hey, we need to level the playing field here.“ 

Some advice from people who are much more qualified than me:

A kinder, gentler philosophy of success

On being wrong

On getting up again

Getting stuck in the negatives (and how to get unstuck) 

Overcoming hopelessness 

The Power of Vulnerability

What next?  

On the necessity of failure 

Dealing with failure

Some advice from Oprah, Barack Obama, Michelle Obama and Julie Andrews  

Why you will fail to have a great career

Come here friend,  and let me whisper in your ear: I failed. 

Studying and Exams

Motivation by @areistotle

How to reduce exam stress by @studydesu

How to mentally prepare yourself for a test by @eruditicn

What to do the night before an exam by @beautifullearning

Focusing on a long term goal by @studybuzz

Preparing for a day of study by @gracelearns 

Annotating Texts by @delthenerd

Using onenote by @strive-for-da-best 

Study Apps by @katsdesk

Dealing with anxiety and mental illness

Resources for studying with a mental illness by @studybowie

How to study with a mental illness by @haleystudies

Dealing with Test Anxiety by @studybuzz

ADHD As A Difference In Cognition, Not A Disorder by Stephen Tonti 

Depression, the Secret We Share by Andrew Solomon

Living and Studying with anxiety by @hayley-studies

5 tips for an exam if you have test anxiety by @collegerefs

Overcoming Test Anxiety  by @staedtlers-and-stabilos

Study and mental health  by @getstudyblr

This answer by @studyrose 

Self Care, Sleep and General Health.

101 self care ideas when it gets all too much by @hbstudy

Balancing a healthy lifestyle with studying by @joolshallie

Tips for getting better rest by @overstudies

Sleep by @studygene

Calculate your bedtime 

How to succeed? Get more sleep by Arianna Huffington

Pzizz  

Relax Melodies (iPhone) (android) 

This list by @thecaseyfeed

A few things to help you feel better

See this list

A Song A Day 

Find something on the Nostalgia Machine  

Spotify playlists by @studyrelief

Motivational texts from @academla

Looking beyond: University Entry

Success is not a predetermined route.

Whilst it may feel like your future hinges on this one exam, remember your future isn’t some pre-determined linear equation. Your definition of success will change as you change. Your ambitions will change. Your gaols will change. And as long as you keep your mind open and you harbour a willingness to adapt, then there will always be a pathway for you to achieve your success. 

And for those who have no frickin’ clue what their ‘passions, dreams, ambitions’ are? Its ok. You don’t need some ‘overarching mission to save the world’ every morning. In the wise words of Tim Minchin:

“Americans on talent shows always talk about their dreams. Fine, if you have something that you’ve always dreamed of, like, in your heart, go for it! After all, it’s something to do with your time… chasing a dream. And if it’s a big enough one, it’ll take you most of your life to achieve, so by the time you get to it and are staring into the abyss of the meaninglessness of your achievement, you’ll be almost dead so it won’t matter. I never really had one of these big dreams. And so I advocate passionate dedication to the pursuit of short-term goals. Be micro-ambitious. Put your head down and work with pride on whatever is in front of you… you never know where you might end up. Just be aware that the next worthy pursuit will probably appear in your periphery. Which is why you should be careful of long-term dreams. If you focus too far in front of you, you won’t see the shiny thing out the corner of your eye. Right? Good. Advice. Metaphor. Look at me go.”

A few pointers:

The following section is sponsored by my opinions

Effort might betray you.

You can work hard at something and still not get the result you want. It’s all about expectation management. You might work hard and fall within the top 1% of your cohort. You can work hard and still fail.  

This is not to say that you shouldn’t try at all.

It’s merely a recognition that things don’t always go your way, you cannot control everything. The best thing you can do in that circumstance is to prepare for any contingencies.

You can control how you respond to that failure.

Sometimes it’s a question of studying effectively. The adage ‘study smart, not hard’ etc. Target your study to the syllabus, the material covered in the exam, the specific style of questions in the exam. Sometimes it may simply be exam technique. 

Other times its things beyond your control. Stress, nerves, blanking out - we’re only human.

In the end, what you learn from the process is just as important as the result. Conversely, the result may not always justify the means. 

On confidence and self worth

Its only natural to assume that your self worth is tied to your academic achievements. Up till now, you’ve spent the majority of your waking hours at school, under the pressure of constant assessments and scrutiny.

Keep in mind that one exam is only a reflection of your performance at one precise time, on one specific date, in one specific place. How you perform on 10am on Monday in exam hall A does not reflect your capacity nor ability for the other 364 days of your life. 

Find something which you can do for yourself. Something which you can fail in, without feeling terrible.This other thing doesn’t have to be another ‘hobby’ you’re amazing at. It doesn’t have to be something you’re good at. “Being the best” is not a pre requisite to “enjoying something”. 

A final note:

Its ok to be stressed. Its difficult to distinguish our achievements from our self worth. Its not as simple as ‘just getting over it’. Because its something you’ve invested time, emotion, sleep - and a whole heck of a lot more- on. Its something you’ve based your foreseeable future on. The pressure of a promised future, a ‘better future’, a future ‘that justifies all this suffering I’m dragging myself through’ is sometimes the greatest pressure we put ourselves under.

Its easy to underestimate the weight of our own expectations.

Whilst you cannot control every outcome, you can control your reaction to it. Choose to learn from your past mistakes, choose to forgive yourself, choose to accept your flaws. Try not to get lost in the maze of it all. Once again, in the words of good ol’ Tim Minchin,

You will soon be dead. Life will sometimes seem long and tough and, god, it’s tiring. And you will sometimes be happy and sometimes sad. And then you’ll be old. And then you’ll be dead.There is only one sensible thing to do with this empty existence, and that is: fill it. Not fillet. Fill. It.

And in my opinion (until I change it), life is best filled by learning as much as you can about as much as you can, taking pride in whatever you’re doing, having compassion, sharing ideas, running(!), being enthusiastic. And then there’s love, and travel, and wine, and sex, and art, and kids, and giving, and mountain climbing … but you know all that stuff already.

All the best,

fuckstudy

Masterposts can be found here. Feel free to request a topic here.

Here is another how to post inspired by a sudden sickness that has taken over my body. I get sick A LOT. Like an insane amount. I get sick probably at least once a month. Don’t know why either. Just happens. I see a lot of posts like this but what many fail to take into consideration is what kind of sick you are. So I will be breaking this how to by different ailments and how best to manage them while studying.

Puking/diarrhea:

If you are glued to the toilet, just stay there. You are miserable enough. There is no need to stress out over school too. Stress will weaken your immune system and make whatever you have stick around longer, so just ignore your responsibilities for now and do what you can to stay safe and HYDRATE. Try chocolate milk or sports drinks cut in half with water. If you can’t eat much, try ice cream. It’s not the healthiest but it has sugars, calcium, tastes amazing, and doesn’t make your vomit chunky or absolutely aweful to release. Trust me on this.

Sore throat/fever:

If you have something like strep or just an annoying fever, relax in your bed with something warm to drink like tea. Sip and relax as you read notes or your textbook. Don’t overdo it, but don’t fall into a pit of “woe is me”. Neither of those will help anything. Just relax and do some studying and drink your tea.

Exhaustion/pains:

Doing anything with these symptoms is pretty hard. Just review in between naps. Read over notes, do notecards, etc but keep sessions short. 10 minutes or so. But get plenty of sleep and try to stay in bed as much as possible.

Allergy symptoms (cough, sneezing, runny eyes, etc):

You are miserable. I understand. Go get some antihistamines even if you don’t have allergies/hay fever. They will help relieve these symptoms allowing you to be able to focus and be great through the day.

Cramping/abdominal pain:

Use a hot pack or a heating pad or something on your abdomen. Curling around it seems to help a lot as well. So I recommend propping your pillow against the wall, putting something hot against your stomach, and bending over it and read.

Headaches:

Take some pain killers and take a nap. By the time you wake up you should be good to go. Make sure you eat and drink some water before and after you take pain killers. Taking pain killers on an empty stomach can cause a lot of issues. Also your headache could be because of a lack of food or water. Try to eat something without a bunch of sugar because high blood sugar (which can happen to anyone) can cause headaches as well.

Migraines:

I have chronic migraines that can get so bad I have been given extremely high dosage potent pain killers. I’m talking like I am screaming and crying in pain (and I have a really high pain tolerance). So when you start to notice the symptoms that alert you to a migraine coming on, take pain killers, turn off lights, make your area cold, get a cold compress, eat and drink, and relax. Taking action when you start to feel uneasy or whatever symptoms you experience before one hits can really calm down the migraine itself and make it so much easier to deal with. If you get one while you have chills or some other illness, I highly recommend taking a slightly warm bath with a cold compress over your forehead and eyes while hydrating. Do not try to study unless it is mild because you will make it worse.

Overall advice:

So I’m generally a pretty organized person and I always used to use a planner but then I kept forgetting to write shit down or I’d forget my planner when I was going to study or I just don’t like using a planner or something so here’s what I use that I’d highly recommend.

Google Sheets has this template at the ready!! It’s super cool bc you can go to the “Subjects” tab at the bottom and change the template class options to whatever you’re taking and then it adds it to the drop-down menu on the left. Plus, you can change the “Status” under the other drop-down and the row will change based on what you put. (Like the row is greyed out now bc I finished that reading.) AND when the due date gets close the date will turn red to be like hey!!! this is coming up!!! don’t forget! and it’s really nice.

(It’s also super validating to see everything you gotta do in a huge list bc a) you can plan ahead and b) when a bunch of stuff is greyed out it’s so satisfying.)

Here’s how you find it:

1. Go to Google Drive/Google Sheets and find their templates.

2. This one is literally called “Assignment Tracker”

3. Click on it and it’ll open a tab with something that looks like the pic but with a couple more columns (I deleted two of them bc I don’t really use them but they show when you started the assignment and how much time you’ve spent working on it)