learn & conquer

go down a wikipedia research hole by clicking the first term you don’t understand

binge a crashcourse series end to end (personal recs: world history, history of science, big history, philosophy)

find free books on project gutenberg

download some western classics for free

borrow books and audiobooks from the libby app or borrowbox

start a commonplace book

take a khan academy course

browse MIT’s free online course materials

teach yourself to code

go on a google scholar essay dive

try the open access button to avoid some paywalls for academic media, or install unpaywall that does a similar thing

research the history of the place you where you live

tempt the wrath of the duolingo owl and learn a language

search for online streams of the local tv in your target language’s country and use as background noise for immersion points

print and scrapbook favourite poetry and literature quotes

improve your handwriting by doing handwriting exercises

learn philosophy with the philosophize this! podcast. actually just check out all the educational spotify podcasts there are many good ones

start a weekly club with friends to share new and interesting things you’ve learnt that week

clean and reorganise your study space, physical or digital

check out online museums

fave educational youtube channels that I adore: vsauce, crashcourse, smarter every day, kurzgesagt, school of life, tom scott, r. c. waldun, vsauce3, primer, mark rober, veritasium, asapSCIENCE, scishow, TED-ed

I set up a new schedule to make sure I'm learning 2 grammar structures a day. One advanced grammar that I don't know, and one that needs review. Difficult grammar is marked with a blue dot and others marked with pink. I wrote down all the grammar structures in my notebook and marked them accordingly, then divided them up to do one pink and one blue each day. It takes me about an hour to go through both.

This way I don't freak out about how much there's still left to do, and I don't stress myself out by doing too much difficult work in one day. The hardest thing right now is to make time for reviewing the previous day's work because it's boring heh. Maybe I'll move my reviews to the end of a week.

December 15th 2020

Final Exam Crunch Day #3

A not so aesthetic picture today to symbolize me trying to combine information from four neurobio units for the final exam.

Today the goal is to attend the review session, finish as many practice exams as possible, and somehow find time to work on my philosophy essay. Oof...an all nighter might be in my future.

September 23, 2020

Today has been a pretty tough day. I had three classes: PE (which I hate with my whole being), German and English Interpreting. I was absolutely exhausted after German so in my last class I was too passive and couldn't concentrate at all. So I've decided to make some time for myself after school, bought some snacks and picked a film to watch (La Piscine, 1969). But before watching it I deep-cleaned my room cause *I'm stressed*. Now it's almost nine pm and I need to prepare for a test tomorrow and do the reading for my philosophy class. Yep. I'm 4 weeks into the semester and I'm already dreaming of the winter break.

11.11

My kitten keeps me company during the long hours of studying.

Okay, so you’ve been called smart all your life. As a kid, you were one of the smartest in your class. Maybe you could read at a much higher level than your peers, or you could fly through multiplication drills like they were nothing. Then, you get to high school and suddenly you’re surrounded by lots of people who were ‘gifted kids’. None of what made you ‘special’ seems all that important now. Your work is actually challenging, and it’s actually requiring effort.

If you’re experiencing this, just know that so many students have gone through the same thing. Maybe it happens in high school, maybe college. But a lot of us who were considered gifted as kids suddenly run into this and it challenges our entire identity. It can be paralyzing, but it’s 100% possible to overcome it and succeed! I’ve compiled a few tips for ex-gifted kids dealing with impostor syndrome and self-doubt. I’m not a therapist, psychologist, or any sort of education expert. I’m just speaking to my own experiences, and I welcome any input from others who have insight into this as well!

1. Understand that working hard does not mean you aren’t intelligent. If something doesn’t come naturally to you, that’s not a reason to give up. Believing that people can do things “just because they were born with a talent for it” is only going to hurt you. It’s not true! People may have natural aptitudes for things, but hard work is involved even for the smartest or most talented people. You are capable of learning anything, and you don’t have to be “good at it” right away to do so.

2. Comparison will kill you. You are your only competition. Focusing on how you rank with other students, and comparing yourself to your classmates is going to exhaust you. By focusing on others, you can’t put your full energy into focusing on your work and yourself. You belong. Even if you struggle with your work, you belong. Focus on your own self-improvement and doing your best.

3. Don’t focus on the goal, focus on your current actions. If you’re always thinking about the future, and about whether you’ll get into that school or that program or win that award or get that scholarship, you’re not using that time to get work done. Don’t worry about college applications, just do your homework. Focus on what you are doing now to reach your goals so you can apply to schools with confidence later.

4. Your grades may not reflect intelligence, but they do reflect work ethic. Don’t let others convince you that grades mean nothing. They sure as hell mean a lot to colleges, and thinking that you should “reject the current education system” is not going to harm anyone but yourself. If you don’t feel like you’re learning anything in your high school classes, that’s all the more reason to want to get into a university that will challenge you. If you put effort into your work, it will not let you down. Your hard work will be reflected on your transcript. Don’t lose focus.

5. Talk to someone. Let people know if you’re struggling. It can be hard to feel like you aren’t allowed to identify as “smart” or to feel pressure to constantly compete and improve. I went to a highly competitive high school that pushed kids to cope in dangerous ways. This is not healthy and not okay. If you’re feeling overwhelmed you need to find healthy coping mechanisms. Speak with someone you trust and don’t let yourself spiral. Don’t try to self medicate. Your well being is always more important than your grades. Period.

hi! if you’re looking for some ways on how to spend your time and engage with subjects you really love, or learn something new, or just distract yourself with art and literature, i’ve got you!! please share with others if it’s helpful <3

Language

how I study languages on my own

free online language courses

language challenges

Art, Music and Photography

582 met ebooks for free

visit the louvre, vatican museums, and many more virtually

stage shows, operas, musical theatre streams for free

free online art courses

free online design courses

free online music courses

free online photography lessons from nikon (april only!!)

Philosophy, History, Law & Literature

100+ legal sites to download literature

complete works of shakespeare

free online ivy league literature courses 

free online ivy league philosophy courses

free online ivy league history courses

6 cute ideas on how to fill your empty notebooks

free online ivy league law courses

Sciences

free online computer science courses

free online chemistry courses

free online medicine courses

free online physics courses

12 july~ currently reading “The Difficulty of Being Good” by Gurcharan Das. had a bit of a slow start since it makes references to indian mythology and concepts such as dharma (safe to say i was very confused hehe) but i stuck to it and 10/10 would recommend if you’re looking into south asian academia/philosophy!

28.05.20 // rare moment in time when I am actually studying :o ft. very late golden hour lighting (9pm!!!) and a biology textbook that actually isn’t boring

Studying studying! Syllabus tracker by @eintsein

100 Days of Productivity | 2020

Day 20-something (I’ve lost track), 12th June 

The past few weeks have been hectic! I finished up my final Uni assessment tasks this week (submitted one Communication essay on Sunday, another Communications essay on Tuesday, and my Law essay and Journalism video project last night), and now I’m free for seven weeks. I have never been more excited to do absolutely nothing. 

Currently reading: Emergency Sex & Other Desperate Measures | You can watch my June TBR video here!