Ametur Studier

• get out of bed and shower anyway. and get dressed. at least feel like you have gotten up today.

• turn off social media. sometimes we try use social media as a distraction, but this often distracts us from doing what we actually need to do to help ourselves.

• eat. eat something. anything. toast, crackers, a smoothie, anything. just eat. (and have a glass of water with it too, while you’re at it.)

• you should be feeling a bit better now. at the very least, you’re taking care of your body.

• get outside. take a walk, listen to some music. it’ll help ground you.

• journal. write down every single thought in your head, no matter how weird or dark or confusing. it’s exhausting holding that all in. let it out.

• read a favourite book, and let the pages comfort you.

• clean your room - this is hard, but it will improve your mood x1000.

• sometimes you just need to lie down and take a nap. no phone, just lying down.

• set up your weekly schedule. include things you can look forward to.

• make a list of your favourite things.

• take a nice, hot bath.

• talk to a sibling. you have more in common than you think.

• you don’t have to hurt yourself. it’s okay. you can be there for yourself. you know you best, and you know what calms you down, and you know what clothes make you feel best, and you know, deep down, that there are other versions of yourself rooting for you right now. your younger self, your future self; they’re watching you and they have hope in you, even if no one else does. the day will end, and it will be okay.

He asked somebody to raise their hand and ask him when we would use calculus in our everyday life. So one student rose their hand and asked, “When are we going to use this in our everyday life?”

“NEVER!!” the teacher exclaimed. “You will never use calculus in your normal, everyday life. In fact, very few of you will use it in your professional careers either.” Then he paused. “So would you like to know why should care?”

Several us nodded.

He picked out one of the varsity football players in the class. “You practice football a lot during the week, right Tim?” asked the teacher.

“Yeah,” replied Tim. “Almost every day.”

“Do you and your teammates ever lift weights during practice?”

“Yeah. Tuesdays and Thursdays we spend a lot of practice in the weight room.”

“But why?” asked the teacher. “Is there ever going to be a play your coach tells you use during a game that requires you to bench press the other team?”

“No, of course not.”

“Then why lift weights?”

“Because it makes us stronger,” said Tim.

“Bingo!!” said the teacher. “It’s the same thing with calculus. You’re not here because you’re going to use calculus in your everyday life. You’re here because calculus is weightlifting for your brain.”

When it’s taught right, learning math teaches you logic and how to organize your brain, how to take a problem one step at a time and make sure every step can bear weight before you move to the next one.  Most adults don’t need to know integrals, but goddamn if I don’t wish everyone making arguments on the internet understood geometric proofs.

Scientific concepts broaden our understanding of how the world is put together, which does not mean that most adults ever really understand how light is refracted through a lens or why spinning copper wire creates electricity–and they don’t need to.  But science classes in general are meant to teach the scientific method: how to make observations and use them to draw conclusions, how to test those conclusions, how to be wrong and grow stronger from it.

History isn’t about dates and names of battles, it’s about people, patterns, things we’ve tried before and ought to learn from.  It’s about how everything is linked, how changing one circumstance can lead to changes in fifty others, cascading infinitely.  Literature is about critical thinking, pattern recognition, learning to listen to what somebody is saying and decide what it means to you, how you feel about it, and what you want to do with it.

Some facts matter: every adult should know how to read a graph, how global warming works, some of the basic themes and symbols that crop up in every piece of fiction.  But ultimately, content is less important later in life than context.

i’ve seen many tips for university students fly around here and i’ve noticed that some of them are either unrealistic or not necessary at all (take it from someone who has been studying 3 years already) so here are some real tips to help you

BUY. A. BACKPACK. i’ve made the same mistake and my back is in s h a m b l e s. and honestly, you don’t need an expensive one, but be sure to check if your backpack has a laptop compartment in case you bring a  laptop a to class. i know it looks unflattering as hell but trust me your back will thank you for it.

You don’t need expensive stationary. any pen or notebook will do but make sure you bring enough pens to classes, exams, etc because you don’t want to sit there panicking because your pen gave out.

on the topic of stationary ALWAYS KEEP A NOTEBOOK IN YOUR BAG what if your laptop dies? what if you want to make a reminder to yourself that you will forget about 5 minutes later? just keep a small notebook in your backpack in case you need it.

Always bring food and water! i’m particularly bad at this, not gonna lie, but especially when it’s summer and hot as hell this tip is incredibly important or you will most likely feel awful. i’m not a big breakfast eater myself because i get stomach issues from it but i make sure to bring something for either on my way to class, just before class, or during the break you might have in class. 

For those of you who menstruate: keep tampons/pads in your bag. you’re friends will thank you for it as well!

Moving on from backpack arrangements: pro-tip you don’t have to be bff’s with you teachers, especially not in your first year. later when you’re writing your dissertation, it’s can be helpful, but honestly they most likely won’t remember you in your first year and they will also most likely not grade your papers/tests either so no need to suck up

on the topic of teacher: you don’t have to attend every single office hour. if you have a question, please go, but otherwise you’re wasting your damn time

wait until your first lecture/seminar before buying books your professor will most likely say please buy this or this is optional. don’t waste money!

read the damn syllabus not just so that you know what to do before class, but also so that you know what to do in case you fall ill and what the attendance expectancy is (some professors have a 80% attendance or you will fail and others don’t give a shit)

don’t sign up for 9 am classes you won’t go okay? it seems fun at the beginning but you’re gonna end up dreading that class even though it would’ve been interesting if you were awake enough to take it in

procrastination is normal everybody does it and guess what? YOU DON’T NEED TO GET ALL A’S!!!! strive for it? great! but work yourself until you’re crying from the stress and thinking about dropping out because you can’t handle it? not so great!

mental health is more important than that 4.0 GPA speaks for itself but also if there is something going on please talk to your student advisor or tutor! you can better warn them in advance than try to build a case after you flunked that assignment/exam

try to make friends honestly it will make your uni experience so much nicer. and i get social anxiety, but at least try to get on friendly terms with people so you have notes when you’re sick, a partner when there is group work to be done, and just a friendly face when it’s all too much!

wear comfortable clothes yes i get the need to look cute but honestly when you’re freezing in your lecture hall because you wanted to wear that one top, you’re gonna be mad at yourself. also bring a jacket/scarf to put over yourself when you know a lecture hall/classroom is cold as hell it helps, trust me.

*breathes quickly*

*SCREECHES*

*breathes heavily*