tired and tried

Hi there! I started learning latin three years ago, and I wanted to share some resources with you. Hopefully you’ll find this post helpful, whether you’re just beginning or you’re studying latin at AP/A-Level. header image: the roses of heliogabalus by lawrence alma-tadema

why learn latin?

over 60% of all english words originally come from latin! it can help you figure out the meaning of words you don’t know (yay etymology!!)

it’s the basis of the romance languages, so it can help you with spanish, italian, french, portugese, and romanian!

mythology!!!!!!!

everything sounds better in latin it has a bunch of wonderful phrases, many of which are still used today! some of my favorites are:

ars longa vita brevis // art is long, life is short

ex nihilo nihil fit // out of nothing comes nothing

scientia potentia est // knowledge is power

dum spiro, spero // while i breathe, i live

studying techniques

try flashcards! these are v cute and work nicely

if that doesn’t work for you, study foldables are a great way to remember vocabulary terms as well!

it’s really important to remember case endings and verb conjugations, so repeating them verbally helps you retain them 

online resources

william whitaker’s words aka the best latin/english translator ever

memrise!! lots of mini latin courses by subject

key literary/rhetorical devices 

comprehensive verb synopsis

latin grammar master list

summary of declensions

latin library!! 

resources by topic

cambridge latin

find mentions of people in latin texts!

textbooks: latin via ovid, ecce romani

latinteach resources

try google (or the library if you’re old fashioned like me) and see what else you can find!!

AP resources

the aeneid (english translation) / the perseus project

de bello gallico (english translation) / the perseus project

aeneid vocabulary organized by word frequency (2)

additional posts

classical language learning masterpost by @myth-boy

how to study latin by @antiquarians

latin resources by @antiquarians

my other posts

how to start a studyblr

guide to ap art history

french music

using canva.com

how to reach your goals

what’s in my pen case?

vale (that’s goodbye) and good luck learning latin!! i hope this was helpful

summer productivity

1. prepare your class materials for next semester. get your textbooks, notebooks, etc. prepared for next semester.

2. read. this keeps you’re brain active and is enjoyable!

3. learn a language. use an app like duolingo to work on a language!

4. read your syllabi. start reading up on topics you’ll be discussing in your classes next semester! this way you’ll have some background on them when school starts.

5. get organized. clean out your desk, backpack, etc., so you have a fresh start in the fall.

6. pursue your hobbies/interests. now that you have some time on your hands, pursue your interests that you don’t necessarily have time for during the school year!

7. wake up at a good time and go to bed early. you don’t want to lose your sleep schedule from last year, as it will be hard to get back when school starts again!

8. have a routine. for me, the openness of summer (even though i have a job) drives me crazy if i don’t have some sort of routine! create a day-to-day routine that lets you at least feel productive. 

9. volunteer/intern somewhere you’re interested in. this doesn’t have to be a huge time commitment (i have a part time job and an internship and i’ve been fine) but looks great on your resume!

10. relax and have fun!! summer break is meant to be a break. if you don’t let yourself relax, you won’t be refreshed for when school comes back around.

hey! so my dashboard has been pretty cluttered and i'm hoping to find some more studyblr/aesthetic content, so reblog this post if you post about any of the following and i'll check your blog out!

aesthetics (mainly soft/pastel things?)

art (again, mainly soft/pastel but i'm not too picky)

studyblr

stationery

journaling

summer:

invest in a book of short stories for each language you’re studying, and keep the book(s) on your bedside table. take advantage of the free time while out of school to get in the habit of reading through the short stories whenever you can. just a few minutes of reading the short stories every day will immensely improve your foreign language skills and keep you from forgetting the vocab & grammar over summer break

acquire a list of the books you’ll be reading for school in the fall and start reading them. to get the list of books, try asking someone who’s already taken the class, your future teachers, or a school counselor. reading the books ahead of time will not only put you ahead of the rest of your class by giving you time to work through the material in advance; it will also significantly lessen your workload during the school year.

this applies to the school year as well, but especially when you’re reading books in advance, keep a journal and pen at hand every time you read. write down the major plot points of the section you’re reading, what you like/agree with, what you dislike/disagree with, and one or two quotes that summarize the main themes of the section (make sure you include page numbers!!!!). when school starts & you’re assigned an essay on that book, you’ll already have the main points of the book laid out, and lots of great quotes—with page references!—to use in your essay.

two weeks before school starts:

take a look at your syllabus and get started on your first assignments. if you start now, you can stay at least one week ahead on all of your assignments throughout the year. this is a HUGE lifesaver when something comes up unexpectedly during the school year—like getting sick or having to go out of town for a few days at the last minute—and you don’t have time to get homework done, because if you’ve done it in advance then you won’t have to worry about falling behind.

get a planner app for your phone. i like egenda, but you can use any app where you input homework assignments in advance and it alerts you at various intervals of time before they’re due. it’s impossible to get a good grade on an assignment if you forget to turn it in on time, so just alleviate that issue altogether.

throughout the school year:

take notes. have a notebook open in every class, and write down all important names, dates, quotes, formulas, and theorems. write the current date at the top of each page, and have a separate notebook for each subject. if a teacher repeats something more than once in a class, underline it, because those are the things that appear on midterms and finals.

help yourself memorize things by writing essays about them. even if you’re not assigned an essay about a topic, try to write/type two or three paragraphs every week to summarize what you’re learning in a class. writing things in your own words is one of the best ways to remember them, and it will also help you to improve your writing skills. additionally, this should be applied to all subjects, not just literature or history (because even if you’re studying a STEM field and writing isn’t a huge part of the curriculum, you should still have the ability to write about STEM concepts in a way that is understandable and engaging).

befriend the smartest person in the class. figure out who always has the right answers and make yourself their ally. be a good friend to them, and then when you’re struggling with a concept, they will either explain it to you or—if they don’t know what the explanation is yet—they’ll help you search for it.

take advantage of indexes. almost all books have one, and they can be lifesavers if you don’t know the answer to a question. especially in history class, when there are a bunch of names that are super difficult to memorize. i know this is a pretty basic tip (if you can even call it a tip), but i’ve had a lot of friends completely forget about indexes, so this is just a brief reminder. :)

participate in class. this might sound super obvious, but you cannot retain information without discussing it! if you’re like me and participating in class sucks because of social anxiety, try to force yourself out of your comfort zone & remember that you are your own worst critic, but it’s also okay just to discuss things with a close friend or family member instead. the important thing is that you’re repeating what you’ve learned out loud and practicing explaining it to someone else, which will really help you to grasp the concepts.

three weeks before midterms/finals:

now is when all of your notes come in handy. go back through the notes for each class and study them, particularly the parts you’ve underlined. you shouldn’t try to memorize the pages, but you should study them enough that—by finals week—you could summarize the contents if someone asked you pointed questions about them. this is also when it becomes extra helpful to be friends with the smartest person in the class, because they will be an excellent study buddy. just make sure that you reciprocate if you ask them to help you study.

fill in any gaps in your notes by talking to your teachers and attending all of the office hours that you can. many teachers will give you a study guide if you ask for one, and you can literally go through and fill it in with info from your notes. remember, most of your teachers really do want you to do well, and they’ll try their best to help you achieve the best scores possible.

if any of your quizzes are open book, ask your teacher if you can put completely blank sticky notes on pages. bookmark the pages that have important events, quotes, facts, etc., and then if you forget something on a test you can refer to the book & it will be much easier to find the information. personally, the only open book finals i’ve had are the kind where you just write three 1000 word essays in 3 hours, but we are required to have at least 5 quotes in each essay, so if that’s the case for any of you guys then this tip is super helpful for bookmarking those quotes as well.

while taking a final/midterm:

read through the whole test first. figure out how long it is, how much time you have, and how many points each question is worth. if you’re worried about running out of time, start by doing the problems that are worth more points, and then out of whatever’s left do the ones that look easiest first. this will guarantee that you make the best use of your time & get the highest grade possible

I decided to create a masterpost that would help you with what you are struggling with. Hopefully any of the links below will help you! Reminder; You’re going to be okay. What you are going through will pass, just remember to breathe. 

————————————————————————————-

Distractions;

Here are some distractions to help keep your mind occupied so you aren’t too focused on your thoughts. 

-Draw something

-This website translates the time into colours.

-Create your own galaxy.

-Play flowing.

-Make a 3D line travel where ever you like. 

-Listen to music.

-Calm.

-Ocean mood, do nothing for two minutes.

Sleep issues; 

- 8 hour sleep music.

-Rainy mood. 

-Meditation.

-Coping with nightmares.

-How to cope with nightmares, 11 steps.

-Calm

-Foods that can affect your sleeping, both positive and negatively. 

  Uncomfortable with silence; 

-Rainy mood.

-10 hours of rain and thunder.

-3 hours of rain and thunder.

-Human heartbeat.

-Rainforest.

-Sound of rain on a tin roof.

-Autumn wind.

-Rain on a tent

-Traffic in the rain.

-Soft traffic. 

-Fan.

-Train.

-Simply noise.

-My noise.

-Rainy cafe.

Anxiety; 

-How to stop worrying. 

-Tips to manage anxiety and stress.

-The 10 best ever anxiety management techniques. 

-Self-help strategies for anxiety. 

-Helping a friend with anxiety. 

-All about worrying.

-8 myths about anxiety. 

Sad, angry and depressed/depression; 

-“I’m always sad”

-Feeling sad.

-Going through trauma.

-“I’m always angry”.

-Anger management. 

-All about anger.

-National helplines and websites.

-Self-help strategies for depression.

-Dealing with depression at work.

-Dealing with depression at school.

Isolation and loneliness; 

-Pets and mental health.

-All about loneliness. 

-“I feel so alone”

-10 more ideas to help with loneliness. 

-How to deal with loneliness.

  Self-harm;

-Alternatives to self-harm and distraction techniques.

-146 things to do besides self-harm.

-More alternatives to self-harm.

-Self-harm alternatives.

-How to take care of self-harm wounds/injuries.

-Getting rid of scars.  

Addiction; 

-How to help a friend with a drug addiction.

-What is addiction?

-All about alcohol and addiction.

-The facts about drug addiction.

  Eating disorders; 

-Helping a friend with an eating disorder.

-Eating disorder treatments. 

-Support services for eating disorders. 

-Self-help tips with eating disorders.

-Eating disorder recovery. 

-Recovering from an eating disorder. 

-100+ reasons to recover. 

-Understanding and managing eating disorders. 

  Dealing with self-hatred;  

-3 ways to ease self-loathing. 

-How to turn self-hatred into self-compassion.

-Self-hatred resources.

-10 step plan to deal with self-hate. 

  Suicidal; 

-International suicide hotlines (1)  (2)

-Preventing suicide. 

-Reasons to stay alive.

-Dealing with suicidal thoughts and feelings.

-Coping with suicidal ideation.  

  Schizophrenia;

-All about schizophrenia.  

-Helping a person with schizophrenia.  

-Understanding and dealing with schizophrenia.  

-Delusions and hallucinations.  

OCD;

-Managing your OCD at home. 

-Overcoming OCD.

-How to cope with OCD. 

-Strategies for dealing with the anxious moments. 

Borderline personality disorder; 

-Helping someone with BPD. 

-All about personality disorders.

-Treatment for BPD.

Abuse; 

-Healthy relationships VS abusive relationships. 

-Emotional abuse

-Overcoming sexual abuse. 

-Hotlines services. 

-5 ways to escape an abusive relationship. 

-Domestic violence support. 

-Signs of an abusive relationship. 

-What do to if you’re in an abusive relationship. 

-Surviving abuse. 

-What you can do if you’re sexual harassed. 

-Sexual assault support.

-What to do if you’ve been sexually assaulted or abused. 

  Bullying;

-How to stand up against bullying.

-How to protect yourself when it comes to cyber bullying.

-How to help stop people bullying you. 

  Loss and grief; 

-How to cope with a suicide of a loved one.

-Grieving for a stranger. 

-Common reactions to death. 

-Working through grief.

(Other loss and grief)

-Moving away from friends and family. 

-Coping with a breakup.

  Getting help; 

-Seeking help early. 

-All about psychological treatments. 

-Types of help.

-All about age and confidentiality. 

Things you need to remember; 

- Don’t stress about being fixed because you’re not broken.

-Remember to remind yourself of your accomplishments. Tell yourself that you’re proud of yourself, even if you’re not. 

- This is temporary. You won’t always feel like this. 

-You are not alone. 

-You are enough. 

-You are important. 

-You are worth it. 

-You are strong. 

-You are not a failure, 

-Good people exist. 

-Reaching out shows strength. 

-Breathe. 

-Don’t listen to the thoughts that are not helping you. 

-Give yourself credit. 

-Don’t be ashamed of your emotions, for the good or bad ones. 

-Treat yourself the same way as you would treat a good friend. 

-Focus on the things you can change. 

-Let go of toxic people. 

-You don’t need to hide, you’re allowed to feel the way you do. 

-Try not to beat yourself up. 

-Something is always happening, you don’t want to miss out on what’s going to happen next. 

-You are not a bother.

-Your existence is more than your appearance. 

-You are smart. 

-You are loved. 

-You are wanted. 

-You are needed. 

-Better days are coming. 

-Just because your past is dark, doesn’t mean your future isn’t bright. 

-You have more potential than you think. 

- Your value doesn’t decrease based on someone’s inability to see your worth.

This is a way to listen to changes to wikipedia. You are literally listening to knowledge being added to the world.

just a disclaimer first, this is an incomplete list and it's just based on my personal experience! everyone's level of anxiety and experiences with it is different so some of those might not be helpful. feel free to add your own!

PLANNING. We know planning is important. But it's also exhausting and maintaining a planner in which you write every day seemed very hard for me. I was already stressed out about it in mid-September! If you find yourself in a similar situation, my advice is: homework calendar. Take a little calendar to class every day (little ones don't weigh a lot) and whenever you get homework or a test date, write it down! It isn't as stressful as a whole planner and you still remember about homework!

HOMEWORK. In the perfect scenario, students do all of it. But it's not easy, especially when you have anxiety or go through depressive episodes. Figure out who actually checks homework and who doesn't. My math teacher gives us tons of homework and never checks it, so I save those for test prep.

TEACHERS. If it's possible, talk to them (or have a trusted adult do it) about what's going on. I know it varies from teacher to teacher but some of them are really understanding. A school's counselor opinion could also be helpful.

SCHOOL COUNSELORS. Again, experience varies here. If your counselor is okay, make a deal with them (like "is it okay for me to come over when I feel a panic attack coming?"). It feels a little safer, knowing there's a place where you can go and calm down.

THERAPY. If it's possible, go to a therapist! Try to set the meeting hours directly after school so you don't have the time to sit at home - once you do, you will not feel like leaving.

TIME MANAGEMENT. Sometimes it feels like leaving things for later is a brilliant idea. It usually is not. Try doing little things, like bits of research or reading: on the bus, during breaks...

AVAILABLE SPACE. If school breaks get too loud for you, go to the library. You can just sit there in peace and quiet! The advice also refers to your home. Change rooms where you study. Or change places in one room. Even sitting on the other side of the table makes it more interesting to my brain.

A PLAN JUST IN CASE. Having a panic attack at school is definitely not something enjoyable and I sincerely hope it never happens to you. But have a plan in case it does! Knowing the exact steps calms me down a bit and I don't have to worry about that thing adding to my anxiety.

NO ALL-NIGHTERS. It's actually important for everyone. But I learned it the hard way, all-nighters and anxiety don't mix well. Sleep before a test because even low quality sleep is better than the jittery feeling of anxiety and sleep deprivation.

STUDY METHODS. Anxiety really takes a lot from your energy. Study smart, not for long. My recent method is reading my notes outloud while gesturing with something (I'm using a plastic pitchfork, and I have used a sword in the past).

SELF-CHECK. Yes, anxiety sucks. And it makes you feel bad. Whenever you feel it hit, ask yourself some questions. The basics are: did I eat? Did I drink water? Am I getting enough fresh air? Have I done anything nice today? (I created a special printable table for myself with questions like that, I could upload it if anyone wants to use it!)

48/100 days of productivity + SUN 10.16.16 // 2:02pm