jules and pens!

Study Tips Based on Your Hogwarts House

hey everyone! there’re many reasons why you may feel stressed: too many things to do and not enough time, procrastination, pressure, mental health problems, … regardless of the reason nobody wants to feel stressed. so here i am to help you! some weeks ago was a very stressful times for me, i had driving lessons, an incredible inconvenient class schedule, exams, exams, exams… (u get the gist) but! i managed to live through it while maintaining somewhat sane, so i hope i can help some of you.

- ̗̀ reminders  ̖́-

accept that you’re stressed / will have a stressful time. the more you overthink it, the worse it will be. believe me, i was that person that complained all the time and u know what. things were worse (or i just didn’t do the things and was even more stressed). so this might sound dumb but just don’t think about it. just do it™ okay but srsly count till 3 and just do the thing you need to do.

set priorities. and what i mean with this is set priorities that suit you. some of us need 8 full hours of sleep to function, so please give yourself that sleep you need. others need to work out to relieve stress. i need to do at least something fun to not burn out completely (i watch a youtube video, an episode of a series or check twitter before i go to sleep for example).

don’t expect too much of yourself. when finals season approaches, you can’t expect yourself to do a hundred other productive things, so focus on what you really need to do and give yourself time to relax and don’t feel guilty taking that time.

talk to people. ok, so what i noticed is, that i feel a lot better when i don’t neglect my social life completely when i’m stressed. try talking to your family or friends (or at least your teddy). just catching up with somebody can make you feel better and remind you that life is not all about studying. or use your lunch breaks to eat and have fun with friends, bc you need a break from studying too.

be smart about your time. okay so i know everyone always tells you to divide your tasks, start as early as possible etc. but sometimes a level of certain procrastination is okay. and instead of feeling guilty, try to enjoy your free time. but still, try to plan your time in a way your health won’t suffer (pulling an all-nighter might not be the best thing for you, for example)

live at least a little bit healthy. like, eat three meals, some fruits, drink enough (maybe even go for a walk, stretch a bit) and stuff like that. listen to your body, it just wants to keep u alive.

cut things out of your daily routine that just waste your time and may even make you feel worse (cough*scrollingthroughtheinstagramexplorerspageforanhour*cough)

be thankful!! i know everything is super stressful right now and you just want everything to stop but i promise there’re some positive things in your life too!! what i like to do is write down 5 things i’m thankful for or just good things that happened that day. this can be really small things, like the cinnamon roll you ate that morning.

- ̗̀ to-do  ̖́-

these are some things you can do to immediately relieve stress:

journal. write everything down. everything. if that’s enough for you, you can stop after that, but what i like to do is to identify the things i’m stressed over and then find a “solution” for them (sometimes the solution is to just stop worrying because i can’t do anyhing about it)

do nothing for 5/10/15 mins. i mean it. lay down and just do nothing. and then count till 3 and start. you can also set an alarm out of your reach so you have to stand up.

mandatory midday break. this post talks about taking an hour-long break every day. definitely check it out!!

stretch. nothing too complicated, just get yourself moving a bit. i find stretching super relaxing idk why

baking. okay this might sound weird, but baking can be super relaxing. i’ll just bake something super easy like brownies and while doing that i just focus on the task and don’t worry about all the other 548679 things on my mind

listen to music. yea pretty self-explanatory. just throw your fav music on and dance around a little bit

take a shower or even a bath! cleanse all the stress away (i promise, u will feel better after that)

watch something you really love. dogs, cats on yt, your fav series, things you’re a fan of, …

hi! i compiled some cute stationery items i liked, best of luck with junior year!!

Notebooks:

A5 Pink blue wired line notebook

A4 Butterflies wired lined notebook

Haiku A5 notebook in Amethyst

Haiku B5 notebook in Blue

Pens

Metallic Colors set

Antiquity Colors set

Seaside Colors set

cute 0.5mm ballpoint set

cute 0.38 ballpoint set

twist ballpoint pen

Stationery

stationery set and desk tray

hearts ring binder

blue lining file

gryffindor stationery set (fave!!!)

stationery embellishments - graphic floral

stationery embellishments - pastel hues

stationery embellishments - it’s a sloth’s life (another fave!!)

city paper stationery

i was terrified of doing this in undergrad, and now that i’m asked to write them fairly often, i am fondly exasperated when my students don’t know how to ask for them. obviously there’s no single way, but here’s the way i usually do it.

THE FIRST EMAIL

should be short & should mainly be asking whether they’re willing to write you the letter

should provide only the basics - what the professor absolutely needs to know.

the position you’re applying for

when the letter would be due

optional: if you’re afraid they won’t remember you, a quick line identifying yourself & your relation to them

i like to provide an “out,” in case they don’t want to or are unable to write the letter

SAMPLE Dear Professor X, I’m applying for a job as an English tutor at the University Student Resource Center, and was wondering if you’d be willing to write me a letter of recommendation for the position. [optional identification: I really enjoyed taking English 300 with you in Winter 2016, and I’m hoping to develop and pass on those skills to other students through this job.] The letter would be due by September 1st - I know you’re very busy, so I completely understand if you’re not able to write one.  All best, Your Name

THE SECOND EMAIL

they said yes!! amazing.

this one can provide a little more information – a link to the job posting, if there is one, or you can write a quick summary of the position, plus a sentence or two about why you’re excited/interested in the job.

also tell them where to send the letter!! 

directly to the recruiter for the job

to you, to add to your application packet

upload to an online LoR service or to an application website

99% of the time folks are fine with receiving electronic copies, but if they need to mail a hard copy, let them know up front.

SAMPLE: Dear Professor X, Thank you so much! I really appreciate it. Here’s the link to the job listing; the letter should be sent as a .pdf file to the email address at the bottom of the page, anytime before 9/1. Thanks again – I’m hoping that this job will provide me with some teaching experience and the opportunity to work on my own writing. Please let me know if you need any more information! Best,  Your Name

WHEN TO SEND A FOLLOW-UP

these stress me out real bad but here’s the deal: most professors have a very shaky relationship to deadlines (especially when they have half a dozen more important ones than your piddly LoR). 

the upshot: do not be afraid to nudge them. 

often they need the nudge and are appreciative of it.

when that nudge happens is up to you and how much room you’ve given them before the deadline, and it’ll look different depending on your relationship with that professor.

GRAD SCHOOL LETTERS

i offered to send my professors essays that i had written for their classes, especially if i had taken those classes more than a year before asking them to write the letter, just so they could refamiliarize themselves with my work. you can also offer to send them your writing sample, if you haven’t already asked them to look it over for you.

honestly i’d recommend asking for these in person bc it’ll give you a chance to talk to them about their grad school experience and your own hopes & aspirations, which will help them write a more personal, fleshed-out letter.

one important note: if this letter is intended for use in grad school applications, do not stress out if it’s a little late. most programs do not care, and pretty much all of them accept late letters without a problem. your professor’s ability to meet deadlines does not reflect on you, and professors are intimately familiar with running late on LoRs. they really honestly don’t care. as long as it gets there before too long, you’ll be fine.

Not even a single soul:

⭐️ be kind to yourself

⭐️ make others smile more

⭐️ grow as a person

⭐️ allow yourself to change

⭐️ make new friends

⭐️ do things that scare you a little

⭐️ don’t worry too much or overthink what you cannot change

⭐️ discover new things about yourself

⭐️ let people in

⭐️ spontaneously enjoy and appreciate life

A guide to standardized testing by academiix 

differences between SAT & ACT

recommended schedule & methods for preparing

how to approach the reading & writing sections of the exam

and other tips & tricks!

How to Conduct a Close Read by academiix

this is centered around the 625 most common french words, but you could implement this same system with any vocabulary count and theme.

as you know well by now, french has been a struggle for me, because I could never seem to retain the information I needed to, and grasping for words while communicating with others was far too dull. 

towards the end of january this year, I wondered if starting back at the beginning might be most beneficial for me, so i grabbed a 625 common words list from Fluent Forever and got to work.

all I did was copy that list into a spreadsheet…

…and add an extra column for each row so that I could have the french translations beside the english words.

that was the easy part!

伤心 shāng xīn - sad

悲伤 bēi shāng - sad, but worse

难过 nán guò - sad but not that sad

抑郁 yì yù - depressed

孤独 gū dú - lonely

低落 dī luò - feeling low

绝望 jué wàng - desolate

不知所措 bù zhī sûo cuò - helpless

心碎 xīn suì - heartbroken

should I go to law school?

what am I eating for lunch

will anyone realize I wore this sweater a few days ago and never washed it

how many days can I go without showering

if i take a nap now will I wake up to finish my hw?

law school?

what am I doing with my life?

that guy stared at me twice for 2secs .. does he like me?

am I going crazy or is this normal college hysteria?

I’m definitely paying too much for college but can I afford chipotle?

 who is that?