aspiring polyglot

I’m so thankful for this community of language learners here. While Tumblr may be notorious for some other stuff, I have found friends here and felt welcomed for once in a very long time :)

This experience has inspired me to create LangTeens, a group of teens that aims to crush cultural ignorance by learning languages and encouraging others to do the same!

I would be so happy if you guys joined if you love to study languages and are between 12 and 20 years old! It would mean the world to me. Even if you cannot, it would be great if you could share this with other language learners!

As a group, we will share notes, resources, language memes, have discussions, hold Zoom meetings, meet polyglots, learn from each other, and, most importantly, share our love for language learning with the world!

Here is the link to join:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc3QcEcdE1XQIZ9UHyfqMwN3CZHiw91KBe2_PMaQGsvY7GFUA/viewform?usp=send_form

clean your room.  clean space, uncluttered space, space that doesn’t have miasma clinging to it can work wonders.  clean the dishes.  sweep.  take out the trash.  peel the clothes off the floor and wash them, and then actually fold/hang them.  take a long shower.  scrub behind your knees.  brush your teeth.  (this can be utterly exhausting, but try to get it done in a day, if you can.  the end result is worth it.)

pull out your notebook.  it doesn’t need to be a new notebook, but preferably one that you don’t usually write in, or that you haven’t touched in a while.  fuck moleskins.  the yellow legal pad will work fine.  sit in your room, or in the park, or in the library, and write a list.  count clouds.  describe all the colors that you see, and note patterns that arise.  sketch the cracks in the walls.  note the shape light makes when it enters a space.  talk about what the air tastes like, smells like.  what sounds are there?  even the white nose, break that down: air planes, fans, cicadas, anything.  remind yourself that you are sitting in the middle of a space brimming with detail.  remind yourself that you are not in nothingness and emptiness.  your world is fathomless.  it has potential.

drink cold water and try to eat something that isn’t processed.  it does not need to be fancy.  buy yourself an apple with the change between your couch cushions.  eat it outside.  if you’re someone who walks, walk somewhere afterwards, just to stretch your legs.  take your fucking meds.  remember that its a good thing that you are inside your body.  your body is a fantastic and endlessly intricate machine, and even though society has smacked a bunch of poisonous ideas on it, that doesn’t change its inherent worth and splendor.  take care of it.

read a novel.  underline your favorite lines, and write phrases that twist your heart inside your chest on the back of your hand with an ink pen.  read a novel like it’s poetry.  read poetry, something decadent but unpretentious.  watch a movie you haven’t seen before.  if there are free art galleries near you, walk through one.  take your time.  let yourself bask.  if there are patterns in what makes your soul ache, write those patterns down – marbles arches or soot crumbling bricks or dandelions or descriptions of dresses or whatever it is, write them down.

your chosen family is important.  remember, they picked you as much as you picked them.  the love has no obligation.  it is given freely and it is given from a place of compassion.  you are not a burden.  if you need to breathe, take a minute by yourself and just exist, but remember to go back to your people.  when they need you, listen and be gracious.  always be gracious.  the universe sometimes remembers things like that.

listen to new music.  link jump on youtube or related artist jump on spotify or ask the chap beside you in the cafe what their favorite band is, and listen to that.  listen to something that you don’t usually listen to.  we tend to tie up a lot of memory with music.  we are falling in love again.  the soundtrack needs to be specific to that.  

Also me: *hasn't practice in days* *forgets words for common stuff* *what's grammar* *avoid native speakers*

Because not enough are talking about this

A lot of people (not just langblr, studyblr too )have been glamorizing the way Asians study in certain countries as depicted on tv, news , various media sources. Saying oh they are working so hard for their goal and look how dedicated they are. Please stop. Seriously. My degree is in psychology and I focus on mental health. I’ve done research in Korea and continue to take psychology classes in korean about various issues (I’ve taken cultural psych, neuro psych 1&2, psych of happiness and I’m currently taking psychology of addiction). I’ve also extensively talked to high schoolers in Korea about this “dedicated study” and most of them said they were stressed to the point of having physical symptoms of being stressed out, almost half were depressed or showed symptoms of anxiety and I won’t even get into things like suicidal thoughts, actual suicide, self harm, eating disorders that are also happening in correlation to study related stress manifesting itself in other ways. This isn’t just Korea. I’ve read research (just not as extensive about the same happening in other Asian countries and even some western now and days) Why the heck are y’all out here trying to glorify something that is clearly unhealthy and causing other people harm? And then promoting it to your followers as something to “motivate them” ?

Getting into your dream school/ uni, becoming fluent in 2 month in a language, whatever is not worth it if you end up hating life, physically unhealthy or mentally ill as a result of it