Leon's Den

Ever since I was 15 years old I never thought I would study at the University of Regensburg. In fact, I despised the idea of that so much, when there was any option of interacting with people advising about the option of studying at the UR I would actively avoid them. Now I’m finishing my first year here.

Here’s what I learnt so far:

… On Studying:

- It’s basically impossible to keep pretty notes while in class. Gotta accept that fact. BUT it’s managable to keep your notes pretty, once you revise them directly after class or once you’re studying for your exams! - Interacting with your profs is about the best thing you can do to seem engaged, they might even remember your name (good connections might get you places, never forget) - There’s a reason why I chose my field of study, but that is not the case for everyone! I really love media science, I truly do. But when the head of the institute is an uninspiring middle aged man, who uses his lectures to make a quick buck, there are gonna be heaps of people who will despise the whole study and just quit… - Which brings us to our next point: IT’S OKAY TO CHANGE YOUR MAJOR! Tons of my friends did it, I briefly considered it, and let’s be honest, it’s just the best thing to do if you fear having to spend your time studying for something that doesn’t interest you in the slightest.

- You might not have a perfect study schedule.Your friends might get to write less papers or study less because their exams are set up differently. But you’re not doing this for them, you’re doing it to become who you’re set out to be.

… On University Life:

- Join some sort of club, activity, whatever it may be. I made some of my best friends joining the Student Body representing Political Science - Make time for yourself, you shouldn’t need to spend all day in the library, when your uni’s summer festival is going on in front of the window. - Take full advantage of everything your uni offers for free! Whether it’s language courses, excursions, gym lessons, you’re never gonna get this much free stuff ever again.

… On Myself & Self Care:

- You’re allowed to heal. Being overpowered by everything that’s going on is nothing out of the ordinary and you need space to get through that - Find love first for yourself, then for another person. Many people go to university with the prospect of falling in love. Fall in love with yourself first. - You’re gonna change and that is fine. Just be someone you can be proud of.

Instagram

time management 101

1. get work done asap. this seems obvious, but if you do your work right after school/class, you’ll be able to relax afterwards knowing you’ve done everything you need to do.

2. just start. getting started is the hardest part of studying. force yourself to start and you’ll likely end up getting a lot done!!

3. use google calendar (or a program like it). google calendar allows you to not only schedule your day down to the minute, but you can access it on any device!

4. schedule time for fun. if you schedule every second of your day with work, you will either get distracted or burn yourself out. scheduling in an hour or two of something you enjoy every day will help you be productive in the long run!

5. go somewhere to study. for me, when i study at home, i’m much more likely to get distracted and take much more time than necessary than if i go somewhere with the intention to study.

6. make a list. when you’re busy or stressed, you’re likely to overestimate your workload. writing it all down will help you understand the amount you actually have and help you estimate how long it’ll take.

7. do tasks in order of importance. that way, if you don’t finish it all, the assignments you don’t get to in time are the least important ones. 

8. try to get quizlet sets/study guides from a friend. this will save at least an hour of your time!

9. watch youtube videos. if you are running out of time, whip out a crash course video and get a quick summary of the topic. it’s better than nothing!

10. stay calm. you’ll never get anything done if you’re too busy worrying about it! try to relax before starting your work, everything will be fine.

hi everybody! during my freshman year of college, i experienced burnout countless times, and you likely will, too. thankfully, burnout is usually avoidable! here are my tips on avoiding it!! xx

1. go to bed at a decent time! i can’t express enough how important sleep is. if you are physically or mentally exhausted, you’re going to burn out way more quickly. having a steady sleep schedule is the most important thing to do to avoid burnout!!

2. make time for yourself! don’t study all the time- spend time practicing self-care and doing things you enjoy. it’ll pay off in the long run!

3. space everything out! don’t schedule all of your meetings and responsibilities in one or two days. tackle just a couple of things a day! this one may seem a little obvious, but i constantly see students over working themselves because they try to procrastinate doing everything until the last minute and have to do it all in one day.

4. divide and conquer! this sort of goes along with #3, but don’t cram everything you need to study into one night! divide up the topics covered on the exam/quiz and study one or two groups of topics a night!

5. give yourself a day off! this may be difficult to maintain, but do your best to work your schedule to give yourself one day off a week. for me, over the school year, my scheduled weekly day off was sunday. i did my best to do all my weekend homework on friday and saturday so that i could relax on sunday without a stack of responsibilities on my mind!

6. seek help if you need it! most (if not every) colleges have an on-campus psychologist. if you’re having a lot of trouble balancing all your responsibilities and managing your stress, seeing a psychologist may help! on-campus psychologists are experienced trained specifically to help students, so they will undoubtedly have tips to deal with everything. there is no shame in seeking help! if you’re in high school or middle school, you could see your guidance counselor!

7. love the work you do! find value in all of your assignments and notes. this will make them look less like assignments and more like learning experiences!

sources used: my history teacher & “Tips for Writing Analytic Research Papers.” (1998): n. pag. Harvard Kennedy School Shorenstein Center, 19 May 2009. Web. 29 May 2015.

• report

- organized regurgitation of facts gathered from research

- thesis statement is a general statement summarizing what your whole report is about

- thesis statement is NOT opinion or argument to be proven

- topic sentences of body paragraphs summarize what facts you’ll describe in that paragraph

- research + writing facts = report

• research paper

- organized analysis of facts gathered from research

- thesis statement identifies the overall argument or academic opinion that you will prove in your paper

- thesis statement must be (academic) opinion and argumentation

- research + writing facts + analysis = research paper

• so what is analysis? how do i do it?

analysis is basically breaking apart the facts you have found in your research and demonstrating critical thinking about those facts. make your analysis explicit - your reader should not have to infer or guess what your analysis is. it looks like:

• dissecting or breaking down larger events or concepts to explore the smaller parts [“dr. king’s plan comprised of three specific political and social actions” - then the author explains the parts]

• cause/effect [author describes situation that outrages dr. king - “this outrage motivated dr. king to deliver his speech”]

• identification or explanation of significance [“this speech is iconic in american history because…”]

• comparison of ideas from different sources, or differing opinions; examination of counterarguments [“critics of dr. king said…” “historians disagree…” “others have said…”]

• connection to broader ideas and themes in the relevant discipline [“king’s actions exemplify the overall trend in social activism towards nonviolent action to achieve change”]

I’ve been receiving tonnes of questions on Note - Taking recently, so I’d thought I make a post. Plus, I had fun making these graphics.

There are three different methods that I prefer when it comes to note taking:

Notes written During the Lecture

I highly recommend taking notes during the lecture.

I also use abbreviations for quicker and more efficient note taking. Some examples of abbreviation that I use are:

w/ - With

w/o - Without

e.g. - For example

Notes written After the Lecture

As for notes written after the lecture, I tend to seek the help of Google Spreadsheets or Microsoft Excel. This way I am able to organise information learnt. I do this by dividing the information provided into two columns, one for keywords or questions and the other for definitions and answers. 

*Note: This method was adapted from the note taking method I’ve used during college. 

Rewritten Notes

I also rewrite my notes. My rewritten notes are arranged based on the order they appear in the syllabus unless there are pieces of information that are related to more than one topic.

I use a black pen or pencil for my written notes, as well as coloured pens and highlighters to highlight the key words and terminologies for emphasise.

Before writing them down, I tend to visualise the layout - alternating between words and pictures/diagram. This definitely helps me with remembering for exams. All I have to do is imagine that I’m looking at that page and I can remember where everything is.

______________________________________________________________________

Please click on the images for a much clearer view. 

7.19.19

shots from my shopping day in los angeles. i ended up getting a new art kanken & tons of stationary for the new school year! 🍃☀️📙(click for higher quality)

it’s okay not to make a lot of friends the first year of college

it’s okay not to go to any clubs the first couple of weeks

bring reusable grocery bags

you can cook anything in a crockpot

change your major as many times as you want

going to a grocery store you went to at home all the time is very good for homesickness

don’t do homework on your bed

find a place on campus (other than your dorm) to study

find a place OFF campus to study

go to your advisor more often

download both lyft and uber so you can choose between better deals

you won’t always get along with your roommate. that’s okay.

you don’t have to read the entire assigned text, read the intro, the conclusion and skim the rest of you don’t have time

google maps is your best friend for public transit

Based on some research associates and professors I know. Tag yourself or your advisor/prof. 

old forest goddess: gentle tone of voice, office door is always open, mysterious smiles, will invite you to do field work at the slightest hint of interest, cargo pants with lots of pockets or flowy clothes with hiking boots, receives live frogs in the mail (coos at them and calls them pet names), sporadic communication skills,  always has several projects going on. 

furrowed brows: extremely serious but cares a lot about the people around them, resting bitch face until they get started talking about their research, extremely wild hair, always willing to help, always wearing a stain-covered lab coat, surprisingly loud laugh,“oh no” is their most common phrase. 

fox mulder: always looks vaguely disheveled, always like 5 min late to class, regularly cracks jokes in class but takes material very seriously, smirks during academic arguments, has 5 notebooks running simultaneously (has to flip through all of them to find what they’re looking for), button-ups rolled to the elbow. 

shop cat: always at the library, collaborates with may different professors – even across departments, kindest words, oxford shoes and big sweaters, always has a notebook with them for new ideas or drawings, knowing smiles. 

cool beans: vaguely bored grad student TA, writes on literally every surface with sharpie to solve problems “because ethanol, guys”, sweet smiles, self depreciating jokes, always ahead of schedule, chaotic good energy, heavy combat boots and floral tattoos. 

scramble: literal mad scientist, oddly wholesome, definitely has half the lab in their pockets at all times (some microscope slides, some mouse food, a sharpie, a few eppendorf tubes, and god knows what else), always goes right up to the deadline, not great at delegating but always wants to help others learn new things. 

darcy: a little on the blunt side, always reading and analyzing, gives people their full attention, unsure but always moves forwards, actually really appreciates hearing other people’s thoughts on their work, slow to consider new ideas but never discards them without proper thought. 

lazy study tips

1. use quizlet. quizlet is amazing because you can access your flashcards on your phone!! this way you can easily flip through them while waiting in line, watching tv, etc.

2. use the pomodoro technique. if you’re lazy like i am, sitting down for 6+ hours a day to study can be daunting. giving yourself multiple breaks throughout a study session will help to keep you going!

3. watch youtube videos. watching videos or listening to podcasts on the topic you’re studying could be a huge time saver and is a lot more interesting than flipping through a textbook. and you can easily do this in bed!! (i would not advise to do this instead of using a textbook all together just in case information is left out of the video)

4. try to build a steady study routine. block out a chunk of time in the middle of the day every day for studying. this way, you know that when the time is up, you have the rest of the day to relax!

5. get sleep. i’ve found that i’m at my laziest when i haven’t been sleeping much. avoid being sluggish throughout the day and get some rest! this will cut back on nap/rest time and increase productivity during the day.

6. consider the consequences of not studying. which will benefit you more in the long run- getting your work done now, or watching another episode?

7. reward yourself. give yourself a little treat (a piece of candy, etc.) after completing a set amount of work. this will keep you motivated to keep studying!

8. just start. the hardest part of studying is starting- force yourself to sit down and open up your notes.

a few days in paris. buying too many books, pretty postcards and bookmarks.

huge muji haul (treated myself bc exams r done !!!!)