Go, be great.

In Afrikaans, ah, em, and eh are common fillers.

In Arabic, يعني yaʿni (“I mean”) and وﷲ wallāh(i) (“by God”) are common fillers.[2][3][4]

In American Sign Language, UM can be signed with open-8 held at chin, palm in, eyebrows down (similar to FAVORITE); or bilateral symmetric bent-V, palm out, repeated axial rotation of wrist (similar to QUOTE).

In Bengali, mane (“it means”) is a common filler.

In Catalan, eh /ə/, doncs (“so”), llavors (“therefore”), and o sigui (“it means”) are common fillers.

In Czech, tak or takže (“so”), prostě (“simply”), jako (“like”) are used as fillers. Čili (“or”) and že (“that”, a conjunction) might also be others. A person who says jako and prostě as fillers might sound a bit simple-minded to others.[5]

In Danish, øh is one of the most common fillers.

In Dutch, eh, ehm, and dus are some of the more common fillers.

In Esperanto, do (“therefore”) is the most common filler.

In Filipino, ah, eh, ay, and ano are the most common fillers.

In Finnish, niinku (“like”), tota, and öö are the most common fillers.

In French, euh /ø/ is most common; other words used as fillers include quoi (“what”), bah, ben (“well”), tu vois (“you see”), and eh bien (roughly “well”, as in “Well, I’m not sure”). Outside of France, other expressions are tu sais (“you know”), t’sais’veux dire? (“you know what I mean?”), or allez une fois (“go one time”). Additional filler words include genre (“kind”), comme (“like”), and style (“style”; “kind”)

In German, a more extensive series of filler words, called modal particles, exists, which actually do give the sentence some meaning. More traditional filler words are äh /ɛː/, hm, so /zoː/, tja, and eigentlich (“actually”)

In Hebrew, eh is the most common filler. Em is also quite common.

In Hindi, matlab (“it means”) and “Mah” are fillers.

In Hungarian, common filler words include hát (well…) and asszongya (a variant of azt mondja, which means “it says here…”).

In Icelandic, a common filler is hérna (“here”). Þúst, a contraction of þú veist (“you know”), is popular among younger speakers.

In Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia), anu is one of the most common fillers.

In Italian, common fillers include “tipo” (“like”), “ecco” (“there”) and “cioè” (“actually”)

In Irish Gaelic, abair /ˈabˠəɾʲ/ (“say”), bhoil /wɛlʲ/ (“well”), and era /ˈɛɾˠə/ are common fillers, along with emm as in Hiberno-English.

In Japanese, common fillers include eetto, ano, sono, and ee.

In Kannada,Matte for also,Enappa andre for the matter is are the common fillers.

In Korean, eung, eo, ge, and eum are commonly used as fillers.

In Lithuanian, nu, am and žinai (“you know”) are common fillers.

IN Maltese and Maltese English, mela (“then”), or just la, is a common filler.

In Mandarin Chinese, speakers often say 这个 zhège/zhèige (“this”) or 那个 nàge/nèige (“that”). Another common filler is 就 jìu (“just/precisely”).

In Norwegian, common fillers are øh, altså, på en måte (“in a way”), ikke sant (literally “not true?”, “no kidding”, or “exactly”), vel (“well”), and liksom (“like”). In Bergen, sant (“true”) is often used instead of ikke sant. In the Trøndelag region, skjø’ (“see?” or “understand?”) is also a common filler.

In Persian, bebin (“you see”), چیز “chiz” (“thing”), and مثلا masalan (“for instance”) are commonly-used filler words. As well as in Arabic and Urdu, يعني yaʿni (“I mean”) is also used in Persian. Also, eh is a common filler in Persian.

In Portuguese, tipo (“like”) is the most common filler.

In Romanian, deci /detʃʲ/ (“therefore”) is common, especially in school, and ă /ə/ is also very common (can be lengthened according to the pause in speech, rendered in writing as ăăă), whereas păi /pəj/ is widely used by almost anyone.

In Russian, fillers are called слова-паразиты (“vermin words”); the most common are Э-э (“eh”), это (“this”), того (“that”), ну (“well”), значит (“it means”), так (“so”), как его (“what’s it [called]”), типа (“like”), and как бы (“[just] like”).

In Serbian, znači (“means”) and ovaj (“this”) are common fillers.

In Slovak, oné (“that”), tento (“this”), proste (“simply”), or akože are used as fillers. The Hungarian izé (or izí in its Slovak pronunciation) can also be heard, especially in parts of the country with a large Hungarian population. Ta is a filler typical of Eastern Slovak and one of the most parodied features.

In Slovene, pač (“but”, although it has lost that meaning in colloquial, and it is used as a means of explanation), a ne? (“right?”), and no (“well”) are some of the fillers common in central Slovenia, including Ljubljana.

In Spanish, fillers are called muletillas. Some of the most common in American Spanish are e /e/, este (“this”), and o sea (roughly means “I mean”).[6], in Spain the previous fillers are also used, but ¿Vale? (“right?”) and ¿no? are very common too.

In Swedish, fillers are called utfyllningsord; some of the most common are öhm, ja (“yes”), ba (comes from “bara”, which means “just”), asså or alltså (“therefore”, “thus”), va (comes from “vad”, which means “what”), and liksom and typ (both similar to the English “like”).

In Ukrainian, ой /ɔj/ is a common filler.

In Urdu, yani (“meaning…”), falan falan (“this and that”; “blah blah”), umm, and aaa are also common fillers.

In Telugu, ikkada entante (“Whats here is…”) and tarwatha (“then…”) are common and there are numerous like this.

In Tamil, paatheenga-na (“if you see…”) and apparam (“then…”) are common.

In Turkish, yani (“meaning…”), şey (“thing”), “işte” (“that is”), and falan (“as such”, “so on”) are common fillers.

All people use filler words in conversation and even in formal settings.  It’s a way to keep the flow of speech when the train of thought pauses; it holds the audience’s attention and actually helps maintain clarity of thought.  What’s more, these words are instrumental for language learners, who need to pause more often in their speech than native speakers.  Allowing them to pause without breaking into their language (saying a filler word in their language) or completely breaking the flow of their speech allows them to gain fluency faster.

Shout out to those who write pages and pages of essays instead of practice questions

Shout out to those who run out of ink writing up one essay

Shout out to those who read novel after novel that they don’t even like

Shout out to those who, at the end of an exam, their hand is aching due to the amount of writing they did

Shout out to those who don’t feel appreciated on studyblr because they do a humanity subject and not a science one

write words and their definitions on your wrists

put flowers in your heavy books

write short poems all over your arms

always carry a notebook

wear a brown coat filled with papers

read 'forbidden books' at night

light your room up with a rusty lantern

spend your evenings with tea / coffee

be happy when you get to write an essay

read ancient stories

mention random mythology facts to friends

read sappho (seriously)

wander in the woods

notes. on. arms.

stargazing on cozy nights

sleep with books under your pillows

learn latin and greek phrases

read on school / job breaks

girl and guy were sitting on the same chair with the guy behind her only he was hugging her waist and fast asleep on her shoulder while she was working on her computer

saw this couple across the street from me waiting for the bus. the guy did the thing where he pretends to look for something in his bag and pulls out a finger heart instead

in the hallway i watched this girl run up to her bf and he gives her the biggest hug and goes “see told you you’d kill your presentation” then kisses her forehead

girl sitting next to me in the library has been grinding on an assignment all day (like i’d have been in the library from 10-3 with breaks in between for classes but she’d been sitting there the whole time) and her boyfriend would come in every few hours, put down food or coffee on her table, kiss the top of her head, and walk away without a word

in one of my smaller classes (probably around 30 people) this guy’s phone rang and he sprung up and left the class to answer it. usually profs don’t care if you leave class but this one is really small and he knows all of our names/faces, so when the guy comes back in the prof asks if everything was ok. he has the biggest grin on his face and says “yeah, sorry that was my girlfriend. her flight took off right before it started snowing so i was worried. she’s okay tho.”

some old pages from my planner

nerdybun’s back to school printable set!

prepare your new school year with these printables that will aid you in your studies! this printable set includes —

daily planner

weekly planner

assignment planner

project planner

essay outline

grade tracker

download links and examples under the cut

– download daily planner

– download weekly planner

– download assignment planner

– download project planner

– download essay outline

– download grade tracker

sorry for the late post, loves! are you guys in school already? I procrastinated a little making these examples :T and was just finding a style I can stick to for more coherent looking posts in the future. I really hope you like them!

📓: What’s your degree/major?

📒: What does a typical day look like?

📕: What is your weakest subject?

📗: What is your strongest subject?

📘: What is your favourite subject?

🎨: Are you a doodler?

🎹: Do you have a study soundtrack?

🎓: When do you plan to graduate?

💰: Do you plan to do a post-grad?

🎤: Do you prefer group projects or presentations?

📚: Describe your study space.

📌: If you could go to any university, which would it be and why?

📝: Do you prefer essays or tests?

🌗: Are you a morning or night studier?

💤: How much sleep do you get each night?

🍸: How often do you go out and party?

🍪: What are your favourite snacks to get you through studying?

🎾: Were/are you athletically gifted?

✏️: Do you like your handwriting?

🛏: Do you pull all-nighters?

💯: What’s your proudest academic achievement?

💆: What does your self-care routine look like?

☝️: What’s the best university advice you’ve ever been given?

as usual, this is based on my own personal taste, which turns to delta blues, spiked cider, and ghost stories in the fall. updated 9.2019; italics are favorites. (winter) (summer)

jams

spooky: creepy covers / southern gothic megamix / in the woods / witch hymns / dark delta blues / me & the devil

indie & folk: as autumn leaves turn / a chill in the air / cozy log cabin / fallen leaves 

instrumental: autumn rhapsody / november / infinite instrumentals / autumn overture

my fall 2019 mix :-)

ambiance

stovetop magic. put 2 or 3 cups of water in a small saucepan. add apple slices, orange peel, cloves, and cinnamon. heat on low until your whole house smells amazing. don’t forget to turn the burner off when you’re done.

pomanders, you guys. get yourself some firm oranges and stick some cloves into them. dry them for a few days in a cold, dry room, or dust with orris root to keep from getting moldy. you can leave them in a bowl or hang them up by the window, and they smell incredible. (example - you don’t have to score the peel if you don’t want to)

it’s decorative gourd season.

fall blogs. a beautiful seasonal update for your dash; just search “autumn” in the explore section and go nuts. 

candles! fall is a good time for darker, woodsier scents – cedar, fir, etc. i still like my candles to smell light and clean, though, so finding a “heavier” scent cut with a sharper one – citrus, lemongrass – is nice.

background sounds: hogwarts library / autumn cold front / autumn in the suburbs / the comforts of home / autumn crows / kitchen witchery

study break material

spooky book recs (crowdsourced)

movies & tv

100 halloween movies (missing practical magic, the best spooky movie in existence)

best halloween tv specials (again, i’m offended, the psych specials aren’t listed)

most popular horror tv series

snacks

beverage of choice: warm spiced cider. heat up some cider in a saucepan before you pour it into a to-go mug. maybe get fancy and drop a cinnamon stick in there. i use trader joe’s spiced cider because i’m no longer living in the land of a thousand apple orchards.

the adult version: spiked cider, hard cider, or a pumpkin beer with a cinnamon sugar rim. dip the rim of a tall glass in your choice of liquid – i usually just use water, but you can also use simple syrup, apple juice, or even maple syrup for a stickier rim. then dip it in a mix of cinnamon and sugar. pour your cold cider in there and enjoy~ if you’re spiking, i recommend whiskey.

homemade salted pumpkin seeds. pumpkins: in season, ubiquitous, cheap. buy an ugly-lookin one from the discount bin, scoop out the guts and separate the seeds into a bowl. swish them around in water until they’re mostly clean and pat dry on a paper towel. add olive oil and salt (and pepper, if you like), pour them onto a tray, and bake for 30-40 minutes at 300. yields a crunchy, salty snack that’ll last you a few days. 

that’s the classic version; here are six different seasoning options.

you can add those seeds to other seasonal trail mix ingredients (granola, pretzels, dried cranberries, nuts, etc.) for a snack that’ll last a full week.

in-season veggies: squash, broccoli & cauliflower, brussels sprouts, radish, lettuce & chard, mushrooms, sweet potatoes, turnips, pumpkin.

in-season fruit: pears, apples, cranberries, grapes, kumquats, pineapple, persimmons, pomegranates.

baked goods

pumpkin bread (or pumpkin muffins, you know yourself best)

pear cranberry gingersnap crumble. it’s so good. i’ve made it three times now and every time it blows my mind

easy apple cake i beg my roommate to make me every few months

mini french apple cakes, in case you want to take a fancier apple-themed bake break.

actually, just have smitten kitchen’s entire fall line-up. 

study advice

open that window! it’s crisp as hell out there!

it often feels like september is the real beginning of the new year, rather than january 1. it’s a good time to do some cleansing & purging. organize your desk! donate some clothes! sage your whole house to dispel negative energies!

if you’re trying to start out organized, this term-long to-do list might help you out.

set a budget for your school supply shopping. maybe take stock of what you already have in the back of your closet before you buy 7 more notebooks.

Impostor Syndrome: What it is and how to deal with it

There may be times when you feel like a fraud, like at any moment people will find out that you have no clue what you’re doing and you don’t deserve any of your achievements. You think that you’re unworthy of praise, that you only succeeded out of luck.

This is known as Impostor Syndrome, and around 70% of people have struggled with it in their lives. The problem arises when high achievers fail to internalize their success, i.e. when you attribute your success not to your own abilities but rather to external factors.

Some say that impostor syndrome could be linked to traits like anxiety or neuroticism. Impostor syndrome has also been commonly attributed to behavioral causes like childhood experiences, e.g. being labeled as “the smart one” or “the talented one”.

Another huge factor is how well you think you fit into a certain group, e.g. impostor syndrome is common among people of a racial/ethnic/cultural minority, women in STEM, and international students at US universities.

Dr. Pauline R. Clance was the first to design a scale to measure impostor syndrome based on six factors

The impostor cycle, where someone is given an achievement-related task and they either (a) overprepare or (b) procrastinate

The need to be special/the best

Superhuman characteristics

Fear of failure

Denial of ability and discounting praise

Feeling fear and guilt about success

There are different types of impostors, as categorized by Dr. Valerie Young, an expert on impostor syndrome (note that these categories aren’t mutually exclusive):

I’ve personally dealt with the first two types. I’m fairly certain I can attribute being ‘the genius’ to childhood/adolescent circumstance: I’ve been known as ‘the smart one’ throughout elementary school and high school - every time I made a mistake, it was met with a chorus of ‘wahh jo made a mistake…’ Even last month when I had a mini-reunion with some of my high school friends, one of them said something along the lines of “I like when Jo makes mistakes because it reminds me that she’s human, too.” I can definitely say I’ve overcome that now because, you know, college - everyone’s as smart or smarter than you and works pretty hard.

Being ‘the expert’ is still something I’m still trying to overcome. Last spring when I was applying to internships, I only dared to apply to those where I met 100% of the requirements. I’ve been coding for like 4 years but I constantly think I’m incompetent. It once got up to the point where I literally took 3 similar courses to assure myself that I actually do know how to do full-stack web programming. I still struggle to draw the line between relearning something because I don’t think I really know it, versus learning something for the expansion of knowledge.

How do I deal with it?

Firstly acknowledge that you have impostor-related thoughts Awareness is the first step to changing how you think and how you act.

How does impostor syndrome look like in a school/college setting? Examples include

You refrain from asking questions because you think other students/TAs/the professor will think you’re dumb;

You don’t respond to questions even though you kind of know the answer but you always think your answers aren’t right enough or that they’re simply wrong;

You don’t participate in discussions because you feel that you won’t add any value; or

You prevent yourself from having an opinion because you feel like you have no right to have one.

Reframe your thoughts

Think of their possible effects Do these thoughts help or hinder me? Will anything useful come out of thinking this? Acknowledge that not speaking up may mean slowing your team down or depriving your classmates of potentially valuable insights.

Separate fact from feeling Are they factual or simply a misinterpretation of my environment?

Differentiate feelings of fraudulence from feeling like an outsider Does my work show that I’m incompetent or is the fact that I’m the only female in a team of males/POC in a team of Caucasians make me think I’m inferior?

Stop comparing yourself to other people You might think something along the lines of “there are already so many people who can do what I do but so much better, so what’s the point in even trying?” However, remember that these people were once where you were, and taking even the smallest of actions could help you get to where they are.

Be more forgiving with yourself

Rethink perfection Not everything has to be perfect. Even if you have high standards, not achieving those standards doesn’t make you any less worthy.

Reframe mistakes and identify areas of improvement It’s okay to be wrong or not to know everything. Think of mistakes as learning opportunities and indicators of gaps in your knowledge/understanding of something, as opposed to a negative measure of your self-worth. Being wrong doesn’t mean you’re fake; it just means you have more to learn.

For example, previously I would only answer a question in class if I was at least 90% sure that was the correct answer. That’s a high threshold, and I don’t think it’s very useful for helping me learn and grow. Over the course of a year, I’ve managed to lower that down to I’d say around 60% (50% with coffee lmao).

Collect positive experience

Remember and reflect on praises Think about the efforts you exerted to help you achieve something and the positive responses you garnered when you finally achieved it. Remind yourself of the words of encouragement other people have told you, no matter how small. You could even keep a folder/document/journal to look back on when you feel like a fraud.

Heck, sometimes I feel like my posts aren’t useful or my designs are terrible, but then you guys tell me such kind things and I think, maybe I’m not as bad as I thought.

However, while it’s good to remember the good words people have said, don’t work just for the sake of praise. Focus on the value of the work itself and not the validation that comes from it.

Focus on providing value

Focus on what you can say Instead of thinking about what you don’t know, focus on what you do know and what you can say. Even if what you say isn’t entirely correct or relevant, it’ll get others around you thinking.

Remind yourself that holding back is like robbing the world of your ideas There’s always some value in your words, even if you don’t initially think so. How that value affects the world or other people may differ. For example, when you put forward an idea/thought in a discussion, it could be that

If there were parts that were incorrect, other people might have had the same misconception and are more than happy for the clarification;

Again, if there were parts that weren’t correct, they might not have had the same misconception but now realize that there is a way in which the subject can be misinterpreted, thus allowing them to have a more comprehensive understanding of the subject; and/or

It’ll stimulate further thinking and discussion and raise more questions, especially if other people wouldn’t normally think what you just thought. Then other people could bounce off your idea and form an equally great one.

Take action You won’t feel as much of a fraud if you’re doing something that brings you a little closer to achieving your goals or that adds value to your work.

However, be careful not to overwork yourself. Every time you start doing something, pause and think: is this really important to my progress or am I just trying to prove myself?

Instead of working on too many things, do something outside your comfort zone each day no matter how small. Once you do this, focus on quality (your growth) instead of quantity (the number of things you do).

Also, for those of you who fall into the ‘expert’ category, this also means practicing just-in-time learning, i.e. learning things when you need it, not just to comfort yourself.