#calculexia

So story time:

When I was in high school I failed maths twice. The pace was too slow, and the teacher wasn't the most engaging. I went to summer school and passed with 70's. The pace was right, and it was at the time I learned that I learn best with a block of information, and spending 8 hours a day on a topic was better than spending the what, hour and a half? or so per day.

I never learned to study in high school, I would do the homework, and do the tests, and yeah. Okay maybe not all my homework, I was pretty active on GaiaOnline at this time, and I would spend many many hours writing out text based rpgs. 20 years later we had the COVID lockdown, and I decided to try my hand at Yale's Open Course of Psychology. I had no idea what I was getting myself involved in. I wanted the best chance I could give myself, so I bought a bunch of highlighters for the readings, and gel pens from the dollar store, and I started my trip down a heavy course load. At this time, I had never highlighted a single passage, and then I found one of the textbooks taught you how to ask questions while reading, one of my weaknesses. So that is where I started to study.

I know for me, I cannot retain information really well, and might be because of having schizo-spect traits. Or ADHD. So repetition was the way to go.

Read the text books -> make notes -> finish lesson -> review notes

One of my previous hobbies was tracking and bullet journaling. So my notes had a lot of colour to them.

Now the pictures above are not the best quality because I went for the cheapest phone instead of the one that I really wanted. I also don't have a scanner at my disposal. All that was in my apartment that I lost to my psychosis.

But the things to note is that when I learn, I write in pen, different colours mean different things. Blue is my notes colour, lilac is my attempt and deep purple is also an attempt but of a secondary equation set up. Like f(x)=∛(2x-7) and g(x)=(x^3+7)/2, they are a part of the same question, but require you to write it all out, then to plot it on a graph. The different colours of purples stand out on the graph instead of making lines to point out which equation goes where.

These days I use felt tip markers for when I have any sort of graphing needs. Red and Green are sacred colours of marking, so when I go through my equations, and find the answer, I would mark it with green for right, or wrong in red with the detailed answer of where I went wrong. And when I encounter a new equation I use my highlighters and highlight the different parts of the equation. y=-√(3-x) + 4

Orange: is the negative before the square root, making the graph point left, and reflects over the x-axis. Blue: is a horizontal shift of 3 Pink: is a vertical shift of 4

Like learning a new language and they highlight and underline different parts of the sentence. You know, because math is a language, and it is easier to approach if you see it as such. And like any language, there will be mistakes, especially if you have dyslexia or dyscalculia. But having the different equations highlighted and then bullet journaled into my notes really did a lot of good things.

Skills I use while studying:

note: I am on adhd medication.

bullet journal and trackers

language studies

focus tips and tricks

After the first few hours of studying, taking a 10-15 minute break

Have caffeine readily available

Have tumblr open so when my mind wanders I can empty it

For science, I use google docs, and I have a tab where I can empty my thoughts out and avoid tumblr

Eat well and have snacks within reach

Hydrate well

Colour coding

Sometimes my breaks are a smoke break, or getting more snacks for me to munch on. I find that eating replaced the need to needlessly scroll, because I choose things that hit that dopamine receptor, nuts and cheeses, like a charcuterie board. Sometimes my breaks are just me getting up to pace, and suck on my vape. Luckily for me my nicotine addiction has me going outside every hour or so, so I am constantly getting fresh air and sunlight.

Now I am sharing this because I know there are a lot of kids out there that don't know how to study like me. Those who are passing highschool with acceptable grades, but know themselves well enough to worry about post-secondary schooling expectations.