#study advice

I made this based on all the comments I’ve received about grad school. I hope you’ll like it and that it will be helpful for you 🌱

⋆｡‧˚ʚ♡ɞ˚‧｡⋆ how to study subjects you actually hate ⋆｡‧˚ʚ♡ɞ˚‧｡⋆

(without losing your mind) ✨

oh sweetie, this question hits so close to home! honestly, we've all been there, staring at a textbook for a subject that makes us want to crawl back into bed and pretend it doesn't exist. the good news? you're definitely not alone in this struggle, and there are actually some really effective ways to make it more manageable 💕

let's be real for a second you don't have to love every subject you study. that's just not realistic, and putting that pressure on yourself only makes things harder. instead, let's just try to focus on building a sustainable approach that ACTUALLY works.

✧･ﾟ: *:･ﾟ✧ my tried-and-true strategies for conquering the subjects we hate ✧･ﾟ: *:･ﾟ✧

⋆ start ridiculously small i know everyone says this, but hear me out, when i say small, i mean really small. can't bring yourself to study for an hour? try 15 minutes. still too much? literally just open your textbook and read one page.

the hardest part is always starting, and once you're in motion, it's so much easier to keep going. i've had study sessions that started with "i'll just organize my notes for 5 minutes" and ended up lasting two hours because the momentum carried me.

⋆｡‧˚ʚ♡ɞ˚‧｡⋆

⋆ the "sandwich method" this one changed my life! sandwich your least favorite subject between two things you actually enjoy. maybe that's starting with your favorite subject, then tackling the dreaded one, then ending with something fun like journaling or watching a study vlog.

it makes the whole experience feel more balanced and gives you something to look forward to.

⋆｡‧˚ʚ♡ɞ˚‧｡⋆

⋆ find your "why" (even if it's practical) you don't need some deep, passionate reason to study something. sometimes your "why" is just "i need this grade to graduate" or "this is required for my major" and that's completely valid!

write down your reason and put it somewhere visible. on tough days, that reminder can be the push you need to keep going.

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⋆ make it as pleasant as possible if you have to suffer through it, at least make the environment nice! this might mean:

studying in your coziest spot with good lighting

using pens and notebooks that make you happy

having your favorite drink nearby

playing soft background music that helps you focus

these little touches won't make you love the subject, but they can make the experience more bearable.

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⋆ the "teach someone else" trick this sounds counterintuitive when you hate the subject, but explaining concepts to someone else (even if it's just your pet or a plant lol) actually helps things stick in your brain. plus, it shows you what you do and don't understand yet.

you could also try making voice memos explaining concepts to yourself, sometimes hearing it in your own words makes it click. and i know this is a common study tip other usually give, but it's supperrrr helpful for subjects you don't actually like.

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⋆ break it into tiny, specific goals so, instead of "study chemistry for 2 hours" (overwhelming!), try:

"read pages 45-50"

"complete 5 practice problems"

"make flashcards for chapter 3 vocabulary"

specific, small goals feel so much more achievable and give you that satisfying sense of completion.

⋆｡‧˚ʚ♡ɞ˚‧｡⋆

⋆ reward yourself consistently and i don't just mean after big milestones! reward yourself for small wins too. finished reading that section you've been avoiding? treat yourself to your favorite snack. completed a practice quiz? watch an episode of your favorite show.

these little rewards help your brain associate studying (even the hard stuff) with positive feelings.

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⋆ study with others when possible even if you're not naturally a group study person, there's something really helpful about shared accountability. find classmates who are also struggling with the subject, you can motivate each other and share the burden.

if in-person isn't possible, online study groups or even just body doubling sessions can work wonders.

⋆｡‧˚ʚ♡ɞ˚‧｡⋆

✧･ﾟ: *:･ﾟ✧ gentle reminders for the hard days ✧･ﾟ: *:･ﾟ✧

some days are going to be harder than others, and that's okay. progress isn't always linear, especially with subjects we find challenging or uninteresting.

make sure to remember that you're not trying to become passionate about this subject, you're just trying to get through it successfully. and truly that's enough. you're allowed to dislike things and still do well at them.

the most important thing: be patient with yourself. building new study habits takes time, especially when you're working against your natural preferences. start with one or two of these strategies and see what works for you.

you've got this, love. even when it feels impossible, you're stronger than you think 💕

what's the subject you're currently battling with? i'd love to hear about your experiences in the notes!

⋆｡‧˚ʚ♡ɞ˚‧｡⋆ xoxo, mindy ✨ ⋆｡‧˚ʚ♡ɞ˚‧｡⋆

30 Of My favorites Compliments in Japanese to Praise Artists and Their Work

I love complimenting artists; I like them to know that their work is always amazing, and I enjoy motivating them. Since I started creating pixel art, I have become very close to Japanese artists and realized that it is much easier to compliment them in Japanese, as it seems to make them feel more comfortable! That’s why I put together a list of compliments! Feel free to use them and correct me!

1. 素晴らしい作品ですね。 (Subarashii sakuhin desu ne.)

“It’s a wonderful piece of work.”

2. とても感動しました。 (Totemo kandō shimashita.)

“I was very moved.”

3. あなたの才能に驚かされます。 (Anata no sainō ni odorokasaremasu.)

“I am amazed by your talent.”

4. 色使いが本当に綺麗ですね。 (Irozukai ga hontō ni kirei desu ne.)

“The use of colors is really beautiful.”

5. 細部まで丁寧に描かれていますね。 (Saibu made teinei ni kakareteimasu ne.)

“The details are drawn so carefully.”

6. ユニークなスタイルですね。 (Yunīku na sutairu desu ne.)

“You have a unique style.”

7. 本当に才能がありますね。 (Hontō ni sainō ga arimasu ne.)

“You truly have talent.”

8. 見ていてとても楽しいです。 (Miteite totemo tanoshii desu.)

“It’s very enjoyable to look at.”

9. 構図が素晴らしいです。 (Kōzu ga subarashii desu.)

“The composition is amazing.”

10. こんな作品を作れるなんて信じられません。 (Konna sakuhin o tsukureru nante shinjiraremasen.)

“I can’t believe you can create such a piece.”

11. とても独創的ですね。 (Totemo dokusōteki desu ne.)

“It’s very creative.”

12. あなたの作品はいつもインスピレーションを与えてくれます。 (Anata no sakuhin wa itsumo insupirēshon o ataete kuremasu.)

“Your work always gives me inspiration.”

13. 表現力が豊かですね。 (Hyōgenryoku ga yutaka desu ne.)

“Your expressive power is remarkable.”

14. 見るたびに新しい発見があります。 (Miru tabi ni atarashī hakken ga arimasu.)

“I discover something new every time I look at it.”

15. あなたの作品には心がこもっていますね。 (Anata no sakuhin ni wa kokoro ga komotteimasu ne.)

“Your work has so much heart in it.”

16. あなたの作品には魂が宿っています。 (Anata no sakuhin ni wa tamashī ga yadotteimasu.)

“Your artwork has a soul in it.”

17. 発想力がすごいですね。 (Hassōryoku ga sugoi desu ne.)

“Your creativity is amazing.”

18. あなたのスタイルはとても独特です。 (Anata no sutairu wa totemo dokutoku desu.)

“Your style is very distinctive.”

19. 作品に強いメッセージ性を感じます。 (Sakuhin ni tsuyoi messe-ji sei o kanjimasu.)

“I feel a strong message in your work.”

20. この作品を見ると、何かを感じずにはいられません。 (Kono sakuhin o miru to, nanika o kanjizu ni wa iraremasen.)

“I can’t help but feel something when I look at this piece.”

21. あなたの作品を見ていると、とても幸せな気持ちになります。 (Anata no sakuhin o miteiru to, totemo shiawase na kimochi ni narimasu.)

“Looking at your work makes me feel very happy.”

22. どの作品も心に響きます。 (Dono sakuhin mo kokoro ni hibikimasu.)

“Every piece of your work resonates with my heart.”

23. この作品の雰囲気がとても好きです。 (Kono sakuhin no fun’iki ga totemo suki desu.)

“I really like the atmosphere of this piece.”

24. あなたのアートはとても洗練されています。 (Anata no āto wa totemo senren sareteimasu.)

“Your art is very refined.”

25. この作品からインスピレーションをたくさんもらいました。 (Kono sakuhin kara insupirēshon o takusan moraimashita.)

“I received a lot of inspiration from this piece.”

26. あなたの技術は素晴らしいです。 (Anata no gijutsu wa subarashii desu.)

“Your technique is superb.”

27. これからの作品も楽しみにしています。 (Korekara no sakuhin mo tanoshimi ni shiteimasu.)

“I’m looking forward to your future works as well.”

28. 色彩の使い方がとても巧みですね。 (Shikisai no tsukaikata ga totemo takumi desu ne.)

“Your use of colors is very skillful.”

29. こんなに素晴らしい作品を見たことがありません。 (Konna ni subarashii sakuhin o mita koto ga arimasen.)

“I’ve never seen such an amazing piece of work.”

30. あなたの描くキャラクターはとても魅力的です。 (Anata no kaku kyarakutā wa totemo miryokuteki desu.)

“The characters you draw are very captivating.”

Some observations made by my Japanese study friends!

1. あなたの作品には魂が宿っています。

This phrase is correct, but it’s quite poetic. If you want a simpler expression:

I recently made a post on my study method, and decided to make a whole separate post on my note taking method. The structure of the notes I write doesn't vary too much from my lecture notes to things I might have to read. A couple of useful informations you might want to know before I start actually talking about note writing is that I am mainly focused on studying history (tho I have had other humanities exams in my degrees), and that I study for oral exams in which the material is mainly composed of non fiction books, but sometimes include articles as well as lecture notes. Somehow I have also failed to mention that I am speaking about HANDWRITTEN NOTES. I only do handwritten notes, I don't work well digitally, so keep that in mind. And with this being said brace yourselves for a very long post. The bullet points I will be making are not really in a specific order and I will be including a few pictures too.

The first step when I am working on the materials for an exam is to figure out in which order I will be reading (and writing notes) the books. This hasn't really much to do with the notes themselves, but it's important to know which of your materials is more general and what other things go more in depth, so that you don't struggle too much while studying. Another plan related thing I always do is to write down each chapter of the book I have to study on my bullet journal and how many pages it is so I can plan my studying more comfortably. If the chapters are very long, and divided in subchapters I sometimes also write those down.

The goal of the notes I write is to fully take the place of the book, so they tend to be very detailed and long. I do this because the very act of writing is part of my study method, and working on things I have written down in my own words is just much better for the type of learner I am. So basically I read the book only once, then it goes back on the shelf and I work exclusively on the notes. This means my notes need to be detailed and well organized.

My method is to read a chapter, underlining important stuff as I am reading, and then right after I am done reading I work on the notes for that chapter before moving onto the next. I do this because it makes the note writing more effortless, I am fresh with informations I just read and I basically just need to skim over what I have underlined.

On underlining, since it is so important. I underline everything I will be including in my notes, it might seem much as sometimes it consists of full paragraphs, instead of key words. But this is okay because my notes I don't just copy and paste.

To create useful notes you need to be re-elaborating the informations. You need to read, understand what you read, and be able to write it down using your own words. That way the notes will be easier to review, they will often be composed of shorter sentences, and by doing so you are also actively making writing part of your studying and not just a mindless activity.

Personally I don't work well with full pages summaries, I need the text to be visually broken into sentences/small paragraphs, and I use a lot of symbols as well as abbreviations.

Symbols and abbreviations are in a way part of your very own language when you are writing notes, you tend to develop these with time, but they are so useful. I personally use different types of arrows, all caps words, position of the text in the page, different methods of highlighting and abbreviations (usually for words that come up often like country names, for example Italy becomes ita, France becomes fr, etc.).

Your notes need to be useful for you, they don't have to necessarily be comprehensible for another person (which means you can and will fuck up sentence structure because sometimes skipping a couple of words makes the notes shorter and still understandable), and they do not have to be pretty. They should be as tidy as possible, but again that might change from person to person, I have some very messy looking notes that make total sense to me. With time you'll learn what works best for you.

I have a visual memory so as I mentioned titles, highlighters, all caps, the placement on the page and other similar things are very important in my notes. I cannot fully exapain some of these things because some definitely only make sense to me in the moment (like the words I choose to write in all caps, or the way I highlight things).

I like to have a clear chapter and subchapter break (so that in case I need to refer back to the book it's super effortless). I like to write those with a red pen, usually the chapter title is in all caps and the subchapter in coursive, but it really depends.

I use only two highlighters in each set of notes yellow for dates, and the colour I associate with the book/the subject of the book (I have synesthesia I don't make the rules when it comes to colours). This of course might change depending your preferences and on the element of your notes you want to focus on. I like to have spacific colour for dates and time periods, because of course while studying history that is a fundamental element. If you are focusing on other subjects you might want to have a specific colour for names, or other elements.

I like to leave a big side margin to add either key words (especially in lecture notes since they might be messier and jump around informations more often), or additional information in a second time (sometimes it happens, after you read another book, or attended a particular lecture you have to add a couple of sentences and I rather have a blank space that never gets used rather than no space at all for emergencies).

I honestly mentioned everything that came to mind right away, but since note writing is now basically a mindless skill I have been practicing for years I surely forgot about something. I might end up adding to this post in the future or write another one. My note-writing method has also changed a lot thought the years from high school to university, it's a skill I have been perfecting for the past decade. This to say that depending on what you are working on things might change, and by experimenting with different things you might find out things that work very well for you. If you have any questions on specific things I didn't mention or that wen't clear my inbox is always open and I am more than happy to help.

Since this post is already very very long I am adding the pictures below the cut

save up and buy higher quality pieces of clothing. those fast fashion jeans will fall apart in two years.

you don't need that many lip glosses. they'll rot before you finish them all.

as annoying as it is to hear, physical activity does help with your mood.

you can't become 'that girl' through materialism.

your teachers/professors are more understanding and compassionate than you think they are.

keep on top of your email(s)

bring a packed lunch to campus.

do the 20-20-20 rule when writing essays

read a physical book every day

stop focusing on what "looks good" on you over what you love

a red lip is always the way to go

stop flat ironing your hair

you don't need to worry about your skin aging. put that anti aging serum down.