#studylikepidge

late night japanese study, theres just something so beautiful and calming about listing to aurora's haunting voice and studying something i'm passionate about.

ending up in the er twice in one week for endo-related pain seriously throws a wrench in my plans to catch up before the semester ends and cram for the jlpt which is in 8 days and 14 hours, y'all i'm not ready 😭😭😭

getting caught up in school and had a spa day on sunday! i got my nails done and it was so relaxing. finally getting started on my essays and i'm cramming for the jlpt which is in 12 days and 18 hours! wish me luck guys, i hope i pass this time around so i can get my part time job in japan

• i paid my tuition and i'll have enough for next semester too !!

honestly, it's all up to how you study and what feels best for you! i'm more into the traditional method of note taking and studying. i use a notebook class thats cheap like a 70 pg spiral and i fill it with any and all information my teacher might give me for a lecture, whether its culture or language based. i usually use a mechanical pencil, an eraser and a mildliner to highlight anything important (i use gray for all in class notes since it's just a neutral color, nothing too flashy). outside of class i use the textbook, my electronic japanese dictionary and a secondary note book to revise and write down all of the information (campus notebook from when i studied in japan 5 yrs ago, rip). i highlight grammar points and i try to create my own sample sentences to make sure i can understand and apply it. i also found some kanji practice templates online that i use to improve my handwriting and memorization, but there are also notebooks with that kind of paper that i have yet to find... :( i write down the kanji from the chapter with its meaning, on and kun readings and a sample sentence in my secondary notebook. while i write down the kanji i'll work on pronunciation and memorizing the meaning. since my textbook has a reading section, i time myself to read it quickly like 3-5 minutes max and gather the information and answer the questions at the end. i check my answers and then if i miss any, i read it through one more time slowly. but i'll usually read it even after the speed reading to make sure i understand the context, the meaning of any kanji i might come across, and just for fun! my textbook also comes with a cd that my professor uploaded (bless) and i'll work on listening first to see if i understand what's being said and then i'll listen to it while reading the text, followed by speaking along with the cd to make sure i can understand the context and try to "mentally" translate the conversation. it also helps me get better at speaking and gaining confidence! that's pretty much what i do to study japanese both in class and out. some of the skills i use i got from my current professor who helped students pass the jlpt at the n1 level but some are my style of studying a language. hope it helps !!! good luck !!!

also, i've been super lazy this fall break and after it's over i'm gonna have to give everything a 120%! speaking of which, i maxed out all of the possible extra credit points on my last social epidemiology exam and I got 84/70 (120% !!!) this semester is truly blessed but also super stressful

been keeping track of my endometriosis-related pain for the month of may so far! i'm using a calendar spread to help me find out what days i may experience flare-ups and what days i might be feeling "normal". i also made myself a medicine tracker since i have to take quite a few throughout the day and sometimes i tend to forget if i've taken them or not! i made a self care list so when i do get flare-ups i can just focus on me and getting through it, so i can take care of myself and learn to destress, despite the pain. it's been rough lately health wise, as my doctor, mother and i came to the conclusion that i, do in fact, have endometriosis. its a condition that affects 1 in 10 women and roughly 179 million women around the world struggle with this. endometriosis is when the lining of the uterus (the endometrium) grows outside of the uterus, attaching itself to other organs surrounding it, like: fallopian tubes, ovaries, lower intestines, etc. there is no cure and it is chronic, but it is treatable! i'm kind of scared to know that this is what i have now, but i'm happy because now i know how to treat it and i won't be in excruciating pain. this medication i'm on is a big step towards taking my health back! hopefully it works the way it's supposed to. which means i'll be going through medically-induced menopause at 20! i'm just grateful i have a mother who works hard so her children can get the best care possible and that i have an ob who listens to and understands my concerns and has shown to me that he cares about women's health! they are both remarkable people, and play a big role in my new found ability to get my health back!

Spring break has been fun, I've just been really busy. Cleaning, washing, sleeping. Basically everything but writing the 2 essays and completing the one page of Japanese homework I have. I haven't even revised my notes. Which I should do too. I'll most likely get it all done on Saturday. I'm such a slacker. But I haven't been feeling well lately either. So, overall, a good spring break and an okay-ish semester. Time to brace myself for the second half!