there's no one butter than you

I’m now entering my third semester of my second year college, and I think I’ve gathered enough experience in college to give relevant tips to incoming freshmen or just regular old college students. I’m not an expert in getting all As, not getting those 4.0s in every subject, but I have maintained my place as a Dean’s Lister since my first sem freshmen year, so I think I do have an idea on what I’m talking about. Feel free to take my advice! (or not).

homework/projects 1. seriously, once you get information on your homework/project, start them immediately. DO NOT wait till last minute to complete them because you will regret it. Do them as soon as the professor assigns it to you so you won’t spend the next few weeks stressing out on the amount of homework you have.

2. start creative projects first. unless you can pull creativity out of your hat whenever you need it, I highly suggest you start creative projects as soon as  you get them because trust me when I say you do not want to be decorating/designing shit when the due date is tomorrow.

3. do your best in every assignment; trust me, the points will count at the end of the semester.

4. do extra credit work and treat it as priority work; excess points are cushion points. 

5. group projects suck but here’s a good rule to keep in mind: if you’re the leader, delegate those tasks (read up on division of labor). if you’re a group member, do the delegated task as best as you can. know your goal as a group; are you guys in it to get to know each other and build rapport? then the output won’t matter as much and focus on helping and getting to know each other. Is the output the most important part? Then be real with each other; if you can’t do this task, then don’t do it & instead give it to someone else. Some may not even get any work at all, because what matters is the output. 

friends/other people/professors 1.  keep your circle small. your friends are there to guide you, support you and tell you when you’re wrong. find the crowd you vibe with the most because trust me, the right friends are medicine to all college problems

2. those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind. keep that in mind, my dear.

3. love the professor? do your best in their class. hate the professor? do your best in their class. it doesn’t matter whether you hate the prof or not; they still hold your grade at the end of the semester. if you really can’t stand them, just think of it as training your ability to be humble (and not punch someone).

4. talk to your professors. they’re not as bad as you think they are.

5. seriously, go to their consultation hours when you think you’re failing. 

class/notes 1. TAKE NOTES. cannot emphasize this enough. don’t rely on anyone to take your notes for you; it’s your education, it’s time you take responsibility for it.

2. sit in front of class if you believe you’ll get distracted if you sit in the back. 

3. talk to your seatmate! you’ll need them when you get sick and can’t come to class.

4. again, TAKE NOTES. don’t photograph the slide. write that shit down, or type it if you don’t want to write. bottom line, don’t picture it. 

5. revise, revise, revise. if you want to understand the material, a good way to go about it is to revise your notes in a way YOU can understand.

having fun/relationships 1. have fun! i was too stressed when I was a freshman all because I focused too much on getting 4.0s. It’s possible to get 4.0s and still have fun! having fun doesn’t need to be about drinking (although if it is, then stay safe doing it!) it could be reading a book or hanging out with your friends, whatever works for you and keeps your mind off school for awhile.

2. it’s okay to have crushes! they could be your inspiration (but don’t let them be your distraction)

3. talk to that cute guy you’ve been classmates with ever since February who you can’t stop looking at. you’ve got nothing to lose.

4. relationships are a good source of support, love and care but pls don’t forget your friends.

5. learn how to have fun, and college will be easier. 

Reminder: having fun does not equal to slacking off.

A Small Guide to Journaling by Eintsein

https://www.edx.org/school/harvardx

But TBH I prefer the MIT Open Coursewear approach. Feel like taking a class on the policy and economics of nuclear engineering? MIT’s got you covered:

https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/find-by-topic/#cat=engineering&subcat=nuclearengineering&spec=nuclearsystemspolicyandeconomics

In fact they’ve got  you covered with A LOT of their courses, everything from fine arts to immunology.

I’m looking to follow some more grad student studyblr…mainly because I need people who will understand my thesis complaints. Add your program and let’s get to know each other! 

This cool little website, called readlang, allows you to upload your book, in your target language, from epub form into their website, right? And you just read your book from there. When you don’t know a word, what do you do? Do you go to google dot com and type in that word? Nope. You fucking click it. And it tells you the word. 

I thought this would be a nice post to take with you as we ring in the new year and start to etch out plans for 2019. More often than not, when we first start something, the initial excitement can help us achieve a lot, but more often than not, it fizzles out. 

I firmly that passion is more than just a feeling, it’s something we can work on, and the 5W1H is a great place to start, these questions are just examples, and may be better suited for some circumstances than others.

- ̗̀ what  ̖́-

what do you actually want to do?

what is the topic / subject / discipline at hand?

what’s the main focus?

(just so you don’t stray too far, not that straying is always a bad thing)

what is the end goal?

what are some possible roadblocks? 

(planning ahead can sometimes help to offset any frustrations or disappointment when you do encounter them)

- ̗̀ why  ̖́-

why are you doing this? 

(your purpose for doing something often becomes your drive)

why is this important? 

(for you, but also for everyone else)

why is this needed?

- ̗̀ when  ̖́-

when are you doing this 

(this sets the context for what you are doing, bc it decides the environment you’re working in; the climate of the STEM sector now is so different than it was 10 years ago)

- ̗̀ where  ̖́-

where are you working?

(eg studying marine biology at a coastal region is so different than doing it inland, it’s not impossible, just different.)

where’s the ideal environment? 

(do you study best at a cafe? or do you like peace and quiet? is your work area too cluttered?)

- ̗̀ who  ̖́-

who are you doing this with? 

(your team, study partners, etc. are very important, in terms of their attitudes, work style etc.)

who are the people you surround yourself with?

(it’s very important to surround yourself with people who encourage and support you)

who are your role models?

(you can use these people as a point to work towards or inspiration, but you also need to be your own person and do your own thing)

- ̗̀ how  ̖́-

how are you studying?

how do you wish to study? 

(this is so important because no matter how much you like a subject, the wrong way of studying can really bore / disinterest you.)

how do you define success? 

(clarifying your goals can help you see what you’re working towards, it’s a nice encouragement, but only if they’re attainable)

how can you work towards this goal?

(setting a plan in motion can be so exciting while also making sure you’re getting stuff done)