What Never Fails To Make Me Cry Are Ancient Toys

did you guys know that the hours continue to pass even if you aren’t using them well. I’ll let you know if I discover more

hey!! to celebrate my birthday month and autumn in general, i thought it would be nice to post a challenge! i always wanted to do my own one. anyone can join, you don’t have to do every day and it’s okay to switch days if the challenge is inconvenient that day. don’t forget to use #nostalgicautumn so i can find your posts. I would appreciate a reblog so as many people as possible can join! so here it is:

let’s get it! set some goals: what do you hope to achieve this october? include some autumn activities.

create an autumn playlist to keep u company this month! (on spotify and post the link, or just write down the songs on here)

what’s your favorite drink for autumn and why? post a recipe if it’s something fancy.

light a candle for today’s study session & post a pic.

write a short love letter to yourself and put it into your jacket pocket to be your lucky charm. if it’s not too personal, post it on here to. otherwise just recap how it was writing to yourself: was it easy or did you struggle a bit?

how do you say “autumn” in your native language / the language you’re learning? plus points if you google the origin.

read this poem. what did you think of it?

give your notes / your bujo some autumn vibes: doodles, autumn colors, … be creative & post a pic.

what’s your favorite quote?

fav study snack this autumn?

today’s to-do: reading! get yourself cozy and enjoy your book.

are you affected by bad weather? what do you do to make yourself feel better?

what’s your morning routine? is there’re something you could do to make it more enjoyable?

night routine?

record yourself explaining your study material and take a walk outside. did this method work for you / will you try it again?

my hands always get super dry when it gets cold outside. so today’s task is easy: use some handcream! any recs?

watch a documentary or a short educational video on youtube. it can be about anything! some ideas: environment, space, crime, famous people (buzzfeed unsolved counts too ;))

what’s your favorite thing about autumn?

stretch when taking a study break today. what stretches did you do? how did it feel?

do you get nervous for exams? what do you do to deal with nervousness?

post a pic of your study space.

collect some leaves, get some fresh air and take some pics. don’t forget to press the leaves!

document your day with some pics. what are you most proud of for getting done today?

describe your ideal autumn day.

how do you study?

get something done today you have been procrastinating on for weeks. it doesn’t have to be study-related and it’s okay if you only spend 5 mins on it! something is always better than nothing.

have you ever had any magical or paranormal experiences?

time to journal! make yourself some tea and let your thoughts out.

give someone a compliment today. what was it?

what was this month’s biggest accomplishment?

time to take a break & enjoy halloween! what are your plans?

Any tips on how to study maths?

Here are a few things that might help:

how to memorise information effectively

how to math

how to study for maths

how to study for maths (2)

studying and exam tips for maths

studying maths

10 tips to excel in maths

xx

I thought there might be a lot of other people who would benefit from reading this, too.

(Original tweet.)

What i’ve learned from college thus far

Stop studying the night before. I have noticed that if i keep forcing myself to learn until last minute (which it’s not gonna happen, you know what you have been processing for a while not just right before they hand the paper sheets) i start doubting myself more

Go with an “i don’t care anymore” attitude to the exam. This one is my fave. With this i mean letting go of every single worry you may have of failing in that moment (not ignoring your books the whole semester) If you don’t care about failing there’s no tension or stress during the exam, therefore you will be able to think more clearly than under pressure.

Figure out your minimum hours of sleep. I learned that i need at least 5 hours to function properly. Find yours and use it in your favor.

Relationships with classmates. You probably will only see your friends in some classes or just one, dont let this unmotivate you and not attend to lectures!! Everyone is asleep and no one will think you’re awkward for sitting alone. Don’t force friendships or try acting like someone you’re not, people can see it and repells them.

Relationships with teachers. Can’t stress this enough, if you’re gonna put effort in creating a bond with someone in college, it has to be your teachers. Try getting there early and pick a seat in the front, make questions via email or in person, if you’re shy like me wait until the end of the lecture and talk to the teacher instead of asking out loud.

Learn from failure. Don’t waste precious time giving yourself a hard time, it won’t make you any smarter. Pay attention to details and correct them for the next time, that’s how champs do it AND YOU’RE ONE OF THEM!

Relaxing. I know how guilty you feel when it’s been days and you haven’t looked at your notes, but hey we all go through that. It’s important to disconnect a little sometimes and come back with a %100 battery instead of a %35, am i right? Just don’t let the relaxation become 2 weeks or a whole month.

Hope these few tips may help you if you need them ♡

Part 2

how I keep myself sane during summer break.

I think we can all agree that the mere idea of having holiday breaks from boring lectures and all-nighter study sessions sounds like heaven; although this romanticized idea of having so much free time often turns into wasted summer days, oversleeping, and basically an anti-social teenage version of house arrest. so, to help you out (or, more to help Myself) here are some things I do to keep myself busy, on a budget (kind of), and mentally healthy during long breaks from school.

continue your morning routine. this is important; by this I mean to basically treat your summer mornings as you would your school mornings, without the rush and alarm. brush your teeth, brush your hair, start/continue a skincare routine, get out of your pajamas and into real clothes, make your bed, make some coffee, eat some breakfast, do it with some music on, whatever you want. this keeps your mind and body into a daily routine. don’t let all your precious no-class mornings of summer go to waste!

savor sleeping in, but not too much. I know its super tempting to go to bed at like 2 AM and wake up the next “morning” at 12PM, but trust me, you’ll regret fucking up your sleep schedule once you actually have to set an alarm and get your ass to class next fall. I’m not saying you should force yourself to set a summer alarm (although, if you really want to train yourself this isn’t a bad idea tbh) but for the love of god, at least go to sleep and wake up at reasonable times. don’t waste your entire day!!

force yourself to see your friends a couple times a week, even if you really don’t want to. obviously this excludes mental health days, but I’ve found that spending time with my friends actually distracts me from any anxiety I’ve felt during the past week. I love my alone time, but human interaction is super important both mentally and physically. as college students we’re all pretty much broke, so don’t underestimate the power of free things- watching netflix at someone’s house, having a boardgame night, going to parks, you name it. as long as you’re with your friends, you’ll have a great time!

clean out your music library + make a playlist or two. y’all know I love a good playlist. this is something totally 100% FREE, and a perfect way to make use of your free time. delete all the stuff you don’t listen to anymore and make a few playlists of your favorite songs, or even go with playlist themes to organize your songs. it’s fun and your future self will probably thank you later for getting rid of so much audible junk.

get back into reading. this is something that was on my personal summer to-do list. I haven’t read a book for myself (aka not for a class) in sooo long, and let me tell you- I don’t know why I ever stopped reading. I know for a fact that once the semester starts I’ll have zero free time to read for myself, so summer is the perfect time to get into a new book or two!

eat your three meals a day +hydrate. I mean this. its very easy to skip/forget meals when you really don’t have any set schedule whatsoever, so plan your meals into your day. even make an alarm if its necessary. also: if you don’t know if you’re drinking enough water, you probably aren’t.

deep clean your room/workspace/closet. I’m super guilty for putting this off but, long breaks like summer are the perfect times to deep clean! what makes it easier for me to clean my room is to go section by section, which means not doing it all in a day (because that gets hella overwhelming and stressful, let me tell you). grab a garbage bag, put on some tunes, and pick a section to clean that day; you’ll be done with the entire space in no time!

outfit plan. for someone like me who has way too much in my closet and somehow still “never has anything to wear”, this is essential! set some outfits out on the floor/bed and take pics of them on your phone so that you can look back on them for some style inspo the next time you have “absolutely NOTHING to wear”.

find a new hobby, even if you’re bad at it. make some collages of your friends, make a scrapbook, learn photoshop, paint a little, learn how to sew, garden, cook, practice your phone photography skills… if there was a time for you to try out new things, it’s NOW.

make a post about all the shit you should do. I’m doing it right now. literally. you’re reading it right now. its not a bad idea.

if you know you have shit to do, plan it into your day! this is where the planner/agenda/bullet journal aspect comes in. having no class and no homework is not an excuse to stop planning out your day, your week, or your month. make some task lists and pencil in your dentist appointments and dates with people and whatnot; and even journal your days while you’re at it! if you’re a planner, never stop. Future You will thank you for it, I promise.

What did you read in September? 💗

the hunger moon, marge piercy

the world’s wife, carol ann duffy

(re-read) the unabridged journals of sylvia plath & her collected poetry

mysteries of small houses, alice notley

gods & mortals: modern poems on classical myths, edited by nina kossman

a strangers mirror, marilyn hacker

aftermath: poems, sandra m. gilbert

someday, i wanna wear a starry crown, jasmine ledesma

incarnadine, mary szybist

stay, illusion, lucie brock-broido

rhapsody in plain yellow, marilyn chin

selected poems ii 1976-1986, margaret atwood

thus were their faces, silvina ocampo

one day less, clarice lispector

& so many more essays & research based pieces but i didn’t bookmark them/have a pdf for them :-( 💛

A million movies to get you in the school spirit

Obviously the school life portrayed in movies is nothing like the reality. Try more disorganisation, mounting stress and constantly messy hair. Nevertheless, we can attempt to forget the reality! I’ve put together this list of high school and college related movies to get you maybe just a little more motivated for school. I’ve put an asterisk (*) next to some of my favourites. Happy watching!

High school related movies:

10 Things I Hate About You (1999)*

17 Again (2009)

21 Jump Street (2012)*

A Cinderella Story (2004)

A Girl Like Her (2015)*

Accepted (2006)

American Beauty (1999)*

An Education (2009)*

Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging (2008)*

Bad Hair Day (2015)

Beastly (2011)

Bratz: The Movie (2007)

Bring It On (2000)

Bring It On Again (2004)

Bring It On: All or Nothing (2006)

Bring It On: Fight to the Finish (2009)

Bring It On: In It to Win It (2007)

Can’t Hardly Wait (1998)

Carrie (2013)

Chronicle (2012)

Clueless (1995)*

Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (2004)

Cyberbully (2011)

Dazed and Confused (1993)

Dead Poets Society (1989)

Dirty Deeds (2005)

Easy A (2010)*

Election (1999)

Endless Love (2014)*

Expelled (2014)

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)

Fired Up! (2009)

Flipped (2010)*

Freaky Friday (2003)

G.B.F. (2013)

Geek Charming (2011)

Geography Club (2013)

Get a Clue (2002)

Girl in Progress (2012)

Grease (1978)*

Hairspray (2007)

Heathers (1988)

High School Musical (2006)

High School Musical 2 (2007)

High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008)

I Love You, Beth Cooper (2009)

Ice Princess (2005)

Into the Storm (2014)

It’s a Boy Girl Thing (2006)*

Jennifer’s Body (2009)

John Tucker Must Die (2006)*

Juno (2007)

Just One of the Guys (1985)

Keith (2008)

LOL (2012)

Mean Girls (2004)*

Mean Girls 2 (2011)

Mono (2016)

Napoleon Dynamite (2004)

Never Been Kissed (1999)

New York Minute (2004)

Not Another Teen Movie (2001)

Paper Towns (2015)

Picture This (2009)

Pink in Pink (1986)

Project X (2012)*

Prom (2011)

Raise Your Voice (2004)

Read It and Weep (2006)

Remember the Titans (2000)

Revenge of the Nerds (1984)

Save the Last Dance (2001)

School of Rock (2003)

She’s All That (1999)

She’s The Man (2006)

Sixteen Candles (1984)

Sleepover (2004)

St. Trinian’s (2007)

Step Up (2006)

Struck by Lightning (2012)

Submarine (2010)

Superbad (2007)*

The Bling Ring (2013)

The Breakfast Club (1985)

The Clique (2008)

The DUFF (2015)*

The Edge of Seventeen (2016)

The First Time (2012)*

The Girl Next Door (2004)*

The History Boys (2006)

The Hot Chick (2002)

The Jerk Theory (2009)

The Lizzie McGuire Movie (2003)

The Perfect Score (2004)

The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)*

The Spectacular Now (2013)

The To Do List (2013)*

The Virgin Suicides (1999)*

Trojan War (1997)

Twilight (2008)

Wild Child (2008)*

College/university related movies:

21 (2008)

21 and Over (2013)*

22 Jump Street (2014)*

After the Dark (2013)*

Bad Neighbours (2014)*

College (2008)

Good Will Hunting (1997)

Legally Blonde (2001)*

Liberal Arts (2012)

Like Crazy (2011)

Monsters University (2013)

Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising (2016)

Pitch Perfect (2012)*

Pitch Perfect 2 (2015)

So Undercover (2012)

Sorority Wars (2009)

Sydney White (2007)

The House Bunny (2008)

The Social Network (2010)

High school and college/university related TV shows:

Awkward (2011 - 2016)

Bad Education (2012 - 2014)

Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990 - 2000)

Community (2009 - 2015)

Daria (1997 - 2001)

Educating Essex (2011)

Educating Yorkshire (2013)

Faking It (2014 - 2016)

Freaks and Geeks (1999 - 2000)

Friday Night Lights (2006 - 2011)

Gilmore Girls (2000 - 2007)

Glee (2009 - 2015)

Gossip Girl (2007 - 2012)

How to Get Away with Murder (2014 - present)

Ja’mie Private School Girl (2013)

Pretty Little Liars (2010 - present)

Puberty Blues (2012 - 2014)*

Riverdale (2017 - present)*

Saved by the Bell (1989 - 1992)

Scream Queens (2015 - present)

Skins (2007 - 2013)

Summer Heights High (2008)

Teen Wolf (2011 - present)

The Carrie Diaries (2013 - 2014)

The Inbetweeners (2008 - 2010)

The O.C. (2003 - 2007)

The Secret Life of the American Teenager (2011 - 2013)

The Vampire Diaries (2010 - 2017)

Waterloo Road (2006 - 2015)

I’ve not seen every single one of this list, so if it doesn’t really have much to do with education, that is why! Please feel free to add you own or message me so I can add more. 

Developing Self Discipline

Requested by flowering-veins. Thank you!

Self-discipline can be considered a type of selective training, creating new habits of thought, action, and speech toward improving yourself and reaching goals. Self-discipline can also be task oriented and selective. View self-discipline as positive effort, rather than one of denial.

Schedule a small task for a given time of the day; Practice deliberate delaying.

Schedule a particular task in the morning and once in the evening.

The task should not take more than 15 minutes.

Wait for the exact scheduled time. When the schedule time is due, start the task.

Stick to the schedule for at least two months.

Advantage: Scheduling helps you focus on your priorities. By focusing on starting tasks rather than completing them, you can avoid procrastination.

Schedule a task and hold to its time; Avoid acting on impulse.

Track your progress; At the end of the allotted time, keep a record of accomplishment that builds over time.

If you begin to have surplus time, fill it with small tasks, make notes to yourself, plan other tasks, etc.

Advantage: Building a record will help you track how much time tasks take.

If you begin to have surplus time, fill it with small tasks, make notes to yourself, plan other tasks, etc.

Harness the power of routine.

Instead of devoting a lot of hours one day, and none the other and then a few on an another day and so on, allocate a specific time period each day of the week for that task.

Hold firm.

Don’t set a goal other than time allocation, simply set the habit of routine.

Apply this technique to your homework or your projects, you will be on your way to getting things done

Advantage: You are working on tasks in small increments, not all at once. You first develop a habit, then the habit does the job for you.

Use self discipline to explore time management

Time management can become an overwhelming task. When you do not have control over your own self, how can you control time? Begin with task-oriented self-discipline and build from there.

Advantage: As you control tasks, you build self-discipline. As you build self-discipline, you build time management. As you build time management, you build self-confidence.

Maintain a self-discipline log book.

Record the start and end times of the tasks.

Review for feedback on your progress

Advantage: This log book can be a valuable tool to get a better picture over your activities in order to prioritize activities, and realize what is important and not important on how you spend your time.

Schedule your work day and studies.

When you first begin your work day, or going to work take a few minutes and write down on a piece of paper the tasks that you want to accomplish for that day.

Prioritize the list.

Immediately start working on the most important one.

Try it for a few days to see if the habit works for you.

Habits form over time: how much time depends on you and the habit.

Advantage: When you have a clear idea as to what you want to achieve for the day at its start, the chances are very high that you will be able to proactively accomplish the tasks. Writing or sketching out the day helps.

Discouragement:

Do not be intimidated; do not be put off by the challenge

If you slip, remember this is natural

Take a break and then refresh the challenge

Tricks:

Associate a new habit with an old one: If you drink coffee, make that first cup the time to write out and prioritize your tasks.

Advantage: Association facilitates neural connections!

Mark your progress:

On a calendar in your bathroom, on a spreadsheet at your computer, on your breakfast table: Check off days you successfully follow up. If you break the routine, start over!

Advantage: Visualizing is a ready reinforcement of progress

Role models:

Observe the people in your life and see to what extent self discipline and habits help them accomplish goals. Ask them for advice on what works, what does not.