Ominous Positivity

once you stop fantasizing about that ideal version of yourself and start working towards becoming that person by setting your alarm clock earlier and actually going to the gym and actually volunteering at places and actually eating healthier and not procrastinating and working just a little bit harder you’ll realize that it was so easy all along. becoming your ideal self will only ever exist in your mind until you make the decision to work towards becoming that person. get up!! get going!! it’s now or never!! there is no light at the end of the tunnel!! get that flashlight and pave your own path bitch bc no one else is going to do it for u!!

✨The language learning tip you have not heard (works for all written languages)

The tip: Copy down (entire) passages of text

Why it works: You get WRITING SKILLS since you are writing down every word. You become familiar with the spelling, grammar, different writing styles, script (if you are unfamiliar with it), etc. You get READING SKILLS because obviously you are reading, exposed to the written text in context. You can even incorporate SPEAKING and LISTENING SKILLS by listen to the audio format (you can try google translate audio if you find nothing else) and/or read it aloud to yourself. Since you are limited by the speed of your writing, you will pay more attention to pronunciation. *Also, everyone knows you retain more information when you write by hand.*

How to:

1. Select a text. Make sure it is appropriate to your level and desired new vocabulary set. If I want to know more political vocabulary, I will read a news article. But for colloquial language/slang, I will read a YA novel.

(Btw you can find tons of texts for novels online if you search: “title name” + pdf)

2. Get a paper and writing utensil (you can dedicate a notebook to this if you want).

3. Don’t stop until the text is done or your hand hurts

4. Limit looking up vocabulary. If the text is more challenging for you, allow yourself to look up about one word per paragraph. If it is at your level, then wait to the end of the session to open the dictionary. Chances are, you’ll figure out the word’s meaning a few lines later.

4. Go back to the text later to review and/or make vocabulary lists from what you learned (flashcards like anki or memrise would be great especially if you put the sentence on one side with the word indicated and a representative picture on the other side

Ex. Side one: I planted a *rose* today

Side two: picture of a rose in a pot)

**btw I don’t know if this is an “undiscovered” method. I used this to learn spelling and writing structures in my native language when I was little. I would even put the writing right in my picture books**

Masterpost of Free Romantic Literature & Theory (European) (Gothic Literature)

British Romanticism

Songs of Innocence & Songs of Experience by William Blake Poems and Songs of Robert Burns Don Juan & Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage by Baron George Gordon Byron Collected Poetry of Lord Byron The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge Lyrical Ballads, With a Few Other Poems by Coleridge and Wordsworth Collected Poetry by John Keats Ivanhoe; Waverly & The Lady of the Lake by Walter Scott The Complete Poetical Works by Percy Bysshe Shelley

French Romanticism

The Count of Monte Cristo; The Three Musketeers & The Man in the Iron Mask by Alexandre Dumas One of Cleopatra’s Nights and Other Fantastic Romances by Théophile Gautier Notre Dame de Paris & Les Misérables by Victor Hugo Collected Prose and Essays of Victor Hugo Poems by Victor Hugo Carmen by Prosper Mérimée The Red and the Black by Stendhal Cinq Mars by Alfred de Vigny

German Romanticism

Were I a Little Bird; The Mountaineer; As Many as Sand-grains in the Sea; The Swiss Deserter; The Tailor in Hell & The Reaper by Ludwig Achim von Arnim and Clemens Brentano The Broken Ring by Joseph von Eichendorff Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Collected Poetry by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Fairytales by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm The Prose Writings of Heinrich Heine by Heinrich Heine Hegel’s Philosophy of Mind by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel The Golden Pot; The Sandman & The Devil’s Elixir by Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann Undine (Selections) by Friedrich Baron de la Motte-Fouqué Henry of Ofterdingen: A Romance by Novalis The Iron Idol by Jakob Schaffner The Robbers & Mary Stuart: A Tragedy by Friedrich Schiller Tales from the “Phantasus,” etc. by Ludwig Tieck

Polish Romanticism

Moja Beatrice by Zygmunt Krasiński Pan Tadeusz by Adam Mickiewicz Anhelli by Juliusz Słowacki

Russian Romanticism

A Hero of Our Time by Mikhail Iurevich Lermontov Poems by Alexander Pushkin Eugene Onegin by Alexander Pushkin Collected Works of Alexander Pushkin Collected Poetry by Fyodor Tyutchev Poems by Vasily Zhukovsky

Spanish Romanticism

Cantares gallegos by Rosalía de Castro El Estudiante de Salamanca and Other Selections by José de Espronceda The Cid Campeador: A Historical Romance by Antonio de Trueba

Historical Theory and Background 

Literary and Philosophical Essays: French, German and Italian The French Revolution of 1789 by John S. C. Abbott Rousseau and Romanticism by Irving Babbitt A History of English Romanticism in the Eighteenth Century by Henry A. Beers Main Currents in Nineteenth Century Literature - The Romantic School in Germany by Georg Brandes On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History by Thomas Carlyle The Sacred Wood: Essays on Poetry and Criticism by T. S. Eliot The Destiny of Man by Johann Gottlieb Fichte The Faust Legend from Marlowe to Goethe by Kuno Francke The Hero of Esthonia and Other Studies in the Romantic Literature by W. F. Kirby Romantic Ireland by M. F. Mansfield and Blanche McManus The Diary of Dr. John William Polidori, 1816, Relating to Byron, Shelley, etc. Romance: Two Lectures by Sir Walter Alexander Raleigh The Social Contract & Discourses by Jean-Jacques Rousseau A Defence of Poetry and Other Essays by Percy Bysshe Shelley On Liberty by John Stuart Mill The Legend of Sir Lancelot du Lac by Jessie L. Weston

Academic Theory

Introduction: Replicating Bodies in Nineteenth-Century Science and Culture by Will Abberley Walter Scott’s works perception by his russian contemporaries by O. G. Anossova Theories of Space and the Nineteenth-Century Novel by Isobel Armstrong The Romantic subject as an absolutely autonomous individual by  Miljana Cunta Russian-German Connections in the Editing Practice in the Mid-19th Century: Vasiliy Zhukovsky and Justinus Kerner by Natalia Egorovna Nikonova and Maria Vladimirovna Dubenko Fichte as a Post-Kantian Philosopher and His Political Theory: A Return to Romanticism by Özgür Olgun Erden Negotiating boundaries: Encyclopédie, romanticism, and the construction of science by Marcelo Fetz Wandering Motive and Its Appeal on Reluctantly Wandering Franz Schubert by  Dragana Jeremić-Molnar The Caucasian Motif in Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s ‘House of the Dead’ in the Light of the Polemic with Lermontov by Xuyang Mi The Core of Romanticism by Monika Milosavljević Romantic worldview as a narcissistic construct’by Branko Mitrović Topographic Transmissions and How To Talk About Them: The Case of the Southern Spa in Nineteenth-Century Russian Fiction by Benjamin Morgan Lermontov’s Romanticism and Jena School by Liudmila G. Shakirova The Self in a Crystal Sphere: Juliusz Słowacki’s Concept of the Subject (in his works from the 1830) by Marek Stanisz The Many Faces of Nature: An Ecocritical Reading of the Concepts of Wilderness and the Sublime in John Keats’ Selected Poems by Morteza Emamgholi Tabar Malakshah & Behzad Pourqarib

“i didn’t sign up for a goddamn history/literature/art course” as a complaint about languages courses absolutely baffle me because history, culture, everything is important when learning a language, not just the grammar, karen

50 Aesthetic-ish things in Spanish ✨

Requested by anon. ✨ Listen while studying

La Luna y las estrellas. The moon and the stars

Luciérnagas en la oscuridad de la noche. Fireflies in the darkness of the night

Mañanas con niebla. Misty mornings

Piedras preciosas. Precious gems, gemstones

Luces de neón. Neon lights

Fotos polaroid. Polaroid pictures

Pétalos de cerezo. Cherry tree petals

Discos de vinilo. Vinyl records

Rosas rosas. Pink roses

Algodón de azúcar, nube, nube de algodón. Cotton candy 

Una copa de vino. A glass of wine

Collar de perlas. Pearl necklace

Caminar descalzo/a. To walk barefoot

Una película antigua. An old movie

Galaxias y constelaciones. Galaxies and constellations

Velas. Candles

Las nubes en el cielo. The clouds in the sky

El océano. The ocean

Novelas románticas. Romantic novels

Una ventana con vistas. A window with a view

Sábanas de seda. Silk sheets

Poemas de amor. Love poems

Castillos y palacios. Castles and palaces

Margaritas. Daisies

Una taza de café. A cup of coffee

El amanecer. Dawn

Rayos de sol. Sunshine

Cubitos de azúcar. Sugar cubes

Museos de arte. Art museums

Perfume. Perfume

El bosque. The forest, the woods

Un carrusel, tiovivo, calesita. A carousel

Antigüedades. Antiques

Agua cristalina. Cristal clear water

Un piano de cola. A grand piano

Una inmensa biblioteca. An immense library

Un reloj de arena. An hourglass

Sala de juegos, salón recreativo, los recreativos. Arcade

Lámpara de lava. Lava lamp

Terciopelo. Velvet

Sombra de ojos. Eyeshadow

Cartas del tarot. Tarot cards

Carreteras infinitas. Infinite roads

Una hoguera, fogata. A bonfire

El primer día de nieve. The first day of snow

Vino blanco. White wine

Flores en el pelo. Flowers in your hair

Un diario. A diary

Una boa de plumas. Feather boa

Las historias de cuando éramos niños. The stories of when when we were kids

my vocab lists ✨ request here

Grammar Friday: Ya and Todavía

~brianna

If this inspires you pass it on!🤔♻️📲

Tips to learn a new language

The 75 most common words make up 40% of occurrences The 200 most common words make up 50% of occurrences The 524 most common words make up 60% of occurrences The 1257 most common words make up 70% of occurrences The 2925 most common words make up 80% of occurrences The 7444 most common words make up 90% of occurrences The 13374 most common words make up 95% of occurrences The 25508 most common words make up 99% of occurrences

(Sources: 5 Steps to Speak a New Language by Hung Quang Pham)

This article has an excellent summary on how to rapidly learn a new language within 90 days.

We can begin with studying the first 600 words. Of course chucking is an effective way to memorize words readily. Here’s a list to translate into the language you desire to learn that I grabbed from here! :)

EXPRESSIONS OF POLITENESS (about 50 expressions)      

‘Yes’ and ‘no’: yes, no, absolutely, no way, exactly.    

Question words: when? where? how? how much? how many? why? what? who? which? whose?    

Apologizing: excuse me, sorry to interrupt, well now, I’m afraid so, I’m afraid not.    

Meeting and parting: good morning, good afternoon, good evening, hello, goodbye, cheers, see you later, pleased to meet you, nice to have met.    

Interjections: please, thank you, don’t mention it, sorry, it’ll be done, I agree, congratulations, thank heavens, nonsense.    

NOUNS (about 120 words)

Time: morning, afternoon, evening, night; Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday; spring, summer, autumn, winter; time, occasion, minute, half-hour, hour, day, week, month, year.    

People: family, relative, mother, father, son, daughter, sister, brother, husband, wife; colleague, friend, boyfriend, girlfriend; people, person, human being, man, woman, lady, gentleman, boy, girl, child.    

Objects: address, bag, book, car, clothes, key, letter (=to post), light (=lamp), money, name, newspaper, pen, pencil, picture, suitcase, thing, ticket.    

Places: place, world, country, town, street, road, school, shop, house, apartment, room, ground; Britain, name of the foreign country, British town-names, foreign town-names.    

Abstract: accident, beginning, change, color, damage, fun, half, help, joke, journey, language, English, name of the foreign language, letter (of alphabet), life, love, mistake, news, page, pain, part, question, reason, sort, surprise, way (=method), weather, work.    

Other: hand, foot, head, eye, mouth, voice; the left, the right; the top, the bottom, the side; air, water, sun, bread, food, paper, noise.    

PREPOSITIONS (about 40 words)    

General: of, to, at, for, from, in, on.    

Logical: about, according-to, except, like, against, with, without, by, despite, instead of.    

Space: into, out of, outside, towards, away from, behind, in front of, beside, next to, between, above, on top of, below, under, underneath, near to, a long way from, through.    

Time: after, ago, before, during, since, until.    

DETERMINERS (about 80 words)  

Articles and numbers: a, the; nos. 0–20; nos. 30–100; nos. 200–1000; last, next, 1st–12th.    

Demonstrative: this, that.    

Possessive: my, your, his, her, its, our, their.    

Quantifiers: all, some, no, any, many, much, more, less, a few, several, whole, a little, a lot of.    

Comparators: both, neither, each, every, other, another, same, different, such.    

ADJECTIVES (about 80 words)    

Color: black, blue, green, red, white, yellow.    

Evaluative: bad, good, terrible; important, urgent, necessary; possible, impossible; right, wrong, true.    

General: big, little, small, heavy; high, low; hot, cold, warm; easy, difficult; cheap, expensive; clean, dirty; beautiful, funny (=comical), funny (=odd), usual, common (=shared), nice, pretty, wonderful; boring, interesting, dangerous, safe; short, tall, long; new, old; calm, clear, dry; fast, slow; finished, free, full, light (=not dark), open, quiet, ready, strong.    

Personal: afraid, alone, angry, certain, cheerful, dead, famous, glad, happy, ill, kind, married, pleased, sorry, stupid, surprised, tired, well, worried, young.    

VERBS (about 100 words)    

arrive, ask, be, be able to, become, begin, believe, borrow, bring, buy, can, change, check, collect, come, continue, cry, do, drop, eat, fall, feel, find, finish, forget, give, going to, have, have to, hear, help, hold, hope, hurt (oneself), hurt (someone else), keep, know, laugh, learn, leave, lend, let (=allow), lie down, like, listen, live (=be alive), live (=reside), look (at), look for, lose, love, make, may (=permission), may (=possibility), mean, meet, must, need, obtain, open, ought to, pay, play, put, read, remember, say, see, sell, send, should, show, shut, sing, sleep, speak, stand, stay, stop, suggest, take, talk, teach, think, travel, try, understand, use, used to, wait for, walk, want, watch, will, work (=operate), work (=toil), worry, would, write.    

PRONOUNS (about 40 words)

Personal: I, you, he, she, it, we, they, one; myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves.    

Possessive: mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs.    

Demonstrative: this, that.    

Universal: everyone, everybody, everything, each, both, all, one, another.    

Indefinite: someone, somebody, something, some, a few, a little, more, less; anyone, anybody, anything, any, either, much, many.    

Negative: no-one, nobody, nothing, none, neither.    

ADVERBS (about 60 words)

Place: here, there, above, over, below, in front, behind, nearby, a long way away, inside, outside, to the right, to the left, somewhere, anywhere, everywhere, nowhere, home, upstairs, downstairs.    

Time: now, soon, immediately, quickly, finally, again, once, for a long time, today, generally, sometimes, always, often, before, after, early, late, never, not yet, still, already, then (=at that time), then (=next), yesterday, tomorrow, tonight.    

Quantifiers: a little, about (=approximately), almost, at least, completely, very, enough, exactly, just, not, too much, more, less.    

Manner: also, especially, gradually, of course, only, otherwise, perhaps, probably, quite, so, then (=therefore), too (=also), unfortunately, very much, well.    

CONJUNCTIONS (about 30 words)

Coordinating: and, but, or; as, than, like.    

Time & Place: when, while, before, after, since (=time), until; where.    

Manner & Logic: how, why, because, since (=because), although, if; what, who, whom, whose, which, that.