Senior Year - Blog Posts

i literally have a crush of this guy, and we're senior meaning we probably not going to see each other after graduation... so should I just take my shot???!

the two types of senior year backpacks:

cute kid's backpack bcuz it's fun and you don't have much to carry

or

a duck taped and safety pinned monstrosity that has lasted you your entire high-school career (and maybe longer).

no in between.

Growing Pains

I’ve been looking at my body lately

Seeing how it grows

How it’s shaped

How it moves

At first it was fun

Feeling myself being all attractive and cute

Stretch marks on my butt meaning it’s getting bigger is a real confidence booster

But yet

I don’t stop growing

My face is changing

My legs are changing

My skin is taking different textures

It’s a little bit terrifying

And what about senior year?

So close to college

What do I do then?

With a major that is fueled purely by a dream

By a life long passion

I may enjoy it

But for how long?

Will it grow old?

I’m getting older

And I’m scared for what the world has in store for me.

It’s really just now hitting me

That I’m not going to be a child soon

What’s sad is that I don’t feel too much different

I feel more self reliant

Confident in myself

But the part where I understand the cruelty of people and the world has stayed the same

I already knew it too well.

I feel humble

At ease

But also, I feel like a kid that’s not ready

I feel like my body is growing out of my soul

Maybe not that…

Maybe my soul is trying it’s hardest to stretch

So it can fit the shape of my body

I wanna stay a kid

But still have freedom

Is this an option?

For years

And years

I’ve had a mirror in front of my bed

And my gaze would always go to it

I looked at myself

At my reflection

Thinking back to how I was

What I used to see in that reflection

Is so jarring

Growing up may be scary

But it’s also so beautiful

I feel grown

But still young enough to enjoy my life

This is the part

Where I leave my worries behind

Where I enjoy myself

Where I am confident but humble

Where I stop caring about others

And just let me be me

Because this may be the last time that I’m able to do that.

This year

Senior year.

wow so i start my last year of school in less than a week? ok. i see how it is.

Also I’m so sorry for being lowkey inactive school is kicking my ass I’m so busy but that’s what I get….

What if we took photos with the fnaf security cams

Wedding after party

I’m so happy to have a new mom

Omega mart…. More like alpha mart

Goodbye America, hello Las Vegas!

Aquarium trip

Camping trip with friends

Hanging out in a flood

My boyfriend making protest art

We just beat up a rapist at a show

How To Study Anything At 10x Speed

This is not a bs guide, these are some tips that have actually worked for me and they can work for you too. The thing is, it's fairly really easy. I have sometimes managed to prepare for a test before 15 mins by just reading through it. It's fascinating if you break it down.

Mindset Change

A mind set change is everything. If you think it is easy. The topic will be more bearable. If you think it's tough, it's going to be more tough. So, first thing is first. Be open. You are not dumb, you can easily understand everything if you just remove the concept of "It is too hard or boring"

I once heard that the subject isn't boring, you are bored. So, change your thought process. Start with, "I can handle this"

Break It Down

Not your chapter. I mean the topic itself. Line by line if you have to. I did this exact thing for accounts whenever i had to do ratios. It was a pain. An unwanted pain. I couldn't understand anything. But i sat down one day and read every single line of the textbook for that topic. I made what i call "Line Visuals". This is simple.

You read a paragraph => You don't understand anything.

Read every line => Draw it

Understand the key terms used there

And then draw a single visual representation for that entire topic.

I'll guarantee you, you will understand it. Review it once a day for a week and then once a week.

Story Method

People remember stories more than normal facts or random pieces of data. Stories allow you to link different facts together and make it easier for you to process.

The easiest way to do this is using "FTF" (First, Then, Finally).

First, the main character (you or anyone else you imagine) will start on a journey. That's scene one. You will need to associate some points to this scene. This will mostly include the overall concept. Basic understanding.

Then, the main character will face a problem. This will include all the major questions revolving around the topic.

Finally, the main character will find the answers. Let's break it down more.

What i love about this is that it can be used for sudden test/ pop quizzes because all you need to do is just remember the story.

If you want to read more about it, check out: How To Study Using The "Story Method"

Use Mnemonics

Learn with this. It helps you to remember easily. Make catchy phrases to remember points/facts. These are like the building blocks of studying anything. Stick small notes to your books writing the phrases beside the topic so the next time you want to revise it, it's easy.

Connect Similar Topic

Connect all your related subjects. Everything in school is somehow connected. I usually used to connect economics and business studies concepts. Sometimes even computers so... Connect them.

Active Recall

Active recall is like the number one tip i'd recommend. It's easy and most of you probably do it already. You just have to keep revising and testing yourself at the materials periodically. It's easy and effective.

Teach What You Learn

You learn the most when you teach. I had taken my friends for this. Study and teach it to them. This helps because you have to have a clear understanding of the material first rather to teach them and you may end up with some important feedback. Your friends might ask a specific question you didn't know the answer to and now all of you are trying to perfect yourself with the material.

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Additional Tips:

Tips for understanding complex topics

How To Self Study

Tips To Study Concept-Oriented Subjects

How To Study For Longer Hours

How To Study Multiple Subjects

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I hope it helps! :)

By the way, all of these tips are from my previous posts. But honestly this is what i do to actually study faster. It actually works for me and i hope it works for you too :)

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Floor To Ceiling Method

This is something i found out recently. When you're trying to build a habit or if you want to achieve a specific goal or anything. You just have to put in a really simple chart like this.

Basically, let's say, i want to lose some weight. That's the habit that i want to build. So, that's your first step.

Step 1: Set your goal

Set your goal, whether it is losing weight or getting good grades or straight As. The trick is to be extremely specific. Write your Goal down. And write a single activity that you can do everyday to achieve your goal.

Step 2: Set your bare minimum as your floor.

Your bare minimum, let's say, a 15 min walk or 10 push ups or some jumping jacks. It could be anything. Literally no matter how small. Set a floor. Your bare minimum action that you do when you don't even feel like doing anything.

Step 3: Assign small goals for each level.

At level 1, set another action that is just a bit more challenging than the bare minimum. Then, at level 2, raise the action a bit more. And level 3 must be harder than that.

Step 4: Then set your ceiling which is a full on focus activity.

Set a ceiling which is the hardest action, let's say 1 hour of exercise. That's your highest peak action.

So, your aim must be to do your "Ceiling" activity everyday but on days which you feel that you are burnt out or are tired? This is the method that might help.

The trick is to actually never miss a day. Not a single one. You can do level 1, 2 or 3 depending on the day or even the bare minimum would be enough.

This method helps you to actually realize that you don't have to achieve your ceilings every single day. Sometimes, the floor is also enough and the trick is to not let a day go by without doing some actionable step towards your goals

This Helps In:

Maintaining Consistency

Improves Motivation

Isn't Toxic

Gives you a level that you can adapt to your day

It's easy to build habits

Hope it helps! :)

Goals For This Year

I know I'm like 3 months late but I was waiting for the academic year to end so right now I'm fresh out of high school and obviously my priorities look different now so let's get down to it. Last year's goal post is here

It's almost the same for a few things. Some of my goals are standard so let's go

Personal:

Finish Quran at least 2 times

Memorize Juz 30 and half of Juz 29

Sleep and wake up at the same time everyday (5 am and 11 pm)

Exercise everyday

Maintain good mental health

Pray Tahajjud everyday

Get experience in data entry (I got myself a small gig every week so I guess it's good)

Figure out college

Academic:

(I'm not really taking a content heavy course so this is going to be a short list)

Maintain good grades in college semesters

Search for courses and internships

Extra curriculars:

Brush up my Arabic, especially speaking skills

Maintain this blog

Get into some frontend development

Open up a business

Improvements to be made/Fields to explore:

Confidence in speaking

Finance management

Frontend development

Arabic speaking fluency

So, if you noticed, compared to last year's goals. This year is pretty low . One main reason? I'm done with high school so obviously I don't have any long list for academics, i just want to build something stable so i guess this is something i'm working with. I don't want to pressurize myself into getting perfect grades in college because let's be honest, the degree doesn't count. It's the things that you do outside of it.

“Lack of direction, not lack of time, is the problem. We all have twenty-four hour days.” - Zig Ziglar

Relentless hardwork beats talent/intelligence. Every. Single. Time.

So the next time you feel like you're not talented/intelligent/good enough. Remember this. You're working hard for it. That's what matters.

There will be people better than you but there is absolutely no rule for you to not work harder than them.

When people say they feel tired all the time, my only question is "What time do you sleep?" Like, If you sleep at 2 in the morning, of course you'll feel tired.

Don't set alarms in the morning. Set alarms to go to sleep. The max time you can stay awake is 12.

You sleep at the right time and you will automatically change for the better.

Don't push your body to do work beyond it's limit.

Mistakes I made in my senior year that I don't want anyone else to repeat

I made a similar post last year for junior year so if anyone wants to check that out, click here!

I missed out on a lot of fun because of studying

I was too serious, I just realised that now

Studied the whole year and did well, only to burn out during finals so take a break. The world does not burn because you left one question

Most of my conversations revolved around college which by the way will irritate people. Talk about actual things, be light hearted.

Spent a lot of time on the phone in the morning

Slept late. Do not follow this. Seriously.

Didn't take time out for myself

Got too addicted to the concept of learning from AI (I mean during learning and not assignments)

Loved the concept of productivity, ended up back firing.

My anxiety sky rocketed because of pressure

People will say sh*t, you don't have to listen to them

And sometimes when people say sh*t. Listen to them

I thought the same study methods I used for my junior year could be applied to senior year but no, I took too much time, trying to force myself to follow those methods and that heightened my frustration because they didn't work (so if something doesn't work even after a month? Your sign to revaluate)

Just because a method of studying worked for you in the past, doesn't mean it will work all the time so don't continue it.

Thought my whole happiness would come with that one freaking grade on my progress grade but newsflash? it didn't

Was forced into things I didn't like, competitions and extra curriculars mainly. Worst part? I won all the ones I participated in but it just felt worthless.

I empathized with others but I couldn't empathize with myself

Stopped giving a shit about certain things that actually mattered

I spent my whole senior year comforting others who had problems but never shared mine. And the result? Burnout plus loneliness.

Panicked during exams and ended up questioning myself too much.

My mental health deteriorated but I managed.

(Again, it is for your referencing obviously. I will look at this when I'm going to college.)

End Of School Life

I'm curious because i just completed my whole school life and i literally feel relieved but most of my classmates were hugging each other with teary eyes so...

How To Self Study

This is coming from a girl who spent her fresher and sophomore year studying at home and yes, I got good grades. So, here are some tips that I followed for studying by myself without depending on any teachers.

So, let's get into it!

Gather and organise material

This is important, why? What are you going to study if you have absolutely no idea what your syllabus and study material is? By materials I mean:

Textbooks (If you have any)

Practice papers

Previous year papers

Extra reading materials/ Reference books

If you don't have any textbooks. Go through the topics that you have and gather resources from different sources.

Tip: Have at least 1 extra reading material for every subject/paper. It helps you understand some topics that are explained in a complex manner in textbooks which is almost all the time.

Don't depend on your teacher

Teachers are good. Seriously. But their attention will always be shifty. They have a lot of students to teach, from many other classes so if you depend only on your teachers for clarifying your doubts or being at the back of you to study then newsflash, its going to be hard. Rather, be your own teacher. Don't go "I'll ask this to her/him tomorrow after class" because that will be your answer every time you have even a small question which can easily be solved by a simple search. You're saving your time and theirs.

Tip: If you're someone like me who gets distracted when you take up your phone even for a second then write down all your questions in a paper and search them later after your study session.

Make notes

I usually say this because notes help you understand topics. There are many methods of taking notes. I usually don't follow any structure for note taking, I just read and write keywords under the topic name, linking a few things here and there.

Tip: Notes need not be aesthetic. Seriously. You can be as messy as you can.

Watch videos related to concepts

This helps and I know most already do this.

Tip: When you finish watching a topic, close the video and write down what you understood and then play the video again, fill in the gaps that you missed and watch it again.

Study in chunks

I always believe that whatever you do, you should do in chunks. Instead of doing one chapter, divide it. Into small bits. I'll tell you, you'll see the difference. I don't usually recommend Pomodoro since it doesn't work for me. I don't keep a time limit or a set number of breaks. I finish a chunk and if I am tired, I take a break otherwise i continue.

Tip: Self quiz yourself after each chunk and then take a break. Then after you finish the chunks for the whole chapter with the self quizzing then self quiz yourself randomly for every chunk. Here's an additional tip. Take 20 second breaks.

Period of deep work

This is not a new concept, i didn't realize i did this at first. Basically, when you start your work. You do nothing but work. Like nothing else. No phones. No snacking. No unwanted thoughts. Just nothing but what you have to do. That is to study.

Tip: It is difficult to implement this right away especially if you have a habit of it getting distracted easily so i just suggest => Start smaller. One topic with full concentration. It would usually take you 20 - 30 mins to get immersed in the work. 40 mins if it's something you don't like but once you get the momentum? An unbelievable achievement really. And then, change your environment.

Quality > Quantity && Consistency> Cramming

One hour of productive studying is better than nine hours of useless studying. I feel like it's better to study 20 mins everyday rather than the whole night before an exam. It just causes stress.

Tip: Start early. Your teacher is on chapter 5? And you still don't get chapter 1, it's fine. Start learning. Seriously, it's okay to be behind. You just have to stick. Do it everyday and you'll see results that is better than those who are just keeping up with the teacher.

Deadlines Are Mandatory

Have deadlines. There are a number of ways to do this. I'm a person who is really lazy and a weird soul who would never complete their to-do list for the day if they write it down. It would always be left unfinished. So i just keep a mental time limit and the thing i have to get done.

Tip: Overestimate your deadline. Like, let's say i have to complete around 15 lessons that week. I keep my deadline to around 25-30 and i eventually complete 15. It's about adapting to what works for you. Just change according to what works for you.

Practice questions / Previous Year Papers

I can never emphasize this enough. The best way to prepare for any exam is just do practice questions or previous year questions. You will learn a lot of things. The topics that are important or repeated. The topics that are never asked.

Tip: Grade yourself on each paper. Circle the questions in your textbook while you are studying and practicing. Then when you have to actually study then you can actually revise the topics a bit more thoroughly. If you want to know more, click here.

It's okay to be behind in class

During my first term in senior year, the whole class was around 5 chapters ahead for every test and exam while me? If they were on chapter 12, i was in chapter 4 or 5 but i understood the concepts and took my sweet time with each chapter. Because the more time you take for a chapter, the better it stays in your memory.

Tip: Here is where active recall comes handy. When you revise one chapter, take a 2 day break and study another subject and then go back to the chapter and answer the practice questions. If you're able to do them, great! If not, revise more and then look at it after 3-4 days. Repeat until you have no mistakes in your answers. This helps in long term retaining.

Make It Interesting

How do you study boring subjects? You adapt. Mind maps don't work for me. Neither does flash cards. So, i found something that did. Storytelling. Take your most boring subject, turn it into a story. Make it bearable.

Tip: Tie it somethings that you like. For example, business studies was the most boring one for me so obviously, every topic was a story for me. HR Theories and Processes? ==> An office romance story. Management Principles? ==> A fantasy story where a group goes on a quest. Make It interesting. Make it gripping. And let me tell you, this actually works because our minds grasp stories better than just normal theory jargon.

Difficult Topics Are Only Difficult Because You Think They Are

This was something that i learnt the harder way. Everything looked difficult at the beginning. Everything. But the most difficult paper was maths. Because i had no teacher. Literally. I was learning from YouTube, searching different sites for tips and tricks. I thought it was too difficult and then i was like "i have to do it anyway no matter how much i brood" so i started from scratch like 3 months before my exams.

Tip: A mind set change is everything. If you think it is easy. The topic will be more bearable. If you think it's tough, it's going to be more tough. If you want some more tips for complex topics, click here.

Hope this helps !!! :)

I'm being indecisive so let's see 0-0

You know, being a senior is such a good vibe. Like, nobody messes with you and everyone comes to talk to you from sophomore and junior years to ask about class selection and finals. And you give the vibe of that wise old owl who in fact doesn't know anything.

6 Days Left

Gosh, i can't believe how fast this is going but it's alright. For the past few days, my mantra has been "You'll be fine. This is gonna pass." I don't know if it's working or not though...

Today was alright, I did... Enough I guess.

Did Accounts 4 hrs 40 mins (Solved a question paper plus revision)

Went through Computers for around 1 hr

Business Studies for 3 hrs

Revised some English Grammar 1 hr

Not bad but could be better. Honestly, I'm kinda scared alright. I'm gonna go over economics, accounts and computers tomorrow so yeah.

49 Days

I have no idea what I'm doing with my life. Honestly I just wanna sit back and cry. I have around 11 lessons for tomorrow's exam and let me tell you, it's not pleasant. T-T

Did 7+ hours of Business Studies

Completed Arabic Assignment

My brain is honestly fried. I have no idea what the hell I'm doing, i hope the exam is easy tomorrow :")