How I Use Google Drive For University - Pt 1: Digital Notetaking  By Kkaitstudies

a list of my favorite study tips (and when to use them)

summer:

invest in a book of short stories for each language you’re studying, and keep the book(s) on your bedside table. take advantage of the free time while out of school to get in the habit of reading through the short stories whenever you can. just a few minutes of reading the short stories every day will immensely improve your foreign language skills and keep you from forgetting the vocab & grammar over summer break

acquire a list of the books you’ll be reading for school in the fall and start reading them. to get the list of books, try asking someone who’s already taken the class, your future teachers, or a school counselor. reading the books ahead of time will not only put you ahead of the rest of your class by giving you time to work through the material in advance; it will also significantly lessen your workload during the school year.

this applies to the school year as well, but especially when you’re reading books in advance, keep a journal and pen at hand every time you read. write down the major plot points of the section you’re reading, what you like/agree with, what you dislike/disagree with, and one or two quotes that summarize the main themes of the section (make sure you include page numbers!!!!). when school starts & you’re assigned an essay on that book, you’ll already have the main points of the book laid out, and lots of great quotes—with page references!—to use in your essay.

two weeks before school starts:

take a look at your syllabus and get started on your first assignments. if you start now, you can stay at least one week ahead on all of your assignments throughout the year. this is a HUGE lifesaver when something comes up unexpectedly during the school year—like getting sick or having to go out of town for a few days at the last minute—and you don’t have time to get homework done, because if you’ve done it in advance then you won’t have to worry about falling behind.

get a planner app for your phone. i like egenda, but you can use any app where you input homework assignments in advance and it alerts you at various intervals of time before they’re due. it’s impossible to get a good grade on an assignment if you forget to turn it in on time, so just alleviate that issue altogether.

throughout the school year:

take notes. have a notebook open in every class, and write down all important names, dates, quotes, formulas, and theorems. write the current date at the top of each page, and have a separate notebook for each subject. if a teacher repeats something more than once in a class, underline it, because those are the things that appear on midterms and finals.

help yourself memorize things by writing essays about them. even if you’re not assigned an essay about a topic, try to write/type two or three paragraphs every week to summarize what you’re learning in a class. writing things in your own words is one of the best ways to remember them, and it will also help you to improve your writing skills. additionally, this should be applied to all subjects, not just literature or history (because even if you’re studying a STEM field and writing isn’t a huge part of the curriculum, you should still have the ability to write about STEM concepts in a way that is understandable and engaging).

befriend the smartest person in the class. figure out who always has the right answers and make yourself their ally. be a good friend to them, and then when you’re struggling with a concept, they will either explain it to you or—if they don’t know what the explanation is yet—they’ll help you search for it.

take advantage of indexes. almost all books have one, and they can be lifesavers if you don’t know the answer to a question. especially in history class, when there are a bunch of names that are super difficult to memorize. i know this is a pretty basic tip (if you can even call it a tip), but i’ve had a lot of friends completely forget about indexes, so this is just a brief reminder. :)

participate in class. this might sound super obvious, but you cannot retain information without discussing it! if you’re like me and participating in class sucks because of social anxiety, try to force yourself out of your comfort zone & remember that you are your own worst critic, but it’s also okay just to discuss things with a close friend or family member instead. the important thing is that you’re repeating what you’ve learned out loud and practicing explaining it to someone else, which will really help you to grasp the concepts.

three weeks before midterms/finals:

now is when all of your notes come in handy. go back through the notes for each class and study them, particularly the parts you’ve underlined. you shouldn’t try to memorize the pages, but you should study them enough that—by finals week—you could summarize the contents if someone asked you pointed questions about them. this is also when it becomes extra helpful to be friends with the smartest person in the class, because they will be an excellent study buddy. just make sure that you reciprocate if you ask them to help you study.

fill in any gaps in your notes by talking to your teachers and attending all of the office hours that you can. many teachers will give you a study guide if you ask for one, and you can literally go through and fill it in with info from your notes. remember, most of your teachers really do want you to do well, and they’ll try their best to help you achieve the best scores possible.

if any of your quizzes are open book, ask your teacher if you can put completely blank sticky notes on pages. bookmark the pages that have important events, quotes, facts, etc., and then if you forget something on a test you can refer to the book & it will be much easier to find the information. personally, the only open book finals i’ve had are the kind where you just write three 1000 word essays in 3 hours, but we are required to have at least 5 quotes in each essay, so if that’s the case for any of you guys then this tip is super helpful for bookmarking those quotes as well.

while taking a final/midterm:

read through the whole test first. figure out how long it is, how much time you have, and how many points each question is worth. if you’re worried about running out of time, start by doing the problems that are worth more points, and then out of whatever’s left do the ones that look easiest first. this will guarantee that you make the best use of your time & get the highest grade possible

and that’s all i can think of right now! hope this can help at least a few people :)

sigh

You really do have to envision the person you want to be and then act like you’re already them

Asians are NOT basically white.

We have been trying to tell you this for so goddamn fucking long. We are NOT basically white, we don’t get TREATED as basically white, and we are SICK of people assuming this.

If we were treated as “basically white”, we would not be fetishized the way we are. We would not be infantilized. Our cultures would not be stereotyped and demonized and ridiculed. We would not be blamed for a fucking pandemic that was not our fault in any way. We would not be blamed constantly for the actions of the Chinese government when many of us aren’t even ethnically Chinese.

We would not be SHOT because of our race. Our businesses would not be targeted because of our race.

We are often excluded from spaces designed to support POC because they think we’re “basically white”, or don’t need that support. We are excluded from mainly-white spaces because we aren’t Caucasian.

It’s a fucking SHAME that it takes a fucking MASS SHOOTING for y'all to hear what we’ve been trying to tell you this entire fucking time.

We are not your pretty little waifu anime cuties. We are not your nerds or token characters. We are not your squinty-eyed caricatures. We are not your “communist virus”.

We are not getting constantly stereotyped, put down, shoved aside, and chiseled down by white people into a box of what their “model minority” should look like, fetishized, treated as a joke, and murdered by white supremacists just for you to go and say we’re “basically white”.

Thank you for your time.

for future reference

Extended Essay Tips! (from an IB student with senioritis)

I finished my EE last week. Here are some tips that I wish I would’ve had while I was writing mine!

1. Pick a topic you’re genuinely interested in!!!

This is IMPORTANT because you’ll be doing a lot of research and writing about this topic. If you hate what you’re writing about, it will be that much harder to motivate yourself to actually get stuff done.

2. KEEP TRACK OF YOUR SOURCES

It might be annoying in the short term, but it will be so helpful in the long term when you don’t have to sort through 30 different journals and books to find one specific fact to cite.

3. Make a quality outline!

Outlining should really be the hardest part if you’re doing it right. It is so much easier to move things around and work on structure with an outline than a completed paper. Also, a thorough outline will make compiling the rest of the paper so much easier.

4. Try to start earlier rather than later

This is an obvious one, but really. Senioritis is real. SO REAL. By march of senior year you pretty much know where you’re going next (at least in the states) and doing high school stuff is really difficult motivation-wise. Start your EE early so you can have it done by the time all of your motivation to succeed leaves you.

5. 4,000 words is way less than you think it is

It sounds like a lot, but it really only leaves space for either deep explanation of one VERY specific topic, or a surface-scratch explanation of a huge topic. This is IB, so they want deep. Pick a specific topic.

6. Online libraries and databases are your friend

Google scholar?? GOOD SHIT FOR THIS PAPER. I have no idea how anybody wrote the extended essay before the internet.

7. Chunk it.

Don’t try to write this paper all at once. Break it up into small tasks and work through it that way. Not only will it make the whole process seem more manageable, but your writing will sound less frantic and your ideas will be more coherent.

8. Enjoy it!!!

We have such a cool opportunity to explore a topic that interests us and write about it! Take advantage of this! Enjoy learning about a topic that’s is fascinating for you! Take pride in your writing! Acknowledge this opportunity that so few high schoolers get to have and appreciate it. The EE can be overwhelming and stressful and scary, but at the end of the day it’s so cool and has been a super positive experience for me :)

5.19.19

You’ll be seeing lots of python notes since it’s what I’m focusing on this summer.

App: Noteshelf 2

Device: iPad 2018 and Apple Pencil

coffee, journaling and a view of central park, what more could I ask for?

im a power couple with myself. i love us. we work hard

Some words i like to keep in mind while doing school work

let’s start off 2018 right (:

40 Tips For Becoming More Disciplined 📌💡🚀📝

Know what you want to achieve soon and in the future. This helps you know where to go and stay motivated.

Do the most important things first to save time and energy.

Have a daily plan that includes work, rest, exercise, and learning.

Make big tasks smaller so they're not scary, and you can see progress.

Use methods like the Pomodoro Technique (working for a while, then resting) or blocking time to get more done.

Notice when you're avoiding work and make yourself start.

Control yourself from getting distracted or doing things just for fun.

Say no politely when you can't do more things without getting stressed.

Stay healthy by eating well, exercising, and sleeping enough.

Keep learning by reading, taking classes, or trying new things.

Check how you're doing with your goals and change plans if needed.

Tell a friend or mentor your goals so they can help you stay on track.

Keep your spaces tidy to help you focus better.

Learning discipline takes time, and it's okay if things don't go perfectly.

Think good thoughts about yourself instead of bad ones.

Imagine doing well to get motivated.

Mistakes are chances to learn, not reasons to give up.

Be happy about even small successes to stay positive.

Listen to advice from others to get better.

Be ready to change your plans but keep your main goals.

Try mindfulness to concentrate, be calm, and know yourself better.

Write about your progress and plans in a journal.

Turn off things like social media when you work or study.

Think about things you're thankful for to stay happy.

Do quick tasks right away instead of waiting.

Spend time with people who help you and make you want to be better.

Let others do tasks that you don't need to do, so you can focus.

Get better at handling problems without giving up.

Picture doing well to stay motivated.

Drink water to think clearly and stay healthy.

Have a special place to work or study to help you focus.

Wait for bigger rewards instead of quick ones.

Keep things simple, both around you and in your mind, so you can concentrate.

Listen to advice without feeling bad about yourself.

Use apps and tools to manage your tasks and time.

Reading helps you learn and think better.

Decide what's good enough for you and stick to it.

Believe you can get smarter and better with practice.

Do creative things to stay imaginative and interested.

Listen carefully to others to be better at talking and understanding.

I wish everyone would wake up and realize that your idealized self is simply your current self but with drive. The person you want to be is you if you put in the work! Like, life is ultimately up to us and we can change ourselves whenever we want! Make plans to do better for yourself, speak it into fruition, and work for it.