“I Hear And I Forget. I See And I Remember. I Do And I Understand.”          – Confucius 

I used to think scientists were mortal gods; that I should never be clever enough to be one of them. Even now I am astounded every day by the minds that solved some of nature’s most incredible problems. Maybe that’s why I took no interest in science until I was 14.

Or maybe it was because of all I have been told over the years. I was told I was hopeless with maths - my secondary school maths teacher admitted that I was only in the top set because my confidence was already on the floor and would not allow them to move me down.

I was told that if I needed to be medicated for depression and anxiety, I would have no hope in the “real world”.

I was told that given my socioeconomic status (my single-parent family is among the poorest 10% in the U.K. based on income) and postcode, all the predictions pointed to my failing school. I don’t suppose the truancy due to constant bullying helped my case. If I didn’t even have a desk to work at, how could I ever expect pass any of my exams? (Look carefully at the picture and you’ll see carpet. It’s 23:56 on a Sunday and I am reunited with the only study space I have in my family home - the top of the stairs!)

And yet here I am, despite all the odds. I did not fail in school: I was top in my year, twice. I am striving for a first in my chemistry degree at a Russell Group university. I taught myself an A level in maths and got a top grade. I am now so totally in love with my degree and with learning that it hurts.

I did all that from the top of the stairs.

[Sorry for the rambles, and I hope that the wall of text doesn’t look like bragging. It’s just that lately, I’ve been so overwhelmed with how far I have yet to go, and I’ve only just realised how far I’ve come.]

11/3/19

I’m really happy with how today has gone. I’ve had two hours of French and an hour of Biology, and then started these notes in one of my frees

Happy Monday 😊

I love using yellow in my notes. It’s one of my favourite colours but it’s so underrated 💛

— 6:08 PM —

hi guys !! im gonna be honest when i say that ive been way more active on my instagram than i am here :< im sorry about that haha ig is like my main go-to all the time.

anyway i read some of your guys’ comments about me reaching a hundred (we’re at 200 thats crazy thank you💗) and yall are so sweet 😞😞

i’ll post more often i promise, have a good day/night everyone !! ❤️❤️

These diagrams make me happy

{ 11-1-17 } 60/100 days of productivity

transcription & translation stuffz 🛁

28/06/2020

My exam results were released yesterday - I averaged 91.1% and I’m honestly elated with that! Taking a very low-key year to focus on being kind to myself was the best thing I ever did and I’m in a much better place for next year.

I’ve been flitting between this and that today - a bit of reading, a bit of work and some digital sketching. What you see is the mess that my brain is today haha

Stay safe my dudes :)

16/06/2021

Today was fun! I had a reasonable time doing some electrochemistry in the lab this morning. I then did some painting as a means of procrastinating doing post-lab work this afternoon

07/01/19 - 1/100 days of productivity

Thank you for 2000 followers! I love you all!

First day back at sixth form and first day of a new productivity challenge! I will honestly try to suck less at posting every day this time hehe

Because I have 4 free hours on a Monday before my first out of two lessons at 2pm, I got a lot done. I started out with some maths, but then my computer logged me off my digital books and it wouldn’t load again, so I ended up writing up some biology notes and then doing some chemistry - that’s what you can see here :)

Although I am full of cold, it has been a good day all round! I found out I got an A* in my bio mock when I thought I actually flunked that test so hard.

It also makes me feel like a badass teacher and I’m ngl that puts a sense of novelty into it

Whiteboards ftw!

Very Fast Study Tip™

If you are a university student, especially a STEM major, ESPECIALLY AN ORGANIC CHEMISTRY STUDENT, you need a whiteboard.

You can revise all the notes in your respective hemisphere but without active repetition it means nothing. Write your mechanism/structure/wedding vows. Erase part of it. Write it again. Erase more of it. Repeat. 

Get a big one so that you can sit on the floor/bed/table without straining your back from looking down. I have no attention span but I can white-board for hours.

18-19/11/2018 - 70-71 days of productivity

I’m having an awful mental health day. I don’t know if I’m worried about something or not... that is the beauty of depression. It’s been at bay for a while but I’m afraid it’s going to come back and I hate feeling like this :(

I just want a hug.

And to hear back from Cambridge. Anything. I don’t care if I get rejected, I just want to know.

Other than that, this morning was ok, and I got a fair amount done. It was my Maths morning today so I did a bunch of integration. Fun times!

2/12/18 - 83/100 days of productivity

Whiteboard time! I’m just preparing for my Cambridge interview by reviewing a mechanism I namedropped in my personal statement in the first pic, and then later on I was bored so I decided to see how long it would take me to learn and remember the Krebs Cycle. (Not as long as it looks like it should take!)

I totally should be revising things I need to regurgitate for mocks next week, but that’s boring. You know what’s not boring? Learning how a process that’s fundamental to life works!