This past month (or longer, I think) I switched from regular, written journaling to audio journaling, and I thought it’d be great to share my experience: the practice, what I actually do, why I do it, and some things to think about if you wanna try it out.
I keep all my audio journals on the voice memos app on my phone, but if any of you know an alternate platform to do so, feel free to share!
Anyway, hope this helps, and as usual, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to send me a message or drop me an ask. Have an awesome week :)
neither lasts
hindi ko alam kung ako lang, pero palaging humihirap yung buhay-akademiko ko kapag wala ako sa mainit na yakap ng campus. tuwing umuuwi ako kapag weekend, o di kaya kapag naka-bakasyon, palaging akong nalulugmok sa ilalim ng kumot ng madilim kong kwarto. siguro dahil bumabawi pa rin ako sa dalawang taong pandemic pero dalawang taon na yung nagdaan pero litong-lito pa rin ako sa estado ng pag-aaral ko.
tanda ko 'tong kuha na ito, sembreak at wala gaanong tao sa campus. tanghaling tapat pero nakuha ko pang tumambay sa fpark at tumanaw ng mga high school students na nagpapractice. ako, maraming tambak na gawaing naiwan sa apartment. maraming backlogs, maraming hinahabol na INC. hindi ko alam kung bakit mas malungkot pa ko na hindi ko nakikita yung Carillon tower ngayon kesa don sa hindi ko nahabol na INC at gulo-gulo kong academic records. sana nasa elbi ako ngayon, sayang malilim pa naman.
Mental health and illness is already hard enough, but adding school pressure on top is hard. High school was easier for me since there is a lot more structure and a lot less choice, which is why I'm targeting this towards college and university students.
Firstly is attending class. Getting to class is a major hurdle, especially with a commute like me (1 hour+) broke people problems lmao. Driving that long to go to a class just to drive back home is already exhausting and unpleasant, especially knowing professors will post slides or something after class anyways. But you have to drag yourself there. One thing I do to help is dress up. I'll do my makeup and put on nicer clothes. Why does this work for me? I hate wasting stuff, especially money and to me, putting on makeup is spending money essentially (same logic as using rare items in a video game idk). I can't just sit around the house and waste the money I just put on my face so I gotta go to class. Small things like this to trick your brain works so well. Before this, there was a restaurant I absolutely loved next to campus so if I went to every class for two weeks I would reward myself by going there. Another thing that helps is making plans with people ahead of time. They'll hold you accountable on days that you can't.
Take rest days. Schedule one whole day a week where you don't do school or go to work. It's a day completely off for anything. I use this day to do chores in the morning and then just lay around and do absolutely nothing all afternoon and night. This helps recharge and reduce stimulation and socialization. It gives your brain that little rest it cries for every day. I used to panic so much about this one day because I could be working and making money or studying or doing anything to be productive until I had a week where I couldn't do anything because I broke down completely, mentally and physically. Now I see it as a preservation day. I use this day to recover from everything.
Make your notes pretty. I hate going back and looking at my messy class notes. Everything is scattered and messy and I get frustrated. What I do instead is make a virtual, concise copy that is pretty to me. I'll add little sketches, color, pictures, etc. This helps draw my attention and allows me to study while doing it! Making the second copy forces you to go through the material after a class is over and review the material to decide what is truly important and then organize it all and then rewrite it all. This has been a huge help.
Use class breaks to snack or grab coffee. One thing I have found in many people with high anxiety is that food and drinks really help calm you down. I've found some research suggesting it's because food is a signal that things are safe and therefore makes you more relaxed, though I don't know much about anthropology and psychology fields. I find this really helps to calm me down after I had a very stressful test so that I can be more present for the next class. Gum helps a lot on high anxiety/panic days as well.
Download the notes or slides, especially if posted ahead of time. This way you have access even if you don't have wifi. You can even pull them up in lectures so you don't have to focus on the board the whole time. For my people with autism, this has helped me so much. There are times where you can't focus on the professor and the slides and the sounds and writing, so doing this cuts out having to watch the teacher and the board. Bonus points if you can record during lecture as well so you can revisit parts that you zoned out in or couldn't focus on.
Keep a journal or diary and list your activities, food, weather, etc in it as well as your mood. This can help you find correlations to hack shit. My favorite way of doing this is through the Daylio app (I wrote a post about it here). Like I notice that days when it's rainy, I study and read more and days where I walk more and eat breakfast, I focus better and am happier overall. This information helps so much. If I know it's going to rain tomorrow, I won't try to force myself to study a bunch today and instead save that energy for later. Instead, I'll take care of myself and go for a walk or something. Knowing how you work and why really makes a HUGE difference.
This might just be my autism brain, but finding cool things related to the topic at hand has helped me keep interest in at least a little of the subject, helping me study more. Like I don't like chimaeras (a fish group) BUT for some reason I love fish teeth and these fishes have a very unique tooth set. This at least let's me know something instead of just ignoring and forgetting everything. 20% is better than nothing.
Find a reason to study what you do, even if it's just that you need this class to graduate. Just taking classes for no reason seems like something neurotypical people are able to do. I can't do it. I need a reason and if I can't find one, I just give up. I used to always say it was useless and pointless and didn't understand why it was required. But I realized the reason to take it is because I want a piece of paper that says I traded lots of money and sanity for it. And that reason has to be good enough.
Make study games. Games are more fun than lifeless paper. Matching games, crosswords, coloring pages, whatever you like!
Feel free to add your tips to this post as well!! I always have room for improvement and experimentation, especially for really hard days. I still find myself skipping even online classes some days. No one had all the answers or has everything figured out. This is just an incomplete list of things that have helped me out a bit and made college life a bit easier.
List of Black Lives Matter and Racial Equality Petitions to sign:
Justice for George Floyd
Justice for George Floyd 2
Justice for George Floyd 3
Charge the Officers Responsible for George Floyd’s Murder
Charge the Officers Responsible for George Floyd’s Murder 2
Justice For Ahmuad Arbery
Justice For Ahmuad Arbery 2
Justice for Breonna Taylor
Stand with Breonna
Charge Officers Responsible for Breonna Taylor’s Murder
Justice For Tamir Rice
Justice For Joāo Pedro
Justice for Alejandro Vargas Martinez
Justice for Belly Mujinga.
Justice for Rashad Cunningham
Justice For Tony McDade
Justice for Dion Johnson
Justice for Jennifer Jeffley
Justice for Young Uwa
Justice for Elijah Nichols
Justice for Tete Gulley
Justice for Tazne Van Wyk
Justice for Michael Dean
Justice For Amari Boone
Justice for Darrius Stewart
Justice for Shukri Abdi
Justice for Ashton Dickson
Justice For Darrius Stewart
Justice for David McAtee
Justice for Cameron Green
Justice for Crystal Mason
Justice For Zinedine
Justice for Regis Korchinski-Paquet
Justice for Christopher Josey
Justice for Amiya Braxton
Justice For Emerald Black
Justice for Andile Mchunu
Justice for Cameron Green
Justice for Tamla Horsford
Justice for Collins Khosa
Free Siyanda
Reopen Sandra Bland’s Case
Free Willie Simmons who has served 38 years for a $9 robbery
Get Washington State to Hold Police Officers Accountable for Police Brutality
Arrest Officer Jared Campbell for macing a child
Demand Jail Time for Dylan Mota and Jacob Robles
Demand Jail Time for All Police who Murder Innocent People
Fire Racist Criminal Michael J Reynolds from the NYPD
Petition for Nationwide Police De-Escalation Training
Petition for Nationwide Police Required Racial Bias Test
stop immigrants being poisoned by ICEBan the use of inhumane rubber bullets
Demand a retrial for Angel Bumpass wrongfully convicted 13 year old with a life sentence
End Police Brutality and Violence Against BIPOC in the USA
Ban the use of rubber bullets for crowd control
Join Campaign Zero
Drop All Charges Against Incarcerated Trafficking Survivor Chrystul Kizer!
Reopen Kendrick Johnson’s Case
Abolish Prison Labour in the USA
Require Dash and Body Cameras for the King County Sheriff’s Office
Donation Links
A thread of Youtuve videos you can stream to donate to BLM
Official George Floyd Memorial Fund
OFFICIAL Gianna Floyd Fund (George Floyd’s child)
Black Lives Matter
We Cant Breathe
43 Bail Funds to Support
Homeless Black Trans women fund
Split a donation between 70+ community bail funds, mutual aid funds, and racial justice organizers
Minnesota Healing Justice Network
Women for Political Change
Spiral Collective
When We All Vote
National List of Bail and Mutual Aid Funds/Organizers/Black Owned Businesses
Venmo names of black trans people that need help
Latino Community on Lake Street
Black Immigrant Collective
Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en Lucha
Atlanta Black Owned Business Relief
Al Maa'uun
Remembering Shana Isuroon
Fundraising for destroyed black owned businesses
Joyce Preschool
Black Table Arts
Northside business support
Du Nord Riot Recovery Fund
Unicorn Riot
Donate to Destiny Harrison & her daughter Dream’s Legacy
Pimento Relief Fund
Southside Harm Reduction
West Broadway Business and Area Coalition
Division of Indian Work
TC Care Collective
Justice for Breonna Taylor
Justice for Jamee
Justice for David McAtee
Here is the full google spreadsheet with all of the words I used in my quizlet decks. Feel free to use this to make your own flashcards based on your own learning preferences or levels! I hope this helps you in your learning! 여러분, 파이팅!
i get a LOT of questions about time management and getting better grades so i decided to put a boat load of advice and links in one place :]
time management methods
start a bullet journal ( +mine / +insp )
the 5 day study plan - it works!
schedule blocks of study time
use excel to schedule study
how to schedule study
the sticky note method
an app that organizes time for u
15 ways to beat procrastination
balancing multiple AP classes
decision making and time management
use the pomodoro technique
the task box prioritizing method
how to cram a lot of information in
get organized!!!!!
make and use a syllabible
great organization advice
organize ur study space
more tips on study spaces
basic organization tips
cute infographic
printable planner sheets
simple 2 pocket folder method
study methods!!!
watch youtube crashcourses
best study tips ever tbh
tips on memorizing effectively
add color for visual interest
make cause and effect diagrams
making good flashcards
create summary foldables
margin note taking
the 2 notebook method
for when ur not motivated
reading long textbook passages
studying for a test ooh
basic note taking
+note taking tips
note taking in microsoft word
bs study guide
how to plan out an essay
more essay planning
annotating literature for english
how to make concept maps
really interesting way of studying
shit load of study methods
web resources!!!!
search engine that plants trees!
to do list web program
bedtime calculator [avoid grogginess]
the dictionaries u need omg
how to pull an all nighter
advice on how to properly use google
final grade calculator
>100 places to download literature
cute af school supply list
alternatives to overpriced textbooks
rly this is better than google
best writing checker ever its my fave
free academic journals for research
AP cramming packets
every website to make a bibliography
online used book store
mind map making software from tufts
khanacademy aka bless this site
stop procrastinating websites
free powerpoint
awesome synonym finder
apps u need to download!!!
google chrome app i love it
taking digital notes
like 14 useful school apps
attn: all writers get this
super cute time manager
>9 different studying apps
post it note app
study + give water to needy!!
relaxation n meditation help
sat help!!!!!
all kinds of essential vocab [2k+]
big collection of links
v solid page with lots of references
rly good advice imo
how to do well on the sat
general big exam advices
stress reliefs!!!!
rly good study snacks
badass instrumental playlist!
finish ur essay songs!
+all my fave study playlists!
treat urself on a low budget
read some rad articles
teach urself computer science
take the 10 day study challenge
rip some crap online
good things to do in study breaks
+100 more things in study breaks
if u tired and uninspired
avoid student burnout
watch a ton of broadway musicals
nice things for urself
anxiety relieving background sound
+ masterposts!!!
back to school advice
productive summers
note taking methods
starting a study blog
time managements
succeed @ school
ap world history
web resources
ap psychology
bullet journals
school advice
happy things
ace ur exams
stress reliefs
annotations
essay writin
printables
sat help
+more
i hope some of this was helpful ~ feel free to add resources! message me if u have any questions! i also have a youtube channel with a whole bunch of study resources!!!! ~ xoxo sareena
:/ Black and diasabled lives really don't matter in the USA or any other countries.
http://chng.it/5Nd5TDgFKD Here's is a petition you can sign to get some justice for AJ and his family.
EDIT: GUYS WE'RE ALMOST THERE. KEEP SIGNING
ALSO HERE IS MALIK WILLIAMS'S PETITION ANOTHER DISABLED BLACK MAN MURDERDD BY THE POLICE. SIGN IT TOO
http://chng.it/5KZRQrpxdd