9.24.19

15|07|2020

Day 3 of My Summer Studying Challenge!

✨ 15th July ✨ Do you have a specific goal for this summer?

i think a lot of it is just to get my work done and get in a really good place for my uni application because it is coming up very soon and i have quite high aspirations for university!!!! 

spring quarter is staring off with an unusual start. through all of the uncertainty, it’s key for me to stay in a healthy routine in order to feel sane right now. grateful for a safe place to call my second home, water, electricity, and technology now more than ever before!

now listening: 

wish you were sober- conan gray

august 5th 2020 // been feeling a bit low lately, i always get this feeling in the summer like i’m wasting valuable time doing nothing and yet i’m still putting off my summer work oops. did my first bujo spread since october today though and i’m feeling a lot more motivated and organized! now to crack on with my mountain of IAs and revision for IB mocks in october eeek. hope everyone’s having a good summer and staying safe :)

posting a spread from 2018 because why not???

new list of video essays i adore <3

her: longing to connect in the 21st century

the intimacy of everyday objects

the soul of a library

the green knight and david lowery's unique obsession with myth

minari: the beautiful tragedy

hayao miyazaki | the mind of a master

andrei tarkovsky - poetic harmony

the visual architecture of parasite

the most disturbing painting

in the mood for love: frames within frames

interstellar - humanity, love & fate

the magical realism genre in movies

entropy in storytelling

I want to try learning Kanji and I think I want to try it your way w having a kanji and the list of vocabulary the kanji it is in. Was it a teacher or yourself that made those lists?

I made the lists! I made them based off of the jouyou kanji break down (this list is all over the internet). So I’m learning grade-by-grade, and just learning common vocabulary attached to those particular kanji. It’s possibly a more grueling process, but it’s helping me.

I also use WaniKani, which uses a slightly similar system of learning kanji in vocabulary. They do teach readings first, however.

my masterpost | my studygram | ask me anything

[click images for high quality]

[transcript under the cut]

Other advice posts that may be of interest:

How To Study When You Really Don’t Want To

Active Revision Techniques

How to Revise BIG Subjects

The OSCAR Revision Model

The Diffuse Mode of Thinking

Keep reading

hello there! i would like to ask if you know any sites where i can practice reading japanese? like news sites, manga sites, or sites that offer free e-books that are in japanese. and are there any japanese podcasts that i can listen to? thank you in advance for answering this question. it'd mean a whole to me!

Hey there! There are actually quite a few recommended sites for Japanese learners, so I’ll link them right now :)

Japanese IO – I’ve used this site quite a few times and I love the interface! The design is really sleek and “to the point,” so there’s no distractions from what you’re trying to do, which is practice reading Japanese. It also has a great library and look-up feature.

朝日学生新聞社 – This is the “kid’s version” of the more adult 朝日新聞社. If you don’t feel that you’re quite up for the adult version, test out the version geared towards kids. They have fewer articles, but there’s plenty for a learner to pick through.

NHK NEWS EASY – I’m almost positive this is one of the most famous ones for learners. It’s similar to Asahi’s kid newspaper – articles are condensed with easier kanji and vocabulary, and it’s geared towards children, so learners can spend some time combing through updated articles and testing their skills.

Yahoo! Kids – More short news articles geared towards easier-to-understand Japanese.

MATCHA – A fun magazine similar in style to NHK EZ.

Watanoc – Another magazine-type site with a variety of articles.

Traditional Japanese Stories – Get your hands on some easily printed Japanese stories that are told to children. Great for language skills and culture! Similar to English pop culture stories (like Cinderella and so on), Japan has its own fairytales that are occasionally referenced.

Fuku Musume’s Fairy Tale Collection – More stories!

World of チョコチョコ – These are beginner stories, but as you progress you can read other stories on this website.

EhonNavi – Read hundreds of Japanese picture books for free!

If you’re looking for more advanced content…

NHK – Japan’s national broadcaster. You can read articles as well as stream audio and video (may be blocked depending on location).

毎日新聞 – Moderate/left-leaning national newspaper

朝日新聞 – Left-leaning national newspaper

読売新聞 – Conservative national newspaper

東洋経済オンライン – A well-known business and finance magazine.

Project Gutenberg (Japanese) – Get access to a ton of out-of-print and classical books for free.

小説家になろう – A site where authors can publish their works online in exchange for reviews.

青空文庫 – Another site where you can get older and out-of-print novels.

University of Virginia Japanese Text Initiative – Another place to access novels in Japanese for free (with the option to read them with furigana).

ComicWalker – Free manga from the publisher Kadokawa. There’s an app too!

最前線 – You can read some manga online for free.

コミコ – More free Japanese manga available here!

キナリノ – A woman’s lifestyle blog which covers fashion, cooking, decor, and more!

Magazine Lib – You can read PDFs of Japanese magazines.

1000文字小説 – A place where users can submit 1000 characters or less stories. 

I also highly recommend starting a Twitter (if you don’t already have one) and following Japanese accounts. I follow a lot of feminist and political accounts so that I’m learning words relevant to my interests, as well as interacting with people that are discussing topics of interest to me (i.e. women and their place in Japanese society).

If you’re curious, you can find me on Twitter at @sydney0313 :)

I hope this list proves useful to you! (And others.)

頑張ってください！

I started a studyblr not too long ago to motivate myself during quarantine and was wondering how on earth everyone takes such nice pictures of their notes! No matter how hard I try the lighting is always mediocre and it just doesnt look great, like how?????

Hi! Thanks for the ask!

I totally get what you mean about the lighting and taking nice pictures- when I first started my studyblr I had no clue how to replicate the clean bright look of the typical study pictures. I’ve tried to think of some tips for you:

Firstly, try not to worry too much about the look of the photos because I, and the vast majority, of studyblrs will reblog whatever you post regardless of the quality of the picture

NATURAL LIGHT!!!! Like I cannot stress this enough. It makes the biggest difference to any photo that I take. I used to take all my pictures in the evenings when it was dark cause that’s when I got home but I now try to take them in the middle of the day with as much light as possible

Try lots of different angles and set ups. For each set of notes I usually take pictures from at least 4 different angles so play around with it so you can find out what you like

Use apps to edit the photos! I personally use VSCO cause it’s got everything I look for but another popular one is snapseed. I usually always increase the exposure, contrast and clarity. I sometimes also alter the saturation and colour tone of the picture. The important thing is not really to use a specific filter, rather edit each photo individually because every photo will need to be edited in slightly different ways

Here are some posts by other studyblrs that are really useful:

How I take and Edit my Instagram Photos - @emmastudies

Picture Taking Tips - @studypetals

How I Edit my Studyblr Photos - @the-girlygeek

I hope this was helpful! If you have any other questions please feel free to message me or send me asks any time!

Also what is your studyblr because I would love to check it out! 💕