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

10/09/2017

this week’s spread :)

stats notebook index set up lookin hella fine

(11.23.2015)

math aid

OK SO in the days leading up to the biggest maths exam I’ve ever written (also my 4th last one ever ) i’ve found this website. now, symbolab is different to mathaway and wolfram alpha (which are both great!) in that it shows you all the steps and it doesn’t do that thing where it’s “free” but if you want the explanation you have to sign up and pay. it’s AMAZING. know why?

it does everything. not baby everything, but everything. Calculus?

what’re you looking for? 

also, the interface is really easy to use, and it’s set out so well.

the website is https://www.symbolab.com and you will not be disappointed.

this is a masterpost dedicated to those who want to organize themselves but are too lazy to start aka me everyday

01. organizing your schoolwork

there are so many ways to organize your papers nowadays, so it’s pretty important to find what works best for you

I personally use binders and sheet protectors for my handouts that I get at school

pros: binders keep your papers secure, you can use dividers for further organization

cons: that loud noise from opening the binder rings, can be heavy, the binder rings can mess up your papers, the plastic pockets on the inside of the binder often tears

as mentioned, to combat the tearing of papers, I use sheet protectors

if you’re not a fan of binders, a nice alternative is expandable file folders

see this video by @studyign/sareena for some more info!

pros: not as heavy as a binder, there is some organization already with the extra pockets

cons: depending on the brand, might be flimsy, the plastic pockets can tear

I currently use one of these to store all of my homework, and so far it’s worked out for me quite nicely! I would definitely recommend them

if you don’t get that many papers in class but still want to hold onto them, folders are always a nice choice

pros: are lightweight, capable of holding a lot of papers

cons: can tear, papers can fall out (unless you have the kind w/ brads)

I use both folders and binders bc sometimes I’m too lazy to open the rings of the binder oops

also, if you want to store more, it can help if you buy the folders that contain brads

psa: if you don’t keep binder clips or paper clips with you, then you should bc they’re extremely useful and will make your life easier when you’re sorting out papers

for more tips, see this masterpost by @tbhstudying/seo!

02. organizing your supplies

some of you might have a lot of stationary and pens lying around

for those that don’t, it’s totally fine and you might have it better off bc you don’t have to keep track of that many things ahahaha

it’s always nice to have a pen case or pouch to hold your supplies, it can really help you keep your supplies together

if you’re willing to make the investment, try the kipling 100 pens pencil case

here is a cheaper alternative

this website is also really nice, their products are super cute and they have a large variety of pen cases to choose from

when you’re organizing your supplies, it’s important to know what you need the most on a daily basis - it’s not helping you if you keep a complete set of staedtler triplus fineliners in your pen case when in reality you only use two colors every day

ask yourself: what do I need? will it be okay if I leave it behind?

if you choose to leave some supplies at home, be sure that you have a place to leave them hehe

03. organizing your desk space

okay so if you’re like me, you probably have a lot of papers and things that stay on your desk, such as stationary, extra paper, textbooks, etc.

to organize some of my pens/pencils, I recommend using a jar or cup of some sort to keep on your desk so that it’s within reach

for those extra packs of lined/graphed paper you might have, you can store it on your desk in a magazine file or in your drawer

going back to the magazine file: 11/10 would recommend

for me, I have a small desk, so I can’t afford to have everything being piled on my desk - the magazine files are really nice for organizing

be sure that when you’re working, you only have the things you need on your desk! anything that isn’t needed should be stored as neatly as possible

you can find different desk organizers and containers in places like target and amazon!

I hope this was helpful to you guys! I personally still struggle with organization, but over the course of my 2015-16 school year, I’m starting to find ways to keep my things and my life together. if you have any questions, feel free to drop an ask in my inbox ^-^

- soko ◟(๑•͈ᴗ•͈)◞

12/04/2016

For AP Gov’t, I like to type my chapter notes then annotate them during class discussions.

Read JY Yang’s “Waiting on a Bright Moon”, a story of rebellion among far-flung colonies united by song magic.

Xin is an ansible, using her song magic to connect the originworld of the Imperial Authority and its far-flung colonies— a role that is forced upon magically-gifted women “of a certain closeness”. When a dead body comes through her portal at a time of growing rebellion, Xin is drawn deep into a station-wide conspiracy along with Ouyang Suqing, one of the station’s mysterious, high-ranking starmages.

4 Legal Ways To Get Free Textbooks.

1. Open Culture:  Not a large a selection, but high quality texts. If you just want to skim a book to brush up on a course you took in ninth grade, download one of these. I have yet to be disappointed.

2. Book Boon: Provides free college-level textbooks in a PDF format. Probably the widest range of subjects on the web. The site is also pretty.

3. Flat World Knowledge: The worlds largest publisher of free and open college textbooks. Humanitie texts are particularly difficult to come by, this site has a great selection in all disciplines.

4. Textbook Revolution:  Some of the books are PDF files, others are viewable online as e-books, or some are simply web sites containing course or multimedia content.

5. Library Pirate: I’ve always had an addiction to torrent based pirating. When this site opened a few months ago, I went a little overboard. After dropping two hundred on a paperback spanish textbook, I downloaded the ebook version illegally. I also got a great Psyc text i’m obsessed with.  It will be interesting to see how this site grows- they already have a great selection. 

part six of my scanned chem notes, rest are here - let me know if you want me to scan more of my other notes

hello! for your college prompts, what advice would you give the students who don't really have any outstanding achievements? the ones who didn't join any contests or have any notable experiences to write about :(

Hi, thanks for the question! 

Honestly, every experience can be written as notable. It really depends on how you word your answers. Personal stories, like caring for ill siblings can be described as inspiration for students going into the medical field or school art projects, like painting self-portraits can be described as an eye-opening experience in self-reflection for students planning to study arts. 

It’s really important to remember that even though high achievements and notable experiences contribute to an individual’s application, it does not necessarily make or break an individual’s profile. This might sound deceptive, but honestly play up your strengths. (You might not think you have any really good ones, but trust me they’re there!) I’d recommend doing a bit of research of your field of interest’s general responsibilities and focusing on any transferable skills that you currently possess that can be detailed in a college essay or application form. Many scholarship and college committees are looking for students willing to think outside the box, identify transferable experiences for field compatibility and show a clear interest in studying at the school of application. The experience is not the important thing, the reflection and lessons learned are what’s most important. If you show evidence of your ability to commit and work diligently, while showing clear signs of potential; schools will definitely be interested in taking you under their wing. 

Hobbies can also play a key role in applications, even non-school or organization held ones. As long as you can show evidence of progress (i.e. photography, videos, maybe a participation certificate) for an activity, self-taught instruments or languages are very impressive. Other hobbies such as crafting, machinery or creative writing can also be assets! I suggest making a list of your daily activities and going from there. Sometimes activities that you may not have considered (i.e. cooking, baking, etc) can greatly contribute to an application. Here’s just a couple examples that could possibly be helpful in the formatting of this sort of writing:

Baking (Have you considered baking something for a charity event? Baking a cake or a tray of cookies can add to your application because you can include the title of charity event volunteer and contributor or that you’ve baked to support charity events.) 

Blogging (Even Tumblr blogging! As long as you can show evidence of original posts with a socially acceptable theme (I’d recommend “educational (meaning anything you can learn,)” current-event or literature-based content) you can say that you enjoy writing articles in your spare time and host a blog where you contribute original content.)    

Travel (Travel a lot with your family or friends? Spin this experience into a cultural exploration activity and focus heavily on personal reflections of your trip. By doing this, you can say that you have a strong interest in sociology, modern anthropology and ancient anthropology.)

It’s never too late to pick up new skills! Keep an eye out for new opportunities to expand your abilities and community involvement and who’s knows maybe you’ll even find an activity you become extremely passionate about! Here’s some other tips to show off your skills:

Use a higher variety of language in writing: This means, use a thesaurus for application writing! A higher language variety shows that a student has a higher linguistic interest. In saying this however, do not change every word in sentences or an obvious pattern such as one-change-per-sentence! Contribute where you feel you can be fancy. 

Name-drop: By that meaning, cleverly mention the names of organizations and companies you’ve been involved with. Involvement refers to any sort of assistance with physical evidence. (Remember that baking example I mentioned earlier? Say that the organization in question was Free the Children - you could add Free the Children charity event volunteer and contributor to your application.) Do not call out organizations randomly but strategically - if it just so happens that the charity in question was present and involved then it doesn’t hurt to add that to your application. This shows that a student is well-connected in their communities as well as being apt at networking.

Strategic self-reflection: In detailing how you felt and what you learned, include references to any historical/current events, academic curriculum or personal interest educational content! For example: 

As I explore the streets of Greece, I cannot help but appreciate cultural identities that are in constant evolution. Greece, once a centerpiece of economic power now lies in a new era; one of economic uncertainty in the shadows of the growing strength of several new power players - the United States and China. 

This shows that a student has high intellectual ability, is good at problem solving and applying their knowledge where it can be used.

10 Captivating Short Stories Everyone Should Read

1. The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell — The story of a big game hunter finding himself stranded on an island and becoming the hunted.

2. The Last Question by Isaac Asimov — A question is posed to a supercomputer that does not get answered until the end days of man.

3. The Last Answer by Isaac Asimov — A man passes away and has a conversation with the Voice in the afterlife.

4. The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman — A collection of journal entries written by a woman whose physician husband has confined her to the upstairs bedroom of the house.

5. The Lottery by Shirley Jackson — The story of one small town’s ritual know only as “the lottery.”

6. Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway — A couple has a tension-filled conversation at a train station in Spain.

7. All Summer in a Day by Ray Bradbury — A group of schoolchildren live on Venus where the Sun is visible for only two hours every seven years.

8. Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut — It is the year 2081, and all Americans are equal in every possible way.

9. The Monkey by Stephen King — The story of a cymbal-banging monkey toy that controls the lives around it.

10. We Can Get Them For You Wholesale by Neil Gaiman — A man named Peter searches the phone book for an assassin to kill his unfaithful fiancée.