Maths Is Beautiful. Have A Great Day :)

This is amazing!

here is a gif showing how blood flows through the heart in case you need extra motivation 

28/01/2020

Yikes 😬

Absolutely! I don’t have a MacBook - I have a seven-year-old, slow and slightly broken HP laptop that has served loyally as a faithful study companion. I have mildliners, yes - but not because everyone else has them. I have them because I actually like them!

I take the time to write up my notes neatly because they go into a folder that is inspected by my teachers - we get told off if we put scruffy work in. But I make them more aesthetic as a way of assimilating information and having a productive way to chill out.

The whole point of having a studyblr for me was to keep on track for my personal targets. If those targets were straight Cs instead of straight A*s it wouldn’t be any less valid.

I don’t have muji pens or the finest notebooks - I save up and buy some of my favourite Pentel Energel pens whenever I can because they are actually fairly expensive as pens go and I sure as hell wouldn’t buy them at all just because everyone else is raving about them. Otherwise, it’s a cheap notebook for me all the way - because guess what? The paper you use doesn’t impact the quality of your notes.

You do what’s right for you, studyblrs of the world.

Your aesthetic does not invalidate the quality of your account.

call for change: studyblrs

I have had this blog for about a year now, and I’ve come to realise the unattainable perfection of studyblrs. I created this account to motivate and educate myself and I feel as though these ‘perfect study notes’ hold unrealistic expectations. This is why I have decided to post things that are more realistic, educational and have a positive impact on the community. Please reblog this to spread the message: You do not need perfect notes, every stationary item, a macbook, top grades or an aesthetic study space to be a studyblr. All you need to do is do the best you can.

9-12/12/18 - 90-93/100 days of productivity

It is Wednesday, my dudes!

I am right in the middle of mocks right now and I have biology and chemistry tomorrow. I am revising the heart because I’ve not done it in a while! (I also quite enjoy drawing it - can you tell?)

How has your week been so far?

Notes —> Revision

I love whiteboards. They make me feel smart!

This was an intro to inorganic solid state synthesis and was essentially just a bunch of information that was handed to us. It’s rare that this type of thing happens in a chem degree... we are normally far more problem-solving than that. This reminds me more of GCSE or A level where we had to know a bunch of advantages and disadvantages for different processes and describe how they work. Hated it then, hate it now!

You know when you *should* work but you are having such a bad day you can’t? That’s me right now. And I’m cool with that

Work experience!

So a bit of background: a charity called The Talent Tap approached my school last academic year for the first time ever and said they were looking to fund 2 weeks worth of work experience in London (and around it, in my case) for disadvantaged state school kids, would anyone like to apply?

I decided to put my name forward for interview, got in, and now you’re all caught up!

What a ride these 2 weeks have been. I spent week 1 at a biotech lab in Cambridge, where I actually got to do loads of lab work as well as meet people from all around the company.

Back in London for the weekend, there was a public speaking workshop on Saturday. I hate public speaking but I decided to put my all into it despite that. (And put my all in I did - my punishment for ultimately winning “best speech of the day” was to speak at the final drinks celebration on Thursday 18th July 2019.)

Week 2 was at a property investment management firm in London. We did a marketing project there... and while I quickly learned marketing really isn’t my thing, we did have a ton of guest speakers in - including a patent attorney or two, who piqued my interest.

My speech at the final celebration went amazingly (tip: wine helps) and I was congratulated by many of the businesspeople there. I was scared, but I tried my best to be brave. I was actually the only first year on the programme to win an award for being one of the best ambassadors for the scheme.

I am now working to secure placements for next year - one being with an IP law firm. Bring it on!

13/09/18 - 2/100 days of productivity

I make all my notes in advance of lessons (these chemistry notes are weeks if not months in advance) so lessons are revision sessions and I can just get on with practice questions. I can add to them in lessons if needs be :)

Break the problem down

From personal experience, life is hard and stress hits you like a tonne of bricks. Exams are coming, deadlines are forever nearing and you feel like one thing is coming at you after another and you can’t possibly finish all this in time to the best of your ability but omg everyone will be mad or disappointed if you don’t and AHHHHHHHH

Stop that.

When you are overwhelmed by stress and believe you cannot possibly succeed, face that shit objectively. Write your stress source down or talk it out and belittle it as much as you can.

For example: “holy shit I have to sit an A Level in Maths and I’ve been learning the content for less than a year all on my own. I don’t have many practice materials and that shit looks hard. I will run out of time because I also have 4 other A Levels to sit and I will fail.” (Me irl bc I’m crazy)

Becomes: “It’s a few questions on a sheet of paper. All you have to do is work on your weaknesses. You should make a timetable to prove to yourself you have time. It’s not A* or bust - do your best.”

Because that’s all it is. Take the emotions away from the problem. Temporarily take everything that’s riding on that one thing away and strip it right back to what it’s really about. Make yourself believe that it is not above you. Once you convince yourself you can do it, actually doing it becomes a hell of a lot easier.

*I’m not saying those things are not important or not a big deal. I’m saying for the sake of your sanity, make it manageable.*

A Level hell has finally begun haha

Physical chemistry wasn’t so bad