Self Study - Blog Posts

Kung Fu panda 2 Colour study (30 minutes) trying to match the colours as closely as possible. Sorry about the way Po looks sorta looks like a "Hey children im going to watch you when you sleep"  like a monster at the foot of your bed hahaha

break is a time to relax and destress from school, but it’s also a good time to catch up on work and boost yourself up with studying!! here are some tips to help you out :)

plan things out

i cannot emphasize this enough. make a plan. i would suggest printing out a calendar and planning out each day. are you going on vacation? mark it on the calendar! have a doctor’s appointment or a party you were planning on going to? mark it on the calendar! calculate the remaining days you have left before school starts again. figure out which subjects to tackle on which days and if you have spare time on the days that you do other things.

be realistic. don’t expect yourself to read through 6 chapters, take notes, do 2 projects, and write 7 essays in one day. not only is this discouraging at the end of the day, it forces more stress on you. space things out. if a subject is more intensive and requires more focusing and studying, allot it more time; perhaps even a full day. remember: you have to eat, drink, sleep, take breaks, etc etc like every other person, so don’t cram your studying in too much.

plan your projects out step by step. figure out when you’re going to finish your assignments. determine what days you’ll read through chapters. figure everything out.

take a break; relax

keep some time to relax. after all, it is a break. plan some fun things to do!! you could read a book that you never had the time to read before! you could practice an instrument more! reconnect with your family! you could watch a movie that you wanted to watch or hang out with your friends! the possibilities are endless; it’s your break.

discipline

if you planned to study biology for an hour, study it for an hour. don’t cheat yourself out on productivity. it only brings you down :( you can always check your dash / feed later. log off your social media accounts and shut off your phone –> back to studying you go !! you can always take a break after that hour is up.

if you find that your house is too distracting for you, go to your local library or a small coffee shop for a change of environment. i personally love the library because they will usually have little study areas / cubicles, it’s quiet, and resources are always available. 

before school

start getting ready for school again a couple days before break ends. go to bed earlier. start waking up at the usual time again. fall back into your school routine. you may have slept in and relaxed during break, but it’s time to go back to school.

at least 5 days before school starts, i go over every assignment and project that i had to do. double check that you completed everything that you needed to do. if not, start doing it now. you have 5 days to do it! (which is a lot better than struggling to finish something the night before school starts)

i believe in you!! you can do this!!

hope this helped and good luck! if you’d like to request a post, go here and if you’d like to see more helpful posts, go here !! thanks :)

Hiya everyone so AP self studying (i.e., taking an AP test without also taking a class on it) is a great way to earn more AP credit (which colleges love), and can be easier than you think. 

So in case you’re interested, or just curious, here’s a masterpost where I’ve compiled a bunch of self-study resources and tips. I hope you find it helpful !!

ESSENTIALS (all of these are gold)

which AP’s should I even attempt by myself? : vvvvv helpful article. Make sure you have read this before deciding which AP’s to go for; I highly highly recommend it.

choosing the right prep book : best pdf guide (from a guy who aced 22 ap’s!!) make sure the edition you buy is up to date !!

free textbooks masterpost : you need a competent, up-to-date, AP-level textbook for the subject[s] you plan to take. it will be the source all of your material, so you need to interact with it (more on that below). your textbook is like your teacher, only the difference is you get to choose whether it’s a good one or not! 

annotating from textbooks : this is a v helpful youtube video. It is a great way to take your own notes from your textbooks interactively without getting bored.

tutors and study groups : you don’t have to study alone! There is always the option to work with a tutor or study group, which can relieve a lot of your stress.  

plan with excel : time management is the most important part of self studying. No one’s giving you a test, no one’s assigning you homework, and no one is making you show up to class. Sooo it’s up to you to designate some regular time to study. Excel can be an extremely helpful tool for planning (more on how to study below)

chibird : always cheers me up!

masterpost of calming things 

advice on balancing 3+ AP’s

when you want to give up 

HOW TO GO ABOUT IT (in which I actually give advice)

You need to put in time and dedication, because the best way to self-study is to literally set up a mini class for yourself.

No, you do not have to take out 50 minutes of every single day! But you will need to designate regular time to read from a textbook, take notes, and even give yourself tests, if you’re up for that. 

Helpful time ideas: My cousin self-studying for AP Psychology this year and she takes out one hour of every Saturday and Sunday to read from her textbook and review! (the moral of this story is that weekends are v good times to self-study!) Find at least one time every week where you are free for at least one hour and use that hour to study! 

Divide your time into learning and reviewing. I like to use half of my designated study block for learning new material, and half for reviewing old material. 

Every so often, do a cumulative review. My rec = every 3 weeks. Cumulative reviews are extremely important because you don’t want all the information falling out of your head when you are working so hard to learn it !!

Use good review methods that work for you! Check out the Feynman method (I just discovered it, it’s neat). Do whatever you want for your review, just make sure it helps you :D +5 super secret study tips omg

GIVE YOURSELF TESTS!!! This is so important! Studies show that you learn material much better if you write a quiz or test on it. (This is a legit study I swear but I am just too lazy to look it up right now :DD) It’ll be just like real class! And ok if you don’t want to write your own, I would recommend your AP prep book.

Finally: please remember that there is a difference between losing your motivation, and realizing that you are too are too stressed or can’t handle your workload. Your metal health and your sleep are always more important than an extra AP. If self-studying is costing you sleep or happiness, it is not worth it.

I hope you guys found this masterpost helpful; please if you have some wisdom or insight to share, don’t hesitate to add it. And if you do plan to self study this year, I wish you the best luck !! 

I am a big fan of platonic expressions of love, as there are very few things that make me feel happier than when I am with my friends. I also like thinking, and so I have put my thoughts into words.

I am easily taken over by the devotion that I feel towards the people I love.

I want to give all of myself to the little family that we’ve made together, the one not sharing the blood that I have, but the one that has come together to be what it is now.

Occasionally I am afraid that they do not see me like this. I feel as though I may come off as too strong at times, and I don’t want them to see me in that light. I want to spend the rest of my life with them because I love them. I love being near them. I love being their family. I love devoting my whole world to them and our future.

Perhaps I am too wishful? I don't want to be. I want this to not be a dream. I want to make it real, and I can with time and hard work. I can carve out a future for us if they will let me.

I cannot let myself fear a future without them by my side, so I put myself in the present, and I see them and I know that they are there and real. I sit there with the little family that I helped create, and I let myself know that fear will not stop me.

I will take the future and make it into another day's present.

Day 4/100

Was feeling off since past two days so i didn't post anything much. However got my work done , started on my assignments and completed a presentation. The feeling continues into the next day as well, anyway it will go away. Was prepping for the presentation in the cafe . Hopefully I will deliver it good.

Today's to do list:

-complete my practical record

- complete Chem assignment

-complete my duolingo test

- get started on my online course