My Study Diary

23-year-old undergrad navigating academia | MENA studies | Trinity College Dublin |

[jamsandsuch]

its a little embarrassing how long it takes to edit your cv and then it isnt even really that impressive

[atmstudy]

Wed, Nov 12th

First Exam of the Semester Loading ⏳

I haven’t been too present on here lately and I can’t believe exam season is already slowly creeping in!

I am currently in the middle of my very first graded assessment of the semester, which is a German take-home exam. I am writing a Kommentar on current events (we got a pretty decent essay title) which should be around 1,000 words long by the time I am done with it. I am feeling relatively good about the work I’ve done so far, but I don’t want to get my hopes up too soon!

We have been given 24 hours to complete this, we allowed a dictionary (only in paper form) and the assignment is worth 20% of my overall grade in this module.

Wish me luck!

[atmstudy]

Sun, Nov 2nd

Productive Study Day 📖

Lately I’ve been struggling to lock in, so today I decided to go back to the basics and use the Pomodoro method. What works best for me is doing 45 mins on, 5 mins break. I did four pomodoros and managed to get a LOT of work done!

What I achieved:

prepped some readings for a lecture I have later next week on WW2 memory in Germany

wrote ~ 500 words on my thesis

read and annotated an entire chapter of a book I’ve been using as a source on the history of modern Greece

did some research for an essay on Adenauer’s foreign policy

[atmstudy]

Sun, Oct 26th

Cozy Sweaters, Coffees & Studying ✨

That pretty much sums it all up for me for the past week! I have been a little more social than usual, as many of my former coursemates were in town for their graduation ceremony (if you're new here: I took a year off, so they've graduated without me). It was lovely seeing them and catching up, but also somewhat bittersweet as I see them moving into new chapters of their lives and I am still in university. I guess I am trying to remain positive by reminding myself that each of us have our own timeline, and that I am exactly were I am meant to be.

In terms of studying, I have been keeping up.

Yesterday I went to the library and wrote the reading report I have to turn in for my State & Society in the Late Ottoman Empire class. It isn't due in another couple of weeks but I really wanted to get it out of the way. I am trying to put more time and effort into my German, but I definitely do not enjoy the kind of homework we are being given and therefore it is hard to be consistent. We have a take-home exam coming up in 3 weeks tho, so I better stay focused! And for a final update: my thesis is slowly coming along, my supervisor has advised me to try and get a few hundred words down every day, so that at a later stage I will "only" need to organize and rearrange my writing to fit the final structure.

Next week here in Ireland is reading week, which means no classes, and lots of time to study and do any work that I've either neglected or not been able to get to yet.

[atmstudy]

Mon, Oct 21st

Long reading sessions ahead 📖

My focus this week will be on getting some reading done: I have a reading report for my “State & Culture in the Late Ottoman Empire” module due on Nov 5th, and I am currently also researching more in-depth information for one of the chapters of my thesis.

Today I:

picked up a parcel from the post office

had an online lecture 12-2pm (which I attended from the library)

worked a shift in the library 2:40-4:40pm

wrote ~ 300 words on my thesis draft document

did some research on the author of the book I’ve selected for my reading report

Now the plan for the rest of the day is to relax a little and continue with my readings 🤓

[atmstudy]

Thur, Oct 16th

Trying to catch my breath 🤯

The beginning of the week was definitely quite busy. Let me give you a short recap:

On Monday, I met for coffee ☕️ with a friend in the morning, attended my 2 hour lecture on late Ottoman history, went home and meal prepped for the week, then went back to campus to have dinner and work my usual 8-10pm shift in the library 📚;

On Tuesday, I worked at my job as an accommodation assistant at a hotel 🏨 from 8am until 4:30pm, then made my way to library and wrote a few paragraphs for my thesis 💻. I then ate my packed dinner and had my shift in the library;

Yesterday, I made my way to campus a little early in order to review some German language materials. I had a German Grammar class at 11am, followed by a German Language Tutorial at 12pm, a 2-hour break, and a seminar titled Deutschland in Europa. I finished with classes at 4pm, then went to the library to prepare some readings before my 8-10pm shift;

Today, I had another seminar for my Deutschland in Europa module followed by a weekly check-in meeting with my thesis supervisor 📑. I came back home for lunch and I've been spending the afternoon relaxing, baking🥧, and listening to some podcasts. At around 6:15pm I will leave the house and head back to campus for (you guessed it!) my library shift. The girl I usually work with cannot come in today, therefore I will make sure to have plenty of time to finish all the tasks before closing.

I honestly felt like I really needed to take the afternoon off today because tomorrow I will (again) be out for most of the day and on Saturday I am working in the hotel again.

Will I make it to Sunday? Stay tuned to find out 🤪

[atmstudy]

Sunday, Oct 12th

A Cozy Day 🍁

Reading in bed

A study date at a café

Walks in nature

[atmstudy]

Wednesday, Oct 8th

A day in my life as a working student 👩‍🎓

On this day:

woke up at 7:30

got ready & did some German revision at home

headed to campus

had lectures 11:00-13:00

worked in the library 13:00-14:00

took my lunch break (with a yummy homemade bowl with silken tofu, beetroot, cucumber, cauliflower rice and crispy peanuts)

had one more lecture 15:00-16:00

worked in the library one more hour 16:00-17:00

got back home at around 18:00

prepped for my ‘Deutschland in Europa’ class

finally, had dinner and ended my day with some youtube & a cup of hot cocoa ☕️

I love having such full days, although juggling work & study can sometimes be exhausting. Still, knowing that I am supporting myself and working hard towards my goals makes me proud!

[atmstudy]

about to go in a meeting with my thesis supervisor after sharing my very messy notes and drafts for the first time…needless to say I am panicking :D

[atmstudy]

Sun, Oct 5th

Writing my thesis with a cinnamon almond cappuccino ☕️🍂

I finally feel like I have found a specific research question for my thesis, as well as a document structure that will allow me to develop my argument cohesively.

This is a BIG deal for me, since it means that I can now start to critically sift through all my notes and pick out all the bits of information I need. This is exactly what I will be doing for the whole day today: going through notes and organizing them based on the section they should be included in. It is not necessarily a hard process but it is quite time-consuming. I do need to get it all done today tho, because I have a meeting with my thesis supervisor on Thursday and I need to share my progress with him as soon as possible, so that he gets some time to go through the material and (hopefully) provide some useful feedback in our in-person meeting.

That's all from me today, I wish you a good study day ;)

[sapphicacademic]

midterm season + bipolar disorder + disability

i have literally no energy.

i slept through another tutorial. i promised myself this year would be different but i can feel myself losing interest. i've been up for 2hrs and can't motivate myself to do anything. i almost want the hypomania back because that's the most productive i ever i am.

be kind to each other as academia gets more intense. you never know what your peers are wrestling with.

mickie

[atmstudy]

I struggle with mental illness, too. this is important.

[atmstudy]

Thur, Oct 2nd

I love an early morning planning session🌞

[atmstudy]

Mon, Sept 29th

Campus at night 🌙

Had a really good and full day! This morning I woke up at 8, went grocery shopping at Aldi, worked on some reading prep for a class later this week, walked to campus for a 2 hour lecture on late Ottoman history.

I then went home for lunch, worked on my thesis for about an hour or so, showered and made my way back to campus for my first (!) shift at the university library. The perk of working until 10pm is that I get to walk around campus at night and it feels quite magical!

[atmstudy]

Fri, Sept 26th

Autumn is here 🍂

Today was quite a chill day. Still, I:

woke up early to prep for classes (read & analysed some Herder)

cleaned my room & changed the sheets

walked to class (~1hr) to soak in some sunlight 🌞

had one class (German language tutorial)

wrote & submitted a German language assignment

picked up some stationary (for free! from a lovely person from Olio)

Saturday and Sunday I will be working, but I am hoping to still get some writing done for my thesis.

Have a good weekend everyone☺️

[atmstudy]

Wed, Sept 24th

A well-deserved treat 🍪

I’m back with a little update. Yesterday I went in for an interview for a position as a student shelver at my university’s library and I am delighted to share that I got an official offer today!

In terms of my classes, things seem to be going smoothly for now, although I know the pace is going to pick up very soon.

Hope you all get some good studying done and treat yourself gently xx

[atmstudy]

Mon, Sept 22nd

Planning time 🕰️

I don’t know why, but analog just feels nicer? I use google calendar while I’m around, but I like to write things out on paper as soon as I get home.

I got this weekly planner from Tiger and I’ve been loving it. It helps me see the broader picture: instead of stressing over daily to-do lists I prefer setting weekly goals and be flexible about how I achieve them.

[atmstudy]

Sun, Sept 21st

Spend the day with me 📚

I woke up late-ish (at around 9am) and started my day by going through some prep material for my German grammar class.

I then had a lovely breakfast and had a walk around Dublin to get some sun and move my body. 🌞

In the afternoon, I took myself to a café, had an americano with sugar free caramel syrup (delish ☕️) and finished reading and annotating one of the books I’m using as a source for my thesis.

Overall I got about 4 hours of studying done, while still also having some fun and treating myself :)