The Confused Medievalist @cluelessmedievalist - Tumblr Blog

january 29th, 2024

january went by so fast! i went so many places this month and i'm forever grateful for all the adventures i got to have. academically, january felt refreshing but also just a tad intimidating. especially because i'm anxiously awaiting feedback from this journal lol. nonetheless, i'm excited for february :)

what was the highlight of your month? i'd love to hear!

tazzy-five

The one thing I wish someone had warned me about before going to grad school is the emotional burden. Students treat you like therapists or cry because they didn't realize something was cheating and panic when you ask them about it (I didn't even report them to honor council! I just wanted to know what happened! I swear I was nice, they did not get in trouble!) and then you have to comfort them for half an hour. Professors have high expectations it feels impossible to meet sometimes. Sometimes they throw you under the bus when students get upset even though you're doing what they asked! Journal reviewers eviscerate your work because they can and it makes them feel good even if their critiques are wrong. Then at the end of the day you feel like a heartless, incompetent, useless monster and you can't even cry about it because you have more work to do than there are hours in the day!

No one warns you! No one trains you! It's just "go out there, try your best and if you can't hack it you don't belong here"!

outsassing-nero

15.11.22// i’ve been really busy with work and research recently and i have new conference talks, scholarship materials & more coming.. at least i can keep trying new things in a local bakery hehe

really in a need of a nap rn..

insta: isitreallyalicja

foxscarf

3.10.23

Yet more introduction meetings! Getting just a little bit tired of them! But hopefully the itching to start is going to help me get reading this week. And deciding what rotation projects I might choose is exciting, although tiring!

(here's Rexy the science cat so. you can't dislike my post. :p)

3/100 days of productivity

honeesblog

a lot of people in my program really only do their studies and to my other PHD's I urge you: make sure you have other things going on! I have a near endless list of weird hobbies and sports and other interests and I just want you to know that you don't need to eat, sleep, and breathe only your topic and subject! Read a fiction book for fun, paint something badly, find a nice shop to browse in, go for a walk in a green area, take a break and don't rush through it. Pleasure and relaxation are valuable and worth your time. The point of a PhD/Masters is not to work in a hard and unsustainable way until you are done but instead to learn how to be an academic, what type of academic you are, and how you want to live your life/balance your academics and everything else!

When you are studying/working, don't be afraid of being wrong or doing things messily or poorly. On hard days, give yourself leeway, add an extra scoop of sugar to your coffee or tea, and listen to the rocky theme!

helpingg

irisharchaeology

Medieval arches, Moyne Friary, Co. Mayo. This impressive Franciscan foundation dates from circa AD 1460

caffeineaddictedsociety

modern dark academia playlist

want those secret history vibes but don’t love classical music? i’ve compiled some modern songs that i found remind me of da (building off this one i made)

but if you prefer classical music i’ve also made that! here

view the full thing here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7mU7YHvAsjfAyW7dJV3E0t?si=Q23EQt8iSTuejli_cFN4Gw

‘Coffee’ by Early Eyes

‘Camilla, I’m at Home’ by Peach Pit

‘Turtleneck Boy’ by Spilt Milk Society

‘Edison’ by Adam Barnes

‘A Wistful Waltz’ by Teddy Hyde

‘Honey Whiskey’ by Nothing But Thieves

‘Ghost Towns’ by Radical Face

‘In The Woods Somewhere’ by Hozier

I am chaos

I spin from this book, to that article, to this notebook, to that postcard

My thoughts are ravaged across my time and my space, and I can’t get them in

Order. What has become of me?

That studious kid

Desperate to prove herself

Well now we’ve come full freaking circle

So consumed with proving herself, and having proved herself

Lacking in dimension, depth, a passion beyond

So I retreat

To my chaos

And as I pull a pen from between the sofa cushions to scribble on the window

As I drink my seventh coffee of the night

I realise

I was made to be chaotic

I am chaos

And I will be feared

#postgrad #poetry #studyblr #quarantine poetry

Panic To Do List 14/04/2020

- Restructure my deadlines for my thesis, due September

- 09:30 meeting with thesis supervisor

- Write essay plan for Invisible City module

- Send essay plan to IC supervisor

- Write essay plan for Painting on Light module

- Review all emails about upcoming Advanced Latin exam

- Go shopping

- 13:00 meeting with boss

- Email prospective landlord

- Email St Andrews about PhD situation in COVID-19

- Watch Pride and Prejudice (2005)

- W E E P

#postgraduate #postgrad life #masters student #masters thesis #coronavirus #honestly I'm not sure how much of this I'll get done but we will see #studying #medieval studies #study like hermione #studyblr #postgrad studyblr

punkgarden

i cant wait for the scu (stardew cinematic universe)

danxiously

bixbiboom

The Backstreet Boys performing I Want It That Way together from each of their homes is exactly what I needed today.

starsandskies-archive

OMGGGGGGG

helila

wherefore-do-i-wont-trespass

how is this different than the Imagine song every one threw a fit about???? That one dude has a whole ass elaborate chandelier hanging behind him????

randomslasher

It’s different because their singing is a product they already know people want.

The problem with the Imagine video wasn’t that “celebrities are rich people!” --we already knew that.

The problem was a group of random celebrities--many of whom are decidedly NOT singers--put out a presumptuous collab that absolutely dripped with the patronizing assumption that it was what we all wanted.

No one asked for it. It wasn’t their song, they didn’t do an especially good job performing it, and it didn’t impart a particularly relevant message (in fact, one could argue it’s almost inappropriate to sing a song about imagining no heaven when people are dying, and many of the survivors are trying to take comfort in their faith).

It’s false sentiment delivered by a group of people who are presuming that a syrupy rendition of a well-known and important (or at least important sounding) song performed by well-known and (in their minds) important people would make all of the unimportant little people feel better during a global pandemic.

It was tone deaf (sometimes literally), it was condescending as fuck, and it painted an unintentionally embarrassing picture of inflated self-importance that was really just a bunch of celebrities trying to stay relevant in this time when they’re not getting the amount of attention they’re all used to.

Backstreet Boys, on the other hand, are a music brand. This is their product. This is what they DO. And the tone of their video is one of “haha, hey, I know we’re not those kids anymore, but here’s some nostalgia we can all laugh at.” They hammed it up, some of them brought their kids into the video, and it was clear throughout all of it they weren’t taking themselves too seriously. They let themselves be the butt of the playful joke, rather than trying to impart a quasi-profound message that wasn’t even theirs to deliver (and didn’t even apply to our current circumstances in any meaningful way).

Musicians offering us their products in videos like this one already have proof that it’s something we want, and they’re doing it to help boost morale and give disappointed fans who are missing out on concerts something for free.

The Imagine video, by contrast, gave us a steaming heap of nothing so a group of celebs could feel self-important and significant during a time when everyone is suddenly realizing that they aren’t.

That’s the difference.

prismatic-bell

Hozier’s done two from-home concerts during this, and it’s the same. His close friend (and normally his bassist) came over to play piano, they sat on opposite sides of the camera frame, and they basically acted like a pair of good mates playing a bar set, joking with each other and asking for requests while also explaining what current WHO guidelines are and raising money in €4 increments (that’s about $4.35 USD) for a child abuse prevention charity in Ireland that’s struggling under the weight of the needs of quarantined children.

We needed fun and normalcy, they gave it to us and did something good in the meantime. (And also agreed to cover Toxic by Britney Spears.) There was literally no message there beyond “please stay safe and also, if you can, these kids need help.”

We don’t need to be preached at. We need to know we’re in this together. And yes, we need the arts. They feed the soul. But there are ways to do it, and ways not to.

why-the-heck-not

to when libraries were still open

To do today:

- three pomodoros of job-work

- one pomodoro of uni work

- FaceTime grandparents

-FaceTime friend 💕

- make chilli con carne

- do the shopping for our elderly neighbours

Have a photo sent by my sister of our dog!

#postgrad #to do list #studyblr #study life #2020 quarantine challenge

myhoneststudyblr

✨With most schools, colleges and unis closed around the globe and most studyblr students now having school at home I thought I would create a challenge to help everyone stay focused and productive and also to connect with people so even though most people are self-isolating, we don’t feel lonely✨

✨Info✨

Because no one really knows when we’re going to be able to go back to schools and I know it will depend very much on where you live, I’m going to do a month of daily ‘challenges’ starting on Monday 23rd March 2020 but if the quarantine keeps going I’ll try to add as the weeks/months go on

I want to see what y’all are posting so please use the tag #2020 quarantine challenge and I’ll track this tag and reboot as much as possible!

On this note, I will reblog basically everything even if you don’t think it is ‘aesthetic’ cause I love seeing how everyone does their notes and stuff so please get involved 💕

✨Week 1 - Questions✨

Mon - Have you made a study schedule to help you study at home?

Tue - How are you being taught your lessons? (google classroom, teams etc.)

Wed - What’s your favourite study snack?

Thu - How are you keeping active?

Fri - What is your favourite subject/topic to study at the moment?

Sat - Where in your house is your favourite place to study?

Sun - What are you doing to relax?

✨Week 2 - Pictures✨

Mon - Take a picture of your desk/study space

Tue - Take a picture of the book you are currently reading

Wed - Take a picture of your most colourful notes

Thu - Take a picture of the pens/highlighters that you could not live without

Fri - Take a picture of the view outside your window

Sat - Take a picture of a meal you’ve cooked or something you’ve baked

Sun - Take a picture of some of your art or doodles

✨Week 3 - Questions✨

Mon - What is your favourite food to cook or prepare?

Tue - If you could go anywhere in the world for a week, where would you go?

Wed - What is your biggest goal for this year? Have you done anything so far to achieve this?

Thu - What is the song that makes you happy no matter what?

Fri - What is your favourite TV programme at the moment (on Netflix etc)?

Sat - Where is your favourite place in the world (eg a city you’ve been to, a restaurant, or a particular hiking spot)?

Sun - What is your favourite joke?

✨Week 4 - Tips advice ✨

Mon - What is your biggest tip for staying focused?

Tue - What is your biggest tip for not getting cabin fever?

Wed - What would be your advice to you from five years ago?

Thu - What is the best advice you’ve ever been given (e.g. from a teacher of friend)?

Fri - What is your biggest tip for organising your study space/study materials?

Sat - What is your best tip on how to relax?

Sun - What is you biggest tip to someone starting to learn your major/favourite subject/degree?

✨This is the first month but I might add to this later as the quarantine continues. Let’s all support each other through this difficult time✨

cluelessmedievalist

I’m going to backdate all of the ones I’ve missed this is amazing!

#2020 quarantine challenge #study life #productivity #postgrad #studyblr