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pickle | sg

[sundersea]

a pongal thread on tamil food/casteism

a transcript of @ varathas’ (ig) story. check out his photography at @ varathas on ig and twitter. here are some things to consider as we celebrate pongal. 

caste is a socioeconomic, cultural, and political system of division. as caste dictates social segregation, it is mapped into our everyday geography. geography dictates what is easily accessible to us and caste organizes food items & habits into categories of “pollution” and “hygienic”.

what does that mean?

“tamil cuisine” has a rich palette of seafood dishes to offer. fishing is however deemed as relatively polluted by vellalars & brahmins. caste dictates that karaiyars are to conduct fishing (in the east, also mukkuvars). thus it also dictates the places they are allowed to live/where it practically makes sense considering their caste occupation. depending on your caste origin, your seafood consumption at home may vary. karaiyars and mukkuvars have higher consumption rates and greater varieties of seafood dishes to offer than other caste groups because of their relationship to the sea, dictated by casteism. caste imposes relationships to nature based on labor practices, thus it creates knowledge and habits that are specific to certain castes. vellalars for instance have lower seafood consumption rates, many of whom have selected days to eat fish dishes. in this case, knowledge about the sea and its livelihoods stands in relationship to caste origin.

so what about a kool? kool is typically associated with fisher castes & thriving regions, sch as the thivus. it’s a practical dish that is rich in ingredients. it uses a variety of seafood that reflects what can be found in a day to day catch at sea. it’s a social event to cook it together that brings together a large pool of people. although the dish reflects karaiyar cuisinr, it has today become largely associated with jaffna as a whole. so much that vellalars will happily call it a tamil dish. despite that it may be “polluted” by by their usual caste standards.

been waiting for the big b? you shall not be disappointed. 

we all know tamils (primarily vellalars) including many younger ones, who will proudly exhibit their aversion to beef. they’ll say things like “at home, we don’t eat beef, it’s tamil culture” and often they’ll say it with a hint of pride on upholding this custom. but not eating beef is not a tamil custom (whatever that means). more specifically it’s a caste hindu custom. and awkwardly enough for vellalar nationalists who are proud “followers” of dravidian nationalism, it’s a very brahmin custom.

beef prohibition and the worship of cows (as milk producers) are brahmin customs that have been popularized through brahmin hegemony over centuries. so much so that beef prohibition has become synonymous with saiva/hindu. shaiva hinduism was formed by vellalars like arumuka navalar, who is widely venerated by them as he reinforced vellalars’ hegemony amongst all tamils. 

because of caste regulations, beef has de facto become the cheapest meat across the land. its low price renders it more accessible to socioeconomically marginalized groups that lack the capital to afford mutton or chicken and meat. simultaneously, most vellalars aren’t aspiring to brahmin sociocultural codes, thus don’t have to follow their “purity regulations”. because at its core, vellalars despise brahminism not because they despise castesim (as they often claim), but because they want to replace the brahmin with the vellalar. mimicking brahmin customs is their way of attaining that ritual “purity” that hindu scriptures afford to brahmins only.

so when your ammama, amma, or appa, or someone else with that age reduces or fully stops meat consumption, it’s very often linked to attempts to ritually “purifying” their diet. to brahminise their being and culture (= sanskritization).

_____

it’s kottu time. kottu roti’s history can be traced back to the 1970sin mattakalappu, where tamil-muslim streetfood popularised the dish. some argue kottu roti was brough to eelam by tamil muslim traders from tamil nadu or kerala. the most popular kottu roti versions are today mutton, chicken, seafood, and vegetarian. the orginal kottu roti sold by tamil muslims however was not made with either but with beef (remember, the cheapest available meat). so, if beef kottu roti never made it from the streets into tamil restaurants, where did it go? you guessed it right. this is where caste returns. beef kottu was available to everyone but saiva vellalars. but the largest & most powerful caste group largely stayed away from the beef dish and that makes for a bad sales strategy. at some point in recent history, upper caste-friendly versions such as chicken, egg, mutton, seafood, and of course vegetarian kottu roti were popularised. thus kottu roti was also available to vellalars. 

food of course evolves with time. the development of new kottu varieties is of course more inclusive. the question we should ask ourselves is: why did beef kottu, the original version largely disappear from menus. the erasure of beef kottu from tamil’s conciousness speaks to the power of vellalars to define, engineer, and limit the popular understanding of being tamil. if something is inacceptible for vellalars….it’s not considered tamil. it will remain a caste community affair, but not a generically tamil story others will associate with or gain knowledge about. 

so is there a single tamil cuisine? no, there is not. tamil cultures comprise of a variety of different caste cultures that are often vastly different. you don’t need to live in amparai to be different to a tamil from mannar. you can live on two different sides of velanai and still be culturally different based on caste differences. the question should less so be what are tamil cultures (note the plural) but who is able to decide what can be deemed as tamil cultures. 

since tomorrow marks thai pongal, tamils are, like most people, traditionally an agricultural people. there’s however a difference in owning land and employing laborers to work in the fields and being a farmer/worker. the land may be yours but the labour that renders the land fertile and produces harvest isn’t. this thai pongal, I’d like to remember our “untouchable” ancestors who were enslaved by vellalars (because vellalars up until the 19th century still practiced slavery) and all workers who are forced to harvest fields, the sea, and all sorts of plantations for the profits of others.

[iwearplaids-deactivated20211004]

I just noticed that you can’t say a lot of basic stuff in my mother tongue, Malayalam. Very simple stuff, like I’m sorry. Like in textbooks they would say it as ക്ഷമിക്കുക (kshamikkuka) , but then, it’s currently used in conversation with the meaning of to be patient .

And you can’t say, I miss you in Malayalam, as a phrase. The only thing you can do is explain to someone how bad you feel without them around. But, that is so weird to say. So, what people mostly do is say ഞാന് നിങ്ങളെ മിസ് (miss) ചെയ്യുന്നു (njan ningale miss cheyunnu) . We don’t have a word for miss, in the context of I miss you. (as far as I know)

Similarly, you can’t say I love you. We do have word for love, and you can string together a sentence to mean I love you, but it will be your own sentence, and a weird sentence at that. A phrase for I love you does not exist. But, we do have a phrase for I like you എനിക്ക് നിന്നെ ഇഷ്ടമാണ് (enikku ninne eshtamannu) and you can turn that into I love you by saying I really like you എനിക്ക് നിന്നെ ഒരുപാടു ഇഷ്ടമാണ് (enike ninne orupadu eshtamannu) .

Also, I don’t know if this is all malayalis or just the slang that I speak in, we say Telungu instead of Telugu . And that’s just unnecessarily weird. And we don’t say Tamil with an L sound, we say തമിഴ്  (tamizh) with a zh sound. And to my knowledge, zh sound doesn’t mostly exist in Tamil, so we’re just being petty little pricks.

I was just thinking a lot about Malayalam today and these are some inconsistencies I found in my language. Now obviously, I’m no expert and a lot of people on here, like @currylangs , @malayalam101 , @malayalapaadavali probably know better or more interesting stuff. Feel free to add more. About Malayalam or other South Indian languages.

[language-obsession]

woahwoahwoahwoah LOOK AT THIS

PDFS OF GRAMMAR BOOKS FOR THE FOLLOWING LANGUAGES:

Hindi-Urdu

Gujarati

Sanskrit

Panjabi 

Nepali

Sinhala

Tamil

you’re probably like psh what’s the big deal BUT THE COLLOQUIAL SERIES AND THE TEACH YOURSELF SERIES FOR HINDI, URDU, GUJARATI, PANJABI AND TAMIL ARE ALL ON HERE. DO YOU REALIZE HOW HARD IT IS TO FIND THE COLLOQUIAL SERIES SOMETIMES? ALSO SANSKRIT RESOURCES???

please just check this out omg

[language-obsession]

Hey I am learning Mandarin and if you're not too busy I would like to ask for some sites/apps etc for learning it also comics, culture. Because I just started and would like some cool stuff related to it.

sure! here ya go: 

Masterposts for Sites and Apps:

Mandarin Masterpost

Tips on Learning Mandarin

200 Basic Words in Mandarin

Mandarin Resources

Masterpost for Mandarin

Chinese Grammar Wiki

Chinese Skill (app)

Some asks I’ve answered in the past: (1) (2) (3) 

Reading Practice (Manhua and Sites)

Yes! Chinese Graded Readers (highly recommend this one bc it has audio)

Chinese Reading Practice

Read Chinese

dm5

DMZJ

Coco Comic

iibq

Culture

China Highlights

Cultural China

Transparent Language China

加油!

[deactivated-blog]

15 Common and Useful Chinese Idioms (Chengyu) ✨

🌷 脚踏实地 (jiǎo tà shí dì) 脚踏实地 literally means “to step on solid ground.” It means that you work hard, focus on the fundamentals, and proceed in a steady and stable fashion. It’s an extremely positive chengyu. Here’s an example : “现在我们要继续脚踏实地”   “xiànzài wǒmen yào jìxù jiǎotàshídì”   “Right now we need to continue staying grounded and pushing ahead”   

🌷 九牛一毛 (jiǔ niú yì máo) 九牛一毛 literally means “9 cows and 1 strand of cow hair.” It indicates something that’s so small that it’s like one strand of cow hair among 9 cows. Here’s an example: “电子商务的盈利在中国整体商业环境中简直是九牛一毛.”   “diànzǐ shāngwù de yínglì zài zhōngguó zhěngtǐ shāngyè huánjìng zhōng jiǎnzhí shì jiǔniúyìmáo.”   “In the entire Chinese commercial environment, the profits from E-commerce are simply just a drop in the bucket.”  

🌷 一无所有 (yìwúsuǒyǒu) 一无所有 means to have absolutely nothing at all. It’s basically being penniless. Here’s an example: “他无家可归，一无所有”   “tā wújiākěguī， yìwúsuǒyǒu”   “He was homeless, and didn’t have a penny to his name.”  

🌷 一见钟情(yí jiàn zhōng qíng) 一见钟情 means “love at first sight.” It’s generally used for people, but you can also use it for other physical objects. Here’s an example: “她就是我的一见钟情 “   “tā jiùshì wǒ de yíjiànzhōngqíng“   “She is my love at first sight.”  

🌷 自由自在 (zì yóu zì zài) 自由自在 means that something is free and easy. It can be used to describe someone’s personality, how someone behaves, or how a place makes people feel. For example: “这是一个自由自在的地方。”   “zhè shì yī gè zì yóu zì zai de dì fāng”   “This is a free and easy place”  

🌷 莫名其妙 (mò míng qí miào)  莫名其妙 literally means that it’s hard to articulate the profoundness or mystery or something. It basically means that something is baffling. For example: “他说了几句莫名其妙的话。”   “tā shuì le jī gōu mò míng qí miào de huà”   “He said some mysterious words. ”  

🌷 半途而废 (bàn tú ér fèi) 半途而废 means to start doing something, only to give up halfway. Literally, it means to walk half the road and give up. Here’s an example: “我不是半途而废的人”   “wǒ búshì bàntúérfèi de rén”   “I’m not someone who gives up halfway”

🌷 抛砖引玉 (pāo zhuān yǐn yù) 抛砖引玉 (pāo zhuān yǐn yù) basically means you’re “just tossing an idea out there.” It literally means “to cast a brick to attract jade.” You’re basically saying, “this idea I’m tossing out there is garbage, but perhaps it will lead one of you to make a better contribution.” It’s a humble way to contribute to a conversation. Here’s an example: “我的建议还不够成熟，算是抛砖引玉吧 “   “wǒ de jiàn yì hái bú gòu chéng shú, suàn shì pāo zhuān yǐn yù ba “   “My suggestion is still half-baked — you could see it as just me tossing an idea out there“  

🌷 豁然开朗 (huò rán kāi lǎng) 豁然开朗 (huò rán kāi lǎng) has two meanings which are linked. The first meaning is the refreshing and liberating feeling you get when you see a beautiful, open area. Typically, immediately before this moment, the beautiful area is not visible and you might be feeling a little stuffy. Second, it’s also used for the feeling you get when you achieve an “aha” or “eureka!” moment. Here’s an example: “大学时期，乔尼开始有机会用Mac做设计，那是一种豁然开朗的体验“   “dàxué shíqí, qiáoní kāishǐ yǒujīhuì yòng Mac zuò shèjì, nàshì yīzhǒng huòránkāilǎng de tǐyàn”   “During college, Jony began to have opportunities to use a Mac to design, and that was a refreshing, eye-opening experience”  

🌷  津津有味 (jīn jīn yǒu wèi) 津津有味 means to eat something deliciously. Also, it can be used for activities beyond just eating, as long as the person doing the activity finds it engaging. It’s not something that people typically use to describe themselves, but you can liberally use it on your friends as it has a positive tone. Here’s an expressive example: “津津有味地看报”   “jīnjīnyǒuwèi de kànbào”   “to devour the newspaper”  

🌷  理所当然 (lǐ suǒ dāng rán) 理所当然 sounds like “to go without saying” or “as a matter of course,” but literally means that “according to reason, it should be the case.” Here’s an example: “Some things which are obvious or natural in the course of a marriage…”   “。。。在婚姻中的一些～的事。。。”   “。。。zài hūnyīn zhōng de yīxiē ～de shì 。。。”  

🌷  全力以赴 (quán lì yǐ fù) 全力以赴 basically means to give it your all (literally “exert all your strength”) for a goal. It has a positive tone, and is somewhat formal but can still be used in everyday speech. It’s important to note that 全力以赴 is typically used for actions that haven’t finished yet, rather than actions that have already been completed. Here’s an example: “无论考生的笔试成绩如何，都要全力以赴准备面试”   “wúlùn kǎoshēng de bǐshì chéngjì rúhé ，dōuyào quánlìyǐfù zhǔnbèi miànshì”   “No matter how the student’s written test score is, he/she needs to give 100% to prepare for the interview”  

🌷  心血来潮 (xīn xuè lái cháo) 心血来潮 basically means “spur of the moment” or “on a whim.” Literally, it evokes the image of blood rushing to your heart (of course in English we’d say head). It’s a perfect chengyu for when you’re telling a story a friend. For example: “某日他们心血来潮，决定比拼一下各自的脚法“   “mǒu rì tāmen xīnxuèláicháo,juédìng bǐpīn yíxià gèzì de jiǎofǎ”   “One day, on a spur of the moment, they decided to compare and compete to see whose footwork was best”  

🌷  乱七八糟 (luàn qī bā zāo) 乱七八糟 means that something is a total mess. You can use it to describe tangible things like messy rooms, or more abstract things, like a messed up life. For example: 是谁弄得乱七八糟的？   “shì shéi nòng de luàn qī bā zāo de?”   “who made this mess?”  

🌷  不可思议 (bù kě sī yì) 不可思议 means that something is noteworthy or amazing in an unexpected way. It can be used for things which are really amazing (eg. magic or larger phenomena) but also for unexpected, everyday occurrences. For example: “真是不可思议，我的名字跟你一样！”   “zhēn shi bù kĕ sī yì wŏ de míng zi gēn nĭ yī yàng”   “It’s incredible, I have the same name as you!”  

[floernce]

Hello everyone! To celebrate this blog reaching 100 followers (wow!) I decided to provide, to anyone who is interested, a masterpost full of resources for learning Mandarin Chinese! Two years ago, I walked in to my CHI 101 class with zero knowledge of the language, and four semesters later, I am able to read, write, and hold a conversation in Mandarin! In this masterpost, I will provide all the resources and techniques I learned in my university classes that helped me learn Mandarin, as well a free PDF copy of the textbook I used for my CHI 101 and CHI 102 class!  [original gif by: bigblueboo]

Keep reading

[cloudy-day-studies]

day 6/100 🌻ahhh it’s been a while but i has the flu so life kinda sucked for like a weak and i just slept on and off for almost 4 days but now i’m getting back into the grove of doing my work with notes for ap world history :)🌻

pro tip: always take care of your health over school/studying including both mental health and physical! (easier said than done i know but like,,,you gotta try)

[lettersfromhav]

college advice from someone who’s been on both sides of it

So I’m finishing up my Ph.D. and preparing to depart for the real world (no, just kidding, I’m going to be in school forever, only in a different capacity) and I thought I’d put together a list of some college tips to share with you all. I graduated with my B.A. in 2012, magna cum laude, with 2 majors, 1 honours thesis, 2 on-campus jobs, and 3 music things. Since then, I’ve gone to grad school and also taught six semesters of first-year seminars. Now I’m going on the job market for teaching positions. All of this means that I’ve seen both sides of the college experience, as a student and as an instructor. There are a lot of great & useful college advice posts going around studyblr this time of here, and I wanted to add my own. I hope it’s useful. So here we go, with a “read more” because it’s long (sorry if you’re on mobile):

academics

find your classrooms ahead of time (profs’ offices too)

figure out how long it will take you to walk between places

figure out where your best seat will be & claim it

say hi to the people next to you, learn their names

take notes in class

take advantage of extra credit

try your best not to fall asleep in class (and if you do fall asleep, apologise to the prof afterwards)

bring your glasses if you need them, don’t be stubborn about it

check out the library, wander in the stacks, talk to the librarians

figure out how & where to print

buy used books/textbooks, or rent them, but be careful with ebooks (some profs don’t allow them)

plan breaks into your class schedule, or block everything together, whichever works best for you

work out the pros & cons of 8am classes and/or night classes

plan ahead – have a planner, put things in it, do them

fake deadlines are a thing (write down earlier deadlines, trick yourself into meeting them, bask in satisfaction)

grades won’t be what they were in high school

keep in mind GPA values: a 3.5 will see you graduating with honours

be nice to the departmental administrative staff, thank them for helping you (even with small things)

office hours versus emailing profs: both will get your questions answered (probably) but if you can go and talk in person, do it

profs & TAs are people too, they have lives, they have bad days

if something comes up, talk to your prof, be honest but don’t overshare, just show them you’re trying

on that note, try

Keep reading

[einstetic]

TYPES OF STUDENTS

a. studies to learn, not to get good grades. doesn’t stress about anything, sloppy handwriting, stacks of books, takes napping seriously b. spends every single night working their ass off for their grades yet still people think they are naturally smart c. spends more time procrastinating than actually studying. gets still good grades. secretly envied by others. d. always late, never has their material with them and interrupts everyone. still liked by everyone. e. the stereotypical hipster. loves classics, coffee and rainy weather. can be found at coffee shops reading or observing people. f. perfectionist who feels the need to better than anyone else. gets mad when a friend gets a better grade. g. envious of everyone. wants to get good grades but spends their time watching netflix all day long, still has the gut to complain about not having enough time to study. h. tries to do everything they can even though their mental health isn’t the best. skips a lot of school days to catch up on school work.

[optomstudies]

PSA: Do not reblog or like @teenfromespana who is reposting other people’s photos and study tips

Hi studyblr community! Just a reminder that people work hard to create study tips and studyspo photos and it is NOT OKAY to take credit for their hard work. 

Stolen from:

@studylustre (stolen post here original post here)

@samsstudygram ( stolen post here and here, original posts here and here)

@onlinecounsellingcollege ( stolen post here and here, original posts here and here)

@neuroticmedblr ( stolen post here original post here)

@gabs-studies ( stolen post here original post here)

@vanesastudies ( stolen post here original post here)

@aestudier (stolen post here original post here)

@pencyls (stolen post here original post here)

@studywithlexa (stolen post here original post here)

@acdemic (stolen post here original post here)

@my-little-studyblr (stolen post here original post here)

@polcry (stolen post here original post here)

@studyhack (stolen post here original post here)

@ttstudys (stolen post here original post here)

@studyart (stolen post here original post here)

@makeyourmarq (stolen post here original post here)

and many more studyblrs whose studyspo pics I could not identify even with reverse google image search :’(

You can support people by reblogging and liking, not by taking their content and posting it as your own without credits. 

I hate putting watermarks on my own content, but I have to because of users like this. Many more content owners will just stop posting if it means their work is getting stolen. 

So please studyblr owners, don’t steal someone else’s hard work, and don’t reblog from people who steal from others. If these copycats don’t get notes, they’ll stop reposting and start doing the right thing. Thanks for reading!

[scholasticbabe]

read classics - I know from experience its a slow but steady climb when it comes to reading classics, but it’s a worth while experience to put yourself in world that so different from the world now but mirrors it quite the same. Reading classical opens you mind to how simple but complex the human race is. It might seem like chore especially if your not a reader but you can start by just picking a classical that ficinated you the most  and listening to it on audiobook first. After a couple times of listening on audiobook you’ll get used to rhythm of the language and it’ll be easier to continue reading on your own. Also, pro tips- if you really wanna kick it up a notch, write a short review for every classic you read to help retain the info. 

expand your genres-  Everyones knows there’s a lot to be learned from movies, tv show and music but for most of us, once we learn what kind of genres we like we tend to never branch out and this limits our learning. You don’t have to like every genre but exposing yourself to different styles of music and movies teaches you tolerance and after a while of forcing yourself to do this, you might find your pallet start to shift.  

watch youtube videos- This is one of my favorite ways to not only be entertained but to get a general overview of a certain topic, usually if it sparks my interest i’ll do a little further research. Youtube channels such as ted-ed, asap science, scishow and today i found out do an amazing job of giving you a little bit of knowledge about everything.

listen to people who have different opions than you- I know this one is particularly hard one for most people, but your going to learn the least from having repeptive conversations with people with the same ideas as you. People with different opinions than you will have an impact on how you live your life wether you like it or not; its not your job to accept their ways of thinking but to understand why they think the way they do- you never know, you might just find that the other persons opinion has some merit and might make you more knowlegable about a certain situation. A great way to do this is to watch interviews, read articles about the opposing side of your opinion.

Accept that you’ll never know everything- This is an important one, you may be thinking, how does this have to do with educating myself? well, I added this one because I truly feel like you can’t educate yourself without acknowledging your ignorance. A person who thinks they know eveything has no room to learn. One of the most powerful ways to educate your self is to accept that you are never going to be finished learning, this opens you up and makes you more receptive to lessons we learn in life everyday. So in short, if you want to be more educated, just live! we’re all life long students and that’s okay. 

[lestatsipad]

How I learnt to study

During High school I was one of those students who never really had to work for my marks, I had the uncanny ability to leave my assignment till the night before and still manage full marks that is ..till I got to university, my first year was a disaster I was barely passing my units I was stressed and depressed, what got me through high school was clearly not working in university. So to stop my second year in university from being a disaster as well and to save my gpa I decided to learn how to study from scratch!  spoiler: It worked and my marks have tripled since I adopted these habits. So here are the things I started doing!

- I invested in school supplies that I NEEDED and not just for aesthetic, example I bought tons and tons of basic cheap notebooks because I knew I was going to do a lot of writing and things like flashcards. My rule of thumb was if its functional its perfect.

- I attended every lecture and every class no matter what the time was! This is essential as it saves time later when you are rushing around trying to catch up. 

- I tried to stay up to date no matter what! Before I would let lecture after lecture pile up but ever since doing this, my study life has been much easier to cope with. 

- UNDERSTANDING EVERYTHING YOU LEARN FROM THAT WEEK, I cannot stress how much this has helped me. If I am learning about a topic in week 5, I have to understand it fully in week 5, not when I am in finals week and stressing out. I use resources such as textbooks and the internet to help me understand or I will ask my teacher. The important thing is I understand it fully.

- Be organised!  Know when you have an assignment due, there are so many ways to do this. Handheld planner, wall planner, phone reminders, there is apps such as my study life. Anything that will remind you to get started on the thing before it is too late.

- Review your notes weekly or fortnightly!!! Memory works by relearning, instead of cramming the night before exams, review weeks before.

- Break down your essays weeks before its due, you don’t have to start writing them right away but at least start thinking about them.

- Utilise any free time, for example instead of listening to music on my 45 min bus ride to uni I started listening to a psych podcast or doing my readings for that day.

- Have mental health days, I found out how difficult it is to study and how necessary it is to take breaks. Studying is stressful, have days/half days where you relax and look after yourself.

-Cut down on caffeine, I was a serial coffee addict, Im talking 4 shots a cup three times a day. Cutting down reduced my anxiety and got me sleeping more, which improved my mood and energy.

- Have a study buddy/group, find someone who is serious about their study and have study sessions with them, you get to study and have a social life.

- Find a study schedule that suits you, don’t feel pressure to get up at 5 am if you find it easier to study at 6pm.

- Have a study place, that you know you will study in! It can be your local library, your desk, your bed. Anything that you find will work for you!

[etudiance]

hey hey hey everyone!! as a self-proclaimed mathlete & absolute math nerd, i figured i could share some quick little tips for such an amazing subject! soooo here you go:

practice, practice, practice!!

I always say that practice is the most essential aspect of studying & learning math- and many other subjects! This can take the form of homework (mini tip: always do your homework if you are able!!! it’s only to your benefit! even if it’s not for a grade, try your best to work on it anyway), practice problems from a textbook or workbook, old questions from a past quiz or test, etc. Even just a couple of practice problems every day, or some quick q’s before a test, can help a lot. Remember, repetition is a key form of revision!

take active notes

Math is a very active subject, so it’s important for your notes to reflect that. Basically, if you’re working on an example problem in the middle of your notes, write it down too. These problems can come back in quizzes or tests, and they really help reinforce material when you’re reviewing. Another way to keep your notes active is by drawing diagrams!! Diagrams can be essential for certain topics, so please don’t ignore them, even if you think you can remember what that graph looks like. Also, if you ever need to jot something down in the margins of your notes, do it! All of this will really help when you review.

know your calculator 

Whether you need to know how to use one, or how to survive without one, calculators are pretty much always relevant when it comes to math. If the subject you’re learning allows it, you should always have a calc nearby, and you should know its basic functions. That doesn’t mean know how to add & subtract (unless that’s all that’s necessary for you), it means being able to work the graphing function, or how to enter data into your calculator for statistical evaluation, how to find certain functions in your calc, etc. It’s also very important to know how to work without your calculator. As you progress in math, there will be certain things that you just need to know how to do, because they take too long with a calc. Basically, make sure you understand what you’re doing with your calculator, so that you can understand how to do it without your calculator.

keep track of everything!

Math is a lot of data & different steps that you need to keep track of. When working on something, know where your numbers (or other forms of data) are, make sure you aren’t missing any! Do your best not to skip steps, even if you’re great at working in your head. Missing data & skipped steps are major sources of error and tiny mistakes that can mess up a whole problem. Also, know your common errors! Do you tend to skip a certain step because you think you’ve got it? Do you sometimes misinterpret graphs or data? Once you’ve figured that out, be extra careful with the specific problems that you have trouble with. Keeping track of your work & your mistakes can help you improve a lot!

memorize what needs to be memorized

A lot of math can be done with basic understanding of how to work a problem & the process to find a solution (these things are generally memorized with practice!) but there are some things that just need to be memorized. Whether it’s elementary functions like addition & division, or basic trigonometry, if it’s not a process you can learn through understanding, and need to know, make sure you know!! Some things can be memorized with practice, and others require different methods of memorization (I typically write & rewrite things multiple times). You can find some great posts on memorization here!

more masterposts!!

stem studying

study methods

precalculus

algebra

geometry

(ap) chemistry

ap world history

studyblr-ing

the everything book

the pomodoro method

how to use flashcards

how to use sticky notes

welcome to high school

tiny study spaces

what’s in a pencil case

i really love math & i wish everyone could see it like i do, so i hope this was helpful! keep shining like the star you are and don’t forget to be awesome today!!

- Aza

[ssehuns-deactivated20250424]

Taking textbook notes is a chore. It’s tedious and boring and sometimes challenging, but hopefully these tips will help you improve your skill and shorten the time it takes you to do textbook notes!

Give yourself time: Realistically, you can’t knock out 30 pages of notes in 20 minutes. Take your time with textbook notes so they’re a good studying tool in the future. The general rule is to take how many pages you have to do and multiply it by 5: that’s how many minutes it’ll take you to do the notes.

Also, divide you notes up into manageable chunks to increase your productivity. I am personally a huge fan of using pomodoro timers, and I adjust the intervals for however long I need to.

Skim before you start taking notes: If time is an issue, don’t read your 40 page in depth before even picking up a pen, but make sure you know what you’re reading about by skimming a bit ahead of your notes. Read over section titles, and look at charts, maps, or graphs. Writing and highlighting as you read the chapter for the first time isn’t effective because you don’t know if a sentence will be important or not, so make sure you’re reading a paragraph or section in advance before writing.

Use the format they give you in the book to help take your notes: In a lot of textbooks, there will be a mini outline before the chapter itself that shows all the headings and subheadings. Those will be your guidelines! I find this super helpful because long chapters can be daunting to go into without any structure. If you don’t have one of those, use the headings and subheadings provided for you. If you haven’t already been doing this, it will help you so much.

Read actively: It’s so easy to “read” a textbook without digesting any information, but that is the last thing you want to do. Not only does it make taking notes a million times harder, but you’ll be lost in class discussions because you didn’t understand the reading. To keep from passively reading, highlight, underline, star any important information in the book itself.

Have a color coding system for highlighting or underlining and write down a key somewhere (here’s a few that you can adjust for your needs: x,x)

Use sticky notes or tabs to mark any questions or important points to come back to

Summarize important information and paraphrase: When taking the actual notes, don’t copy down full sentences word for word. Not only does writing full sentences waste a lot of time, it’s not an effective way to learn. If you can paraphrase the information, then you understand it. It’s also easier to study notes which are in your own words instead of textbook academia writing.

Be selective: You shouldn’t be writing down every fact that comes up in your textbook. If a fact ties into the bigger topic and provides evidence, then it’s probably something to keep, but you don’t need every piece of supplemental information (but do make sure you always write down the vocab). Learn your teacher’s testing style to help you decide what to write down. Could this be on the quiz/test? If the answer is yes, make sure you write it down.

Learn to abbreviate: Just like writing full sentences, writing out full words will waste time. Implement some shortenings (make sure to use ones that you’ll understand later!) into your notes. Some common ones are: b/c=because, gov=government, w/o=without, and here’s a great list of a ton of examples of abbreviations and shortenings.

Answer margin and review questions: A lot of textbooks have margin questions on every page or so that sum up what’s really important about that information. Make sure not to skip them because they’re really helpful for understanding. Write them down and answer them clearly in your notes. Most textbooks also have review questions after the chapter that check for reading comprehension, so make sure to answer those because they’ll show you if you really understood the chapter.

Don’t skip over visual sources: Maps, diagrams, illustrations, charts, and any other visuals in textbooks are so helpful. If you’re a visual learner, these things will be so essential to you and how you understand what you’re reading. Charts, tables, and diagrams sometimes also summarize information, so if you’re a visual learner it might benefit you to copy those down instead of writing it out.

Add visuals if it’ll help you: As said above, copying down charts, tables, illustrations, or diagrams can be super helpful for visual learners. They’re clear and concise, so pay attention to them.

Write your notes in a way that’s effective and makes sense to you: Mindmaps, Cornell notes, or plain outline notes are all really good forms of notetaking. Find which one works best for you to understand them and which one is most effective for your class, and use it (stuff on mindmaps and cornell notes).

Combine your class and textbook notes: If you rewrite your class notes, add in information you think is relevant from your textbook notes. Mark anything both your book and teacher said were important–you don’t want to forget any of that. If you don’t rewrite class notes, then put stars next to anything repeated.

[oweeo]

some things I need to remind myself daily tbh

[brbimstudying]

i’ve been really productive the past few months, which is actually quite rare for me bc i’m a slave to procrastination i get burnt out v easily. this time was a little different, i managed to keep my productivity levels really high for a whole 2 months all the way until exams ended, studying every single day without fail, around 10 hours a day, when i used to only do an average of 3 or 4. so here’s what worked for me and what didn’t!

what works: schedule your day

what happens when ur a virgo studyblr? u plan. i would write out everything i needed to accomplish for the day, the night before, and be really specific about it. i would then plug in the timings, this works for me, but u can choose to put the time in first and plan what u want to do around the time. 

a structured time plan pressures me and i end up getting everything done, especially when i set an alarm on my phone for all the timings!

what does not: cramming a lot of hours into a day

12+ hour work days are ideal, especially when u watch all the ‘study with me: 14 hour work day!’ youtube videos, but they are just tedious and unreasonable. 

let’s face it, even if u do complete one or two long study days, ur just gonna get bored and tired and have no mood to continuing this for a week or more. slow and steady wins the race!

what works: tweaking the pomodoro technique

i hate the pomodoro method. at the 25 minute mark, i’m normally on a roll and super focused on the task; and the 5 minute breaks were too short for me to actually take a break. 

that’s why i tweaked it to 45-minute study sessions with 10-minute breaks, and after 3 study sessions, a 30-minute break. longer study sessions meant i get a break when i really start to get restless, and longer breaks gave me more time to recharge. i suggest tweaking this to match what works for you.

what does not work; doing too many / too little subjects a day

1. u don’t want to cram all the same topics and subjects into one day. ultimately, it’s a choice of spending 8 hours solely on a subject / topic and not touching it for the next few days / weeks, OR doing just 2 or 3 hours of one subject / topic each day over a few days / week

2. just thinking about doing only one subject for a whole day already tires me out. i have tried it, but normally i get so sick and tired of it that after a few hours, i can’t bring myself to focus on it any longer. on the contrary, if i keep switching between subjects, i get super confused because i have to remember too much of very different info. 

what works: leaving the last portion of your day ambiguous 

i like to start and end my days early. but in the process, i found a benefit of ending them early: i end up w a chunk of time at the end where there are two scenarios:

i’m super motivated and want to continue studying

i’m rly tired and cannot bring myself to continue bc i need a break !1!!

surprisingly, option 1 does happen a lot. and i think this is a rly good work-life balance. u don’t get burnt out easily, but from time to time, u get a bonus extra few hours of work done! 

what does not work: forgoing sleep

sleep is so important omg. 3 hours of studying while sleepy = 1 hour of studying when ur refreshed and ur brain’s working. a tired mind is a slow mind, and an awake mind is a fast mind!

do not worry about that rly hard chapter that u must understand and complete! ur mind continue to works even when ur sleeping, i assume bc it’s rewiring and sorting through new information. after waking up, i find myself being able to better remember and understand information that i struggled on the night before!

what works: finding out ur energy levels and use it to ur advantage

some people work best at 6am and can’t focus after 9pm, some people can’t focus before 11am and work best at midnight. take note of and chart ur energy levels throughout the day for about a week or so, are u particularly refreshed in the morning? do u feel urself always dozing off at 4? are u the most productive at night? 

work ur body clock out and work around it! every body functions differently! like in the last point, 3 hours of studying at ur worst energy levels = 1 hour of studying at ur peak energy level! forcing urself to work when ur body refuses to do so will only lead to procrastination. 

i sincerely hope these few tips can help u out w being productive! what are some of the things u do to get shit done? 

[flowerais-deactivated20211031]

I think a big part of what makes procrastination so common is that we underestimate how hard it is to “just get out your books and study.”

I always see tips for not procrastinating, and maybe they are really helpful to people with good self-discipline but I read them and feel worse about myself bc for some reason I had a preconceived idea that I just couldn’t do those things…maybe seeing all those tips and tricks made me believe that studying was an easy task, only suitable for people with the newest stationery, most aesthetic study spaces or prettiest notebooks.

I thought studying was just something i couldn’t do well, like my brain wasn’t built for that. I felt like I was destined to always procrastinate and be a failure.

A big part of getting over procrastination was realizing that studying is one of the most difficult things to do as a student. for procrastinators, it takes a huge amount of effort to stop scrolling through social media and get out books. personally there is a huge fear and anxiety associated with “studying” and it makes my stomach churn and heart race just thinking about it. to get out from the safe space of distractions to facing our fears is immensely difficult.

if you want to study, it takes a LOT of effort to turn off your phone, get out your books & pens and do questions that make you feel dread and anxiety and inadequacy.

it takes a great deal of effort to confront the habitual thoughts in your brain that say “you’re stupid” or “what’s the point” or “this is too hard” or “i’ll never understand this” or “this essay will never be perfect so why even try.” 

it’s immensely difficult to fight your inner perfectionism, denial, avoidance, making excuses, or feelings of inadequacy as they are deeply ingrained defense mechanisms all created to avoid studying.

for some people like me these voices are even louder because they’ve procrastinated so much that there’s an overwhelmingly huge pile of studying they need to catch up on.

People regard studying as some sort of common thing that “anyone knows how to do.” but it’s actually a difficult skill that needs to be learned and practiced, like learning a musical instrument. you wouldn’t give up on that if you weren’t good after 2 days, why feel the same about studying?

but like any difficult task it is 100% possible and it will be worth it, you might even enjoy studying after a while. I promise that it will be freaking uncomfortable and stressful and terrifying at first to face your fear of studying. you might feel sick and every inch of you wants to procrastinate. But try to force yourself to study on a routine for maybe 3 weeks and it will get easier I promise. I’m trying to do that right now and you should too, I believe in you.