yeast enthusiast and studyblr :)

this is the most I've tried in my life :)

[onlinecounsellingcollege]

It’s important that we share our experiences with other people. Your story will heal you, and your story will heal somebody else. When you tell your story you free yourself, and you give other people permission to acknowledge their story as well.

Iyanla Vanzant (via onlinecounsellingcollege)

[smartspo]

now that most of us are at home, i thought this infographic could be useful to the ones who aren't that used to learning material on their own and aren’t sure where to start, or which order of steps to follow. happy studying! 💗

studygram

[eintsein]

Energy Management

A human-based organization method

click on images for better resolution; images also available here (link to google drive)

Other posts that may be of interest:

Getting stuff done: How to deal with a lack of motivation

Flexible time-blocking: A more breathable way to get things done

The ABCDE Method

[onlinecounsellingcollege]

10 Things to Consider when Making a Decision

1. What strategies have you used before – and which were the most helpful in making the right choice?

2. What is your gut instinct? What is your intuition?

3. Which of the options appeals to you the most?

. Will you feel proud if you decide to take this step?

5. How will it affect the other people in your life?

6. If it was a friend who was making the decision, what questions would you ask them? What advice would you dole out?

7. What’s the worst thing that could happen to you here– and what are the chances that this will be the outcome? How would you cope in that outcome occurred?

8. Do you have to talk yourself into making the decision? If you do, then it is possible you’re making a mistake.

9. How does it line up with your purposes and goals? Does it help to move you forwards, and closer to your dreams?

10. How will you feel when you look back in ten years time? And which of the options will you wish that you had taken?

[onlinecounsellingcollege]

How to Fight Perfectionism

1. Delete “ought”, “must” and “should” from your vocabulary.

2. Get rid of all unrealistic goals, and replace them with realistic, achievable goals.

3. Accept and love yourself unconditionally.

4. Recognize that NOBODY is perfect – despite what the media, or other people, say.

5. Love your quirks and value your uniqueness.

6. See mistakes as lessons on the road to success.

7. Notice all the positives, and small accomplishments.

8. Enjoy, and be thankful for, the good things in your life.

[praeingmantis]

April Titles

I have a couple of new books this month too so I will have accurate and non-generic reviews! I honestly can’t wait for this month because these are some of my favorite authors.

MONTH

The Book That Has Been Unread On Your Shelf The Longest:

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

WEEK

Book in a Series: (04/01-04/07)

The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan

Book with Romance: (04/08-04/14)

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Borrowed from a Friend: (04/15-04/21)

Turtles All The Way Down by John Green

Written by More Than One Author: (04/22-04/28)

poetry 180 by Billy Collins (An Anthology)

Published in 2020 (had to cheat): (04/29-05/05)

beautiful boy by David Sheff

Pictures:

[praeingmantis]

March Titles: RECAP

Hello all,

Sorry this is a bit late, I’ve had a crazy time adjusting to this new quarantine schedule and I meant to post this sooner, but I’m doing it now.

The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon

I loved this book so much. After Everything, Everything, I was unsure if Yoon could top it, but she did. I especially liked the deep conversations between Natasha and Daniel, and their dynamic is incredibly written. My favorite part about Yoon’s writing is her ability to go off track for a chapter just to give background, and then flawlessly tying in the information given. Solid 10/10

The Haunting of Gabriel Ashe by Dan Poblocli

This one I had read in the past when I was younger, and it scared the crap out of me. This time around was no different, and I’m a little ashamed of admitting that I was scared by a children’s book. 7/10

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Everyone’s heard of this book at this point, and everyone cried, and I am no different. I’ve never watched the movie, so I had to create the emotion in my head, but it wasn’t difficult to do that. Green’s writing, as per usual, astounds thousands. 9/10

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

I don’t remember this book being as boring as it was, but it was not enjoyable, and I think it’s better to read this once and never again. A lot of this was so boring to me I would fall asleep, and I now understand why it was homework. 5/10

the princess saves herself in this one by Amanda Lovelace

A friend of mine a long time ago recommended this poetry book to me, and every time I read it, I get an overwhelming sense of empowerment and an incredible sense of purpose. 10/10

[praeingmantis]

March Titles

We have some new books in the mix so this time I actually have to read them lol. I actually do like doing this challenge, I’m just not good at it because I don’t have much time to read because of all of my band activities.

MONTH

A Book With A Nature Word In The Title:

The Sun Is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon

WEEK

A Bestseller: (03/04-03/10)

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green 

A Book That Leaves You Thinking: (03/11-03/17)

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

A “Guilty Pleasure”: (03/18-03/24)

The Haunting of Gabriel Ashe by Dan Poblocki

Written By A Female Author: (03/25-03/31)

the princess saves herself in this one by Amanda Lovelace

Photos below:

[praeingmantis]

February Titles: RECAP

Hello and Happy Leap Day!

I’m gonna be honest with everyone here, this past month I knew I had so much going on, I picked books that I had already read multiple times to make sure that if I didn’t read them, I had previous opinions to fall back on.

The Martian by Andy Weir

Honestly, a really good book for learning about space from an interesting perspective. I think it was really cool that Weir took the time to do research for his book and make sure the reader was getting accurate mathematics and scientific information. It was a bit dry at times, but overall, kept my attention. 8/10

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Patterson

This is my favorite book. I’ve had it for as long as I can remember and the story never gets old. The description of the art museum is absolutely incredible, easily one of my favorite scenes. I haven’t seen the movie, though, but I hope to one day. 10/10

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

I really like the Percy Jackson series to start with. I think I read The Lightning Thief, but I didn’t read the other ones, and I got the basic gist of the story over time. I thought he did a good job introducing some of previous main characters without it having to be about Percy. The way Riordan shaped the plot also made a lot of sense when I got the other books in this series. 7/10

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

This book breaks my heart every time I read it because of how sweet and calm everything is until the end. I really love Maddy’s character, and I really love how she views and interacts with Ollie through her sickness. I think the only part of this I don’t like was how unrealistic the house was portrayed. As weird as it seems, I like detail, and I like to vision the settings, but this one was too fancy for a typical home. 9/10

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

I think this book is so cool. I’ve read it once before this time, and I really didn’t understand a lot of the language in it, but I do now. Everything Guy does makes perfect sense: his motives, his plans, his thoughts. It’s a true cousin to 1984, and I really like it.

[self-excellence]

GUIDE TO:

FIX YOUR SLEEPING SCHEDULE (1-2 months)

Try to wake up earlier every day. Like 5 - 10 min earlier than the day before. Until you wake up any time before 8am or so…

If you struggle with waking up & snooze button is you bff:

Put your alarm clock as far away from the bed as possible.

Drink a glass of water right after you wake up.

Pour another glass of water on yourself right after you wake up.

Prepare some coffee the night before, leave it by your bedside, drink it after you wake up.

Have your blinds/curtains open, so that it’s bright after you wake up.

Try to go to bed 5-10 min earlier than the night before.

Track how many hours of sleep you’re getting. Aim to get at least 7h per day or 49h per week. 

Increase your sleeping hours incrementally. Aim to get at least 1h of sleep more than the previous week. For example, if this week you slept for 41hrs, aim to get an extra hour of sleep next week, so it’s 42h.Once you get enough hours of sleep and wake up early-ish.

Try to keep your sleeping schedule consistent. It is really important to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day.  Even if it’s weekend. Or even if that means, you getting less than 7hrs of sleep that day. I’d say waking up at the same time everyday is the most important step, which will help you the most with fixing your sleeping schedule.

START EATING HEALTHY (1-2 months)

This step really depends from person to person, but firstly I suggest you take some blood tests to see if you have any deficiencies, etc. Especially, if you struggle with cravings.  

Try intermittent fasting, if you struggle with binge eating or overeating. As it will help you to learn to listen to your body better: when it’s hungry, when it’s full, etc. It’s really simple, there are many methods of Intermittent fasting, but I’d suggest 16/8 for the beginners. (Google it for more info)

DRINK ALL THE WATER. Again, if you’re not drinking enough water, try to level up your water game incrementally. Download some water tracking app on your phone to help you. Drinking water will make you more energetic, increase your metabolism, and decrease you appetite (among many more benefits).

Track what you eating. I would really suggest tracking your meals for around a month. Because, most of the time people have no idea that what they’re eating is unhealthy. Again, download an app to your phone for that.

Make your own meals once in a while. Not only this will save you money, but it’ll help you to see what’s really going into your body.

Eat less meat and more veggies/fruits. Go to your local market and buy some veggies/fruits, you have never tried before. I’m sure you’ll find your new favs. Eat/buy less meat. Not only it’s good for the environment, but it is good for you, too. Get a veggie burger instead of the beef one, etc.

Cut dairy. Find your new favourite milk substitute. Advice: Oat milk is really good with the tea and oatmeal/porridge; hazelnut milk is amazing on it’s own; cashew milk goes well with cereals.

Learn more about nutrition in general. It will help you to make better food choices and it will make eating healthy much easier in general, because once you understand all the chemistry behind the food and what it does to your body, you kinda don’t want to make yourself feel worse. Here are some free resources: - Human nutrition course from Alison.com - Crash course Metabolism&Nutrition: Part 1 and Part 2 - The Health Nerd’s YouTube Playlist about nutrition - What I’ve Learnt YouTube Playlist - Human nutrition course from Alison.com - Crash course Metabolism&Nutrition: Part 1 and Part 2 - The Health Nerd’s YouTube Playlist about nutrition - What I’ve Learnt YouTube Playlist

GET PHYSICALLY FIT (2-6 months)

Define your goals. Do you want to lose weight, do you want to get stronger, gain weight, be able to climb stairs without losing breath, run 5k?

Remember - you’re half-way through. Being physically fit has a lot to do with what you put into your body. So, if you fulfilled the previous step of eating healthy - you are half way through!

Make a plan. A Reasonable plan. Be honest with yourself.

Start small. Like, 5 min exercise in the morning. Or doing 10 sit ups per day. Don’t do anything overwhelming, like running 5k everyday if you haven’t run for the past 5 years.

Make sure that you kinda like what you’re doing. If you absolutely hate running - don’t do it. Hate doing sit ups in the morning? Try some yoga instead.

Explore until you find what you like. You don’t have to go to gym to get fit, especially if you hate it. Find a type of exercise, which you actually like. Maybe it’s dancing or hiking, taking your dog for a walk. Sign up for several trial lessons of various sport clubs. Ditch ‘em if you have them until you find something that you love. Stick with that.

Do the small changes in your everyday life. Stairs>Escalator, Walk>Drive, Do some squats while brushing your teeth, switch from regular desk to standing desk, etc…  Find ways to incorporate being active into your everyday life

Track your effort instead of your progress. You cannot really control your progress that much (especially if your goal was to lose weight). However, you can always control your effort. So track it instead. This will leave you more motivated. As you will be able to see that you can do more and more everyday. Whereas, if you tracked your progress, you may not always get the result you hoped for, which might demotivate you and make you upset, wanting to quit.

BEAT DEPRESSION

Do the previous 3 steps and you’re half way through.

See a therapist/doctor. Depression is an illness, requiring medical treatment. So, get it. Remember: there is absolutely no fucking shame in having a mental illness.

Get some extra support. Talk to your friends or family. Or maybe someone on the internet.

Write it out. If you don’t want to talk - write down your thoughts. It can be just as helpful. It’ll help you to understand yourself better, see problems in your thinking, etc.

Distract yourself from yourself. Get someone/something to take care of, so that you can, for a moment, stop thinking about yourself and focus on something else. E.g, get a plant, or a dog, or a fish.

Self-care day. Dedicate at least one day per week for self-care. Take yourself out, either to a museum or some fancy cafe, do some stuff you like, whatever your hobbies are, do some physical self care: bath, face mask, manicure, etc., listen to some nice music, watch a film…..

STOP PROCRASTINATION

Celebrate your victories instead of mourning over your loses.So the only thing you’ve done today was write one sentence for your 20 page essay? Amazing! Buy yourself a candy for that!! I mean, you could’ve done nothing, but you didn’t - you wrote that one sentence and that’s worth celebrating.

Do it for only 2 minutes. If there’s an important thing you’ve been putting off for a while, tell yourself that you will only spend 2 minutes on doing it. If after 2 minutes you don’t want to do it anymore, great, stop it. However, after 2min. you actually might want to do more. No pressure either way.

Track your productivity. Track how much time you’ve been productive that day. Try to increase that time by a little bit every day.

Always forgive yourself. So, it’s been a week and you’ve done nothing? Don’t sweat it. Let it go. Blaming yourself will bring you absolutely nothing. Nothing good will come out of your negativity on yourself. So stop it. Forgive yourself and start again. And again, if you need to. Never stop trying. Always pick yourself after you fall. Beating procrastination and increasing your discipline is a skill. And all skills can be build on. There is nothing in you stopping you from changing. Remember that.

LEARN HOW TO DO TAXES (1h - 1 day)

Go to google.com.

Type in: “How to do taxes *the name of the country you’re living in*”

Read the results.

GET MENTALLY STRONG ENOUGH TO MAKE PHONE CALLS

Remember that just as with beating procrastination, making phone calls is a skill. And, again, skills can be learnt.

Get a new SIM card.

Top it up.

Dial some random numbers and pretend to be a salesman, selling whatever you like.. E.g., trying to sell broadband, cable tv, trying to get people to donate for some charity… Or whatever really… Me and some friends used to pretend we’re selling kittens or wood logs. Alternatively, you can pretend that you dialed a wrong person and talk about whatever, e.g. “Hey, Jess!! You wont believe what I saw today!! *start telling a made-up story*…”

If you get uncomfortable - just drop the call. No consequences whatsoever.

Repeat until you build up your game and your phone-call anxiety starts to diminish.

SLAY THOSE BITCHES Congratulations, now you’re ready to take over the world! Got get ‘em!!

[jeiasacads]

YO SIGNAL BOOST

[praeingmantis]

Here’s what I’m working on this week!

I have five papers due on Friday, each three pages long for APUSH. Thank goodness I took today off from work to get a head start on my research and bibliography!

(oh and the book challenge is going great so far!)

[praeingmantis]

February Titles

My January titles didn’t really go to plan, so I’m hoping to redeem myself by doing a bunch of books I like for February.

MONTH

A Book That is Also a Movie:

Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon

WEEK

Written in the 1970s: (02/05-02/11)

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Patterson

An Author Local to You: (02/12-02/18)

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

Orange on the Cover: (02/19-02/25)

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Set in Space: (02/26-03/03)

The Martian by Andy Weir

(Pictures below so you know I own these books. Also, sorry for the crappy lighting. I took the pictures at night so I didn’t have the best lighting and had to play around with it a little.)

[praeingmantis]

January Titles: RECAP

SO,

As you all can probably guess, I didn’t finish all of the books, in fact, I barely finished one. I have read most of these books before, so I’m still going to rate them, I’m just going to go off of what I remember, and February titles will be out tomorrow :)

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

This was the only book I read this month, and I didn’t even finish it, but I wish I did because I really love it a lot. I have fully read it before, and I loved it then. John Green is an incredible writer, and I have a lot of his books, but I’m fairly new to David Levithan, but I really like both of their styles. The book is split in two point-of-views: one from Green, and one from Levithan. If you look at the picture, its split in half, one red, one blue, and as you read the book, the things written on the cover are uncovered throughout the book. I give it a solid 8/10 because it can be hard to follow, and its one of those books you have to read all the way through for it to make sense.

The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien

It’s part of the Lord of the Rings series, obviously, and while I have seen all of the movies, the books are somewhat different. I do have the whole box set, but I’ve never read the first books, so this book really wouldn’t make much sense to me. I like Tolkien’s writing style, this story line is just really hard to follow if you aren’t completely devoted to it. This one gets a 4/10. Not because of the book itself, just because I read the series out of order.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

I LOVE this book, not because I’m a super basic person, but because the message told in this story, Thomas’ writing style, and the character development overall makes it one of the best books I’ve ever read. What I thought was also really unique about this book was the fact that the major character conflict happened at the beginning, and the rest of the book is the characters trying to figure out the right path for them. A good 10/10.

the sun and her flowers by Rupi Kaur

I haven’t fully read through this book, but I’ve read milk and honey and the first half of this book. Both are really deep and dive into hard hitting issues, like sexuality, sexual maturity, puberty, soul searching, etc. and I don’t think I have another poetry book that does as good of a job that this book does. Kaur is an incredible poet, and she understands herself and her surroundings quite well. A solid 9/10 because I haven’t finished it yet, but I anxiously await the day.

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

This book makes me so happy for so many reasons. One, I have fully read this, two, it’s a John Green novel, so I knew it would be good, and three, I think the characters are so diverse and that helps progress the story line further. I also think the main character, Colin Singleton, has such an adorable personality and I really relate to feeling like a “washed-up genius” because of my current academic situation. Anyway, this book gets a 9/10 because it has a couple of weird parts where they talk about math formulas and I can’t follow that because once again, I’m a “washed-up genius”.

The Promise of a Pencil by Adam Braun

I like this book a lot because it is very spiritual and as someone who does not believe in God myself, a lot of my family does, or did, and they always make reference to God and the Bible, so it’s nice to read about it. This book isn’t all about God, it’s about a man who becomes a missionary and goes to third-world countries giving children the gift of pencils and education to help them better themselves. Throughout the book, he talks about his personal beliefs, his family background, and his experiences in these countries. I give this book a solid 7/10 because, just like many of these book, I did not finish this book.

[onlinecounsellingcollege]

The woman you are becoming will cost you people, relationships, spaces, and material things. Choose her over everything.

Unknown (via onlinecounsellingcollege)

[praeingmantis]

Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?

L.M. Montgomery

[cerencia]

healing isn’t always fun. it’s work. it’s hard.

sometimes it’s taking time for yourself. sometimes it’s crying for hours and hours. sometimes it’s relapsing. sometimes it’s being mad and angry and frustrated. sometimes it’s seeking help. sometimes it’s just talking it out. sometimes it’s forcing yourself to eat. sometimes it‘s wanting to scream. sometimes it’s singing your favorite songs very loudly. sometimes it’s laughing with your friends about stupid things you did. sometimes it’s having hard conversations.

again, healing is hard. but it still needs to be done. and i‘m proud of each and every one of you who are trying. because i know it can be so so so draining. i believe in you.

[praeingmantis]

January Titles

I’ve decided that instead of a ton of little posts a month about the books for the book challenges, I’m going to compile them here at the beginning of each month with the dates I’m going to read them. At the end of the month, I’ll do a quick recap on my thoughts about each book.

MONTH

A Book with a Color in the Title: 

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

(Technically not a color, I know, but John Green’s last name is a color, and “gray” is a color and “Will GRAYson” is a character in the book so ha)

WEEK

A Book with the Letter “W” in the Title: (01/01-01/07)

The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien

A Hardcover: (01/08-01/14)

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

By An Indigenous Author: (01/15-01/21)

the sun and her flowers by Rupi Kaur

Set in Winter: (01/22-01/28)

The Promise of a Pencil by Adam Braun

A Character Who is a Senior: (01/29-02/04)

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

That’s January. Below are the pictures of the books I took so you guys know I actually have the books and I’m not lying lol.