thats rough buddy

decided to cram all my interests into one thing so this is gonna be a mess of spanish + coding + science + studyblr + adulting things. still working on organizing it

[spanishskulduggery]

I’m at level A2 in Spanish. What verbs should I know?

ser = to be (permanent, personality, height/weight, color, description)

estar = to be (temporary, location, mood, condition, wellness, dead/alive)

ver = to see (sometimes “to watch”)

ir = to go

hacer = to do/make [also used with many idiomatic expressions like hacer calor etc.]

salir = to go out, to exit

decir = to say

tener = to have [also used with many idiomatic expressions like tener hambre etc.]

dar = to give

poder = to be able to

poner = to put

querer = to want / to love

venir = to come

saber = to know (facts)

conocer = to know (people/places) / to meet

deber = must, should

llegar = to arrive

llevar = to carry, to bring

parecer = to seem, to appear (as if/like)

amar = to love (usually romantic)

recordar / acordarse = to remind, to recall / to remember [if you haven’t learned reflexives, then just ignore acordarse for now]

empezar/comenzar = to start/begin

pensar = to think (or sometimes “to plan to (do something)”)

escribir = to write

soñar (con) = to dream (of/about) 

gustar / encantar = to like, to really like [used with indirect objects]

resolver = to resolve, to solve

contestar = to answer

preguntar = to ask, to question, to wonder

dormir = to sleep

hablar = to speak

comer = to eat

vivir = to live

cocinar = to cook

preparar = to prepare / to cook

seguir = to continue, to follow

conseguir = to achieve, to get

darse cuenta = to realize (in the sense of having an epiphany or gaining understanding) [reflexives again]

correr = to run

andar = to go, to walk

haber = to exist, to have (done something) [only the basics of hay at this point probably for A2]

dejar = to leave / to stop, to quit

llamar = to call

encontrar = to find

buscar = to look for

necesitar = to need

permitir = to allow, to permit

tomar = to take / to drink (usually with drinks and/or medicine)

trabajar = to work

leer = to read

escuchar = to listen, to hear

oír = to hear

creer = to believe

decidir = to decide

tocar = to touch / to play (an instrument)

jugar = to play (a game/sport)

sentir = to feel, to sense, to noticesentirse = to feel (emotions)

levantar = to raise, to lift uplevantarse = to stand up

acabar = to finish, to end

terminar = to stop, to finish

esperar = to wait / to hope for

añadir/agregar = to add

volver = to return, to come back

regresar = to return

caer = to fall

comprar = to buy

vender = to sell

mentir = to lie, to tell a lie

mirar = to look, to stare, to watch

ganar = to win, to earn

cambiar = to change

estudiar = to study

nacer = to be born

nadar = to swim

volar = to fly

beber = to drink

ayudar = to help

abrir = to open

cerrar = to close

llorar = to cry

reír(se) = to laugh

sonreír = to smile

intentar = to try, to attempt

recibir = to receive, to get

colocar = to place, to put

saltar = to jump

notar = to notice

mandar = to send / to give orders

enviar = to send

parar = to stop (doing something), to not move

construir = to build, to construct

destruir = to destroy

asistir = to attend, to assist

realizar = to accomplish, to finalize

lograr = to achieve, to accomplish, to get done

cumplir = to comply, to fulfill [in the A2 level this would show up more with the idea of birthdays as in “to turn (X number of years)”]

convertir(se) = to change (into), to convert

guardar = to hold onto, to save/reserve, to keep (objects/promises/silence)

ahorrar = to save (money)

despertar(se) = to awaken, to wake up

bañar(se) = to bathe, to take a bath

duchar(se) = to shower, to take a shower

replicar = to reply

responder = to respond, to answer

servir = to serve

invitar = to invite / to pay for, to treat

resultar = to happen [when used with indirect objects it means “to seem like”]ocurrir = to occur

considerar = to consider, to think about

llover = to rain

nevar = to snow

adquirir = to acquire

alquilar = to rent

prestar = to borrow

arreglar = to fix

corregir = to correct

examinar = to examine, to look over

pasar = to pass [also used in many idiomatic expressions]

quedar = to remainquedarse = to stay / to become [situationally]

entrar = to enter

repasar = to go over, to review

revisar = to revise, to look at

quitar = to remove, to get rid of

sacar = to take out

pedir = to request, to ask for

morir (probably) = to die

There might be some repeats or things I missed here. But these are the ones I could think of off the top of my head.

If there are any major ones people think of, let me know!

[sin-ammonroll]

✨ 11 Spanish saying and proverbs with their meaning ✨

1. “No hay mal que por bien no venga.”

Literally: There’s not evil which hasn’t came from a goodness.

Meaning: We always can get something good from a bad situation.

2. “En casa de herrero, cuchillo de palo”

Literally: In blacksmith’s house, wood knife.

Meaning: This is the saying for those people who do activities that don’t make at home (ex. a chef who doesn’t cook at home, a tailor who doesn’t make her dresses, etc.)

3. “No hay peor ciego que el que no quiere ver”

Literally: There’s not worse blind that the one who doesn’t want to see

Meaning: Often we have the truth right in front of us, but we don’t see it because we rather not to do it.

4. “No hay mal que dure cien años, ni cuerpo que lo resista”

Literally: There’s not evil which last one hundred years, nor any body which resist it.

Meaning: We can’t desist no matter how hard it gets, because the hard times don’t last forever.

5. “El que mucho abarca poco aprieta” 

Literally: Who embraces too much tight too less.

Meaning: We can’t do everything at the same time, or we’ll end doing nothing at all!

6. “Al mal tiempo buena cara”

Literally: To bad weather, good face.

Meaning: We can’t lose our smiles for a bad circumstance.

7. “A caballo regalado no se le mira el colmillo”

Literally: A gift horse doesn’t look at his tusk.

Meaning: To people who doesn’t like what they give them and are always criticizing the gifts. The proverb’s lesson is the gratitude.

8. “Barriga llena, corazón contento”

Literally: A fully belly, a content heart.

Meaning: Food is happiness folks!!

9. “Cuando el río suena, piedras trae” 

Literally: When the river sounds, it carries rocks.

Meaning: When we intuit something about a person we don’t like even before of having proofs about them.

10. “Cuando los gatos se van, los ratones hacen fiesta”

Literally: When the cats go out, the mice party.

Meaning: When we do something because no one’s watching.

11. “Del dicho al hecho hay mucho trecho”

Literally: From the saying to the making there’s a long path.

Meaning: Our actions are more worthy than our words.

[hil-arrr-y]

Two job-hunting resources that changed my life:

This cover letter post on askamanger.com. A job interview guide written by Alison Green, who runs askamanager.

[curliestofcrowns]

useful

[blownfromthesunintothesurf-blog]

Alison Green’s advice works. 

[sw-or-gtfo-deactivated20211219]

Alison Green got me all my interviews from 2012 onward, I am reasonably sure.

[vanitycats-deactivated20170527]

Alison Green is basically my life guide.

[intentandinvention]

Mine too - she was my most visited website for the first few years of my working career, and I cannot emphasise enough how much her advice helped me navigate how to behave in a work environment. You name it, she has an answer for it. Definitely a life hack.

[post--grad]

here is a list of questions i have already answered about graduate school!! 

please check it before you send me a question about graduate school :) :) i hope it’s useful! xo // updated 08.2019

basic info

what is the PhD and what can you do with it? (+) 

what does a literature PhD entail?

should i do a PhD if i have to pay tuition?

does it look bad to take time off between degrees?

what was your timeline like? 

what’s the difference between a terminal MA and a PhD? (+)

does getting an MA first help you get into a PhD program?

application process

how can i prepare for applying early in my undergrad career? (+) (+)

where should i start looking for programs?

should i choose a program based on rank or fit? (+)

how many programs should i apply to?

parts of the application

advice on the writing sample

advice on the GRE (+)

how should i ask for letters of recommendation?

how should i write a statement of purpose? (+)

how do i demonstrate my “ability to excel”?

how should i address mental health/family/personal issues that impacted my grades?

grad school application spreadsheet

how should i email potential advisors? (+)

how can i survive the waiting period? (+)

how should i prepare for an interview or phone call? (+)

what should i ask at open house?

what should i do if i don’t think i can afford my grad school tuition?

what should i do the summer before i start my program?

seminars/coursework

how should i plan for grad seminar presentations? (+)

what should i bring with me to seminars?

what are grad seminars like?

how can i get better at speaking during seminars?

reading

what should i have read before i start my lit grad program?

how much reading should i expect?

how can i read a lot without getting overwhelmed? (+)

how can i read efficiently? (+) (+)

quals-specific reading advice

how should i take notes on critical articles?

writing

how do i write a lit review?

how do i write an indicative bibliography?

how do i choose a dissertation topic? (+)

how do i plan for a long research paper?

how do i balance all the different kinds of writing i have to do?

money

how do finances work in grad school?

what is adjuncting and why does it suck?

how can i budget while on a stipend?

should i work while in grad school? (+)

fellowship, postdocs, & job stuff

how do i think up a second project when i’m not even done with my dissertation?

CV writing tips

which websites post US fellowship/postdoc/job ads? 

how do dissertation fellowships work? 

tips for grant, award, & fellowship applications

misc

will grad school make my mental health issues worse? (+) 

how do i survive conferences?

how should i deal with burnout? (+)

i think i want to quit

my advisor is ghosting me

how do i work with no structured schedule?

how do i get enough sleep?

how do i balance my work & my teaching?

how can i beat imposter syndrome? (+)

how can i excel in grad school?

[spanishskulduggery]

About Confidence

In my slight fever dream, I’d also like to take this time to address “confidence”. Because people routinely ask me how they can feel more confident with their language skills, or sometimes people will say “I want to be better at speaking how can I do that?” and I say “The trick is confidence”

And it occurred to me, that I never really explained the idea of confidence. I just sort of said “go be confident” and without an explanation, that sounds like hollow advice.

I touch on this sort of when people ask about “fluency” and I tell people that fluency is not a helpful goal because it’s so vague. It’s better to want to be “proficient” or “competent”, and that’s the same with the idea of confidence.

To put things into perspective, I’ve studied Spanish for over 15 years. I’ve had so many classes and things where I had to do essays and presentations and speeches in Spanish, write pages of pages of academic literary discussions in Spanish, and all that kind of stuff… and I still didn’t feel “confident”.

Some days I find myself struggling with my own confidence

The thing about confidence is that I’m using the wrong word. In general, no one is confident 100% of the time. Confidence is an attitude that comes from believing in yourself. No one believes in themselves 100% of the time. Imposter syndrome is real, sometimes you have bad days, your mood, your life, and if you’ve eaten all affect your general frame of mind and your “confidence”

What I really mean when I say “be confident” is “believe in the skills you have” or “believe you are efficiently doing and trust the skills and knowledge you have”, and also “trust that if you make a mistake in speaking or whatever you’re doing, the other person won’t smite you on the spot”

My problem with confidence was because I believed that I needed to know everything and that I’d “fake it to make it”. To some extent that’s true, but after studying for so long, I’m not faking my understanding of a topic or grammatical concept. I usually know it, and if I don’t, I know how to research it and where to go to find answers. I’m not faking it to make it… I’ve made it, but I don’t know everything

It’s very different from if you’re a beginner and you don’t know tenses or moods but you need to string sentences together. If you’re speaking and trying to get your point across, you know that you’re probably not correctly doing it but you’re faking the confidence to get understood. That makes sense then and the other person isn’t going to fault you for it [this is specifically a teacher-student setting rather than real life but one would hope real life people aren’t monsters about you getting a tense wrong or saying the wrong thing]

If “confidence” feels too vague for you, then consider trying to trust that you have the skills you need to succeed. It won’t mean you’re perfect. Languages are things you “practice” not “master”, like law and medicine. You literally can’t know everything at every moment.

If you’re a beginner and you don’t feel confident, it’s because you don’t know things and that’s fine and expected because that’s what it is to be a beginner. The goal of speaking as a beginner is not to know everything, it’s to feel comfortable speaking at all. It’s to get you to feel like “I feel safe enough that I can say a thing even if it may not be right and participate in a conversation”. If you can get to that point of confidence, then you’re golden and keep studying.

Intermediates struggle the most with confidence because they know some things but not all things, and the things they do know seem to pale in comparison to all the things they don’t know. That’s fine, and expected. The goal of an intermediate is to use the skills you have to help you move forward and improve. You couldn’t read a novel as a beginner because you didn’t know the words or the tenses, but now that you do know some you can sort of understand the words being used, even if it’s not EVERY word. Find out what you don’t understand, find out what things you need to know, find out what is hard for you and those are things to work on and grow on. That’s how you become advanced. Trust that you’re learning, forgive yourself because you’re learning, and keep studying.

Advanced people get to the point where they know things and things come to mind and they “know it” but “do I REALLY know it?” …Believe that you do know it, and if you’re feeling brave ask a native speaker if that’s what they would say or if you were thinking of something else. Being advanced doesn’t mean you need to work at a very quick pace, but that you understand and can reproduce most of what you’re seeing, hearing, reading etc without a lot of problems. If you believe in your skills, and you continue building on the knowledge you have or examining the things you still are shaky about, then you’re doing fine. You can still be advanced and not know what a sentence just said. You can be advanced and have no idea what a person just said and ask them to repeat. Being advanced doesn’t mean perfection. You don’t need to be perfect to be advanced; you do however need to be consistently accurate and efficient but there’s always a margin of error

Above all, know that perfection is unrealistic and unhelpful. If you believe you must know 100% of everything and do 100% of what you do perfectly, then even 99% correct is graded as a failure and that’s just not healthy. Again, imposter syndrome is real.

If being confident isn’t something you know how to do, rely on the skills you have and believe that you are prepared to do what you need to do. If you don’t feel 100% confident, that’s fine. It isn’t that you’re always confident, it’s that over time you start to trust yourself to do the best you can possibly do. It’s a skill you learn over time, not one you simply acquire. Try and believe that you are capable and competent and efficient, and that’s what I mean by confidence

[spanishskulduggery]

Learning subjunctive and formal commands and like. What even. My brain has too many verbs.

So this is only a very rough outline and not at all comprehensive. Unfortunately, verbs are a pain in the butt, but also necessary. The trick is to memorize the irregular ones because they’re the hard ones. Everything else is easy if you know the rules.

The key to learning subjunctive and commands when it comes to the conjugations is that you really need to know everything’s present tense yo forms because that’s where subjunctive and commands (particularly the formal ones) get their conjugations.

If you consider that subjunctive and formal commands take that yo form and then simply give it the opposite conjugational ending, it makes more sense.

So for example you have decir which is an -ir verb. Present tense yo is digo. So you start with that form, and then you give it the opposite conjugation ending; meaning that -er and -ir verbs will take an -a [like an -ar verb would], and an -ar verb goes to -e [like a regular -er and -ir verb would]

Which means you end up with diga… so it could be yo diga for subjunctive, or as a command diga is a formal command.

And for an -ar verb like hablar, you go to hablo in present tense yo. And because you know you take the opposite verb ending -e… it turns to hable.

Subjunctive conjugation works on the assumption of “hey you know that conjugation you learned for present tense? What if you just stuck on the opposite ending?”

So comer goes to coma, comas, coma, coman, comamos.

And vivir to viva, vivas, viva, vivan, vivamos

And then hablar to hable, hables, hable, hablen, hablemos.

Commands are kind of their own beast with conjugation because the tú commands can be irregular sometimes but not always.

For memorizing the key irregularities, just remember the phrase: “Vin Diesel has ten weapons, eh?”

This applies to verbs related to the ones above… sostener, abstener, contener, obtener… or predecir, satisfacer, componer. Things like that. Their conjugations are directly related to their root verbs.

Word Reference’s conjugation generator is very helpful for these because you can see all accent marks that may be involved.

Also, many of these irregularities are either wholly irregular almost everywhere, or have -go endings in present tense like vengo, digo, salgo, hago, tengo, pongo

The rest of the commands look like they’re taken straight from subjunctive… For decir it would be di, diga, digan, and digamos

For subjunctive and for imperative/commands, keep in mind when verbs are E=>IE, or E=>I, or O=>UE verbs because those do show up in conjugating. 

For subjunctive take a verb like pensar which is E=>IE:

yo piense

tú pienses

él / ella / usted piense

ellos / ellas / ustedes piensen

nosotros pensemos

But again, Word Reference will give you a more comprehensive list so you can see all the irregularities of different verbs.

The weird verbs to keep in mind are dormir and morir because there aren’t that many O=>UE verbs that are also -ir verbs. 

And poder is also important to know, but it doesn’t exist as a command (as far as I know), but for subjunctive it is important.

For regular verbs in commands, the model is easy to follow in that tú looks a little different, and then everything else looks like it came from subjunctive.

habla = speak [informal]hable = speak [formal]hablen = speak [plural]hablemos = let’s speak [we command]

come = eat [informal]coma = eat [formal]coman = eat [plural]comamos = let’s eat [we command]

abre = open [informal]abra = open [formal]abran = open [plural]abramos = let’s open [we command]

I’ll also include a link to one of my more recent posts on the subjunctive mood, specifically present subjunctive.

Commands tend to be easier to understand because imperative mood is only used for affirmative commands or negative commands. The hardest thing about learning commands is the conjugations.

When to Use Subjunctive Mood

[danidonovan]

I’ve been working on being more conscious of how I write emails, and made this handy printable guide! I have a bad habit of overusing exclamation points, emojis, and qualifiers like “just” and “possibly” to sound extra-friendly and non-threatening in emails. (“Just wondering / just confirming / just checking / just making sure / just wanted to let you know”) You are allowed to take up space. Your voice deserves to be heard. Your opinions matter. You don’t need to apologize for existing or asking for what you need. You are not “bossy” or “bitchy” for not sounding like a pep-machine 24/7. If you act like a doormat, you better develop a taste for shoe leather. You have power too. Don’t be afraid to stand up for yourself— no one else is gonna do it for you.

[spanishskulduggery]

I’m at level A2 in Spanish. What verbs should I know?

ser = to be (permanent, personality, height/weight, color, description)

estar = to be (temporary, location, mood, condition, wellness, dead/alive)

ver = to see (sometimes “to watch”)

ir = to go

hacer = to do/make [also used with many idiomatic expressions like hacer calor etc.]

salir = to go out, to exit

decir = to say

tener = to have [also used with many idiomatic expressions like tener hambre etc.]

dar = to give

poder = to be able to

poner = to put

querer = to want / to love

venir = to come

saber = to know (facts)

conocer = to know (people/places) / to meet

deber = must, should

llegar = to arrive

llevar = to carry, to bring

parecer = to seem, to appear (as if/like)

amar = to love (usually romantic)

recordar / acordarse = to remind, to recall / to remember [if you haven’t learned reflexives, then just ignore acordarse for now]

empezar/comenzar = to start/begin

pensar = to think (or sometimes “to plan to (do something)”)

escribir = to write

soñar (con) = to dream (of/about) 

gustar / encantar = to like, to really like [used with indirect objects]

resolver = to resolve, to solve

contestar = to answer

preguntar = to ask, to question, to wonder

dormir = to sleep

hablar = to speak

comer = to eat

vivir = to live

cocinar = to cook

preparar = to prepare / to cook

seguir = to continue, to follow

conseguir = to achieve, to get

darse cuenta = to realize (in the sense of having an epiphany or gaining understanding) [reflexives again]

correr = to run

andar = to go, to walk

haber = to exist, to have (done something) [only the basics of hay at this point probably for A2]

dejar = to leave / to stop, to quit

llamar = to call

encontrar = to find

buscar = to look for

necesitar = to need

permitir = to allow, to permit

tomar = to take / to drink (usually with drinks and/or medicine)

trabajar = to work

leer = to read

escuchar = to listen, to hear

oír = to hear

creer = to believe

decidir = to decide

tocar = to touch / to play (an instrument)

jugar = to play (a game/sport)

sentir = to feel, to sense, to noticesentirse = to feel (emotions)

levantar = to raise, to lift uplevantarse = to stand up

acabar = to finish, to end

terminar = to stop, to finish

esperar = to wait / to hope for

añadir/agregar = to add

volver = to return, to come back

regresar = to return

caer = to fall

comprar = to buy

vender = to sell

mentir = to lie, to tell a lie

mirar = to look, to stare, to watch

ganar = to win, to earn

cambiar = to change

estudiar = to study

nacer = to be born

nadar = to swim

volar = to fly

beber = to drink

ayudar = to help

abrir = to open

cerrar = to close

llorar = to cry

reír(se) = to laugh

sonreír = to smile

intentar = to try, to attempt

recibir = to receive, to get

colocar = to place, to put

saltar = to jump

notar = to notice

mandar = to send / to give orders

enviar = to send

parar = to stop (doing something), to not move

construir = to build, to construct

destruir = to destroy

asistir = to attend, to assist

realizar = to accomplish, to finalize

lograr = to achieve, to accomplish, to get done

cumplir = to comply, to fulfill [in the A2 level this would show up more with the idea of birthdays as in “to turn (X number of years)”]

convertir(se) = to change (into), to convert

guardar = to hold onto, to save/reserve, to keep (objects/promises/silence)

ahorrar = to save (money)

despertar(se) = to awaken, to wake up

bañar(se) = to bathe, to take a bath

duchar(se) = to shower, to take a shower

replicar = to reply

responder = to respond, to answer

servir = to serve

invitar = to invite / to pay for, to treat

resultar = to happen [when used with indirect objects it means “to seem like”]ocurrir = to occur

considerar = to consider, to think about

llover = to rain

nevar = to snow

adquirir = to acquire

alquilar = to rent

prestar = to borrow

arreglar = to fix

corregir = to correct

examinar = to examine, to look over

pasar = to pass [also used in many idiomatic expressions]

quedar = to remainquedarse = to stay / to become [situationally]

entrar = to enter

repasar = to go over, to review

revisar = to revise, to look at

quitar = to remove, to get rid of

sacar = to take out

pedir = to request, to ask for

morir (probably) = to die

There might be some repeats or things I missed here. But these are the ones I could think of off the top of my head.

If there are any major ones people think of, let me know!

[spanishskulduggery]

Updated this list a bit with some additional verbs that someone in A2 and B1 should probably know. 

Also added the meanings of the verbs because I realize I didn’t do that. Some of the verbs require more explanation than I can give in just a simple vocab list but I tried to make them at least understandable even for total newbies so if anyone has any particular questions on any notes I made on the verbs, let me know

[cwote]

Look at you! You’re living perfectly fine without the person you thought you needed.

[academedic]

school mindset

essays - make each essay you write better than the last


 small assignments - aim for 100s, expect 100s, get 100s


 homework - pretend they’re assignments


 homework that’s not graded - pretend! they’re! assignments!


 tests - study for 100s, expect less


 long term projects - act like it’s due in four days -even when it’s not- until you’re done with it


 group projects - do not get angry


 presentations - pretend you’re obama

disclaimer - this works for me, it may not work for everybody, do not push yourself too hard!!

[studying-chan]

This is such a great way to treat college work!

[yourbigsisnissi]

also

many people say they want a relationship, when they actually just want validation. they don’t want a person to build and grow with and invest in and experience life with. they want someone next to them telling them that they are attractive, that they are valuable, that they matter. they want someone to give them the title of being someone’s (i.e. boyfriend/girlfriend/partner) so that they feel chosen.

selected.

special.

not saying that’s a good or a bad thing. just saying having an awareness of what you actually want might assist you in navigating dating and relationships. and figuring why it’s not working.

[dontaskgrantaire]

What's a good strategy for accomplishing a difficult task?

An excellent question! Allow me to share with you the strategy that has made me such a success among my fellows and a star in my field:

1. A large task is daunting, and will put you off the job entirely. Dissolve it down into its elements - what must you do, piece by piece?

2. Bring those pieces into proper order. What ought to be done first? What naturally follows upon that? Once this is done, instead of one great task, you will have a manageable schedule of small ones.

3. Consider yourself. What skills do you bring to the table? Where do you excel? Doubtless you have experience you can bring to bear! Keep your strengths in mind as you craft your plan.

4. Tell a friend your plan. Articulate it out loud; it will seem more clear and more real than when it was a mere phantom in your mind.

5. Remind yourself that you are qualified! You are capable! You are clever! It is entirely within your power to accomplish this task.

6. Don’t do it.

7. Do absolutely none of it.

8. Just give up.

9. Pretend you did it if anyone asks.

[strangehorse]

previously ‘gifted kids’ coming to terms with the fact you will not actually go into a vitally important career and change the world make some noise!!!

[friskdreemurr00]

You can still do that lol

[strangehorse]

i mean, maybe i could? not sure, to be honest. there’s a lot of other stuff going on that hinders that. but the point is also that i don’t actually have to. i don’t have to be the best to be good. the vast majority of people will never leave a significant permanent mark on the world and that’s okay, really. it’s worth learning to be okay with that.

[the-more-u-know]

24 Invaluable Skills To Learn For Free Online This Year

Here’s an easy resolution: This stuff is all free as long as you have access to a computer, and the skills you learn will be invaluable in your career, and/or life in general. 

1. Become awesome at Excel.

Chandoo is one of many gracious Excel experts who wants to share their knowledge with the world. Excel excellence is one of those skills that will improve your chances of getting a good job instantly, and it will continue to prove invaluable over the course of your career. What are you waiting for?

2. Learn how to code.

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Perhaps no other skill you can learn for free online has as much potential to lead to a lucrative career. Want to build a site for your startup? Want to build the next big app? Want to get hired at a place like BuzzFeed? You should learn to code. There are a lot of places that offer free or cheap online coding tutorials, but I recommend Code Academy for their breadth and innovative program. If you want to try a more traditional route, Harvard offers its excellent Introduction to Computer Science course online for free.

3. Make a dynamic website.

You could use a pre-existing template or blogging service, or you could learn Ruby on Rails and probably change your life forever. Here’s an extremely helpful long list of free Ruby learning tools that includes everything from Rails for Zombies to Learn Ruby The Hard Way. Go! Ruby! Some basic programming experience, like one of the courses above, might be helpful (but not necessarily required if you’re patient with yourself).

4. Learn to make a mobile game.

If you’re not interested in coding anything other than fun game apps, you could trythis course from the University of Reading. It promises to teach you how to build a game in Java, even if you don’t have programming experience! If you want to make a truly great game, you might want to read/listen up on Game Theory first.

5. Start reading faster.

Spreeder is a free online program that will improve your reading skill and comprehension no matter how old you are. With enough practice, you could learn to double, triple, or even quadruple the speed at which you read passages currently, which is basically like adding years to your life.

6. Learn a language!

With Duolingo, you can learn Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, or English (from any of the above or more). There’s a mobile app and a website, and the extensive courses are completely free.

Full disclosure: BuzzFeed and other websites are in a partnership with DuoLingo, but they did not pay or ask for this placement.

7. Pickle your own vegetables.

Tired of your farmer’s market haul going bad before you use it all? Or do you just love tangy pickled veggies? You too can pickle like a pro thanks to SkillShare and Travis Grillo.

8. Improve your public speaking skills.

You can take the University of Washington’s Intro to Public Speaking for free online. Once you learn a few tricks of the trade, you’ll be able to go into situations like being asked to present at a company meeting or giving a presentation in class without nearly as much fear and loathing.

9. Get a basic handle of statistics.

UC Berkeley put a stats intro class on iTunes. Once you know how to understand the numbers yourself, you’ll never read a biased “news” article the same way again — 100% of authors of this post agree!

10. Understand basic psychology.

Knowing the basics of psych will bring context to your understanding of yourself, the dynamics of your family and friendships, what’s really going on with your coworkers, and the woes and wonders of society in general. Yale University has its Intro to Psychology lectures online for free.

11. Make your own music.

Step one: Learn how to play guitar: Justin Guitar is a fine and free place to start learning chords and the basic skills you’ll need to be able to play guitar — from there, it’s up to you, but once you know the basics, just looking up tabs for your favorite songs and learning them on your own is how many young guitar players get their start (plus it’s an excellent party trick).

Step two: A delightful free voice lesson from Berklee College Of Music.

Step three: Have you always thought you had an inner TSwift? Berklee College of Music offers an Introduction to Songwriting course completely for free online. The course is six weeks long, and by the end of the lesson you’ll have at least one completed song.

Step four: Lifehacker’s basics of music production will help you put it all together once you have the skills down! You’ll be recording your own music, ready to share with your valentine or the entire world, in no time!

12. Learn to negotiate.

Let Stanford’s Stan Christensen explain how to negotiate in business and your personal life, managing relationships for your personal gain and not letting yourself be steamrolled. There are a lot of football metaphors and it’s great.

13. Stop hating math.

If you struggled with math throughout school and now have trouble applying it in real-world situations when it crops up, try Saylor.org’s Real World Math course. It will reteach you basic math skills as they apply IRL. Very helpful!

14. Start drawing!

All kids draw — so why do we become so afraid of it as adults? Everyone should feel comfortable with a sketchbook and pencil, and sketching is a wonderful way to express your creativity. DrawSpace is a great place to start. (I also highly recommend the book Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain if you can drop a few dollars for a used copy.)

15. Make your own animated GIF.

BuzzFeed’s own Katie Notopoulos has a great, simple guide to making an animated GIF without Photoshop. This is all you need to be the king or queen of Tumblr or your favorite email chains.

16. Appreciate jazz.

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Have you never really “gotten” jazz? If you want to be able to participate in conversations at fancy parties and/or just add some context to your appreciation of all music, try this free online course from UT Austin.

17. Write well.

Macalester College’s lecture series is excellent. If you’re more interested in journalism, try Wikiversity’s course selection.

18. Get better at using Photoshop.

Another invaluable skill that will get you places in your career, learning Photoshop can be as fun as watching the hilarious videos on You Suck At Photoshop or as serious as this extensive Udemy training course (focused on photo retouching).

19. Take decent pictures.

Lifehacker’s basics of photography might be a good place to start. Learn how your camera works, the basic of composition, and editing images in post-production. If you finish that and you’re not sure what to do next, here’s a short course on displaying and sharing your digital photographs.

20. Learn to knit.

Instructables has a great course by a woman who is herself an online-taught knitter. You’ll be making baby hats and cute scarves before this winter’s over!

21. Get started with investing in stocks.

If you are lucky enough to have a regular income, you should start learning about savings and investment now. Investopedia has a ton of online resources, including this free stocks basics course. Invest away!

22. Clean your house in a short amount of time.

Unf$#k Your Habitat has a great emergency cleaning guide for when your mother-in-law springs a surprise visit on you. While you’re over there, the entire blog is good for getting organized and clean in the long term, not just in “emergencies.” You’ll be happier for it.

23. Start practicing yoga.

Most cities have free community classes (try just searching Google or inquiring at your local yoga studio), or if you’re more comfortable trying yoga at home, YogaGlohas a great 15-day trial and Yome is a compendium of 100% free yoga videos. If you’re already familiar with basic yoga positions but you need an easy way to practice at home, I recommend YogaTailor’s free trial as well.

24. Tie your shoelaces more efficiently.

It’s simple and just imagine the minutes of your life you’ll save!

[study-by-heart]

2019 is here and, folks, there are more than 360 opportunities to learn something this year (so basically every day). As the options are almost endless and it can be difficult to decide on what to learn next, here’s a list with 24 growth and learning opportunities! 😎 📚 📈

[joshpeck]

I don’t know if you guys already know about this or not but there’s a website called StudentUniverse that gives cheaper flight prices (all around the world) to college students! You have to have a valid college email for it to work, but it is as easy as just making an account with said email address. The interface is really user friendly and great for finding the cheapest flight available on multiple dates for departure and return flights! If you use this link to sign up then you can get $20 off of your first flight and use the code “GOSTUDY” at checkout for another $30 off your flight!!

[spanishskulduggery]

Hi! I was wondering if you have any tips for ser/estar? I always get so confused and more often than not I use the wrong one! Thank you! x

The way people sometimes say it is “how you feel and where you are, that is when you use estar” though that’s not everything.

I’ll include a more complete list of how you tell them apart.

[copy/pasted]

You use ser most often with things that are immutable or things that don’t change easily. The noun el ser itself means “a being”, as in “a physical existing person or creature”.

So when using ser it’s most often with description, occupation, nationality, personality, height, weight, and so on.

More in-depth explanations of the functions of ser include:

1. Description = es alto/a, es rubio/a, es blanco/a, es joven, es un hombre, es una mujer…

2. Occupation / Profession / Title / Role = es doctor(a), es dentista, es abogado/a, es madre, es padre, es profesor(a), es maestro/a…

3. Identity / Race / Species / Color = soy Marco, soy Ana, soy yo, eres tú, son ellos, son ellas, somos nosotros… es una silla [it’s a chair], es una ventana [it’s a window], es un gato [it’s a cat]… es asiática, somos humanos, es muy rojo, son blancos…

4. Material / Made of = es de seda [silk], es de madera [wood], es de plomo [lead], es de vidrio [glass], es de acero [steel]…

5. Nationality = soy estadounidense, ella es francesa, son ingleses, son japonesas…

6. Origin [More or less like Nationality]: es de Alemania, soy de los Estados Unidos, son de China, somos de Perú…

7. Personality, Height, Weight = es simpática, es amable, es receloso [miserly], es desagradable, es idiota, es alto, es baja, es flaca, es gorda, es delgada, es una persona feliz, es una persona…

8. Telling time = es la una [it’s 1 o’clock], son las dos, ¿Qué hora es?, son las diez y cuarto

9. Possession = es mi [it’s my], es mío [it’s mine], es tu [it’s your], es tuyo[it’s yours]… etc.

10. Passive Voice = la mesa es puesta por ella [the table is set by her], la cama es hecha por él [the bed is made by him]…

The use of estar is predominately with location and temporary things. It’s connected to words like la estación ”season of the year”, estático/a ”static”, estable ”stable”, inestable ”unstable”, el estatus ”status”, el estante ”shelf”, el bienestar ”well being / health”, and so on.

When using estar it’s most often with location, condition, mood/emotion, illness/wellness, alive/dead, and temporary rather than long-term.

1. Location = estamos en la biblioteca [we’re in the library], está debajo de la mesa [it’s under the table], están encima de la cama [they’re on top of the bed], está en frente del hotel [it’s in front of the hotel]

2. Condition = está cansado/a [he/she is tired], está nervioso/a [he/she is nervous], está confuso/a [he/she is confused]

3. Mood, Emotion, Feeling = está triste [he/she is sad], está feliz [he/she is happy], está enojado/a [he/she is angry], está decepcionado/a [he/she is disappointed]

4. Illness and Wellness = está bien [he/she is (feeling) well], está fatal[he/she is (feeling) terrible], está enfermo/a [he/she is sick], está mejor[he/she is (feeling) better]

5. Alive and Dead = estamos vivos [we’re alive], está vivo/a [he/she is alive], estamos muertos [we’re dead], está muerto/a [he/she is dead]

6. The Progressive [-ing form] = está hablando [he/she is speaking], está cantando [he/she is singing], está yendo [he/she is going], está viniendo[he/she is coming], está haciendo [he/she is doing]

Some important notes about this…

With height and weight you typically use ser. Using estar is considered a little strange, as if it’s temporary. In general, saying ser gordo/a “to be fat” is more correct while estar gordo/a emphasizes that it’s temporary and isn’t common; if I saw estar gordo/a my impression of it would be “to look fat”

With appearances, ser tends to be what it is, and estar tends to mean how it appears. Saying es espantoso/a is “it is horrifying” and estar espantoso/a means “it looks hideous”. In other words, estar with appearances tends to be more subjective while ser is more about identification.

One that commonly trips people up is estar muerto/a “to be dead” and estar vivo/a “to be alive”. They are considered conditions of the human body. You would see es un muerto “it’s a dead man” or es una muerta “it’s a dead woman” but that’s identification; you’d say está muerto or está muerta “he/she is dead”

With body temperature you normally use estar or you use a tener expression. You can say tengo frío “I am cold” but you might also say mi piel está fría or mi piel está helada “my skin is cold” or “my skin is ice cold”. Using estar is describing how your skin or some body part feels as far as temperature. Similarly, está caliente sounds kind of like “he/she’s warm” as if I were testing for a fever, or saying someone is warm to the touch. If someone’s hot they say tengo calor.

Saying ser frío is like “he/she is cold and aloof” and ser caliente makes it sound like someone is “horny”

There are also some expressions where the same adjective is used but reads differently in translation:

ser fatal = to be fatal, to be lethalestar fatal = to feel very sick / to look awful, to look very sick

ser aburrido/a = to be boring [causes boredom]estar aburrido/a = to be bored [feeling bored]

ser mejor = to be better (than)estar mejor = to feel better, to be doing better (than before)

ser verde = to be green (color)estar verde = to be unripe

ser enfermo/a = to be sick and twisted [mentally, like calling someone a degenerate or a sicko]estar enfermo/a = to be sick [in body, condition, an illness or disease]

ser viejo/a = to be oldestar viejo/a = to look old

ser confuso/a = to be unclear, to be confusing [this is something you normally say about documents or directions, like if something makes absolutely no sense or is too difficult to read or understand, es confuso]estar confuso/a = to be puzzled, to be confused / to be hazy, to be blurry[you normally say estar confundido/a for “to be confused”, but it’s not wrong… it just reads more like “baffled” or “bewildered”]

[selenocysteine]

Tips to learn a new language

The 75 most common words make up 40% of occurrences The 200 most common words make up 50% of occurrences The 524 most common words make up 60% of occurrences The 1257 most common words make up 70% of occurrences The 2925 most common words make up 80% of occurrences The 7444 most common words make up 90% of occurrences The 13374 most common words make up 95% of occurrences The 25508 most common words make up 99% of occurrences

(Sources: 5 Steps to Speak a New Language by Hung Quang Pham)

This article has an excellent summary on how to rapidly learn a new language within 90 days.

We can begin with studying the first 600 words. Of course chucking is an effective way to memorize words readily. Here’s a list to translate into the language you desire to learn that I grabbed from here! :)

EXPRESSIONS OF POLITENESS (about 50 expressions)      

‘Yes’ and ‘no’: yes, no, absolutely, no way, exactly.    

Question words: when? where? how? how much? how many? why? what? who? which? whose?    

Apologizing: excuse me, sorry to interrupt, well now, I’m afraid so, I’m afraid not.    

Meeting and parting: good morning, good afternoon, good evening, hello, goodbye, cheers, see you later, pleased to meet you, nice to have met.    

Interjections: please, thank you, don’t mention it, sorry, it’ll be done, I agree, congratulations, thank heavens, nonsense.    

NOUNS (about 120 words)

Time: morning, afternoon, evening, night; Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday; spring, summer, autumn, winter; time, occasion, minute, half-hour, hour, day, week, month, year.    

People: family, relative, mother, father, son, daughter, sister, brother, husband, wife; colleague, friend, boyfriend, girlfriend; people, person, human being, man, woman, lady, gentleman, boy, girl, child.    

Objects: address, bag, book, car, clothes, key, letter (=to post), light (=lamp), money, name, newspaper, pen, pencil, picture, suitcase, thing, ticket.    

Places: place, world, country, town, street, road, school, shop, house, apartment, room, ground; Britain, name of the foreign country, British town-names, foreign town-names.    

Abstract: accident, beginning, change, color, damage, fun, half, help, joke, journey, language, English, name of the foreign language, letter (of alphabet), life, love, mistake, news, page, pain, part, question, reason, sort, surprise, way (=method), weather, work.    

Other: hand, foot, head, eye, mouth, voice; the left, the right; the top, the bottom, the side; air, water, sun, bread, food, paper, noise.    

PREPOSITIONS (about 40 words)    

General: of, to, at, for, from, in, on.    

Logical: about, according-to, except, like, against, with, without, by, despite, instead of.    

Space: into, out of, outside, towards, away from, behind, in front of, beside, next to, between, above, on top of, below, under, underneath, near to, a long way from, through.    

Time: after, ago, before, during, since, until.    

DETERMINERS (about 80 words)  

Articles and numbers: a, the; nos. 0–20; nos. 30–100; nos. 200–1000; last, next, 1st–12th.    

Demonstrative: this, that.    

Possessive: my, your, his, her, its, our, their.    

Quantifiers: all, some, no, any, many, much, more, less, a few, several, whole, a little, a lot of.    

Comparators: both, neither, each, every, other, another, same, different, such.    

ADJECTIVES (about 80 words)    

Color: black, blue, green, red, white, yellow.    

Evaluative: bad, good, terrible; important, urgent, necessary; possible, impossible; right, wrong, true.    

General: big, little, small, heavy; high, low; hot, cold, warm; easy, difficult; cheap, expensive; clean, dirty; beautiful, funny (=comical), funny (=odd), usual, common (=shared), nice, pretty, wonderful; boring, interesting, dangerous, safe; short, tall, long; new, old; calm, clear, dry; fast, slow; finished, free, full, light (=not dark), open, quiet, ready, strong.    

Personal: afraid, alone, angry, certain, cheerful, dead, famous, glad, happy, ill, kind, married, pleased, sorry, stupid, surprised, tired, well, worried, young.    

VERBS (about 100 words)    

arrive, ask, be, be able to, become, begin, believe, borrow, bring, buy, can, change, check, collect, come, continue, cry, do, drop, eat, fall, feel, find, finish, forget, give, going to, have, have to, hear, help, hold, hope, hurt (oneself), hurt (someone else), keep, know, laugh, learn, leave, lend, let (=allow), lie down, like, listen, live (=be alive), live (=reside), look (at), look for, lose, love, make, may (=permission), may (=possibility), mean, meet, must, need, obtain, open, ought to, pay, play, put, read, remember, say, see, sell, send, should, show, shut, sing, sleep, speak, stand, stay, stop, suggest, take, talk, teach, think, travel, try, understand, use, used to, wait for, walk, want, watch, will, work (=operate), work (=toil), worry, would, write.    

PRONOUNS (about 40 words)

Personal: I, you, he, she, it, we, they, one; myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves.    

Possessive: mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs.    

Demonstrative: this, that.    

Universal: everyone, everybody, everything, each, both, all, one, another.    

Indefinite: someone, somebody, something, some, a few, a little, more, less; anyone, anybody, anything, any, either, much, many.    

Negative: no-one, nobody, nothing, none, neither.    

ADVERBS (about 60 words)

Place: here, there, above, over, below, in front, behind, nearby, a long way away, inside, outside, to the right, to the left, somewhere, anywhere, everywhere, nowhere, home, upstairs, downstairs.    

Time: now, soon, immediately, quickly, finally, again, once, for a long time, today, generally, sometimes, always, often, before, after, early, late, never, not yet, still, already, then (=at that time), then (=next), yesterday, tomorrow, tonight.    

Quantifiers: a little, about (=approximately), almost, at least, completely, very, enough, exactly, just, not, too much, more, less.    

Manner: also, especially, gradually, of course, only, otherwise, perhaps, probably, quite, so, then (=therefore), too (=also), unfortunately, very much, well.    

CONJUNCTIONS (about 30 words)

Coordinating: and, but, or; as, than, like.    

Time & Place: when, while, before, after, since (=time), until; where.    

Manner & Logic: how, why, because, since (=because), although, if; what, who, whom, whose, which, that.   

[thepolyglotblog]

Oh i love this concept!

[amateurlanguager]

I love it too! I love it mostly because it makes me feel less overwhelmed. When you break it down like this, everything seems so much more manageable. Like, hey, I could memorize 20 words at a time (even if ‘at a time’ varies wildly for me), and just do that like ten times. That’s a HUGE chunk of a language.

(And since I have the habit of doing languages that are similar to ones I’m already familiar with, the grammar part usually comes pretty easy, too.)