Struggling Biology Student @thestrugglesofabiologystudent - Tumblr Blog

productivity isn’t determined by how many hours you spent poring over books or rewriting flashcards or stressing over your upcoming deadlines. productivity is determined by your own personal goals and limits. don’t let someone else’s version of productivity confuse your views of your own. every step forward is a strong foundation.

towlersnow-deactivated20210528

This seems like something everyone should know if they’re in the sciences and/or interested in reading scientific papers.

swingsetindecember

news report: survey says

me: what was the sample size? the distribution? the demographic??? this is meaningless. you could have asks two people in line at starbucks

pinkerbell-from-homeworld-blog

Me arriving at Marvel Studios at the crack of dawn tomorrow to talk about my therapy bills

weavemama

shoutout to all high school dropouts, students who didn’t get accepted into college, students who used to be on honor roll but became overwhelmed, students who study for hours but still fail tests, or student who don’t study at all due to depression/anxiety, you are all stars and I’m wishing y'all the best luck possible to get back on your feet

short-weird-stories

Let me introduce you to three of my friends: hallucigenia, opabinia, and wiwaxia. They’re all from the Cambrian explosion, the period of time around 500 million years ago when life was just starting and was still trying to figure out questions like “how should a mouth work?” and “legs?”

Hallucigenia was about an inch long (most life back then was tiny, they were only a few eras removed from being single celled after all) and it had sixteen clawed legs, hard spines coming out of its back, and a wicked tentacle neckbeard.

Opabinia was between two to three inches long and it had thirty fins along the side of its body, along with five mushroom shaped eyes on top of its head. By far though, its most interesting feature was its strange proboscis. Like a Dr. Moreau style mashup of an elephant and a lobster, the long nose terminated in a large claw that it used to grab prey and bring it to its backward facing mouth.

Finally, this is wiwaxia. This danger-artichoke was a two inch long armored slug-like creature with no head. In fact, its actual body was largely just its one massive foot.

I find these animals interesting for three main reasons. First, it’s incredibly fascinating to see all of the potential paths that life on earth could have taken. Imagine an ocean filled with elephant lobsters! Second, whenever I feel like my life is going nowhere and all my choices are the wrong ones, I like to think that I’m in in my phase where I’m still developing hallucigenias and wiwaxias, and not yet making awesome things like butterflies or velociraptors. Finally - it serves as a stark reminder that if we ever find alien life, there is a fantastic chance it will look like nothing we’ve ever seen before - it might look more like one of these creatures than a human being.

thestrugglesofabiologystudent

I love how they describe wiwaxia as a danger srtichoke xD

10 Years, 10 Goals

Tagged by: thank you very much, @arctic-biologist

Rules: list 10 goals you have for the next 10 years, write it down or save it somewhere you can find it again, then tag 10 people.

Get my Bachelor’s degree in biology.

Decide which Master’s I will get: paleontology, paleoanthropology or evolutionary biology.

Move out

Decide on whether I should get a PhD or not.

Go to Iceland

See the Northern Lights

Adopt a cat

Journal more and eventually make it a habit

Try to exercise a little bit, daily

Do all the creative things that I want to do without being scared of not being good enough

I’m tagging all of my followers, so feel free to do it :)

#10 years 10 goals #thestrugglesofabiologystudent

bijoux-et-mineraux

Fossil Stingray (Cyclobatis oligodactylus, Cretaceous) - Haqil, Byblos, Lebanon

emmastudies

How to set up and run a studygram

Despite Tumblr being the first home of the study community, we’ve all since expanded to Instagram. Who can blame us? It’s great :’-) However, the two have some differences! I’ve previously covered the steps on running studyblr, but am now going through a few tips on starting a studygram. It is one of my most asked questions so I’ll try to be thorough, I hope this helps!

Starting the account

This is the easiest part! Sign up using a personal or blog dedicated email address, it is up to you. Instagram now allows you to run several accounts at a time which makes operating a studygram and personal account much simpler. Here is a couple of tips on setting up the page:

pick a funky username - generally, study related is going to be best for a studygram but definitely not a requirement. If you’ve got a Tumblr, you can always use the same username. You can do something similar to me, such as using your first name or go for something completely different. It is totally your choice!

create a personalised icon - these have become more popular recently since it helps to differentiate accounts! I’d recommend using canva.com, Photoshop or one from my account. Again, these are optional! Alternatively, you can use a selfie or random picture of your choice.

share a little about yourself - your bio is important too! You can design it any way you like. Most people will include their name and education level/system (high school, university, etc). This is completely up to you. If you want to have the gaps between like mine (@emmastudiess), type it on your notes and then copy + paste. Remember to add in your website/studyblr if you have one!

introduction post - as your first post, it is always nice to introduce yourself! Try including details about yourself, what you’re studying, where you’re from, your hobbies, some of your favourite accounts, etc. Feel free to tag or mention me in your post and I can check out your account!

deciding between business and personal accounts - whilst personal accounts are used by most of the studygram community, some people to prefer the business account since it gives you some additional features such as story links (when you have over 10,000 followers), analytics, and email/phone links on your profile. Whilst those are cool and somewhat useful, it isn’t a big plus! To set up a business profile, you have to have a Facebook page dedicated to your blog which is a bit of a hassle to set up - especially if you don’t want to use your personal account.

Taking and posting photos

deciding regularity - this is another thing that is totally up to you! When I first started using Instagram, I was posting three times a day (yes, three!). It was absolutely crazy and I wouldn’t ever suggest that :’-) I now post once a day if I can but sometimes every two days. You don’t have to upload each day but being active is obviously important for expanding your account!

take good quality photos - I use an iPhone 7 so you don’t need a fancy camera for it! Try to maximise natural lighting in each picture. Here are some other tips for taking pictures! Play around with angles and shots. Comparing my photos to when I started to now shows how much my style and photo taking has changed!

how to edit your photos - some people use alternative apps like VSCOcam (most popular) or Snapseed for this! The filters you use do depend on the kind of style you’d like your feed. I use Instagram to edit my pictures because I never liked needing to use several apps to get it how I wanted (I’m too lazy for that haha!). Here is my editing process if you’re interested.

develop a feed that you like - some people place a lot of emphasis on having an “aesthetic feed” but I feel like whilst it plays a part, it isn’t everything. Your studygram doesn’t have to be perfectly matching all the time. When I started my Instagram, I took my feed very seriously and got very stressed about how it looked. After a while, I realised it wasn’t worth the amount of pressure I put myself under. Try to not let it consume you!

Putting your account out there and building followers

use hashtags - this is a great way to promote your photos! Go with the most popular like #study #studygram #school #studies #studyinstagram. I will often hashtag what is in my photos, for example, #muji or #bulletjournal. You could even make a hashtag for just your posts. Use #emmastudies if there is something you’d like me to see! :-)

tag brands - this is another good way to get your posts noticed. If someone is checking out a brand’s Instagram, they may go through the tagged photos to use their products in action.

be active in the studygram community - follow anyone you find inspirational. You may be lucky to get some follow backs! I try to check out any studygrams that follow me! Like and comment on photos that you think are cool. Everyone in the studygram community loves hearing from their followers so even small comments like “I really like this spread” or “love this picture” can make someone’s day!

don’t be afraid to put yourself out there - I’ve made lots of amazing friends and met some lovely people! Strike up a conversation with any studygrammer you want too!

shoutouts - these are a common thing across all social media and can be great for getting extra exposure. It is always best to be polite when approaching about shoutouts since some people don’t always like to do them.

Additional pointers

studygram requirements - I’ve had numerous messages from people saying they are interested in starting a studygram but haven’t because they “don’t have nice writing”, “aren’t very artistic”, or “don’t own certain stationery” and it makes me really sad :-( You shouldn’t let these things stop you! I think we need to remember that whilst those things might help get notes, underneath that studygram is about our education and self-improvement! I think we need to be pushing that more, instead of an idealist version. A studygram should be a personal source of motivation and place to share your journey with others, not something where you feel pressured.

be nice, friendly and polite - I think this is the golden rule for any blogger. Treat everyone with respect. Be kind when communicating with them. Be grateful for your followers! They are voluntarily following you because they enjoy your posts - don’t take advantage of that.

remember to be realistic - it can be very easy to use Instagram to create a highlight reel of photographs but remember we’re all students! Things don’t always go perfectly. We aren’t productive all the time. It isn’t expected. (If you follow me, you’ll know I dedicate a lot of time to Game of Thrones and Buzzfeed Unsolved!!!) Let your followers know how your day is going and when things aren’t working out, or if they are! Everyone is supportive and will be happy to share some words of encouragement.

don’t steal content - if you take inspiration from another account, it is always nice to share that! For example, in the caption, you can write “I loved this post by @studyblogger101 and created an inspired version”. If you directly reblog someone, also be sure to tag and/or mention them. It is only fair to give correct attribution to the original owner. If you happen to see someone publishing another person’s photo without credit, it is always appreciated to share that or comment on the post.

keep it fun - as I mentioned, when I started I took Instagram quite seriously. I was really particular about it. I’ve now learnt that I don’t have to worry like I did. It is just a fun way to document my day-to-day life and doesn’t need to be a source of stress. We get worked up about these things sometimes, but remember to put it into perspective!

I hope this helps! I have loved being a part of the studygram community and seeing more people join would be awesome! Don’t forget to check out my account @emmastudiess!

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lilpieceofmyworld

skunkbear

We know a lot about the life of Lucy, the famous fossil of Australopithecus afarensis —our ancient ancestor and bridge to the ape world.

Lucy was 3 feet tall; she lived in what is now Ethiopia and she walked upright. She ate leaves, grass and maybe nuts and seeds. She probably slept in a tree nest.

And now, after studying a 3-D scan of Lucy’s bones, scientists say they know something about her death. In a study published Monday in Nature, researchers at the University of Texas present evidence they say shows Lucy died after she fell out of a tree.

But other paleoanthropologists fired back, saying there was insufficient evidence to support the tree-fall theory.

Read more about the new theory here - and decide if you buy it!

Images: Wikimedia Commons; Marsha Miller/University of Texas, Austin; John Kappelman/Nature