"i Can Calculate The Motion Of Heavenly Bodies But Not The Madness Of People."

“My ingenious fingers wait when they have found

The petal flesh beneath the robe they part.

How curious, complex, the touch, this subtle art–

As the dream of fragrance, the miracle of sound.”

— ‘The Touch’ by Renée Vivien

[Natalie Clifford Barney published ‘Quelques Portraits-Sonnets de Femmes’, a book of lesbian poetry about love. Her father found out about this and bought the ones that were left to have them burnt.

A few years later, Renée Vivien (a lover of Barney’s) wrote her own lesbian poetry and had it published— ‘The Muse of the Violets: Poems’]

the one with the brains

[top right picture belongs to @sadcypher]

green academia

(my personal favourite sub-aesthetic)

You wake every morning to fight the same demons that left you so tired the night before and that my love is bravery.

~ unknown 

“You will always be fond of me. I represent to you all the sins you never had the courage to commit.”

- The Picture of Dorian Gray (Oscar Wilde)

some things i’ve learned while studying in quarantine

drink more water instead of more coffee.

weekly goals are bullshit. set yourself 3-day goals. you’ll be less laid-back.

don’t just mindlessly stare at words. before you start studying, know your approach to it. have a plan.

summarizing the concept in your own words is the key part of taking notes. don’t just copy things down, convert them into your own way of talking, your own vocabulary, no matter how dumb and unprofessional it sounds.

don’t let the “studyblr aesthetic” fool you. studying doesn’t have to be pretty. summaries and notes can be messy as long as they’re comprehensible. you can always rewrite and reorganize them later. (honestly, you better do. and you better keep them.)

don’t throw away the papers you’ve solved your problems in. staple them to the fucking textbook. you need to see them constantly. cause you’ll need reminders of how far you’ve came, when you’re feeling discouraged.

don’t be an armchair analyst for your issues. if you have an idea then act on it.

remember: the exact point where it becomes difficult, is where your growth begins. take a deep breath, and try to focus on the paragraph in front of you.

get off your high horse and understand that if you’re a zero, you won’t go to 100 in a couple of days. first, you’ll need to reach 30, then from 30 to 60, and then from 60 to 90. nobody is 100 everyday. that happens very rarely.

you need to have fun everyday. you need to have peaceful time every single day. even on exam night. especially on exam night, actually. so make sure you’ve studied enough so you can have some time to yourself.

once you’re on a roll and in need of some challenge to stay on track, start writing down your studying hours. tell yourself you’re not allowed to do less than 80% of what you did yesterday. whatever the hell it was, even just one hour. so if yesterday you really studied for like, say 8 hours, today your goal is to study for at least 6 and a half hours. if you can’t keep up with that, make it 70%, or 60%. 

be forgiving of yourself. be kind to yourself. even if you bounced back and lost your streak. start again. as slowly as you did before. take your time. it’s okay, you were there once you can get there again.

Aida_diop_1 [ A i d a D i o p ]

📸 by saidmhamadofficial

"Saga (I won't forget you when I'm gone)", Andrei Voznesensky (translated by metamorphesque)

"I thought how unpleasant it is to be locked out; and I thought how it is worse, perhaps, to be locked in."

-Virginia Woolf

we had our student wellness seminar today and there was a brief session about how to be more focused and excel at studies. So I took down a few points and I hope this helps<3

Effective and consistent study helps you to show what you know and avoid excessive test stress.

Identify 1 topic per week to teach someone else. Keep sessions under 40 minutes and include a few minutes for review.

Create practice tests with true/false, fill in and multiple–choice questions covering each lecture or text chapter.

Record the date you complete each assignment and take a quiz about the concepts and problems you completed.

Test yourself by writing summaries, facts, examples or diagrams without looking at notes or text.

When studying, first take an untimed practice test provided by the instructor or in chapters of the text.

Schedule time to reread chapter introductions, summaries, vocabulary lists and illustrations prior to tests.

Separate parts of the course that require memorization of facts versus analysis of concepts or problem solving.

Limit your efforts to memorize tedious facts and formulae to 25–minute periods so that you stay alert and effective.

Use sketches and diagrams to specify the process and tasks needed to complete a long–term project.

Stop interruptions by alerting others about the times you are unavailable because you are studying.

If you can’t study in total quiet, use a form of white noise such as a fan or soft music.

Get at least 7 hours of sleep to give you the mental and physical energy needed to concentrate in lectures and when reading.

Increase your ability to focus if you are upset. Take 5 minutes to write concerns or questions. Then shift into a work mode.

Give yourself a high five after a session in which you focus and learn. Recognize and reward yourself for a job well done.

Keep your eyes closed and switch scenes. Imagine a situation in which you had an academic success. Congratulate yourself for a job well done.

Increase the amount of information you remember after studying - review information within 24 to 48 hours.

yeah that was it. i found it vaguely interesting that my school is actually caring about us but anyway here you. hope this helps and hope we both get good grades :)