Latest Posts by chemistry-and-cupcakes - Page 3

25/9/19 Good morning

Induction day 2 :)

I love quiet mornings that just go your way. I also love staying dry... yesterday I got soaked to the extent of having actual puddles in my still-sodden boots and I sat through three hours of talks wet through and cold haha

22/9/19 Moving into uni!

I moved into the University of Birmingham yesterday and met my lovely flatmates! I’m very excited to finally have a proper desk to work at - I have graduated from an almost-three-legged coffee table and an old pouffe :)

It’s a bit of an adjustment but it’s a lot of fun so far and I think things will turn out just fine. I love love love my campus; it’s so pretty!

7/9/19 - Gouache experimentation

So as you can tell, I’m not great with paints but I really do enjoy painting with gouache and just felt like painting to kill my boredom. I decided to continue despite my most important colour for this piece having dried up in the tube beyond salvage, so this is purely a just-for-the-hell-of-it kind of thing. There are like a million things wrong with this little thing (eep those antennae ahaha) but the fact that it exists is progress.

2 weeks to go until I start my degree... I’m a bit nervous and to be honest, I still feel quite burnt out but I’m hoping my mood improves when I actually get there.

Results are in

I got an A* in French and an A in everything else... 4 marks off in German and I am beyond annoyed but I am so happy with my results, even though they weren’t the 5A*s I was predicted. Nobody in my year group at school got more than 1 A* so it was tough

Congratulations to all 2019 candidates - we did it!

14/08/19 22:11

Less than 11 hours until I get my results! My plan is to wake up at 7am... except this plan is inherently flawed because it follows the (false) assumption that I will sleep at all.

I’m so stressed even though I shouldn’t be but I am because in this moment it’s a big deal even though it’s not really and oh my god why am I like this

12/8/19

3 days until A Level results day and I feel physically sick knowing that what’s on that paper is not going to be a reflection of my best work by a long shot.

However, I know that I will have plenty of opportunities to prove myself at uni. New chapter, new start. It’s all a learning curve and those results can’t hurt me. I’ve already got a confirmed place at uni; now I need to focus on that.

Good luck to any fellow A level takers of 2019. We will get out the other side x

This is an incredible book. Thoroughly recommend!

“She was brave and strong and broken all at once.”

— Anna Funder, Stasiland (via books-n-quotes)

30/7/19

I’m a few days into creating this journal of chemistry fundamentals that I should know as a refresher before I start uni at the end of September. It’s a long way away yet, but I’d rather ease my brain into the work and kill my boredom in a fun way than panic, work too hard and burn myself out before I even start!

I hope you’re doing well!

KEEP UP TO DATE WITH FILING

No, seriously. Have a system for your binders, datestamp and label those notes you just took with the topic up top and bung them in a folder in the correct order.

I did this in year 12 and it helped a lot. I gave up on it in year 13 and just had a pile of papers that came up to my thigh from the floor across all 5 subjects. What happened? I lost all my revision materials right there.

A Levels is a lot different than GCSEs and here are some tips from a recent graduate.

It needs a lot more revision.

The jump from GCSEs/O Levels is enormous.Even though you go from having 8/9 subjects to ¾, much more studying is required. There’s a lot more to cover and all the topics are more elaborated. Overall, everything is just more difficult. Knowing this ahead of time can really be beneficial. Don’t think studying a week before midterms or exams will be a good idea because it won’t be. Your best bet would be to study as you go along.

Do not skip classes unless absolutely necessary.

The second mistake was skipping classes. So the first time I ditched, I told myself it would only happen again if it was an emergency, but alas, not the case. After my first time ditching, I almost stopped attending Economics classes completely because I thought I could study on my own, because I didn’t like my teacher. I regretted this when we had our mock, where the questions that were given to us had already been gone through in class.

Don’t waste your free periods.

I had a lot of free periods, and in all of them, I’d chat with friends, walk around the school, do nothing of sustenance, basically. These are ideal for studying or revising because you’re technically already in the right mindset seeing as you’re in school. Also, if you get enough done at school, you’ll end up having to do a lot less at home! I’m not saying do this every single time, but just realize that there’s more to free periods than social gatherings.

Pick subjects you enjoy.

Every subject is going to be difficult in it’s own way, and you’re going to most likely get fed up of everything. By picking something you enjoy, you may be able to deal with it a lot better and spend more time working on it. I spent the most time in AS on Economics because I loved it and it was so interesting to me, and much less time on Psychology just because it didn’t give me the same excitement. This was blatantly obvious when I got my AS results.

Your friend group will change,

I thought I’d be friends with the same people all throughout it. I was wrong. Over just two years, I lost a lot of people I considered to be close friends, but I also made so many new friendships. Friend groups change and it doesn’t have to be due to drama or whatever, it kind of happens naturally. Don’t be alarmed if this happens, because you’ll meet so many new people over the course of your A Levels.

Ask questions.

Don’t be afraid to raise your hand and clear your concepts if you’re confused. That’s literally what your teacher is there for! If you don’t want to ask in front of your class, ask in their office hours! It’s better to have accurate information than flipping through different books a week before the exam trying to make sense of it.

Join extracurricular activities and clubs

A Levels isn’t going to be fun if all you do is stay locked up studying. To make new friends, meet new people, just have a better time, you can join a club or an activity or something sports related! I joined like three clubs in AS and ran my own in A2, and let me tell you, it was amazing. I met people I would’ve never been friends with if it weren’t for the clubs. Yes grades are important, but some universities may prefer it if you seem like an all rounder.

If anyone has any other tips on starting A Levels please mention them! 

26/7/19

After a much-needed month off, I decided to watch some chemistry lectures on YouTube to remind myself why I want to study this in the first place. I thought it would be a good idea to go right back to basics and give myself a rock-solid mathematical foundation to stand me in good stead for October.

If you’ve been following me for a while you might notice that this is not my beloved purple HP, but its sleeker, younger cousin - I retired that one and it is living out its last years with my mum. After 5 years of abuse, it deserves it!

Work experience!

So a bit of background: a charity called The Talent Tap approached my school last academic year for the first time ever and said they were looking to fund 2 weeks worth of work experience in London (and around it, in my case) for disadvantaged state school kids, would anyone like to apply?

I decided to put my name forward for interview, got in, and now you’re all caught up!

What a ride these 2 weeks have been. I spent week 1 at a biotech lab in Cambridge, where I actually got to do loads of lab work as well as meet people from all around the company.

Back in London for the weekend, there was a public speaking workshop on Saturday. I hate public speaking but I decided to put my all into it despite that. (And put my all in I did - my punishment for ultimately winning “best speech of the day” was to speak at the final drinks celebration on Thursday 18th July 2019.)

Week 2 was at a property investment management firm in London. We did a marketing project there... and while I quickly learned marketing really isn’t my thing, we did have a ton of guest speakers in - including a patent attorney or two, who piqued my interest.

My speech at the final celebration went amazingly (tip: wine helps) and I was congratulated by many of the businesspeople there. I was scared, but I tried my best to be brave. I was actually the only first year on the programme to win an award for being one of the best ambassadors for the scheme.

I am now working to secure placements for next year - one being with an IP law firm. Bring it on!

I can’t believe I have signed myself up for at least 4 more years of exams and mental burnout

Education in its current form is completely unsustainable. I feel like I hate chemistry even though I have to go and study it in October

28/06/19

Hi guys! I see I’ve gathered quite a number of followers since starting this account only a year or so ago. I’m so so grateful for all your support and interactions with me and my material and I love seeing all your posts too!

I’ve now finished Year 13, which means I am on a very long summer break until 1st October, when I start my course at university! As you can imagine, posting will pick up then. For the time being, I am relaxing and trying to focus on my mental health so I am refreshed and recovered for my degree.

That means, of course, that this account is hibernating until October - I have nothing much to study! However, I may update you guys every now and again on what I’m getting up to in my spare time - hopefully lots of artwork and reading and happy experiences of work experience!

Until October folks! ❤️

I finished A Levels!

I’m free! But at the same time, I feel like my purpose has been pulled out from under me. Knowing I don’t have anywhere to be today - or tomorrow, or the day after that...etc - is strange. At the end of Year 11 it was ok, because I knew that I would return to my school for sixth form after summer. Now I am only returning to my school to collect my results before I spread my wings and go to university.

I don’t have this pressure any more, but my subconscious is paranoid that I will get poor grades, even though I have worked consistently hard for two years, because I had disappointing exams. Indeed, my first night of freedom consisted of an unpleasant dream in which I only got a B in French (not bad at all but I consistently have been my teachers’ hopes for their first ever A* at A level) and C’s, D’s and E’s in my other subjects, so everyone was judging me. They were disappointed and so was I.

I do have some plans for the summer - I am going to London and Cambridge to do some work experience in July and I want to read as much as I can, get back into drawing and regain my love of chemistry ready for uni. I might find some cheap flights and go to... wherever for a weekend. A day trip to Dublin sounds fun. I might learn to drive.

If you too have survived the horrors of A levels 2019, I congratulate you and sincerely hope you get what you have worked so hard for. Now let’s go and find a social life 😂

A Levels 2019 - an update

I’m not dead (yet!), although after my maths exams I’d like to be 🙃

I’m mad at the paper (Edexcel pure maths paper 2) and I’m even more mad at myself - I didn’t have time to think and overcome the obstacles that presented themselves so I came out of the exam facing the possibility of getting less than 20% and just realising my mistakes and how to do some questions. I was upset. There were tears.

HOWEVER, what’s done is done and I know that whatever letter I get at the end is not representative of my abilities. (I’m talking I might get an E or a U when the lowest I’ve got in my hardest mocks was an A... yeah it was bad.) I have done 7 exams and have 6 left. 2 of them are today, 13th June, the day after my most horrific exam yet - I have to pick myself up and move on.

I can do maths. I have learned so much that will be helpful to me in the future and that’s the main thing. I am 100% not stupid and I am ready to kick arse in my last exams.

Also a word of advice: don’t try to revise a whole module of biology the night before your exam. According to my mum, I woke up with a manic look in my eye xD

To all exam-takers

Gentle reminder that however much of a shitstorm your exams are, they do not tell you shit about yourself really. All they do is tell you how good you were at conforming to a mark scheme on that particular day. 0% doesn’t mean someone is stupid and 100% doesn’t necessarily mean someone is smart.

Of course try your best and revise and do what you can to maximise your success. But if it doesn’t go your way, know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and as long as you end up doing what you want to do, nobody gives a fuck if you don’t get straight A’s or whatever ❤️

Can we talk about how hard it is physically and mentally to take exams with IBS that won’t quit. Would not wish it on my worst enemy - I am exhausted and all I could think about for my six hour stay in solitary confinement was how much my stomach hurt

Well fam, 6 hours of solitary confinement and two exams later I can say with 100% certainty I will not get A*s in German or Maths ahahahaha

A Level hell has finally begun haha

Physical chemistry wasn’t so bad

18/5/19

17 days until my first A Level exam!

Sorry I’m so inactive - I’ve just been getting speaking exams out the way for French and German.

French went amazingly; German not so much - but then my standards are very high so it will likely still get me good enough marks.

But now I can get stuck into my other 3 subjects! Not a fancy set-up this evening; just my favourite notebook and pens and my trademark cup of tea haha

I hope you are all looking after yourself during this stressful period - especially those who are taking exams, whatever level they may be at x

It also makes me feel like a badass teacher and I’m ngl that puts a sense of novelty into it

Whiteboards ftw!

Very Fast Study Tip™

If you are a university student, especially a STEM major, ESPECIALLY AN ORGANIC CHEMISTRY STUDENT, you need a whiteboard.

You can revise all the notes in your respective hemisphere but without active repetition it means nothing. Write your mechanism/structure/wedding vows. Erase part of it. Write it again. Erase more of it. Repeat. 

Get a big one so that you can sit on the floor/bed/table without straining your back from looking down. I have no attention span but I can white-board for hours.

I hope your studies go well and have a great day! x

Thank you so much! I appreciate that more than you’ll ever know xx

(I am still alive folks - I’ve got my German speaking exam on Friday 17th May and I’ve just done my French oral, which went fantastically!)

Music tag

Rules: Put your entire music library on shuffle and list the first 10 songs, then choose 10 victims.

Thank you for tagging me, @marie-curie :)

1. Hold Me While You Wait - Lewis Capaldi

2. Laughter Lines - Bastille

3. Some Might Say - Oasis

4. Caméléon - Maître Gims

5. Legenden - Max Giesinger

6. Nummer Eins - Stereoact

7. Zeitlupe - Madeline Juno

8. Doom Days - Bastille

9. Angel with a Shotgun - The Cab

10. Borderline - Madeline Juno

There are disproportionately many English songs on this list; the majority of songs in my library are in French and German haha

My victims are: @studydiaryofamedstudent @patriotstudies @problematicprocrastinator @vocative @alettereminuscole @apricot-studies @hastily-written @dusknotes @briellestudies @fluencylevelfrench

(Sorry if you’ve already been tagged!)

2/5/19

I get a fizzing feeling all over when I solve a puzzle :)

Or it may be a heart attack brought on by the fact that’s it’s flipping May already!

My friend posts photos on Instagram with revision tidbits as captions which 100% makes me feel better about scrolling through Instagram

Not long until A Levels are behind me...

which is a good thing because I - funnily enough - hate La Haine

12/5/19

Got some motivation to work so I’m going to run with it until the discipline has to take over

Edit: my stupid ass got the date wrong haha

11/4/19

Mindmaps make everything look so much more manageable

Today has been really productive. I went to school for two hours for some biology revision and then went to meet a friend for lunch. It was such a lovely day that I chose to walk the hour back home rather than catch a bus so I could listen to the audiobook version of Nineteen Eighty Four. However, as punishment for being healthy, I now have blisters on the soles of both feet :(

Revision time!

ft tea and toasted hot cross buns

What’s your favourite book?

Ever finish a book and get lost in all the choice of where to go next? I have no idea! So come on Tumblr, help me out :)

For anyone who sees this in the same boat, if you haven’t met Nineteen Eighty Four by George Orwell or All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, I urge you to give them a try!