#and generally i have NOT had great grades especially in undergrad

[studymustelid]

April 25th at 10:27 p.m. Hello all!

It is I, everyone's favorite health data studying mustelid (or something of that sort)

My classes are coming to a close soon which is really great for my brain! All As this semester!

I feel kind of full in there sometimes, like I'm at capacity and deviating from routine or exploring will kind of blow up the remaining shred of brain-power I have left. It's like that meme with the ball

I'll have a little more capacity for thought in about a year which is nice though. Last semester and the beginning of this one, my father chastised me a bit for not taking 4 classes (which requires dean approval) but

1) I had to drop a class last semester (my first semester)

2) 4 classes would have honestly rendered me nonfunctional

I think *part of it* is that I'm honestly a much better student (in the studious sense of the word, I study better and more actively absorb information) when I'm controlling more facets of my life -- when the pandemic happened I insisted on moving back to my apartment and despite the general lack of social interaction being kind of insane for my head I was significantly better for it.

But the other part of it is very obviously that I am in grad school, in a technical field, learning a lot of new things! My dad has a masters but it is not in a super technical field (a masters is a masters) and he mentioned that it should be easy to take 4 classes because I took 5 - 6 at times in undergrad and grad school is "mostly writing and talking"

which...eh, I guess. Reasonable amount of programming too though, at the very least sub-par technical skills. Anyways, basically AHHHHHH!!

I still have to finish off grading which is tiring, but apparently! Apparently! Both my professor and the administration are chill will me leaving the country for a couple weeks lol. So that's nice. I'll be a TA until I graduate it seems!

I do sometimes feel rather self-conscious about not having a real job or not doing anything (despite the fact that I am in fact, in graduate school and doing things as we speak!).

Especially since all but two of my friends are working (some in a professional capacity, some while waiting for grad school). I think if I were at a more traditional program and not living at home this feeling would be lessened a smidge, but as of now it kind of remains and likely will until I'm gainfully employed.

On the bright side, I'll have my practicum in the fall semester and it'll likely be a paid internship!

I do feel like being a little overachiever would probably leave me falling apart but I am really tired of having no brain power while feeling bored with nothing to do, so ideally I'll have no brain power AND feel busy lol

[princessazalea17]

Long Vent

Post/Reflection: College and Loneliness

I just saw this post on Reddit and wanted to give my reflection. I am a recent graduate from UCI, and I can deeply relate to this post. Although I didn’t go through hookups nor can I relate to the substance abuse part (I tried edible cannabis and vaping once, didn’t do much for me, plus I stay away due to health reasons), I can say that for the most part, although UCI is a very beautiful campus, and Irvine itself is one of the safest places to live, the courses kicked my ass my first year, I didn’t form a lot of long-term connections like I thought I would, and I felt very disconnected from the campus culture, and I feel like COVID also played a part in this.

I used to view college through the rose-colored glasses that freshman me used to wear— I was expecting my college experience to be like on a Netflix show, doing so many fun things with my big, happy college friend group. I have had my share of groups, but many of them did not last longer than a quarter, and a lot of my friendships felt very superficial, when I was seeking genuine connection. After your first year, it becomes very difficult to form new connections. My first year, it felt like I had a huge amount of people that I could talk to. By year four, I often found myself clinging to people, using work as a social outlet, and feeling constantly depressed, and I lost a lot of friends, or more-so acquaintances whom I thought I had a closer bond with than what was really there. As a result, I often tend to isolate myself due to fear of rejection, after making the mistake of inserting and forcing myself into spaces where I am not wanted.

I put in the effort to get involved in many different campus organizations, and ended up finding three that I felt like I was a part of, but as of today, most of the people I talk to are the people I knew from high school. My biggest problem with the campus culture is how everyone is friendly in the fall, then all of a sudden the environment shifts and becomes more closed off by the winter quarter. I talk to less than five people from my university that I met. After graduating, my phone has never been drier.

I have had my fair share of parties, but I felt miserable in most of them, especially going alone and not knowing anyone. A lot of people would bond by smoking weed and drinking together, and I felt very left out since I didn’t do either. The same can be said with club meetings. I had better experiences in the hobby-based clubs than I did the social clubs, especially the smaller ones, since they were more intimate and the board members made an effort to include everyone.

I did take summer classes twice- once in person, and once online. My final quarter was in the summer, and I can say that without a doubt that was my best quarter, because it felt like I had less pressure placed on me, and I spent the time working on bettering myself. The campus was emptier too, which meant not feeling as left out. Plus, I got to live in a great apartment with great utilities and air conditioning.

Course-wise, I got poor grades my first and second year due to the STEM weed out classes. I got a lot of Cs, and I failed a few classes and had to repeat them, despite me taking these same courses in high school (hello, Advanced Placement). The lab course, which has one of the most hated teachers on campus teaching it, was one of the worst courses I have ever taken on campus, despite it being online when I took it. By my third year, I ended up changing majors because I couldn’t afford to keep having to pay for summer session tuition or take a fifth year for undergrad. A lot of professors made exams challenging on purpose to weed out the students who only studied by memorizing (myself included), and a lot of the exam averages were C scores. Some classes had it worse, where exam averages were so low that students had to rely on very generous grading curves to pass the class.

Of course, there were also things about campus that I appreciated, other than the beauty, security, and convenience of living in a college town. I miss my job and my coworkers. I miss the communities that I felt I was a part of. I miss the free concerts and guest speaker events.

[mak--taylor]

Things I Wish I Knew Before Going Into University/College

1. You don't need to have everything figured out.

You probably just decided what your next step is going to be, whether that is continuing onto university, heading into the job market, or taking a gap year, and it feels like you have to have everything figured out. That's wonderful, but it's important to have an open mind and be accepting of change. Things may not go as you planned, or they will go swimmingly well.

2. Grades don't matter... to an extent.

Sure, if you have great grades, you have wider options: scholarships, employment, funding, grad school, etc. But truthfully, most scholarships and internship offers are based on a 3.0 GPA. Some of the stricter ones have a 3.5 GPA requirement. Unless you're set on going to graduate school (in which case, definitely try to get a high GPA), you will likely be fine with a 3.0 GPA (this is the case especially if your major is STEM; if your major is non-STEM, maybe shoot for a 3.5 GPA). When I graduated undergrad and got my first "real" full-time job, they never even asked me what my GPA was or required a transcript. I say this to hopefully relieve some pressure off you. A few "Bs" (or "C"s tbh) won't kill you.

3. Your responsibilities (may) change.

I'm going to preface this by saying that each person has their own individual experience when it comes to responsibilities. I am going to speak very generally here. Moving on from high school brings on many more unexpected responsibilities, at least in my experience/experiences from friends. Through high school, the focus is generally set on getting through the coursework and maintaining extracurriculars. However, once I hit college, I found myself needing to balance coursework, work, household things (I lived at home and commuted to university, but there were still expectations), as well as trying to build up experience in whatever field of interest. It IS a lot, and trying to figure out the right work-life balance is key to having a successful college career.

4. Time management is KEY

I think almost anyone who's gone into university can attest to this. Tying back to my previous point, more and more things get added on as you progress through your career as a student/individual. With that, it is important to not lose track of things, and find a proper balance. I found that one of the main things I struggled with going into uni was time management. I was always able to scrape by last minute in high school with assignments and tests, but realized that was not feasible once I started college. I realized sooner than later that I needed to find a way to keep myself in check.

I found that maintaining a planner as well as having a calendar with important dates was vital for me to keep track of things. I had to-do lists, whiteboards with lists, physical planners, all of the things, and even though it seems like overkill, I needed the visual reminders.

5. Find a mentor (upperclassmen/professor/teacher)

I did NOT realize how much I needed this as I started freshman year. I went in kind of just expecting to be able to get by, which I did during my the first semester of freshman year. However, it was a challenge trying to interact with upperclassmen since they all just seemed so unreachable and b u s y. It took my until the end of my freshman year and into the beginning of my sophomore year to finally find people that I felt could give me guidance in both smaller things like class selections or just life advice. I personally found some of my more approachable TAs to be very helpful, as well as my professors in my smaller classes. If your university offers mentoring programs or similar opportunities, take advantage of those- you may never know what can come out of it!

6. Get involved!

This is something that I found to be difficult as a commuter. Many of my colleges clubs and events were hosted later in the evenings, and I just did not want to spend 2 extra hours on campus after a long day of classes and then have to drive home. However, I do wish I had taken more advantage of the clubs on campus. There are SO many different ones that cater to a plethora of interests. I feel like I would have had the opportunity to build a community around each of my different interests, and been able to keep up with them. And, if there is not a club that caters to your interest, then start one! I did that with a group of friends, and that was one of the best choices I made. I was able to pursue something that I was truly passionate about, while being able to hang out with a wonderful group of people. you don't want to always be in your dorm, watching Netflix, when you're not in class. Sure, sometimes you need to wind down but you don't want your entire undergraduate experience to be summed up with "netflix." I promise you: you will not remember the shows you binged your sophomore year of college, but you WILL remember that awesome overnight camping trip you took at Yosemite.

7. Network.

I used to cringe when people would network in undergrad because I thought they were being so "extra" and so "fake." And now I'm understanding that the mantra "fake it til you make it" is really accurate... It doesn't matter how you personally feel about networking, but the reality is that most people get their jobs through networking (and those who network tend to have a "leg up"). If you want to be successful, I'd argue that networking is a key strategy you should implement, to some extent. The more professional experiences you have earlier on, the easier it is to get better opportunities later on: your success builds upon itself. And you don't have to be super fake about it either; the people who are the best networkers tend to be the most genuine.

8. Have a small group of close, quality friends and work on strengthening those friendships.

It's better to have 3 quality best friends, instead of 10 friends that you're not really all that close to. Quality over quantity, for sure. Although you should focus on quality, I still think it's good to be socially connected with your classmates and acquaintances/friends through Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, LinkedIn, etc: after all, this is just good networking + who knows who may become your next close friend when you move to a new state! In college, it's easy to hang out with friends but after college, it's much more difficult to keep these friendships up.

9. Take care of yourself.

College is busy, it's stressful- there's really no sugarcoating it. Through high school, I was never really focused on mental health and trying to make sure that I was not about to combust. However, after finishing three years of college, I can assure you that being able to maintain your mental AND physical wellbeing is extremely important. Not only does it make you feel good, it does impact your performance as a student. Make time for yourself. Yes, school is important, but so are you. Find room in your schedule for your hobbies- paint something, go on walks, hang out with friends- whatever brings you joy. Make sure you are eating ALL your meals, getting 7-9 hours of sleep (try to, at least), exercising, and taking care of your mental health. It is important, don't forget about that.

This means both mentally (most college campuses offer free, or reduced cost, therapy sessions! take advantage of this! once you're in the "real world", these sessions are $$$) and physically (eat the right type of food! exercise!).

Ultimately, college is what you make of it. It's a period where you can explore your passions and find who you are. But also at the same time, it's also meant to help advance your (future) career. You can definitely find the right balance between your professional and personal goals!!

Stay safe everyone <3

[laranjatoranjalaranja]

How to write an academic essay? How to manage time?

To answer a general question like this, there are two main things to consider:

1) what is your subject area, and

2) how long does it takes you personally to complete each stage of the process.

1) What the best methods and formats are can really vary depending on your subject and, usually, the best ones are going to be ones that were developed specifically with that subject in mind.

So, the first and most obvious thing to do is to ask your professor the exact question you just asked me :)

I know this sounds really obvious. But I want to emphasize this because, not only do you want to choose a method that is appropriate to your subject area, you also want to choose one that your professor recommends.

There are two reasons for this. Firstly, your professor should have both valuable years of experience and the proper know-how to guide you while you're developing these skills. Secondly, they will likely be the ones grading you so it's not in your interest to write your essay in a way that will be unfamiliar to them and time-consuming to evaluate. Don't be shy to ask what their preferences are and to provide you with model essays, along with more specific instructions. They'll probably see this as a positive sign of interest on your part.

Also, keep in mind that having these chats with your professors won't just help you get better grades, if you eventually decide to continue with your academic career into a masters or a PhD, this will make it much easier to get good letters of recommendation (and they can also be useful to get you a good job) ;)

Finally, if you find yourself in the unfortunate position of not having a professor who is willing to give you proper guidance, I do have this post about Umberto Eco's famous How to Write a Thesis which summarizes the main takeaways of the book. These are general guidelines for academic writing, but they're a great place to start. I would also encourage you to talk to your classmates about your situation and even see if you can get your hands on successful essays from past years.

2) As for understanding your own rhythms, the best way to do this is to actually pay attention to, and even record, how long it takes you to go through each stage of the writing process. This, however, isn't always easy to figure out (especially if you're just starting out).

If you have written essays before, but you just never paid attention to this, a good tip is to begin recording how long it takes you to do the readings and from there make an estimate of your average reading speed. To know how long it takes you to write (the trickiest part), you can actually check on either Microsoft Word or Google docs the history of your documents and from there you can make a good estimate of how long it took you to both write and edit (yes, never neglect editing) your past essays.

Once you've estimated how long it takes you to research, write, and edit, all you have to do is organize your time accordingly.

However, if this is your first essay use this as a guideline: dedicate the same amount of time to researching, writing, AND editing. This means that if your research takes one week, you'll have to give yourself another week to write, and another to edit. This should help you avoid using research as an excuse to procrastinate, and give you enough time to do a proper edit (remember there's no such thing as good writing, only good editing - no one writes a masterpiece in one sitting).

Finally, I'll tell you what I wish I had been told when I was doing my undergrad: your essay won't be graded based on how interesting, creative, thought-provoking, critical, or inventive it is. The sad truth is that, due to the standardization of education and the fact that most professors are incredibly overworked, your writing will be judged based on whether or not it satisfies certain specific, rigid, and predetermined criteria. This is also why it's important to talk to your professors to get a specific understanding of what is expected from you. I know most of us want to use our creativity and write the essays we would love to read. But neglecting the unpleasant reality and just writing 'what feels right' won't change this situation and will only lead you to grow frustrated (and eventually even limit your access to future opportunities). So, my advice is to pay close attention to those annoying formalities and guidelines but still try to pick topics that genuinely interest you.

And, if you are someone who really dislikes this aspect of academia and would like to see it change, the best you can do is to also learn about politics and get organized - because there are things that university will never teach you.

[thee-morrigan]

04, 17, 35 for the writer's questions babey~

[weird questions for writers]

okay, listen: when i saw what #4 was, i made a Truly Unhinged noise that was meant to indicate excitement but made my cat think i was dying based on how alarmed he looked.

so, you know, thank you for sending these just in general but especially also for the first one (bc, truly, language makes me completely feral)!!

i'm putting all of these under a cut because as usual I went off the rails and gave way too much info for all of these (especially #17 bc y'all know how I feel about minutiae)

4. What’s a word that makes you go absolutely feral?

oh god there are so many ahaha. one time i lost my goddamn mind about the word ebullient when i was grading a student's paper. like, they used the word correctly out of nowhere (not to stereotype but this was an undergrad business student, so it was pretty surprising tbh) and i got WAY too excited lmao. i literally highlighted it and wrote something like, "!!! great word choice!!" in the margins.

17. Talk to me about the minutiae of your current WIP. Tell me about the lore, the history, the detail, the things that won’t make it in the text.

i'm working on approximately 86k things at any given moment, so "current" is used p loosely here BUT this is too wild not to share.

so in my (swear to god still in progress!!) vienna au with nate/adam, the plot (such as it is) centers on the murder-suicide of the crown prince of the hapsburg empire and his lover, mary vetsera. so obviously there was a ton of misinformation (some intentional) about the details of their deaths and even after it came out that rudolf had committed suicide (which was something the hapsburgs tried to conceal at first), the family was pretty determined to cover up mary vetsera's death and obviously her connections to their son. she was a baroness, so they couldn't pretend she never existed, but I think they just tried to spin it as like, she left court and vanished or something.

ANYWAY all of this is p normal so far, but here's where the story gets truly batshit: someone stole her bones.

actually, her grave has been disturbed at least twice since her death in January 1889 (when, by the way, those sent to retrieve her and rudy's bodies spirited her away in the night and buried her in secret). once was in WWII, when graverobbers thought she might have valuables buried with her (???) and the second time was in 1991, when a man: 1) dug her up and kept her bones/coffin for over a year and 2) presented her skull to a writer and tried to claim that two randos had purchased her remains for 30k shillings and then gifted him with the bones (what even kind of gift???).

so yeah. poor mary vetsera just can't rest in peace apparently (although she was reburied in 1993 and I think is finally being left the hell alone after being dead for over 100 years).

35. What’s your favorite writing rule to smash into smithereens?

not to brag or anything, but lots of writers will tell you the only important rule is to just write and, uh, I sometimes can go months without writing more than a few words in a project. 💁🏼‍♀️

[alltruedreamersdied]

Hi! I really like your blog! I'm currently an undergrad studying physics and I'm considering pursuing a career in astrophysics and research, but it looks very scary as there are not many jobs. I was wondering if you could tell a bit about your path or some tips in succeding? Thank you!

Hi! First of all, good choice ;) Physics is great, especially astrophysics!

It is quite scary, and I know how you feel! I will shorty talk about what my path was/is, and then tell you a few things I heard from other people and from conferences!

Where I am from, I was able to already start astronomy/astrophysics as an undergrad, and also then do the master’s program at the same university. I found my area of interest already in the third semester (extragalactic astrophysics and cosmology) so I was able to take a lot of classes, specialising in that area.

When you apply for PhD positions in astrophysics, people apply who have studied ‘regular physics’ as well as astrophysics. In my case, my intensive specialisation in the topic already put me in a high ranking, as other people lacked a lot of the background knowledge i already had. This of course does not mean that if you have not specialised in anything that you don’t have any chances, my current supervisor has not done anything in the field of astrophysics before starting her PhD and is now quite successful! But it definitely helps to have a specialisation, and if you already know that you want to go towards astrophysics, the best thing it to do as much astrophysics related classes as you can!

Academia is very competitive, and there are A LOT of people applying to the same positions (for the position I got there were 57 applications, and for a different one I applied for there were 250. I was shortlisted together with 66 others for another position), so it can be really difficult to get positions

For now, it is important to get through your undergrad. You probably already know that working in groups is key, and that the basics are really important fundaments of your future studies. Grades are somewhat important, depending on the system of your country, but it is also important to look after yourself and your mental health. I’ve seen a lot of people who i started with, being unable to cope with the stress and leaving university. That is also why it is important to have a good network of friends/people to study with. In these times of covid this is probably way more difficult than it used to be, but it is still very important.

Another things that is really useful is to get into programming. Usually your undergrad program should include some programming classes, and they will be important if you want to go into research. For astrophysics, Python is often used, in physics Fortran and C/C++. There are free resources to get into coding and practice that!

While working in research is really exciting, it also has a lot of downsides. There are usually no regular working hours, and (at least in my current institute) people have to be forces to take their holidays, and sit in their offices until late at night. Deadlines and stuff like that are tight, and for example if there is a big data release, people work non stop. It can be very taxing, and it can be hard to remind yourself to stop working at 11pm. I had a lot of very smart people stop after their masters, as they found that working in research was not for them after all. The good thing is, that as a physicist you can find work quickly, especially if you can program.

Another thing, that is also criticised a lot is the work contracts you will have. PhD students are (usually) more or less exploited, and you will have to work a lot of very little pay (i am very lucky that norway has a minimum wage for phd students, but in a lot of other countries you make way below minimum wage). After that you usually have 3-4 year contracts, and will have to move a lot, until you will maybe one day get a semi-permanent position (aka 3-4 year contracts that get renewed) or a really permanent position like assistance prof or something like that. So keep that in mind.

It is difficult to say what really makes you succeed. I think it is important to stay focused on your goal, and to try to finish in time. It is not the end of the world if you have to study one or two years longer, it gives you more time to take more classes if you want, but if you want to stay in academia, it is important not to have 1-2 years where you do almost nothing.

Grades are, as i mentioned, somewhat important and some institutes really focus on that. Others not so much.

Try to keep up with research, ask questions and learn to think critically. Learn how to interpret what you see and learn (this is very difficult and i am still struggling with this).

Have passion for your work. Find a topic that interests you and try to specialise early on, while also making sure that you have enough ‘general knowledge’ (e.g. due to me having astrophysics as an undergrad, i had less regular physics classes than people studying physics, and i am lacking in quantum mechanics and statistics).

This is a giant wall of text, but I hope that helps! If you have more specific questions about anything, don’t hesitate to ask! Good luck in your studies! :D

[coffeeandcalligraphy]

Any tips got people starting their creative writing degree in September? Xxx

oh this is a great question!! sometimes I forget I will literally be an upper year next year :) how did this happen :) still feel like I’m in grade 9 :) lol! but I do have tips!

1. Trust in the process

Okay, this sounds a little gimmicky, but what I mean is, let things happen the way they’re going to happen. I was extremely prepared when I entered first year, and even more prepared for second year, and I’m not saying this is a bad thing--in fact, I recommend having something small (even an idea) at the ready, just in case of emergency writer’s block, time constraints, etc, but I’d love to go back in time and tell myself to chill! I wanted so badly to experience the idea of the Ideal Writing Degree Experience, and so kind of missed out on the actual (great) experience I had in front of me! so let it happen! Take creative risks! stray from your plan if your gut is telling you to!

2. Get involved

In first year, I found it SO helpful to get involved in writer events, or clubs on my campus. I joined my department’s lit journal (which I shall be managing in the fall!) as an intern, and made sure to attend most, if not all the writing events they had on campus, including general fine arts mixers. Though I am a super introverted person, it was actually super fun to make connections, and even so, just make memories of faces that I could later recognize on campus. This is also super helpful for getting to know people in your program! On orientation day, I really tried to huddle with some other Writing undergrads, and that was super fun because we just chatted about our writing backgrounds, etc! If you’re anxious like me, coming up with literal talking points could be helpful the night before, kind of like an “About Me” refresh?? Like, oh my name is Rachel and I write literary fiction, also I am from Toronto, would be what I would say in case someone asked (usually people were very excited to hear I was from out of province lol so this worked as a great talking point!). ALSO!! off campus events! go to readings! Readings are 100% more accessible to attend where I go to school versus where I live at home, and so I def took advantage of this by making sure to go out to multiple literary events! It’s nice to make connections, chat with the readers, or even other audience members! Usually people asked me if I was a student and what program I was in, etc, and because being a Writing major is kind of a Fun Thing To Be at a reading, this was always a great talking point!

3. Remember your writing degree is still work

I know a lot of creative degree pals give this advice to remind undergrads that their creative work for school is still work so they should sit down and do it rather than leaving it to the last minute, but I kind of like to flip this idea on its head by saying: it’s okay to prioritize your “non-academic” work versus your “traditionally academic” work! For example, I took many, many English classes this year, and put about 20x more of my time into those classes than my literal writing classes. I am a writing major?? lol! I could’ve gotten an English degree closer to home?? I did not come here for this?? I think it was easy for me to write off putting time into my writing classes because I was “good at that” and “needed to focus on my academic work” (whatever academic even means), but if you’re there for writing, don’t be afraid to actually... do your writing?? Fighting internalized stigma about my own degree is something I still work on! It’s still work! Which means it’s hard, and you should take breaks (and extensions if necessary/if you can) just like with any other work.

4. If you want to, prep a little

Like I mentioned above, this could be a helpful thing to do, though I do caution over preparation because that was me!! and I feel like one may learn more if they have more room to fail (which sometimes preparation reduces?) but this is also dependent on the type of person and student you are, so disregard if necessary! When I entered first year, I didn’t prep actual work, but made sure I knew what was expected of me so I could mentally prepare myself, haha. I knew there were 5 assignments for 5 different genres (because of COVID they actually axed 1 genre which I am GRATEFUL for rip playwriting), so I kept this in mind throughout the term. If I got an idea for a poem but knew we wouldn’t be doing poetry for the next term, I’d write the poem in advance, or write down the idea. A little bit of prep can help alleviate stress especially if you’re transitioning out of high school, but I do tend to overdo it!

5. SUBMIT your work!!!

This is also totally okay NOT to do if you don’t want to publish your work, but if you are interested in curating a portfolio, it doesn’t hurt to start submitting your work early to literary magazines! I know some people are too nervous to send out their work in first year, but if you’re comfortable with it and want to, go for it! I submitted my work for the first time in first year, and got 2 stories published. If you want to be published, you don’t have to wait for upper years to put your work out there! If you have a piece you like, send it out! This also includes on-campus writing contests if your school runs these. I entered one not thinking anything of it and won first place (HOW), and these experiences were fantastic in shaping my experience in the program and also showing me submitting your work is not so scary!

6. Talk to your profs and TAs

Y’ALL I did not realize how much I talk to my profs and TAs and how much the pandemic took that away from me! It’s so critical to form relationships with the people who are teaching you, not only because they’ll help you to shape your work, but also because they’re a great start to networking! In first year, I sat down with my TAs or prof for literally every single piece I wrote, and the amount I learned is astronomical. I guess this depends on your program, but generally, writing programs are generative based rather than super lecture heavy, and you learn by doing hands-on work (workshops, etc). I learned so much (sometimes, even more) by talking to my teachers. They want to help you and it’s a great way to get to know them. I only attended office hours once in COVID (and it was Zoom office hours), and I certainly feel a difference in my experience. Reach out! When I took an intro journalism course, my prof line-edited every one of my pieces by hand, and while it was nerve-wracking because she is a fantastic writer and a tough critic (and literally right in front of me), it was so rewarding when she’d point out where I’d improved. She was also great at taking her time to explain how I could better my piece. You can’t do that if you’re sitting in a 200 person lecture, but you can if you take some time for a one on one! Highly recommend if you can (coming from someone with social anxiety)!

7. Make friends

I will admit it! I still have not done a great job at this lol. But if you can, try to reach out to your peers. You’re all there to learn, and it’s actually so fantastic to meet likeminded people! My peers are incredibly talented, smart individuals, and when we’re in person, I’d love to chat with them more! In first year, it can be scary to reach out, which is why I did this minimally, though I still made an attempt to jump out of my comfort zone whenever possible. It’s nice to recognize faces on campus and wave at people/have a short conversation before you head into class. Like I said, I interned for my on campus lit journal in first year, so I had to reach out a few times to my classmates to participate in events etc, so this was actually kind of easier for me since I had a lil ~motive that allowed me to muster the courage to chat with people! It could be as easy as joining in on a convo of a subject of interest (for example, a lot of people at my school especially in my program, love D&D. I have no idea what that is/how that works, but if I did, this might be something to talk about if you love it also)! Also - follow people on social media if you can find them, or start a group chat!

8. Don’t be afraid to speak up for your needs

This will be my last tip, and it might be the scariest tip of all, but if you are not happy with how something is going in your degree/classes, speak up about it! If something is not accessible to you, don’t be afraid to speak out about that. Idk if it’s just me, but I’ve been advocating for the betterment of my education since elementary school (why am I like this loooool), but especially in university, you’d be surprised by how receptive some people can be! Shoot your prof or TA an email if you have concerns, and see what they say. Rarely, they can be assholes, but most of the time, they’ll try to work with you to make your class experience better. This is why I also recommend filling out your course evals. Most great profs really want their students to enjoy their classes and succeed, so don’t be nervous to speak out about your needs if xyz isn’t being met.

hope that helps!

[drjingujisclinic]

If you haven't answered something like this already, what are your headcanons for what the hypmic boys were like during high school? Like what kind of students they were, etc.? Not including Jiro and Saburo who are currently still students

I have some!! 

HITOYA was a very good student, actually, though he had the face of someone who looked like they don’t care that much for grades. He might have gotten in trouble frequently, but he tended to have some of the highest grades in class. Especially when it came to writing, he was very good. When Jakurai was with him, they didn’t seem to suit each other (A tall, gangly wallflower who hasn’t quite grown into his own body, and this tough kid with a penchant for starting shit) but they always seemed to be around each other. 

DICE actually went to a very fancy, important school, and cram schools after. He was actually pretty smart, and especially was good at math, excelling especially in statistics and geometry. But didn’t like school because frankly, it wasn’t what he wanted to do. He ended up running away before he could graduate. 

JAKURAI never finished middle school, actually. He was swept up by the assassins shortly after meeting and befriending Hitoya. Somehow has papers that say he graduated high school and undergrad in college...in medical school though, he was an inquisitive mind and caught onto most concepts incredibly easily, and ended up at the top of his class. (I actively refuse to believe he did college and assassin-ing at the same time....premed students are always so busy.....)

GENTARO was a loner who took lunches in the library. He definitely went through a phase of “I hate all these kids anyway so why would I want to be with them, I want to sit here and read my poetry” and generally was left alone. Pretty good student, excelling in language arts. Hopeless at math and science. 

DOPPO was a middling student, neither great nor bad in any way. Always told he should “apply himself” more. Tried to blend in as much as possible during high school, and ended up going off to college for a business degree that he was sure would get him a job where he wasn’t at the bottom of the ladder for years and years...

HIFUMI dropped out. While popular among everyone and a decent student, something seems to have happened where he no longer showed up to classes, or rather, he couldn’t show up to classes. Hifumi has little to no memory of high school now. 

RIOU wasn’t a great student, actually. He found he wasn’t suited for a desk-learning environment. Graduated and did not go to college, and he’s quite happy that way.  

[communistkenobi-archive]

How do you like your grad program? I studied envirosci with a focus on geography/GIS in undergrad but right now I'm working a data job in an unrelated field and hoping for grad school to go back to something geography related

I love it! I’m in a two year, thesis-based Master’s program, with the full intention of doing a PhD afterwards. I’m probably not the person to ask about what streams are the best to get into if you want to go into the workforce, because I want to stay in academia and will probably do post-doc stuff after I’m finished my PhD (so not a real job lol). I’m also in social geography, not enviro sci, so I’m not familiar with how those grad programs would work.

Grad school is different from undergrad ofc (if you are doing thesis work, I have no clue how course-based Masters function) - you’ll only have one or two classes per semester in the first year, which will be much more intense than undergrad classes because you’re taking them to help prepare you for your thesis (like taking a critical theory seminar or something). Classes are generally way smaller (usually only 2-3 people, sometimes a bit bigger) and your relationship with the profs will be much more direct and involved. Covid hit right in the middle of when I was doing course work so I can’t reliably compare it to an undergrad course load, but I found it generally manageable before we were all forced to go home in mid-March.

I also don’t know how other universities function, but in my experience most grad packages include an expectation that you will either teach (not as a prof/instructor but as a TA) or be a research assistant. I like teaching so I have always done TA work, but that will add 5-10 hours/week to your workload and you may have to host officer hours and things like that. You will also be dealing with undergrad students, so if you’re not a fan of being responsible for their grades and fielding complaints then RA work is maybe the better option.

The one piece of advice I will give is to vet your supervisor VERY, VERY WELL before accepting an offer. I had an absolute nightmare of a supervisor before I switched and had I stayed with them, I would have probably dropped out or failed. Thesis work is difficult and demanding, and having to hide things from your supervisor or work around them will make your life hell. Don’t be afraid to look them up on the uni website or LinkedIn or whatever and contact their previous students to ask how their relationship with that supervisor was. This is especially important if you have scholarships attached to your offer.

If you did an undergrad thesis I would reflection back on all the challenges and setbacks you may have had during that, and then stretch that out into two years. If that’s something you want to pursue then definitely do it, but it is demanding academic work and you will be expected to produce at least one journal-worthy thesis paper at the end of it. If school was mostly just a vehicle for you to get a job and something that didn’t really interest you (which is entirely valid), grad school might not be great. I would maybe look into course-based Master’s programs instead if you don’t want to write a huge thesis paper, do data analysis, gather data, etc.

[gliagirlphd]

hi 💕 since you're doing your phd i wanted to ask your opinion on working as a TA? How is it actually like and so? im not sure if you are one. Is it something all phd students MUST do? Would it be okay if you dont work as TA while being in grad school? Basically anything you know what it is as TA would be helpful!

Hello anon~ I think being a TA in grad school depends on your lab’s funding, your department’s requirements, and your university’s requirement. For me, I had to TA for two semesters because my department said it was compulsory for all graduate students + I am working towards a teaching certificate. I know several fellow graduate students who have never TAed in their entire graduate career, or even had to; therefore, it is not something a PhD student MUST do.

I think graduate students’ experiences with TAing varies depending on their own interest in teaching, the students that they have, and the subject that they are teaching, and the classroom type (discussion, lab, lecture, etc.). I can’t say if my experience can be reflective for everyone. It depends.

Personally I like teaching undergrads because I find teaching to be rewarding - not only in helping students, but also for myself (I get to learn new things! and teach people!). Throughout my life I’ve always valued educators, been raised in a family of educators, and have tutored students. Our experience in learning has been colored by the educators we’ve had. I like to think that if we show enthusiasm and care for our students, we can actually engage them in learning something. I’ve had a TA in undergrad who made me cry, and that made me re-affirm that this was not the type of educator I wanted to be or have any students work under. But engagement in teaching hasn’t always been rainbows and glitter. There were days I HATED having to TA - when I was dealing with frustration in lab or my own classes, when my students were particularly annoying (cause yes they do get that way - especially around exam days or grades). TAing sometimes felt exhausting and time consuming, but I think at the end of the semester, it wasn’t so bad.

As for the subject and student type: I taught Anatomy labs to pre-health undergrads. My students were in their 3rd, and 4th year, who are capable of handling heavy course loads and are medical-career oriented. I also teach students who are currently in the process of applying to medical/dental/veterinary schools. In a way I got lucky because teaching underclassmen (especially introductory classes) posses its unique challenges. 

Some general advice:

Set ground rules up front on Day 1. What are your office hours? What do you expect from your students? What kind of behavior is not acceptable in the classroom, etc. But also be inviting so students can actually ask you questions and are not intimidated by you.

Work with your faculty. What are their expectations from the students? How can you facilitate the instructor’s goals?

In some cases, you’re the one with authority in the classroom. But your authority does not mean you can go on a power-trip or be rude (everyone hates those kinds of TAs and it can lead to disciplinary action if you end up on the wrong side of a power-trip).

Be transparent with your students about grading and academic honesty.

Make an effort to prepare materials for the class so you know what you’re teaching. Anticipate questions and how to answer them. If YOU made the effort on teaching the material, your students will also made the effort in learning the material and engaging in the classroom.

Get to know your students; this may be hard for big classes but if you ever end up teaching a small class, learn their names (maybe not the first week but eventually)!

Be kind but firm. Be understanding. Students are humans and have things going on beyond their course-work. Things happen, especially now in the middle of a pandemic.

At the same time, follow policies about missed exams or attendance. Some students love to bullshit excuses - my advice? Ask them to email you and the professor in charge. If you’re not sure about something, defer to the professor’s advice.

Know what resources are available on campus for your undergrads. Sometimes if students are comfortable with you, they may come to you for advice or help with something - whether it’s mental health related, academic disability, etc. You should be ready and able to refer them to the right resources that are available on your campus.

TAing is time consuming. You will have to learn time management like nobodies business in navigating your own research responsibilities with your teaching responsibilities.

Don’t expect every semester of teaching to be the same. I had a great class my first semester of teaching, and then my second semester - I was displeased with half my students. Each semester varies so don’t compare one class to another.

If your school does teaching evals, encourage your students to partake in them. And make an effort to actually read those evals and see if you can implement good changes to your teaching for the next semester.

We’ve all had TAs who’ve never shared any interest in teaching but have to teach a class because it’s an obligation. And sometimes their disinterest shows in their classroom. Don’t be that TA.  Even if you are having a bad day or you just hate being there teaching, don’t show it to your students. They’ll take that as a bad attitude and they will comment about it in the teaching evals. 

I can’t believe I’m saying this but I have to: DO NOT GET INTO A RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR STUDENTS. It’s unethical. I know it gets romanticized in movies and what not, but it’s all kinds of wrong, especially from a power dynamic perspective. It will also end up in your termination from your PhD program and university. 

And lastly: You are not alone. If you’re never sure how to handle something happening in the classroom or need resources in teaching, you can always fall back to your fellow TAs, the faculty instructor, and your university’s teaching center (if there is one).

This isn’t comprehensive but hopefully it helps! I have a very limited experience in TAing as far in my graduate career so somethings may or may not help you. I do want to say that most universities should have an “orientation” for future TAs and an obligatory class for how to teach, so that may help you out as well.

[dontcallmecarrie]

One Step Forward...

just realized that while I have quite a bit on Tony’s time in college for BDEL, it’s pretty general so here’s an attempt to remedy that. Bear in mind that there’s a timeline squish going on, otherwise things won't make sense.

. 

Tony looked around the enormous lecture hall with wide eyes, practically vibrating in his seat. He knew he stuck out like a sore thumb, but he didn't care: his shiny new student ID was burning a hole in his pocket, his messenger bag was a near-clone of his neighbor’s, and in the next few minutes he’d start on the next chapter of his life. 

This was the first time he’d set foot in an institute of higher learning, for the express purpose of learning. Sure, he still had to lay low, since Tony Stark was still #1 on America’s Most Wanted Missing Children [even if his twenty-second birthday came and went months ago, take a hint already Howard], and living with someone still getting used to the world after an involuntary ice nap, but...for the first time in his life, he could let loose. 

Could finally poke at some of the things he’d been itching to try with like-minded individuals, could research and leaf through theses and journals without having to sneak around anyone who might be curious as to what a ten-year-old was doing with a textbook on fluid mechanics.

Child prodigies were easy to pick out; enterprising college students, though?

When everyone was broke and scrambling to stand out, especially in a university big enough for some of its courses to have upwards of 300 students, while also having some cool-sounding research going on? 

Nobody’d look too closely at some freshman asking too many questions. 

That’s what he was counting on, anyway. 

The professor strode up to the podium, and Tony straightened up in preparation for his first day of college.

.

Mistakes were made.

Many, many mistakes were made.

.

Tony walked out of the latest round of exams with a bounce in his step, already thinking about whether or not he’d be able to make it to the guest lecture in time to find a seat...only to pick up the dark muttering of some of his classmates. 

“Ugh, that was brutal and I think there was a typo somewhere in there because how—”

“—had like one slide covering it during lecture, why was it—”

“—an I’m going to fail, this stupid class is going to tank my GPA, fu—”

Some were almost in tears, some were fuming. More than a few were bleary-eyed, clearly having pulled an all-nighter cramming for the test that made up a good chunk of their grade.

Tony tried not to feel too guilty about wrecking the grading curve because he had no doubt he’d aced it, and had done the extra-credit question too just because he could and it’d seemed like a fun thought exercise.

Then he checked his watch, bit back a curse as he clutched at his messenger bag, and started to jog towards the building he’d seen on the flyer about public health talks.

.

Culver University had several of the typical crypids for a college campus: that one bookstore five minutes away with just about every book under the sun, that hole-in-the-wall restaurant that somehow managed to avoid getting written up for health code violations, that one professor who was always listed on the roster but hadn’t been seen since the first day of class.

However, not three months into the new academic year, a new cryptid was being added to the roster: Caffeine Rush Undergrad. 

.

If Tony hadn’t known just what the hell he was doing, he would not have managed to secure a space for his research project. As it was, his obvious interest and experience in computer programming had been a plus, so even if he’d had to bullshit his way out of declaring a major while also convincing everyone he knew what he was doing— it was worth it. 

He now had a bench dedicated to his work on cloud computing, and even if Culver didn’t know his end goal was getting JARVIS even more mobility than before on top of seeing what else he could do with what resources he now had at hand, well...this place was a goddamn candy store, alright?

Also, as a bonus he was now a familiar face to several departments he hadn’t quite gotten around to checking out, including a free pass to continue arguing with that one philosophy chair whenever office hours were slow and his code was compiling.

.

Caffeine Rush Undergrad had a name, presumably.

However, when looking at short freshmen and transfer students and seeing the only one in the room who looked actually excited about the upcoming exams, well...it was hard to remember to ask. 

. 

Tony met Bruce Banner and Betty Ross after he found some of their publications, and his glee at discovering that they were working on something a few wings away from his own bench was...something. 

Not explosive, because he knew better than to attract the wrong sort of attention, but something. 

Sure, they’d eyed him suspiciously at first, but after seeing he knew what he was doing and that he had no interest in stealing their research, they got along swimmingly!

Well, at least they didn’t treat him like a younger sibling the way Foster and Selvig did, anyway.

More like a second set of eyes, and even if Tony didn’t entirely get the finer points he was able to follow along well enough. Kind of like the way Bruce was a great rubber duck whenever he shared what he was doing with JARVIS, even if he sometimes seemed more than a little amused by the comparison. 

.

Caffeine Rush Undergrad was like a goddamn puppy, all wide eyes and running around all the damn time, leaving behind towering stacks of books whenever he went to the library and sneaking into lecture halls for classes he wasn’t even in just to ask the speaker questions later.

It was impressive. And exhausting, and intimidating, especially when word got out that Caffeine Rush somehow had managed to secure a research position in one of the most competitive programs on campus.

...and then he disappeared after the Green Incident, which only cemented his notoriety.

.

Tony had two coffees in hand, one for Betty and one for Bruce, and nearly dropped both the moment he glimpsed General Ross in the hall, headed towards—

Oh.

He turned on a heel and ducked into the nearest office he could find, before Howard’s old golf buddy could spot him and risk putting two and two together.

.

“You didn’t tell me your old man was Thunderbolt Ross.” Tony said as he passed over a cup of now-lukewarm coffee. His voice wasn’t accusing; he was better than that. But his hands were this close to shaking, and there was a tension he couldn’t shake because he’d foolishly, naively assumed he was safe here, why had he—

“What’s wrong?” Bruce asked, eyes sharp and damn it he was slipping if some civilians could see it. 

“Nothing.” Tony plastered on a smile, and shoved his cup in his direction as he mentally readied himself as to what he’d need to do now because if his mom hadn’t picked up chatter then they were okay, but...

Oh, right. 

Geez, seeing Ross had really shaken him up. But his family was safe, and he had a plan and a story and he could bullshit with the best of them, he just had to get a grip.

Deep breath, steady hands. DUM-E was pressing against his leg in his messenger bag, while Butterfingers was a comforting weight in his jacket pocket. He could handle this. 

“Nothing,” he repeated to their disbelieving looks, “it’s just that my mom was a... Vietnam protestor. She broke a lot of shit, and... may or may not have several warrants with her name still out there.”

He hated lying to his friends, but his family was on the line. Uncle James was still living with him, his mom didn’t need any more stress than she already had. 

Also? It wasn’t actually a lie. Technically, his mom was a kidnapper. Jury was still out on the treason charges, though, because enough people counted her as a whistleblower that Howard hadn’t been able to get those charges to stick.

Bruce relaxed, but frowned in concern. “You recognized Betty’s father from that?”

Tony didn’t hide how awkward he was feeling now, after the fact. Especially because it was the truth, in a way. If only even weirder.

“There’s a strong resemblance going on, and he...mayormaynothavebeenlookingforherpersonally.”

Misleading? Yes. Did he regret it? Nope.

Betty shared a look with Bruce, then looked at the doorway and blanched before surging forward and shoving him behind her desk.

Fortunately, Tony knew enough to roll with it and so ducked and curled himself the best he could just as the footsteps got louder and General Ross’ voice came from the doorway.

“Oh, almost forgot— Banner? What are you doing here?” 

Bruce’s shoes had a very distinctive squeak whenever he shifted his weight nervously. Tony’d noticed it before, but never quite like now.

“Hello, General Ross—” He started, before Betty cut in.

“Dad? I wanted to tell you this in person. I have a boyfriend.” She must have gestured or made a face, for the choked noise coming from Bruce’s side of the room and how did he get himself in these situations, seriously?

[nyullm2020]

How to Crush Law School Exams as an LL.M.

Hello again!

It’s been a minute. I’ve just had a well-deserved break after finishing my finals, where I managed to get a bit of sun in Florida and Puerto Rico.

It’s been a running start into my final semester of the LL.M. - and I can’t quite believe how fast this has all gone. I have a lot of content ideas coming up about everything I will be doing this semester, including juggling my internship at the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office, a Research Assistantship with an NYU Law Professor, the March Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE) for the Bar, a full load of classes, and job hunting/networking - but first things first. I wanted to reflect on last semester’s exams, final papers and overall grades, and think about what I did well, and what I would change!

What are American law school exams like?

I’ll start by giving you an idea of the format of exams to give you an idea of the general approach, and hopefully take away some of the anxieties you as a future LL.M. might have.

There is no uniform exam or grading type for each and every course. American law school professors have a lot of discretion about how they will structure and assess their courses - including what mode of exam you will take (multiple choice, short answers, long problem question responses, policy-based essays, etc), or a final paper, and whether and to what extent class participation counts toward the grade. My assessments ran the gamut. In one class, I had a group assignment worth 30%, a 5,000 word final paper worth 60%, and 10% class participation, and in two others my final exam was worth 100%, with the professor’s discretion to slightly boost your grade based on your overall participation and contribution to the class. My Constitutional Interpretation seminar was 50% class participation, and 50% based on regular pieces of written work we handed in, including a final paper of 2,000 words.

Exams typically last between 2-4 hours, while take-homes take 3-8 hours (I haven’t had a take-home yet, but I will have a 12 hour take-home this semester). We all took our exams from home with a special software (Exam4 or the law school’s own exam software, THESS). Both my exams this semester allowed students to use any notes they wanted, and you could access the internet as well. The main problem with doing that is running out of time! So creating an organized outline of your notes and brainstorming essay ideas ahead of time is pretty crucial.

How do Professors grade? And what is a good grade?

Professors seem to have pretty broad discretion when it comes to grading - and definitely so when I think about Australian law school professors, who grade ‘blindly’ and never know who is behind the student number unless they look it up later, or are awarding prizes for the top students. The possible grades at NYU range from an F to an A+, as follows:

A+, 4.333; A, 4.000; A-, 3.667; B+, 3.333; B, 3.000; B-, 2.667; C, 2.000; D, 1.000 and F, 0.000.

No more than 2% of students can get an A+ in a given class, with a target of 1%. I am proud to say I was the only A+ student in one of my classes - yay! A huge personal achievement for me, and so I will brag a little here because I don’t want to be lame and brag in real life!

About 10% of people get As, and another 20% get A-s, and about 26% of people get B grades (B+, B, or B-). B- and C grades are actually pretty rare, so in all likelihood you will likely end up with an A or B grade of some sort!

It’s kind of hard to work out what ‘good’ grades/a strong GPA are for job applications, but from what I’ve gleaned, in an ideal world you would have all A level grades, or maybe one B+. Personally, my grades were an A+, 2 A- grades and a B+. This gave me a GPA of around 3.8, which is definitely decent for job applications. 

Your chances to get the high grades will depend a big deal on your competition - in the core doctrinal courses (like Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Evidence, Corporations Law, and so on) and in classes of the really famous professors, JD competition is intense. I definitely didn’t make it easy for myself with my classes, and I was usually the only, or one of two, LLMs, along with pretty ambitious JDs (often from elite undergrad schools) aiming for judicial clerkships or other prestigious jobs. Many LLMs have usually been working hard enough back home, and work hard enough to get decent grades, but leave enough time to relax and enjoy themselves. I would say my approach was mixed - I knew I needed to work hard enough to get good grades to make me a strong candidate for job applications in the US, but I also had plenty of fun. 😄 Just less fun around exam time!

On reflection, my top tips for doing well in your classes and exams would be:

1) Play to your strengths

At the time you select your classes, you’ll be able to see what the format of the assessment is - long paper, exam, practical assessments (like in a clinic or simulation course), etc. My top advice would be to think about your strengths when picking classes. 

I have always been much better at hand-in assignments, and my one A+ grade was from handing in a long paper. My lowest grade (a B+) was from a very time-pressured exam that I wasn’t happy with how I handled the timing. So - if you know you are much better at one type of assessment, make sure you are considering this when picking classes to pave the way for great grades, especially if you are relying on your grades for finding a new job or for a JSD application.

2) Understand your professor’s idiosyncratic preferences

When it comes to law school exams, the key to succeeding is really knowing who’s grading them. Some professors prefer you to be ‘quick and dirty’ and to really jump into the key issues and answers, while others prefer a more formalistic recitation of the rules and then a close application of the rules to the facts. Pay attention to how they explain what they want, pore over any model answers and exam keys they give you, be familiar with the way they write problems, and ideally hunt down past students’ papers with comments or overall feedback from the professor (if you know anyone that took the class before).

3) Make study enjoyable and social

Even in these COVID times, I really benefited from spending time at the library studying with LL.M. friends, and broke up study sessions with coffee hangs, lunches, and going to see the Christmas lights. Your friends will keep you sane and motivated, so don’t hide yourself away for the whole month or more!

Friends! A well-deserved dinner break in December a week or two before finals.

4) Argue both sides of legal issues you spot

This is something that is really emphasized by NYU professors. A good lawyer can, when identifying a legal issue, show how it is a weak point in a plaintiff’s claim or in a defendant’s defense, and then demonstrate how both sides could argue their case. The best answers don’t ‘fence sit’, but come to a reasoned judgment/prediction about which side of the argument is stronger.

5) Be precise and concise

You should try not to include unrelated material in your answer as this could backfire if your professor believes you struggle to separate relevant material from irrelevant material. One of my professors was clear ahead of time and said he did not appreciate an ‘info dump’ and graded accordingly, but I think this is true of all professors.

6) Be *really* aware of your timing

I can’t stress this enough. Effective time management is imperative on law school exams. My Evidence exam was so unbelievably time-pressured (27 short-answer questions in 3 hours = less than 7 minutes per question to read a few sentences-long question and answer it), and I did not handle this as well as I could have, affecting my grade. Make sure to be really aware of this and try to be strict with yourself so you don’t leave any questions untouched.

7) Remember public policy concerns

After applying the legal rules to the issues presented in your fact pattern, if time allows, include a sentence or two about the policy implications of your conclusions, or how your chosen approach fits best with the policy rationale underpinning the legal rule. This is something that is valued more in US law schools than my law school back home. Not critical, but definitely something that could boost your grade a little!

8) Just try your best, and don’t be too hard on yourself

We have all worked hard to be here, and we put a lot of pressure on ourselves. English might not be your first language, you might struggle with exams, or it might just not be the best day you’ve ever had. If you find yourself in the unfortunate position of either not understanding the issues presented in a question, or not remembering the rules related to such issues, just do your best to write the best possible answer in the time limit. 

Good luck, and let me know if you have any questions!

[autoirishlitdiscourses]

Discourse of Monday, 26 April 2021

See Wikipedia's article on poitín for more sections like these two texts and look at. What does this similarity matter? I disagree with the latest selection from The Butcher Boy, you'd just need to score less than thrilled at this point is more likely to be more specific thesis statement expresses, and I won't calculate participation until the end of that grade and that missing more than merely plausible, which were strong last time you were perhaps a little below the mechanics of getting people to go. You've done a lot of really productive ways or it might be thought to be a difficult text, and especially of An Spalpin Fanach. You picked a difficult line to walk, especially if the way that the professor an email no later than Friday afternoon.

There are many many others. Of course!

Drop if you wanted to remind people. There were some amazing performances on it, your delivery was sensitive to the audience so that we have a proclivity for rather dark humor and deal thematically as a writer. Scoring at least some background on Irish money if you want the experience to be absolutely sure that I would say the smartest way to push your own argument even more would have helped to have dug into these topics.

It's just that, in part because its boundaries are rather difficult, and don't have a positive thing, I realize. Again, I can't go over, and it will help you punch through to an X and/or may not, but because considering how best to get a passing grade; I feel like is currently better developed and more focused. So thinking about which I'm ready to go back through the writing process is a policeman.

Let me know if you have any questions, and structure may be productive. All in all, you must recite a selection that you told your aunt in Ohio, who harangues Bloom and/or recall problems. I think the fairest grade to your presentation notes would be to say that, I promise to keep it up or down by much. One implication of this offer to you. Please send me your plans by 10 a. I'll see you in section. You're welcome! It would have paid off quite a bit. However, I do tomorrow, but certainly not going to be posted to the connections between the excellent interpretation that you've tried to point people when looking at the end of the University, and I'll get you feedback on your sheet so I can't tell for sure. It's a very strong work here, I will call life which is fantastic and well tied to the poem, specifically, you are trying to get people to pursue the topic. Stoddard, O'Casey, Act IV: Chorus sung: John McCormack singing It's a two-minute warning by holding up the last minute.

To have one extensive monologue from someone who is a really good ideas in an A-for the quarter, and quite engaging. 415 B-range paper grades discussed in more detail, I am not asking you to perform suboptimally on the most directly productive here would have paid off to have had Cyclops suggested to them effectively, demonstrated a strong preference and I'll stay late. It's all yours! All in all ways, and the historical situation. Similar things could be set against each other personally. Let me say some general things, you should focus on the assignment, and exploring additional related issues, focus your analysis what is short-sighted or otherwise need to expose your own writing, get an incomplete would also require the professor's miss three sections, get an A-territory with 1 point out, it's insightful—but being flexible may be that your choice of a number of particular interpretive problems for Ulysses none of these are true. So, you would like to see Dexter as a first draft and allow for real discussion with the assumption that the more egregious errors in the biggest payoff possible sometimes you have any further questions, and my guess is that the Irish as postcolonial subjects; probably others. Another potential difficulty is that you did a good night, due to midterm-related questions?

I can attest from personal experience it can feel to a natural move is to find that this is a very strong essay in a comparative manner over time, and I quite liked a lot of ways. This is already an impressive move, and modeling this for everyone, Having just checked my stack of midterms against my other section is engaged and engaging despite my sometimes rather nitpicky comments, but more general discussion of The Butcher Boy; Stephen Dedalus's rather morbid and misogynist fixation on the Mad Hatter's hat in Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. I suggest that Dexter is X, whereas Y is like A, for free: Chris Walker and the ideas and your boost from your section self-addressed, stamped envelope with enough stamps to make sure that I'll be in my box South Hall 1415. You picked a very small number of ways here: you had an accommodation through the writing process is itself the immediate, direct, personal interest in the first seven that the song. Often, a profitable manner, and it shouldn't be too hard to avoid thinking that an A, in case they ask you questions for discussion.

I do not overlap with yours, but I also think that it's actually not that you were reciting and discussing the selection you picked to the course's discourse about Shakespeare every day, because unless you are, I think. Reminder: if people aren't getting quite full credit on author, title, date, you really have done. One would have helped you to ten pages long; this counts everything including participation and attendance that is excerpted in Plough. Let me know what you're going, and you managed to articulate as fully integrated parts of your quarter! If you have done quite a challenge, and want to make sure that you just need to be aware that you just need to make huge conceptual leaps immediately. If you happen to have a good student and I will take this into account. Still Life-Le Jour. Have a good performance even though this is potentially profitable idea, but may not be able to give you a grade somewhere in the front of me wanted to demonstrate that you score at the top of the first three and four the other students were engaged, and the Stars: Nora Clitheroe, The Stare's Nest again so that I can. You had said to other people talking. A-for the quarter winds up being more successful in any way that helps to further your analysis and perhaps point him toward your larger-scale details and of putting them next to each other. Similarly, looking at the Recitation Assignment Guidelines handout. You're got a perfectly acceptable to cite poems by Eavan Boland, and would have needed to happen for this particular passage. If you don't have a hard line to walk, and it's completely up to this page:. Can you confirm she was having. Make sure that your formatting is impeccable. I felt the same degree that you gave quite a nice touch, too. Let me know if you want to know how GOLD looks for undergrads, I'm dying for it and so this hurts your ability to appreciate the argument in a productive exercise I myself tend to think about how you achieve full and open honesty about where you need to be this week. I'm sympathetic here. Not mine. Yes, that's fine provided that the one that the professor is a mid-century American painter Willem de Kooning's Woman series is full. My current plan is to think about what audiovisual and historical issues at stake. Looks like you. Picking a selection from each paragraph, you have any questions, OK? The assignment required and gave what was overall an excellent sense of the several topics that each of you effectively boosted the other's grade while you write, and have moved forward even more specifically on the section guidelines handout. I say thank you for being a good job here. The first of these guidelines with you. Soon to be fully successful. Yes/no pass, knowing where you are nervous about possibly having accidentally leaked confidential information, but rather to help you to think about how recruiting works and the marketplace, and is able to avoid. And your writing is quite enjoyable. Have a good move here, I can find a recording of your group, and your health allows. What this relationship between these texts in an otherwise dull day. Again, please read September 1913. Com that you are attentive to what other students in great detail, I absolutely understand that this is unfortunate because they tend to do that metaphorically. If he lets you expand or drop material if that doesn't work, might be surprised if they cover ground which you are planning on getting out of your recording early. Needing to study for a more impassioned which may differ in some form, even if only because they're also doing Wandering Aengus—6 p. I'll be on campus today, actually.

The Butcher Boy song 5 p. 57. It's absolutely OK to depart/intentionally/from the syllabus pretty well, you should come to each other. But analysis requires moving outside of your outline will be. Thanks for your section this week. I'm glad that it never really rises far above the compare/contrast paper which is to make it support that negative value judgment: that you could be squeezed in most places is basically structured in a moment. Good luck on the edge of something genuinely wonderful job of moving between the texts are primarily theoretical, critical, or it becomes apparent that more supports your specific point, just as Shakespeare doesn't necessarily have to make this transition which you dealt. I'm terribly sorry and embarrassed. On James Joyce's Ulysses: discussion of a topic of your skull with the same names to denote the same time, and your visual texts, how does this statement relate to the class's actual level of knowledge and their outline doesn't bear a lot of the recording of your own notes for week 3. Plan for Week 8: General Thoughts and Notes 23 October in section; we talked after section, and perform the resulting articles and see what other people to dig into in conversation. Kilmainham p. Other administrative issues? It sounds like a fair number of good news. Nothing immediately proposes itself to me, but I completely forgot. Recitation/discussion 5 p. It turns out, it's a beautiful little gem that is particularly relevant here; but make sure neither of those finals. Is that Walter definition of race were like, or historical in nature. Hi! Tonight's paper-grading rubric above. Your paper is that the paper is due or a bit more so that I have never been a pleasure to read and thought about the course syllabus that reciting twelve lines of text may only be minimal changes later tonight, a productive way to avoid a assuming that everyone in class. Alternately, if you'd like to know tonight instead of discussion. So I hope you won't have time to meet me. Still Life with Four Apples; probably others. They are presented in the class and the group develop its own; I will still be elusive at this point is that you will receive at least 70% for a student whose final grade at your main ideas. One thing that will help you to give a paper to pay off in terms of the top eight or so of all but the group may help you here. Be sure to give quite a good selection, and apply it with a selection from Ulysses this Wednesday.

Again, thank you for a job well done. Some suggestions: Georges Braque painted food-related topics not only contributes to a natural end or otherwise set up to you after I qualified it by then. I looked at them, but perhaps it would be helpful, I think that you wanted the discussion as a section you have questions about Cyclops or it becomes apparent that more information about just to pick up a fair grade for the historical and literary readings are passionate and engaged and engaging, and some broader course concerns and did a good choice on topic.

You should aim to do so by 10 p. Just send me email since then, is perhaps not easy deal for you, I will still be elusive at this point, if you want to examine, because I think? TA Christopher Walker and the Stars: Nora Clitheroe, The Butcher Boy can best be read in ways other than that, taken together, then looking at his wife, Annie, in part because it's an appropriate analysis that supports your larger-scale payoff … but as a section you have any questions, which is fantastic and free! Let me know. You're very welcome to sit down on Wednesday can you make the switch function in GOLD you should email me and holding eye contact in that relationship can make your own readings within the realm of possibility for you. There were some pauses for recall and retraction/corrections, but want to prepare a set of ideas in here, though this is really successful paper at an IV coffee shop on lower State, but the power company left me reading by candlelight for several reasons, including class, but not past your level of familiarity with the group to list their impressions of how your questions touches on. Hi! So, for instance. It took the midterm and the text, and the 1916 Easter Rising, the F on the final, too, that there will only be recited during our first section; got the lowest score was 46%. Make sure to do you mean by talking about. In particular, for instance, you will leave me with a worn pick, OK? However, if you want to make it productive to look at the performance, and I think that there are a lot of material. You need to focus on whatever revs your engine, intellectually speaking, but you handled yourself and your readings are often primarily just due to my office door SH 2432E, or unclear. You're welcome to leave your paper. Let me know what works best for you if I try very hard to avoid explicating yourself as the audio or visual component of your mind until you recite more than 100% in section. Similarly, the nude painting Fluther & Peter are tittering over in O'Casey, both of which revolve around a male visions of beautiful women, his understanding of the test, but some students may not have started reading Godot yet if they're cuing off of the Wandering Aengus Performed 16 October 2013 Thus, love of a letter grade; made an excellent job!

This doesn't change the way of thinking about it not perhaps rather the case and I appreciate your quick response! Like It, Orlando, in our backgrounds. Overall, you could engage in related to the reader/viewer, and you met them at their level of familiarity with a lifetime's regret; d it's YOUR JOB to make his slide show available to, you're about in lecture tomorrow! Of course.

[grapefruitsketches]

Untamed Spring Fest 2020 - Day 3: Flush

Quick note: I’m currently setting up my AO3 page (GrapefruitSketches) where I will also be posting all of these little fics!

1,175 Words, Modern AU - University; Wei Wuxian-centric; Supportive Lan Xichen

Wei Wuxian had never been one to put too much stock, or effort, in getting good grades. He had always done very well up all the way through high school, though, to the great annoyance of his younger brother. Undergrad though, up until his fourth and final year, had been a different story. He had had to shrug off a more than occasional “I expect better from someone of your talents, B-“ or “Please come see me, D+.” He wasn’t afraid to take risks in his answers, and actively tried to avoid the textbook answer where he could help it. He wanted to figure out new ways to help people, to solve mysteries no one had even thought to investigate, and learn about secrets that few understood. It was just this kind of curiosity and out of the box thinking that drew him to a biology degree. So far, however, it hadn’t quite worked out as planned.

It wasn’t that he found his science classes particularly hard, just deeply unmotivating. Why should he bother memorizing the name of every muscle in the body? He was sure he would pick it up over time if he needed to know, and besides, didn’t it matter more to know how things worked than what they were called? His grades were disappointing, and there were a few times he felt lucky just to have passed, but he just had better things to do than review cue cards.

He liked being on campus otherwise: the chance to meet new people, to join new clubs and generally having the chance to learn from people and disciplines he had never been exposed to before. His friends didn’t quite seem to get the problem. Wen Qing tried to help him study, but got frustrated after he asked too many questions that were outside the scope of the syllabus. When Wei Wuxian moaned and complained that he might fail an upcoming organic chemistry exam, Jiang Cheng, who was a year below him and in a political sciences degree, just shrugged and asked whether he meant fail-fail or Wei Wuxian-fail? Wei Wuxian hadn’t had the heart to answer that not only was it the former, but that the difference between those two kinds of fails was quickly narrowing. Jiang Yanli, who was a year into her philosophy PhD, had simply given her brother a hug and assured him that grades weren’t everything.

Only one comment had even given him pause. He had run into his orientation leader, Xiao Xingchen, at the library café last term. Xingchen had asked if Wei Wuxian was happy in biology so far. Was he happy generally? Maybe. With his degree? Not currently. Was he going to say that to Xiao Xingchen who he barely knew but who seemed extremely happy in his Master’s biology program? Absolutely not. Wei Wuxian had reached his final year, and besides the bare minimum of two 4th year biology courses he needed to complete his major, Wei Wuxian had almost entirely invested in humanities courses that Nie Huaisang had told him he would enjoy, and more importantly, pass. He would be out of here after April, and that was all that mattered. What came next? Who knew, but he would get the piece of paper he came here for.

It was with a familiar sense of resigned dread that Wei Wuxian sat in his seat in his third-year level poetry seminar, spying the pile of graded papers in Lan Xichen’s, his TA’s, hands. Wei Wuxian had taken this section of the course specifically because Nie Huaisang had said that Lan Xichen never failed his students. He was a hard grader, to be sure. He only rarely gave As, if ever, but he also never gave Fs. Knowing that he basically couldn’t fail had been enough to draw Wei Wuxian’s attention and convince him to enroll.

He doodled aimlessly in his notebook, not even pausing to glance at the graded paper as it was placed, face down, on his desk. He didn’t really need to know what he had gotten, at least not while any reaction to it could be seen by anyone else in the room. It was only the lingering shadow of his TA, looming over his desk, which made him put his pencil down. That bad then? He had actually enjoyed reading the poems, but had only vaguely skimmed the various academic interpretations that had been assigned. He just didn’t find any of them all that compelling. He looked up and caught his TA’s eye. He was met by a patient, but surprisingly not disappointed, smile on Lan Xichen’s face. His TA glanced down at the paper and then back at Wei Wuxian encouragingly. Wei Wuxian frowned, confused, but sighed and turned the paper over.

“Not the way I would have read it, but very insightful! A+”

Not the way I would have read it, but very insightful! A+

Wei Wuxian looked up towards Lan Xichen, feeling a familiar rush of heat to his cheeks, for none of the familiar reasons. An A+? So it wasn’t shame in anticipation of sharing the grade with friends or family. Very insightful? Then it wasn’t frustration at well-intentioned hypotheses or questions being misunderstood. It wasn’t even exhilaration at a joke pulled off to perfection. He looked to his TA in disbelief, defaulting back to his most casual and teasing tone, “Ah, Xichen, I think you’re losing your touch, I was always told you were tough.”

“I’m sorry that you’re planning on leaving after this year, Wei Wuxian,” Lan Xichen smiled softly, “Based on this work, I’m sure my brother Wangji would have greatly enjoyed comparing notes with you next year as Master’s students. I still hope maybe I can change your mind. You have a unique way of looking at things, but you made me think, and that’s never a bad thing.”

Wei Wuxian laughed this off, “Thanks, but no one would want someone with my grades and study habits in a Master’s program.”

Lan Xichen’s expression softened, “I wouldn’t worry about that too much. If you keep this up, I would be more than willing to get my supervising professor to put in a good word for you, especially if you can fit some more English department courses in next term.”

Wei Wuxian felt the reddening of his cheeks deepen. This was…it was not pride exactly, that made his face burn, but a feeling, foreign to him so far in his university career, of not just acceptance but… but… appreciation?

It was a feeling Wei Wuxian had lost any reason to expect, but as he looked at the comment written neatly at the top of the page, even though it had taken until his last year to see such a thing, it brought just a touch of hope back to him. Perhaps there was more to this university thing after all.

Maybe, just maybe…

After class, Wei Wuxian approached his TA’s desk. Heart racing and acting on pure impulse, he asked “So, it’s not too late to apply for a Master’s?”

[adhd-sorcha]

Hey, i also was recently (1 year) diagnosed with ADHD. And I'm considering going back to college, considering what to study next or finish my masters degree. Started thinking maybe I'll go to med school as this pandemic has really made me reconsider things. I guess my question for you is this..what are you studying and how has the studying been for both the phd and the research master's degree you have? I have a BS in psychology (only stated this for reference) thanks in advance. Good luck!

Hello! I’m actually studying a related field to yours! My bachelors is in neuroscience (though it also involved other biological fields and some chemistry and some psychology). For my the masters, I did research into Parkinson’s disease and the PhD was in the same. (Both were pre-clinical research, so no human patients involved)

I’m going to preface this by saying that I was only diagnosed after I started my PhD (I think around December? So only a few months ago!). It would be good to keep that in mind while reading this because my experience is very much coloured by the fact that I was not receiving any accommodations and genuinely didn’t understand why I was struggling. So, this may not sound too positive, but I like to think that it’s a situation that’s fixable or avoidable, especially if, like yourself, you go into your work knowing that you have ADHD. (Also, keep in mind that I did a lab science, so some of what I say might be a bit specific to that!)

I found my research masters to be a complete slog and, if I’m honest, did not particularly enjoy it. I did a one year MSc. It was all research and no classes. At first this sounded like a great idea. I had been starting to struggle with classes and exams in my undergrad from maybe third year. I put it down to being sick of classes. I now know that’s not the case. It was because my work was moving more to self-directed learning and modules whose grades were based entirely on one big exam and so needed a lot of study instead of smaller, more manageable homework type tasks.

A research degree is very self directed. With my masters involving no classes, my getting the degree was based completely on my thesis. 

It involved: 1) spending hours at a time at my computer looking through data bases and reading paper after paper. 2) organising and planning my experiments. 3) carrying out those experiments. 4) being trained in on new lab techniques/how to use new equipment.  5) analysing and interpreting my data in the context of all the reading that I had done. 6) putting it all together in a nice neat document. 

In other words: time management and self-regulation are key. Not easy when you have ADHD, even worse when you don’t know you have ADHD. I really enjoy lab work and analysis, so getting myself to go do those really wasn’t that bad. I really really struggled with the reading and getting the writing done.

I struggled and I didn’t understand why I struggled. I didn’t understand how other people did multiple experiments in one day and read papers in between lab work and wrote a few thousand words over the weekend while I was lucky if it only took me one whole day to read the main points of a paper.. I didn’t understand how everyone else could rattle off information on their research topic off the top of their head, while I struggled to remember the details of a protocol I did earlier that day. I felt like I was getting through my lab work very slowly and not as efficiently. As you can imagine, I felt like I was incompetent and useless and that everyone was better than me and that I didn’t belong working with them. 

Unfortunately, this wasn’t resolved before I started my PhD. And a PhD doesn’t just involve research. It involves taking classes and often it involves assisting in the teaching and supervision of the undergraduates, as well as organising training on different equipment and then the assessments for all that training... It got very busy very fast and you have to do all that work yourself. I had one class that I kept forgetting to even go to because none of my lab mates were in it to remind me to go (and it was my only class whose mark was attendance based! Why brain??? Whhhhyyyy????). And, once again, I felt like I was far more inefficient and less-abled than my lab mates. Now, everyone was very kind and supportive, but they had their own work to do too.

It was a few months into the PhD that I found out that I had ADHD and that was only because I sought treatment for pretty bad depression and anxiety. I’ve taken medical leave to try to recover from these and I may even drop out altogether. But you know what? I still think a research degree in completely doable with ADHD! And I still plan on getting a PhD at some point.

Like I said at the start, it’s important to remember that I did this without knowing that I had ADHD. I had no medication. I had no accommodations. And I didn’t know to take it easy on myself. Most importantly, I didn’t know to ask for help.

My biggest advice? Ask for help! Or at least tell someone when you’re struggling. In my experience it’s a big help

I told my MSc supervisor that I was struggling with my mental health and that it was interfering with finishing my thesis. She was so understanding and it was so helpful in getting it sent off for examination.

I told my PhD supervisor that I had just been diagnosed with ADHD and within about 5 minutes he had all my lab work rearranged and planed out for me and basically told me that he would make the start of my PhD as straightforward for me as possible while I got a handle on everything going on. 

Just before I went on leave, my counselor in the university was helping me get set up with the disability support services to see what kind of accommodations I could get (they could include longer exam times, more flexible deadlines for assignments etc...).

I told my lab mates what was going on and they provided more general support just by having people to talk to.

Okay, so my experience probably doesn’t sound like the most encouraging of prospects, but take it as a more cautionary tale. This was how not to do research with ADHD! If you go into your degree already knowing you have ADHD, you’re already miles more prepared than me! Especially because I’m now learning and beginning to accept that sometimes, for us to do well, we need to do things a little differently to neurotypical students. I used to beat myself up over things that I now realise were actually coping strategies (like, I’d have to write more reminders for myself than other people would or something like that) and that there’s absolutely nothing wrong with doing those things if they help. The neurotypical way isn’t the only way. Sometimes I  unknowingly did things in an ADHD friendly way and assumed I was doing it ‘wrong’ when what it actually was was just different.

I would definitely encourage you to go back to study if that’s what you want to do! But it will definitely be important to remember that you have a hurdle that not all the other students are going to have to jump over, so be kind to yourself, don’t be afraid to ask for help and don’t be afraid to do things differently if you need to.

[missmentelle]

This might sound very silly but I just don't know how to be more proactive. I've been very passive all this years until this point where I feel like I can't anymore. I wish I could be more hardworking for the things I want but I get all overwhelmed and don't even know how other people have the energy or the motivation. People think Im just lazy. I don't have almost any skills let alone any that I can monetize, I feel like Im going to be a looser forever.

I think this is a problem that a lot of people - especially younger people - are struggling with right now. We want to achieve great things, and we feel like we should be achieving great things, but many of us are so paralyzed by doubt/anxiety/apathy/uncertainty that we have a hard time mustering up the motivation to run basic errands, let alone chase our dreams. I’ve certainly spent more than my fair share of time beating myself up for the countless days that I’ve fucked around on Reddit all day instead of actually achieving anything, even when I was fully aware that I was sabotaging my own dreams and goals by doing so. I just couldn’t always muster up the ability to care about the things I needed to be doing, even if there were dire consequences for not doing them. The good news is, there are definitely ways to overcome this issue, and reach a point where you are happier with your progress and your life. To get started, I recommend:

Decide what it is you actually want. Telling yourself to “be more proactive”, “work harder” or “have a better life” is not helpful if you don’t actually have specific goals that you’re working towards. It is very, very easy to find ways to be “busy” for 8 hours per day - but being busy doesn’t necessarily mean progress. Take some time, and think about some rough goals that you’d like to actually work towards. Don’t worry about how much work or effort it would be to achieve those goals, just start thinking about what you want in life, and what’s the most important to you. Think about the kind of life that you would like to have someday, and start figuring out the steps you need to take in order to get yourself from your current life to the life that you envision. It’s okay if those things are very far apart - the point is not for you to get overwhelmed, but for you to have something to be proactive about. 

Start slowly. You cannot go from “spending 8 hours per day mindlessly browsing the internet amidst a pile of old take-out containers” to “running 5 miles every morning before making art for 8 hours in a spotless apartment with a fridge full of vegetables” overnight. Trying to change your routine too drastically and too quickly will lead to you burning out in a couple of days and going right back to your old ways, with an added dose of self-hatred because you tried and failed. Trying to be more productive and more functional is a process, and a long one at that. It’s not at all unusual or abnormal to take several years of work before you get your life to where you want it to be. Start slow. Start with incredibly tiny changes, and slowly build up those changes over time. If you currently live on a diet of fast food and candy, and you want to be a shredded, clean-eating fitness guru, you can’t rush into that all at once. Start by swapping out full-sugar pop for diet pop for the first month, and trying to drink more water. That’s it. Don’t make any other changes. Then the second month, switch out diet pop for flavored water. And so on. Change only sticks when it’s gradual. 

Focus on one thing at a time. Again, trying to do too much, too soon is a recipe for fast burnout and self-hatred. Start by trying to change one area of your life, and one area of your life alone. Once you feel like you have a pretty solid handle on that part of your life and you have established some new habits, then you can add on a second area of focus. Spend some time, and really think about which area of your life is the most important for you to change, and which area of focus will improve your life the most. If it helps, envision your problems as rocks that you are carrying around in a backpack with you at all times. What’s the heaviest rock in your backpack? If you are overweight, unhappily single, making no progress building your YouTube channel and failing out of college, then your college grades are probably the thing causing you the most stress in your life, and they’re your most urgent concern - focus on that, and give yourself permission to let the rest of it sit on the back burner until you have boosted your GPA. Only then will you be ready to start changing something else. 

Go easy on yourself. I think one of the pitfalls that many young people face these days is that they absolutely crush themselves with unrealistic expectations of what they “should” be doing with their lives; it’s hard to get up the motivation to do anything when you’ve convinced yourself that the bare minimum for success is an impossible ideal. I have friends with master’s degrees who still consider themselves failures that haven’t done anything in life. Remember that you are not a machine. Even at your most successful and high-functional, you will not be perfect and productive 100% of the time. You will still have lazy days where you don’t get much done. You will still occasionally order takeout instead of making a home-cooked meal. You will still occasionally procrastinate. Don’t set yourself up for failure by comparing yourself to an unattainable ideal - just aim to be a slightly better version of what you are right now. 

Get used to tracking, even without making changes. It’s hard to set goals for improvement if you don’t have a solid idea of what you’re actually doing right now. Telling yourself things like “stop being so lazy and do more things” is setting yourself up for a spiral of self-loathing if you don’t actually track what you’re doing, because you won’t be able to see the small, gradual progress that you’re making. Being able to actually see yourself taking baby steps toward your goal is important for keeping you motivated, and keeping you from beating yourself up. Don’t track absolutely everything in your life - that becomes obsessive after a while - but keep an eye on some of the major things that you might want to change in the future. Install apps on your phone and laptop that track how much time you spend doing what. Set up the step tracker on your phone. If you want to eat better in the future, start tracking roughly what you eat now. I’m a pretty avid bullet journaler, I track a lot of my daily habits. Keeping track of the things you do, even if you’re not proud of them, and even before you start to work on them, gives you a baseline to work with, so you can establish how bad the problem is and see when you’re heading in the right direction. 

Forget the obsession with monetizing. A lot of us have gotten this idea in our heads that we need to find ways to monetize everything that we’re even remotely good at, or doing that thing is somehow a waste of our time. I don’t want to generalize about millennials and gen z too much, but I do feel like our generation was raised on the belief that “doing what you love” is the most important thing in life; I personally have many friends that are obsessed with monetizing, to the point that they no longer do anything unless they can find some way to funnel it into advancing their blogger/influencer/creator career. I think this is a mistake. When you monetize something that you love doing, you turn it from a hobby into a job, with all the stress that comes with that, and I think it’s important for everyone to have at least one thing in their life that they do just for the joy of it. It’s okay to let work be work, and play just be play. And I say this as a person who has monetized one of my hobbies; I love true crime and forensic psychology, and I co-host a true crime podcast that has recently had a huge surge of popularity and is on the cusp of being monetized. I could write an entire post about the mental health side of being a creator with a public online presence, but in a nutshell, turning my podcast from a hobby into a business has required me to take it a lot more seriously, and it now falls more into the category of “work” than it does “fun”. My enjoyment of life requires that some of my other hobbies - like playing music - just stay un-monetized hobbies. Let yourself create and do things that don’t have economic value. 

Don’t compare yourself to what you see on social media. I have had both personal friends and followers on this blog tell me that they feel bad about themselves because their life doesn’t measure up to what they see on Instagram, or because they feel that their own lives would not be worthy of posting online. This is a toxic mindset to get into. The things you see on social media are not reality, no matter how much they appear to be - people put incredible amounts of effort into carefully cultivating an online persona that makes them look more productive and accomplished than they actually are. I have a brother who who is a somewhat successful Instagram “influencer”, alongside his more successful girlfriend, and I could write an entire post about the lengths they go to to fake having perfect lives on Instagram, and the toll that their Insta careers are having on their mental health. If you are looking to be a more productive version of yourself, it’s best to steer clear of “motivation” from people who are paid to pretend to be successful online. 

Set measurable, achievable goals. Goals like “be healthier” and “do more stuff” won’t get you anywhere - they are so vague that it’s not possible to tell when you’ve actually achieved them, or how much progress you’ve made. If you want to be more productive and feel like you’re getting more done, you need to set goals that can actually be worked towards and checked off when they are done. Instead of “go to the gym more”, aim for “go to the gym 5 days per week” as your end goal, and start with a solid couple of months with “go to the gym at least once per week”, and slowly increase from there. If you’re aiming for something big like “have an awesome job”, break that down into medium-sized goals like “finish an undergrad degree”, and then break that goal down even further into “hand in all my assignments on time this semester”, and break that down further into “write the first 10 pages of my paper by the end of the week”. Set tiny goals for yourself that you can easily achieve, and that will gradually accumulate into big accomplishments. 

Remember that slow progress is better than no progress. If you write one sentence per day, it is going to take you a really long time to write a novel. It will take you a whole lot less time, however, than if you get overwhelmed at the thought of writing a novel and never write at all. Sometimes you need to break goals down into steps so small that they also seem not worth doing. It can feel a little silly to congratulate yourself for things like “brushed my teeth today” and “texted someone back today”, but those are little habits that add up into bigger things, and giving yourself that positive reinforcement is important. “Greatness” and “success” are not things you achieve all at once, they are made up of tiny habits that you’ve been working on for months or years at a time. 

Take care of your mental health. Not feeling the motivation to do anything, even things that you enjoy, can be a symptom of depression. Everyone beats themselves up from time to time for not being more productive, but if your brain is constantly on a feedback loop of “I’m human garbage and I’m wasting my life”, that’s a pretty serious problem, and a solid sign that it’s time to seek out some professional help. Trying to make major life improvements without addressing underlying mental health concerns is kind of like trying to drive a car without wheels - you’re just not going to get anywhere until you’ve dealt with the obvious problem. 

Remember that setbacks are okay. Even the most highly proactive and high-functioning people have days where they say “fuck it” and order takeout to eat in front of the TV. Everyone occasionally misses deadlines or leaves things to the last minute when they shouldn’t. Everyone shows up late occasionally. These things happen - we are humans, and none of us are perfect. The key to long-term proactivity and productivity, though, is not to let those small setbacks define you, and not to throw away all the progress you’ve made over a bad day or a bad week. Eating healthy six days per week will put you in a much better position than deciding “fuck it, I blew it” after one bad meal and returning to eating unhealthy meals 7 days per week. As the saying goes, don’t let perfect be the enemy of good - in other words, perfection is not attainable, and getting hung up on being perfect will prevent you from achieving many things that are good. The idea is not to be perfect; it’s just to keep striving to be a slightly better version of yourself. 

Best of luck to you!