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eliteprepsat · 11 months ago

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Don’t procrastinate (it only makes things worse). Eat well. Exercise regularly. Get a good night’s sleep.

All of these are vital—and common—pieces of advice that will help you manage all forms of stress, academic and otherwise.

As anyone who has struggled with academic stress likely knows, each of these points is easier said than done. What I think is often missing from such advice is an account of the mental and emotional hurdles that can get in the way of effective time and health management.

Maybe you struggle with anxiety or depression, or maybe you have family or other health issues that make sleep or exercise really difficult to come by. Stress is often a symptom of circumstances that need their own forms of management.

But stress is also often a learned pattern of thinking, one that we need to unlearn if we’re going to get things done.

YOU’RE PROBABLY WRONG

“You cannot get stressed out unless you believe your thoughts,” explains Susan Stiffelman, a licensed psychotherapist and author of Parenting Without Power Struggles. “All stress is precipitated by stressful thinking.”

Often, we convince ourselves that the tasks ahead of us are more difficult than they need to be. If you’re a perfectionist especially, you probably impose impossibly high standards on yourself and your work that may engender procrastination.

After all, why spend the next 30 minutes trying to produce absolutely perfect work when you can just let your mind wander on Snapchat?

When Stiffelman warns against believing your own thoughts, she is suggesting that we question our assessments of what we have in front of us. Next time you’re stressed out over an exam, a paper, or college applications, try listing reasons why your assessment of the situation might be incorrect.

Do you have a record of academic success? Have you succeeded in the past on projects that you found daunting? If the answer to either of these is “yes,” then there’s a good chance you’ve misread your current situation.

Sometimes, there’s freedom in getting things wrong.

BREAK IT DOWN

But even if you are correct, and if what lies ahead is very difficult work, pausing to consider why a given project is difficult—and writing out the reasons—often reveals a range of sub-tasks that are far less difficult than the project as a whole.

This is why Stiffelman also advises breaking tasks down into small chunks.

In my own experience, to-do lists are lifesavers. List out the tasks ahead and break these down into the smallest possible tasks.

One student of mine wrote out everything she needed to do on sticky notes and then threw the notes away as she completed each task. But if you want to avoid wasting paper—and I think you should—an app like Todoist is just as good for laying out a roadmap and for checking off items as you go.

⏱️ TIMING IS EVERYTHING

Let’s say you need to write an important paper for an English class. Your to-do list might look something like this:

Read the assignment [Monday]

Decide which text(s) I’m going to focus on [Monday]

Read my notes on that text [Tuesday]

Find 3-4 quotations from the text that seem relevant [Tuesday]

Draft a thesis [Tuesday]

See if the thesis goes well with the quotations I’ve chosen [Tuesday]

If not, find other quotations or revise the thesis

Draft an introduction [Wednesday]

Draft the first body paragraph [Wednesday]

Draft the second body paragraph [Thursday]

Draft the third body paragraph [Thursday]

Draft the fourth body paragraph [Thursday]

Draft the conclusion [Thursday]

Review my topic sentences [Friday]

Review my transitions [Friday]

Read the entire draft [Friday]

Check that the body paragraphs correspond with the thesis

Check that the body paragraphs proceed in a logical order

Make necessary revisions [Saturday]

Proofread the essay [Saturday]

Writing an entire paper can seem daunting, but reading the assignment is easy. Deciding which text to focus on isn’t too hard, either. Even drafting a thesis isn’t all that bad. Taken together, writing an entire paper might seem like a difficult task. But, when broken into small chunks, the job is much simpler than it seems.

Notice that I’ve given each task a day of the week. It’s important to recognize that your time is limited. If you give yourself a rough timeline, you can kind of mechanize the process a bit and give yourself peace of mind that you’re on track. Remember to stay flexible—adjust as you go, when needed, since some tasks might be more difficult than you first anticipated.

🍫 TREAT YOURSELF TO TRAIN YOURSELF

Keep yourself motivated by giving yourself a reward for each task or pair of tasks that you knock off your to-do list.

You’re always practicing, always training yourself. You’re not all that different from a dog who learns how to do tricks. Just like a poodle, you need positive reinforcement to train your mind and body that getting things done is good.

If you practice being anxious with a stomach ache while writing, you’ll get really good at being anxious with a stomach ache while writing. But if you practice breaking writing down into small sub-tasks and rewarding yourself—with dessert or a video game or something else you love—you’ll learn to associate getting things done with feeling good.

In sum: change your thinking, make to-do lists, chart out a rough schedule, and reward yourself along the way.

But of course, remember to avoid procrastinating, eat well, exercise regularly, and get a good night’s sleep. Those truisms are true, after all.

#studyblr #study tips #productivity #high school #college #go to college #work ethic

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yaminerua · 1 year ago

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I'm thinking for much of the rest of smegtober I'll have to switch to drawings because the writing part of my brain is getting fatigued lol but I managed to churn this last one out tonight ahead of the other one I have ready for tomorrow;;

As always, prompts are by @a-literal-toaster-wtf

Today's prompt was Test, which of course immediately calls forth images of Rimmer and his many examination attempts;;

Words: 4137

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Rimmer had done it again. He had smegging gone and done it again.

Somehow, despite all the meticulous planning and obsessive timetabling, despite having carefully mapped out every hour of every day for the last few months to optimise his revision and maximise his chances of success, here he was again on the last night before the exam feeling no better prepared than he had been before he’d even started.

It always ended up like this. Every time exam season came around he would work tirelessly, relentlessly, trying to find a study pattern that worked, subdividing his free time evenly into rest periods and study periods, allocating every subject and topic its own slot to prioritise information retention. It should have been a flawless method, workshopped to the nth degree, sharpened and improved to perfection after so many attempts and yet even after all this effort, after all this time, the result was always the same; complete and utter humiliating failure.

Of course, the fact that much of this revision time was usually eaten up by preparing the timetables themselves in the first place was an important part of why he always found himself in this situation but he was loathe to do anything to change the habit, somehow convincing himself that it had only failed because he hadn’t found the perfect routine yet and that once he figured that out and constructed the timetable to end all timetables he would be golden and he could finally kiss the lowly rank of Second Technician goodbye.

The definition of madness, as they say, is trying the same thing over and over expecting a different result.

Huffing out a distressed, agitated breath, Rimmer dug the heels of his palms roughly into his eyes, rubbing vigorously until he saw stars. He had no idea what time it was anymore. The concept of time itself seemed to have faded into the background of his mind, locked away in a box he didn’t want to have to open because at this point knowing just how long he had left was likely to do nothing more than send him tipping fully over the edge of anxiety and into a full-blown panic attack and he knew from past experience that if he let that happen his shot at success would be over then and there.

He was virtually running on fumes at this point, the last few nights a desperate haze of stressed, sleep-deprived revising – if staring manically at an open textbook and taking absolutely none of it in for hours could really be called revising – and his eyes were positively burning with the effort it was taking just to keep them open.

His head ached. It was as though his very brain itself had swollen up in his skull, pressing up against the insides and throbbing profusely from the exertion of trying to cram multiple textbooks’ worth of knowledge into it in the space of a few hours. The pressure alone made him thankful for the relative silence of the bunkroom.

Lister was out. Some time ago he had disappeared off with the rest of his brainless gang of hooligan friends to drink himself to unconsciousness and dance until the early hours of the morning with whoever could stand to be around him. With any luck he might hit it off with some desperate tart who would take him off to her quarters and spare Rimmer the trouble of having to put up with a drunken Lister staggering his way back and breaking his concentration.

It was the only silver lining this whole situation had at the moment. With Lister out and suitably occupied for the night Rimmer didn’t have to battle against his textbooks while enduring the torture of listening to Lister utterly murder a halfway decent song with his toneless singing or his even more unbearable guitar playing.

Aside from the background hum of Red Dwarf all around, there wasn’t a single other disruptive sound to complain about – which also meant there wasn’t an adequate distraction to blame his imminent failure on if it came down to it later.

Removing his hands from his face, he blinked the room slowly back into focus and hunched forwards over his textbook again, feeling the tension in his neck and the ache between his shoulder blades from too long spent in this exact position.

He felt as though he had been stuck trying to read the same sentence for hours, as though his brain had stalled and he couldn’t move past it until it started up again. Oh sure, his eyes would skim the letters and recognise the shapes and the words were certainly words he knew individually but as far as the meaning of the sentence as a whole and the information it held were concerned, Rimmer had absolutely no idea what he was reading.

It was as though the part of his brain that registered new information had gone on strike. Nothing was getting through and all that he seemed to be achieving by continuing to try to force it to was making his head and eyes hurt even more.

He needed to rest but there was no time for rest anymore. Frankly he was terrified that if he even so much as allowed himself the briefest moment to nap then he would sleep right through the exam and have to go through this whole nightmare all over again. He wasn’t prepared for that. Revision was key right now and sleep could wait. He would have plenty of time (not to mention peace of mind) to be able to catch up on the rest he’d missed once the exam was over and he’d passed the stupid smegging thing.

Frowning down at the page he blinked furiously, finding it more and more difficult to keep the lettering clear and sharp in his vision. Everything was starting to smudge at the edges, to bleed into the space around it as though there was something in his eye that wasn’t budging no matter how much he tried to blink or rub it away.

He shook his head, leaning further forwards towards the textbook, squinting to see if maybe that would help sharpen things by narrowing his field of view but it was no use.

The harder he stared at it, the more desperately he attempted to take in so much as a single solitary sentence, the more the words on the page swam dizzyingly just to spite him, rippling and distorting before his very eyes until they better resembled a particularly unappetising-looking kind of alphabet soup than anything comprehensible.

He dropped his forehead down to rest between the pages of the textbook, eyelids scrunching shut as he groaned plaintively into the quiet of the room. Why was his brain conspiring against him at this hour? He only had hours left and it was betraying him. Why was he wasting time wrestling with himself like this when he only had a limited window of opportunity to make some good, solid progress before Lister came back and crashed unceremoniously through his focus with all the grace of a hippo let loose on an ice rink? He didn’t have time for this!

Just to drive home exactly how much the universe had it in for Arnold J. Rimmer, the moment that desperate thought had so much as flitted miserably across his mind his ears picked up the tell-tale distant hollers of giddy, raucous laughter emanating from somewhere outside, growing steadily louder with every drunken, staggered step.

Pass by, don’t come in. Pass by, don’t come in… Rimmer thought fervently, repeating it over and over, beseechingly, in his head like some sort of desperate mantra, praying to whatever god might exist out there to take pity on him for just once in his smegging life but as had been well-established by now, if there was a god they certainly didn’t have a heart.

The door to the sleeping quarters slid open with a harsh, piercing hiss and in staggered one extremely wasted David Lister, an open can of Leopard Lager in his hand and a lit cigarette in the other.

With great difficulty he co-ordinated a clumsy wave to the retreating backs of Petersen and the others before he finally turned his attention to Rimmer, who had by this point straightened up stiffly at his desk and was doing his level best to try to pretend that he wasn’t secretly weighing up the pros and cons of throwing Lister out an airlock and blaming it on his own drink-addled mind. Unfortunately he didn’t think the ship’s CCTV would be on his side there so he begrudgingly had to shelf that idea.

As Lister stumbled his way towards him and leaned in far too close over his shoulder, the stench of beery breath and tobacco met his nostrils and he grimaced. “Lister, go away,” he hissed through tightly gritted teeth, every muscle in his body tightly clenched to resist the urge to swat at him and push him back. “I’m trying to revise.”

“Smeg, Rimmer, you’re such a bore!” Lister said, entirely too loud and entirely too close to his ear, his words slurring pathetically together. “You need to live more!”

Rimmer sniffed indignantly and finally deigned to press the back of his hand to Lister’s front and push him firmly away. “I’ll have plenty of time to do that once I’m an officer,” he said matter-of-factly, ignoring how hollow he felt inside as he said it. “For now my priorities lie elsewhere.”

Lister snorted and he took a long swig of his can of lager. “Yeah, bein’ a bore,” he muttered, staggering back over toward his bunk, humming tuneless snippets of Lunar City Seven as he went.

Rimmer could throttle him, honestly, but he bit back the impulse, however inviting it may have been. Instead he remained as he was, staring bitterly, contemptuously down at the infuriating textbook in front of him, taking nothing in while he listened to the rustling and shuffling of Lister moving about behind him, hopefully getting ready for bed.

He heard the discordant squeak of the ladder as Lister clambered his way up it and the tell-tale creak of the top bunk as it took the full weight of Lister’s body on it and he heaved a premature sigh of relief at this inconvenient interruption hopefully being only a brief one.

Before long, just like he hoped, the movement behind him stilled and Lister grew silent – or as silent as he could be given his tendency to snore – and Rimmer finally allowed himself to release some of the tension he had been holding. Maybe the brief distraction might have helped in a way, might have cleared his head enough for him to return his attention back to what was actually important.

He was mindful, agonisingly so, about how very little time he had left now. Since Lister had come back that meant that time had progressed considerably while he hadn’t been paying attention to it and he surely only had a measly handful of hours left at the most to fill his head with enough knowledge to pass. He flexed his fingers nervously, hyper-aware of the sweat beading on his brow as he considered opting for the last resort. It was the only hope he had left.

Glancing shiftily at the door and warily back over his shoulder, he watched Lister’s sleeping form for a good long moment, trying to ascertain for sure whether he was absolutely asleep and unaware of his surroundings. The last thing he needed was Lister of all people waking up and potentially ratting him out. That would be a fate worse than death.

Seeing that, for now, the coast was clear, he swallowed thickly and reached slowly, shakily, into the right hand pocket of his trousers, procuring from it a small, nondescript packet of little white pellets. Learning pills were strictly not allowed on board Red Dwarf. Rimmer knew that well. He had on numerous occasions in the past reprimanded countless other crewmates who he had spotted with the offending little things, scoffing obnoxiously at their pathetic need to rely on something illegal to help them succeed, all the while holding onto them himself instead of turning them in in case of a rainy day. Oh, how the mighty had fallen.

He opened the cap quietly and, with a trembling hand, tipped two pills out onto his palm before hurriedly stowing the container away again. He stared down at them apprehensively, heart hammering in his chest and stomach churning at the sickening, depressing realisation that it really had come to this. If he wanted any chance of passing they were his only hope.

With one last quick, anxious glance back at Lister, he popped them in his mouth before he could change his mind and washed them down hastily with what was left of his almost-forgotten glass of water.

He waited a few moments for the panicked surge of nerves to subside, giving the drugs some time to hit his stomach and begin to make their way into his system. He wasn’t entirely sure quite how good an idea it had been to take them on an empty stomach when he was as sleep-deprived and physically exhausted as he was but he had done it now and his fate rested with them.

Lowering his gaze down to the Astro-Navigation textbook again, he sucked in a shaky breath and let it out slowly, trying to channel what little mental energy he was still clinging onto into focusing on the words in front of him, praying that the learning pills would aid him in retaining the information. Even if all they managed to do was hold the knowledge in his head long enough for him to regurgitate it all out during the exam and then forget all of it immediately afterwards that would be fine. He just needed it to last for a few hours.

Evidently he had left resorting to this final option a little too late. They ought to have invented pills that helped him focus as well.

Maybe it was the tiredness, maybe it was the stress, maybe it was a combination of both but it didn’t matter how hard he tried, how much he squinted and strained his eyes to try to make sense of any of the words in front of him. His mind had clearly shuttered itself off and was simply not allowing anything more in. He could stare at this page and all of the words written on it for the rest of the day and it would simply never make it through. He was doomed.

Raking his hands raggedly through his hair, Rimmer let out a low, tortured groan, dropping his head onto the table and clenching his eyes tight shut so he didn’t have to see the textbook anymore, didn’t have to look hopelessly down at the same stupid page he had spent most of the night so far stuck unable to get past. It was going to take a miracle to get anything of use to enter his brain now, even with the aid of learning pills.

He must have looked pathetic, sitting there slumped with his head on the desk and his hands in his hair. He had made an absolute mess of himself by now, his usually neat, severe side parting completely unravelling, the forcibly tamed curls freed from the submission they were usually brushed harshly into. He looked thoroughly dishevelled, as though he had been pulling his hair out all night. In many ways, that probably wasn’t entirely inaccurate.

Breathing out roughly, he let his head roll miserably to the side, sliding his eyes open to gaze dolefully, enviously, over at Lennon and McCartney, Lister’s stupid robotic goldfish that he’d brought back from his last shore leave trip. They were swimming slowly, mesmerisingly, around their bowl in repetitive, mindless little circles without a single care in the world, without a shred of responsibility or expectation or disappointment weighing down on them and as Rimmer watched them absently, dazedly, as though he were hypnotised, he felt something hollow and mournful settle unpleasantly behind his chest.

God, he wished he was a fish…

He remained like that, utterly entranced, his mind far away, for the next four hours and although he wasn’t exactly asleep, when the intercom finally sounded and Holly’s monotonous voice droned out the important morning announcements, it was as though he was dead to the world and he didn’t hear a word of it.

“Will all entrants for the Astro-Navigation exam please make their way to the teaching room. The exam will begin soon.”

On the top bunk, Lister stirred slightly, his face scrunching up as the loud chime of the intercom pierced through the deep veil of drunken sleep he had been nestled in and rudely stabbed his hung-over brain like an arrow.

Peeling a tired eye open, he squinted groggily over at the desk where Rimmer was still sat, hunched over and seemingly asleep. “Rimmer?” he called out, his throat hoarse after the night’s antics. “You awake?”

There came no response, which was an answer in and of itself. Lister groaned, rubbing his eyes vigorously before lifting his head with great difficulty up off the pillow. “Rimmer,” he said again, a little louder this time.

When Rimmer still failed to have any reaction at all, Lister rolled his eyes and with great effort, begrudgingly heaved his heavy aching body up into a sitting position, clutching his head momentarily as it swam dizzyingly from the change in posture. He didn’t want to have to be awake yet and would rather have slept off the rest of his night out until well into the afternoon but he knew that dealing with a hung-over headache from a premature wake-up call would be far more preferable to the absolute monster migraine Rimmer would give him for failing to wake him up in time for his exam.

Stumbling over towards him, Lister reached out to shake him by the shoulder and froze when he realised that Rimmer didn’t seem to be asleep after all. In any case he certainly had his eyes open though whether he was still conscious remained to be seen. For now he was staring unblinkingly over at the fish tank, his expression completely vacant like some kind of lifeless zombie. It was more than just a little bit disconcerting.

“Hey, Rimmer, man,” Lister said uncertainly, waving a hand tentatively in front of Rimmer’s face. “You okay?”

The reaction was almost instant. The moment Lister’s hands came into view, Rimmer’s expression crumpled like a tin can subjected to tremendous pressure, his eyes snapping shut as he brought a hand up to rub at his face. “Ugh,” he groaned, pulling himself stiffly back into an upright sitting position, his neck and shoulders aching.

Lister watched him warily, an eyebrow quirked with mild concern. He’d seen Rimmer work himself up into an exhausted wreck before but never quite like this. “You alright?” he asked again.

“Of course I’m alright, you gimboid!” Rimmer snapped irritably, thumb and forefinger pinching the bridge of his nose tightly, wincing at the sound of his own voice in his ears. “What do you want?”

Lister’s face creased into a frown and he crossed his arms moodily over his chest. So much for a grateful morning greeting. “Just thought I’d wake you,” he said, glancing at the clock on the sink beside the bunks. “Since it’s exam o’clock now and all.”

Rimmer looked like he had just been force fed a particularly sour and putrid lemon.

“WHAT!?” he cried, horrified, leaping to his feet suddenly and nearly knocking the chair he had been sitting on over in the process. “Why didn’t you say something sooner?”

“I wasn’t awake!” Lister said, holding his hands up innocently. “I just woke up meself!”

Rimmer wasn’t paying any attention to him anymore. He was in an absolute panicked frenzy, scrambling for his comb and attempting to carve his forgotten side parting back into existence before gathering up the rest of his things.

Lister watched him, bemused, and had to stop him at one point when he spotted that Rimmer was about to squeeze foot cream onto his toothbrush. Handing him the correct tube, he fixed him with a dubious stare. “You sure you’re alright, man?” he asked. “You were starin’ at me fish all in a trance just there.”

“That was intentional, Lister!” Rimmer stated, but the projected confidence was an unconvincing façade. “I had finished revising everything and was simply taking a break to let the information settle in my brain!”

Lister wasn’t fooled in the slightest. “Uh huh,” he said flatly.

Rimmer clicked his tongue and curled his lip, fixing Lister’s reflection with a contemptuous, dark look. “You wouldn’t understand, Listy,” he sneered, straightening up his tie and giving his hair a final firm comb through. “You’ve never put the slightest bit of effort in in your entire life. As for me, the only way is up! Up, up—”

“Yeah, yeah, Rimmer,” Lister cut him off, waving a hand dismissively before transitioning it into a mocking impersonation of Rimmer’s usual elaborate salute. “Up, up the ziggurat lickety split.” He punctuated that last word with a sharp slap to his forehead. “I know.”

Rimmer shot him a look, cold and hard, and then turned back one last time to check his appearance over in the mirror. The intercom sound rang out hollow and daunting into the bunkroom again and Lister saw Rimmer’s entire body stiffen immediately.

“Last call for the Astro-Navigation exam. Will all entrants please make their way to the teaching room. The exam is about to begin.”

Rimmer swallowed thickly and flexed his fingers and for all the affected confidence and false bravado he put on, Lister could still see the petrified, haunted look behind his eyes that belied his true feelings on the matter.

“Listen, man,” he said gently, sincerely, feeling almost sympathetic towards the man all of a sudden, fighting the urge to reach out and give him an encouraging pat on the arm. “Good luck.”

Rimmer bristled and his expression creased into a forced, stretched smile. “Luck, Lister?” he echoed, rocking anxiously on the balls of his feet. “I don’t need luck. I’ve got everything I need to succeed right up” – he brought a hand up to tap a finger quickly to his temple – “here.”

“Yeah,” came Lister’s doubtful, sarcastic response. “Good luck.”

He raised his eyebrows, fixing Rimmer with a look that said “Trust me, you’re gonna need all the luck you can get.”

Rimmer seemed to pick up on it, the plastered smile on his face faltering slightly as his adam’s apple bobbed nervously in his throat. “Right,” he said stiffly, tensely, hands balled tightly into fists at his sides. “Well, then. Goodbye, Lister.”

There was a maddened look in his eyes, something wild and desperate and beseeching, as though he was almost begging Lister to do something to stop him from walking out there to his inevitable doom even if it meant he had to resort to knocking him unconscious.

He stood there awkwardly, frozen in fear for another uncomfortably long number of seconds, rocking back and forth on his feet before he finally accepted that no miraculous divine intervention was coming and he was going to have to just go for it.

Picking up his pens and popping them neatly in his pocket, he gave Lister one final, incredibly rigid nod of acknowledgement and strode swiftly, almost robotically out of the room with such a grave look of dread on his face he might as well have been on death row.

Lister watched him go with an almost pitying look of gentle compassion pulling on his face. He didn’t like Rimmer – no-one did – but he couldn’t help but feel just a little bit bad for the guy. He had been putting himself through these exams since long before Lister had ever even met him, driven by something he couldn’t relate to, a burning urge to make something of himself no matter how long it took even when it was probably pointless.

Maybe he didn’t deserve the power that advancement up the career ladder would give him, maybe it would turn him into even more of an insufferably unbearable smeghead, but if just so that Lister wouldn’t have to endure another night of Rimmer drowning his sorrows and cursing the universe for being out to get him, he hoped this time that something would go different.

Whatever he had been hoping, whatever he had been expecting, an exam paper scrawled with nothing but ‘I am a fish’ had absolutely not been it.

Oh well. There was always next time.

#smegtober2023 #Red dwarf #After tomorrow I’ll switch to drawing for the rest of the month I think!

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psychelis-new · 2 years ago

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Hello

My Question is:-

Will i crack the competitive exam I'll be sitting for on 28th May 2023?

Letter :-B

Word :-Star

Explanation :- I really don't know why it just popped on my mind probably bcoz stars heal me and make me feel happy

Emoji :- 🦋✨

Thankyou for the reading in advance

I hope you'll have a great day ahead 💫

Hello :)

Stars are cool, their life cycle is so fascinating and we can even call them with our name.

Whatever lol, here's your reading. I am called by the color blue and it also means "serenity and calm" so I guess things will go pretty well. If by any chance you're worrying it won't go as you plan, remember to take a breath and ground yourself. I'm hearing you're very good so for sure you'll do good as well. Just try to mantain the focus on your target and don't let the rush to end the exam (or the feeling of anxiety/time is running out as the 28th approaches) ruin your plans. Yeah, the only thing that can sabotage you is your hurry. Maybe also in answering the exam. Think carefully. I know it's competititve so probably time is involved (IDK) but you'll waste less time if you use it wisely and at your advantage. Read carefully the questions or, if you need now, revise topics accordingly (make a plan, you still have a week to plan and use well). So yeah, in the end, focused and steady win the race. BTW if you're focusing on something that is somewhat hindering you (like the fear of not having time or not making it the way you'd like to), remember this is only a natural feeling we all (or most of all) have before any important endeavour. Self doubt can happen. Just regain control over your emotions and remind yourself of your worth, effort and your knowledge.

Take care, all the best!<3

#.#10 #personal readings

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quietimtryingtostudy · 2 years ago

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Hi! I messed up a lot in eleventh and am really not in a good mental place rn, I'm really good with tech though and was intially preparing to head abroad but can't do so anymore cause my average in my junior yr was like rlly low. So stuck w trying to prep for JEE and have already dropped my coaching - was in sankalp @fiitjee, and just couldn't handle the obnoxiously poor teaching there anymore. I'm with like private JEE coaching directly from Delhi/Kota rn that happens online but frankly I have sm sm backlog I just don't know if I'll be able to crack it. Also, in regular schooling obvi, which is a completely different pain in the a**.

Any tips/tricks/ideas on how to get into a good uni here (DTU, IIITs, BITS, etectera like anything with decent ranking so that I could still try for outside for my masters again with?)

Tysm, have been following your blog for a while and love your daily posts, they really do motivate me to head to the study table : ))

Hey anon,

First of all, I'd like you to take a deep breath and let go of your worries and stress, just for a moment. Tell them to come back in a couple minutes ;)

You have something that I don't have now, and it's something that I wish for- you have time. Realising in 12th that you have to work hard is not too late. You still can work hard and drastically improve your performance in the real JEE Mains exam.

I don't want to give you a big lecture on being motivated and fighting for yourself by studying, though that is something that you should do- fight for yourself.

Even if your 11th went absolutely horribly, you can still turn things around. I have seen people, classmates, who completely changed their scores and performance, by practising rigorously and strengthening their concepts. They were people from whom I did not expect to see 97+ percentile, but they got it- and they deserved it too.

(also there's plenty of motivation videos on youtube and pinterest, sometimes they do help, so you can go to them- just be mindful of the time you'll spend watching them)

Some tips I'll give for working on your performance:

Give mock exams. Yes, even if they're going absolutely shittily.

Analyse your mocks question by question- if it was correct, incorrect, or unattempted. Incorrect or unattempted because you made a silly mistake, had forgotten the concept, or did not know the concept at all.

Work hard but also take breaks- getting burnt out only hurts you, your health (both mental and physical) and your efficiency

You have to have confidence, and believe in yourself- I am putting in the effort, I am working hard- this itself will help your progress (tried and tested)

NCERT is literally God for Chemistry for exams like JEE Mains. Physics and Maths require a lot of practise- you can use PYQ's for all of these, and can access plenty of practise sheets from yout own institute and the web too.

Keep practising, keep revising concepts.

Keep up with whatever they're teaching in your institute. Trying to catch up with backlog while letting the current topics go, will not be helpful. Catch up with the backlog on the weekends, or whenever you get even 20 minutes spare time.

Make a timetable. And if that doesn't work, just be consistent in your studies- tell yourself to study for at least 4 hours other than school and coaching (it's going to be tough, you can set your own goals, this was just an example)

Note- I have to say, keeping up with school studies is important too, because it gets you material to study from for the boards. There's some friends of mine who are now ineligible for appearing for JEE Advance because they did not clear the 75% Boards cutoff, even though they got 90+ percentile in JEE Mains.

See if you have Delhi domicile, still you need 96+ percentile to have a chance at getting IIITD, DTU, NSUT, IGDTUW

BITS is an exam that requires speed and efficiency and immense knowledge. It's got 130 questions, +3, 0 and -1 marking, and has to be completed in 3 hours. It's very competitive, and you need to practise pyq's and work on your speed for that, from what I've heard.

Ah. Well. I hope this post covered the questions you had! If it didn't, feel free to send another ask or even message me, whatever you want. (Sorry for answering this anon after a day heh, I wanted to think things through before posting the answer)

And thank you so much for following me :) I'm glad that my posts help you get motivated to study (PS: They help me get motivated to study too)

Keep working, happily, anon! <3

#asks

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scitechstudy · 2 years ago

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Mentorship Program” for CSIR-UGC NET/JRF Aspirants

Mentorship means the connection and sharing the information between two people with having same goals; Mentoring helps the students to learn from the experts and receiving various valuable advises and helps to generate the innovative ideas. In such type of program the student will be twined with the mentor who will be experienced and guide the student in their mentor ship journey.

From the mentor-ship program students will be able to know their unique strengths, values and story and how to reach their purpose by holding the hand of their mentor. With the help of technology it has now become very feasible for everyone around the world to take advantage of such services.

Like in the childhood days we take help from our siblings or parents to understand the things deeply same way when we step into the professional world we also need the teacher to guide us and show us the best pathway. Same as we know CSIR-UGC NET/JRF examination which comes under the most difficult examination in India and if we check the data then only single digit percentage is the passing result so we can easily imagine how hard the NTA has set their standards of checking.

Moreover the syllabus for the NET exams is too vast and consequently many of the candidate comes into depression and the reason behind this is simple, they need someone support that helps them to motivate and encourage them to clear the exams.

Another drawback arises where the students face the issue is in the presentation skills, this program would help the students to present the answers in an effective way so that they won’t lose marks irrespective of so much of hard work. There are numerous test series in the market that provides this service but which one provides the best only the students know. From my research I have concluded that Scitech Study Test Series “Mentorship Program” nowadays has emerged as the best test series for NET aspirants and the reasons behind these are described below:

Daily targets are allocate to the students which includes the schedule starting from waking time till night (it simply means they will be provided with time table that at which time they need to study the particular subject.

Scitech Study not only provides the mentor ship service to the aspirants but they also give immense contribution in nation building.

In this program it has been also advised that whether students need to study the theory part first or practical so that whole syllabus of every subject would be covered beforehand and students would get a chance to do the revision properly.

This initiative has become gemstone for the working NET aspirant; means those who are doing job along with NET preparation can now organize their schedule accordingly.

Additionally, the students will also get a chance to talk and communicate with their mentor if they face any difficulty or have any doubt in their course before exams, their queries would be given priority.

After completing with the schedule time table then the students are provided with written tests and the students’ needs to attempt the test with the time frame and the analysis of those tests then done by the CSIR.

As a consequence, the student learns the management of time which plays an important part in the exams.

To sum up I would say if with a small amount we can save our time and learn the productive things then we should not miss a chance to grab that opportunity and without giving a second thought we must take a help of the expert faculty.

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tinyhistory · 4 years ago

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hello! i hope you’re doing well. i had a question regarding your writing: how do you manage to be so descriptive? i absolutely love how vivid your stories always are; i never have trouble picturing any scenery in your works, like, practically ever. how do you know the names of so many plants? do you garden/are you a botany enthusiast? and did you have to read a manual on motorcycles for astra inclinant? currently reading that right now, by the way, and i think it’s so incredibly lovely.

Hello anon! So glad you’re enjoying Astra Inclinant 🥰

To answer your question:

R E S E A R CH. So much research.

When I’m writing, I don’t stop to fix things along the way. My descriptions are actually pretty flat. “He leaned against a tree, listening to a bird call,” I’ll write as I focus on the plot and dialogue. Later, during the editing process, I’ll go back and write in the proper descriptions.

So, for example, I’m editing Astra Inclinant and I come across the description, “James leaned against the tree,” and decide to fill it out.

Writing tips for descriptions below, if you’re interested —

1. Pick a theme

Let’s say this scene is occurring on the eve of James’s Hogwarts graduation. I want the scene to convey a sense of youthfulness, lightness, and optimism. I want the mood to be calm and happy. I need to include descriptions that subtly build on these themes. The sunshine streamed through the large leaves might be a pretty description, but it has few words relating to youth/light/happy. Whereas the sunlight played along green leaves has more subtle theme words: light, played, green.

2. Be accurate/specific.

This is the straightforward part: I research common trees and birds in the northern Scottish highlands in the June-July months, and narrow down the results. Oak trees are common, but they’re traditionally associated with wisdom and old age. Pine trees are common, but they’re tall and dark and tend to tower over the landscape. Similarly, crows are a common bird but they’re typically used as omens and are large, domineering birds. Hawks are predators. Pigeons are ungainly and more reminiscent of an urban setting. In the end, I choose an aspen tree (pale in colour, tall but not overbearing, slender but sturdy) and a starling (quick on its feet, small, energetic).

This is why the themes of the scene are important. You need to understand not just what you’re describing, but why you’re describing. Descriptions aren’t just decorations; they’re tools to build atmosphere and mood.

3. Make sure all the words match.

Something is still off with my description. I’ve got the specific bits (aspen, starling). I’ve got subtle descriptions of youth/light: young, sunlight, played, green, smooth, flitted, summer. I go through the whole description word by word, and end up stopping at a sentence I’ve written: the bark is smooth and soft as silk.

Soft just doesn’t work when describing a tree. And silk is a word associated with sensuality, indulgence, and luxury — none of which are present in this scene. I think of other options — delicate as tissue paper, or smooth as glass. But delicate and glass both subtly convey fragility, a chance of shattering, breaking, or falling apart — and I don’t want those associations in a scene that’s supposed to be happy and carefree. I spend a while thinking about the possibilities, and eventually settle on smooth and thin as parchment. This eliminates the ill-matched soft while parchment also subtly reminds readers of the setting — James is preparing for his Hogwarts exams.

5. Use all senses.

This is what helps make descriptions so vivid. Look at this description:

He closed his eyes, enjoying the cool shade of the tree. A warm breeze stirred the air lazily. In the distance, he heard the song of a blackbird.”

Compared to:

The tree was large and shady. The air felt warm and pleasant. A breeze briefly stirred the air. A blackbird sang in the distance.

Using senses also helps you avoid that dreaded ‘grocery list’ description: The tree, the air, a breeze, a blackbird.

6. Eliminate unnecessary words.

Most readers get bored very quickly with descriptions. Make it short. In the earlier (bad) example, you’ve got air repeated twice: the air felt warm and pleasant, and a breeze briefly stirred the air. This could easily be combined: a breeze briefly stirred the warm air. I see this a lot, including my own writing. Think critically about your descriptions and what could be removed or combined. You especially want to look out for those vague filler words, too. Pretty, beautiful, lovely, attractive. These words tell the reader nothing. Their idea of beautiful might be very different to yours. Instead, describe what makes something pretty or beautiful.

7. Use manuals and articles sparingly during research.

This is kind of separate from the other bits of advice, since it’s more about authenticity than description. But you asked if I’d read a motorcycle manual for Astra Inclinant — I didn’t, because a manual would have given me very wooden, formal-sounding examples of “motorcycle language”. Instead, I went into online forums to read the casual discussions between motorcycle riders trying to repair their bikes. This gave me very authentic, realistic examples of how people might think or talk during the motorcycle repair scenes. I used more formal sources to understand how motorcycles worked, but I drew on the forums for the dialogue and ‘feel’ of the scenes.

Anyway.

So you can see the thought that goes into word choice and descriptions. In a romantic world, I’d no doubt gaze dreamily into my imagination and then type out a perfect description. Whereas in reality, I begin with “James leaned on a tree” and then spend 30 minutes revising that and frowning at stock images of crows until I get to:

“James leaned against a young aspen tree, and tilted his head back as he listened to Scorpius talk. Beneath his fingers, the bark felt smooth and thin as parchment. Overhead, sunlight played through green leaves. A starling flitted from branch to branch.

He wished this summer would last forever.”

#writing #writing advice #i know its basic but hope it helps #answered asks

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spelllingandthemysteryschool · 4 years ago

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yaz one emotional eighteen year old to another...what have you found most useful in ur #college experience for getting by and/or succeeding? much love, congratulations on your future office hours!

hi! thank you! 💝 i don’t know how much of this will be helpful to u, and i also don’t know if your upcoming semester will be in-person or online (😣) or a combination of both, but here are some things i can suggest:

complete your readings ahead of time. this sounds very silly and obvious but if u do not keep up with your readings, you will have no clue what’s going on in class and will fall miserably behind. even if u find that u only have the time to briefly skim over a reading before a discussion, do so! it’s infinitely better than being completely clueless and lost 🙇🏽‍♀️

ask for deadline extensions. if u find you need more time to finish an assignment, and if u think there’s even a small chance your professor will sympathize and allow you some extra time, ask for it! at worst, your professor will say no and you’ll just have to grit your teeth and finish your work as swiftly as you’re able, and at best, your professor will give u the extra time you need to complete your work comfortably and well.

the pomodoro technique helped me out a lot, especially when writing my final papers and revising for final exams. i used to think it wasn’t for me, but i used this timer to alternate between writing several papers at once and redoing all my notes from the semester, and it worked like a charm! 🍅

ouguh... i personally really struggled with maintaining my old friendships in my first semester. it’s not an easy transition, going from seeing your good friends every day in high school to suddenly living cities (or states, or even countries) apart 🚶🏽‍♀️ some of your old friendships will remain strong and grow to accommodate the distance & the different paths you and your friends have taken, and some of those friendships will fizzle out due to one reason or another, despite all your joint efforts. both are normal things 2 experience! cherish the friends who remain at your side & allow yourself to mourn fading friendships without letting the sorrow inhibit your ability to make new connections with people u meet in college ❣️

if a professor holds an optional study session before a test or an exam, i really recommend u attend it! i know it may seem unnecessary and like a waste of time, but the ones i’ve attended have always been really helpful, as the professors tend to go over the most important topics that will be on the test & may hint at the types of questions you’ll be seeing

one’s workload in college can be bizarrely inconsistent, which is a far cry from high school, i think. sometimes i found that i had next-to-nothing due one week, and then a bunch of assignments due all at once the next. arrange yourself so u can take advantage of these weeks both to relax and unwind a bit & to work ahead on any upcoming assignments you know will take a lot of time and effort, like long papers or complicated group projects.

make sure your professors know u! drifting in & out of class without engaging with your professor won’t be helpful for you in the long run. your educators will be more inclined to give you feedback & help you out in the future if they can put a face to your name, if they know what you’re capable of, if they are able to tell that you’re making an effort. so don’t hesitate 2 reach out to them!

omg... it’s really nice to have something to drink in class 🍵 i’ve made a habit of brewing herbal tea (something refreshing and nice) before a zoom call, and then i just sip from my mug throughout the lecture. or i’ll make sure i have a large glass of water on hand. if you’re attending class in-person, just bring a thermos with you. it doesn’t do to be dehydrated!

try not to neglect your academic email 😣 one time, i went a few weeks without checking it, and i missed quite a lot. your professors will definitely email u with any updates on upcoming classes and assignments, and your advisor (as well as faculty from various departments in your university) will email u about any on-campus goings on and relevant opportunities. i lost the chance 2 apply to a really excellent internship because i didn’t see the email my advisor sent until it was too late, and i’m still pretty upset about it. 😢 don’t do what i did! even if receiving 1 billion emails every single day can be a bit overwhelming

don’t let a potential lack of a social circle stop u from doing things. if there’s some sort of event that piques your interest and that u want to go to, don’t shy away from it for fear of seeming lonely. u don’t need to show up with a huge pack of friends to have fun at something like a movie night, q&a session with a guest speaker, canoeing trip, etc... i think sometimes college is a lesson in learning to do things on your own & enjoying your own company. (and who knows! it may additionally turn out to be a good opportunity to meet people!)

there are a number of websites online that enable u to download books for free 👁 college textbooks are like, notoriously expensive so... frequent these websites & see if u can’t find pdfs or epubs of your required texts!

ignoreeee the guy who always has so much to say about everything. chances are, you’ll have a classmate or two like this—they do not know better than u & they are not smarter or worthier than u just because they don’t know when to keep quiet

and, most importantly, as long as u pretend you’re the charming protagonist of a bildungsroman or campus novel, everything will be fine. i really cannot stress this enough ‼️

#okay... too many words. probably some of these are very obvious & unhelpful but this is pretty much how i got through my first year!#best of luck! 🌟#asks

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iliveiloveiwrite · 5 years ago

Text

Love Potion

Request: What about a Draco imagine where she is dared to put a love potion in his drink by ron hermione and harry. And he ends up drinking it?

A/N: Here’s your request! I hope you like it! I’ve made some slight changes, but I hope you like it regardless. I’ve made the effects of the love potion a lot gentler than what would be experienced; I’ve tried to make it look like Draco has a great love for the reader that he doesn't mind showing, but not in a way that would bring any cause for worry.

Pairing: Draco Malfoy x Fem!Reader

Warnings: love potion

Word count: 2.7k

She was going to hell; she was sure of it. If she wasn’t going to hell, she was going to be tormented by this for months.

The love potion sits heavy in her pocket as she walks into the Great Hall for breakfast. Spying her friends at the Gryffindor table, she heads towards them.

Hermione spots her first, “Morning, (Y/N). Did you sleep well?”

She frowns at her, “Not particularly.”

Ron finishes the food in his mouth before he asks, “Do you have it then?”

“Yes, but I really hate this idea.”

“It’s a dare, (Y/N). You should have picked truth.” Harry states as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

“If I had chosen truth, you would have asked if I had a crush on anyone and I am not ready to release that information yet.”

Harry rolls his eyes, smiling at her, “We all know you have a crush. We just don’t know who on.”

“Exactly, and you won’t ever know. That’s the exact reason why I picked dare. I just didn’t think you would dare me to essentially drug Malfoy.”

“What are you so worried about?” Ron asks, grabbing a piece of buttered toast from the centre of the table.

“You’ve dared me to drug Malfoy. He isn’t exactly the happiest bunny, is he? If he finds out I did this, he’s going to make my life hell. More so than he already does. I can take being called names but who knows what he’ll escalate to after this.” She drops her head into her hands, regretting the day she was ever born.

Hermione casts a worried glance over her, “She’s right. Who knows what the reaction to this will be? It might not be the smartest idea.”

Ron starts to splutter indignantly, “You were up for this last night!”

Hermione nods, “And now I’m saying it’s a bad idea. (Y/N), if you don’t want to do this, you don’t have to.”

Ron sighs, “If you don’t do this, you forfeit, and you have to tell us your crush. I can already guarantee you that I’ll be making fun of you. This is a chance for you to get some revenge on him though, for everything he’s called you.”

She sighs, weighing up her choices. Malfoy hadn’t exactly gone out of his way to make her life difficult but her friendship with the ‘Golden Trio’ meant that she would be in the firing line of any rudeness sent their way.

“I don’t even know how I’m going to slip him the potion.”

“Drop it in his drink?” Ron suggests, as if it is the most obvious thing in the world.

“I thought of that Ronald! But how do I get close enough to him to put it in his drink?”

Ron is silent for a moment before shrugging, “Now that is the question.”

She groans, letting her head fall back onto the table. Harry begins to laugh but is quickly stopped by a swift kick to the ankle from Hermione.

“That’s it!” She announces, slapping her hands onto the table, “I’m going to do it.”

Harry, Ron and Hermione watch her walk away.

“This has the potential to backfire horribly,” Harry murmurs; Hermione hums in agreement.

She has reached the Slytherin table now; silently thanking every god and deity that Draco is sat somewhat apart from his friends as he eats his breakfast.

“Draco?” She asks, quietly.

“(Y/L/N)? Can I help you?”

“I’m really sorry to do this, but could I borrow your notes from Potions yesterday? I zoned out and I think I missed an important part of the class.”

“Why can’t you ask your friends? I’m sure Granger has her own notes.”

“Please, Draco. We both know that yours are the best in the class.”

He smirks at her answer, but nevertheless, he turns to his bag and starts looking for the notes.

As he’s distracted, she takes her chance. Unscrewing the top to the love potion and pouring it into his pumpkin juice. She whispers an apology as she hides the empty bottle in the pocket of her robes.

Draco turns back to her, the aforementioned notes in his hand. He stands as he hands them to her.

“(Y/L/N)?”

“Draco?”

“Why are your friends watching us like that?”

She turns to the Gryffindor table to see Harry, Ron and Hermione watching her and Draco with wide eyes and open mouths. They’re sat there in disbelief that she actually carried out the dare; the pit of guilt in her stomach grows deeper.

She takes the notes from him, “I’m not sure. A Slytherin and a Gryffindor talking amicably is bound to get some people talking though,” She teases slightly, “Thank you for your notes, Draco. Really.”

He takes a drink of his pumpkin juice before he replies, “It’s fine. Just bring them back to me before our next lesson with Snape.”

She nods as she turns away. The guilt pooling in her stomach as she heads back to the Gryffindor table so she can grab her bag and head to her first lesson.

She was screwed.

----

An arm being wrapped around her shoulders set off the first alarms in her head. Looking up to the owner of said arm, she was only slightly surprised to see Draco.

“Can I help you, Draco?”

“I wanted to walk you to class.”

“We don’t have the same class first period.”

He shrugs, “And? I’m still going to walk you to class.”

It isn’t a long walk to her first class. She spies Harry, Ron and Hermione waiting outside the classroom waiting for her.

She pauses, turning to the boy whose arm is wrapped around her shoulders, “Thank you for walking me to class, Draco. You didn’t have to.”

He looks down at her, smiling softly, “I didn’t have to. I wanted to. Join me for lunch?”

“Yeah, sure. I’ll see you for lunch.”

“Enjoy your lesson.” Draco murmurs, leaning down to press a soft kiss to her cheek before leaving for his class.

She looks towards Hermione in shock; (Y/N)’s hand rising to touch the place where Draco’s lips had been but a moment ago.

Hermione looks just as shocked as she does but understanding soon sweeps over the brunette’s face.

“What? What is it?”

“The love potion you gave Draco has made Draco fall in love with you, (Y/N).”

------

The morning goes by swiftly, and (Y/N) soon finds that the lunch hour is soon upon her. Leaving the classroom, she is surprised to see Draco waiting for her. His presence doesn’t fail to bring attention to the pair; her classmates all have their eyes on her as she walks up to the blonde-haired boy.

“Ready for lunch?” She asks, giving him an out in case the love potion has worn off early.

His arms sneaks around her waist and he pulls her in for a long hug; one that she happily returns. “I missed you,” he whispers.

“You did?” She murmurs into his shoulder.

“Yeah, I missed you a whole lot. Come on, let’s go to lunch.” He says, pulling away from the embrace but keeping a tight hold on her hand.

Truthfully, she was happy to let Draco hold her hand all day long. She had never shied away from her feelings for the Slytherin Prince but kept them to herself because it wasn’t anyone else’s business.

On their entrance to the Great Hall, she felt as if all eyes were on her or rather their entwined hands.

Draco leads her to the Slytherin table, purposely choosing a spot away from his friends. She sits down next to him where he lets go of her hand, but quickly places it on her knee; using his only free hand to put food on his plate.

The feeling of his hand on her knee almost has her confessing to her crimes then and there. She likes it too much.

They eat in relative silence; small bits of conversation is the only silence. Draco asks her about her morning; whether she was enjoying her classes, how her exam revision was going. He did this all the while looking at her as if she was the only girl in the world for him. The intensity of his gaze had her ducking her head, pushing her food around on her plate.

“You make me really happy.” He states.

“I do?”

“Yes, you make me very happy, (Y/N).” That’s all he says as he returns to his lunch.

(Y/N) pushes her plate away, telling Draco she’s full when he looks at her in concern. She doesn’t elaborate that she’s becoming consumed with the guilt from this morning, but also becoming consumed by her feelings for him.

------

It wasn’t real. The effects of the love potion on Draco wasn’t real; his love for her was not real. He would never have feelings for her; the chances of any feelings for her would be most certainly lessened the minute the love potion wears off from him.

As the day continues, she has to remind herself of this too many times to count.

------

It was a long day.

She takes it upon herself to take Draco to the Slytherin common room where the final effects of the love potion can wear off in peace. On the way to the common room, Draco had wrapped an arm around her waist and dropped a kiss to the top of her head as if they were in a relationship and the affection was not the result of the love potion currently running through his system.

She felt her heart start to break at this. Her feelings for Draco has so far gone unnoticed by Harry, Ron and Hermione. As well as by Draco himself. She would not let herself break from this; she would suffer the consequences of the love potion in private – where she could be alone with her guilt and her thoughts.

Entering the Slytherin common room, she and Draco take a seat on the couch in front of the roaring fire. He toes off his shoes, instantly making himself at home. She perches on the edge of the couch; feeling as if she has just infiltrated enemy territory.

“(Y/N)? I need to tell you a secret.”

“I think you’ve done enough of that today, Draco. .”

His eyebrows furrow in confusion, “I don’t understand what you’ve just said, but here it is.”

Draco becomes silent, as if dragging out the suspense for the confession.

“Draco! Just tell me.”

His shoulders start to shake, and she starts to worry thinking he’s started to cry. It doesn’t take her long to realise that Draco is actually laughing.

“What’s so funny?”

“It’s my secret. Are you ready?”

She nods, poised for whatever he has to say.

“I faked the effects of the love potion.”

“You knew I put a love potion in your drink!? Why didn’t you say anything?” She shouts, grabbing a cushion to throw at him.

He catches the cushion easily. “I wanted to see how long it would take you to crack. Turns out the whole day.”

“How? I saw you take a drink!”

Draco grins, “Sleight of hand. After I saw you put the potion in my drink, I distracted you long enough to switch the drinks.

Her face falls into her hands, “Oh my god. I can’t believe this is happening to me.”

Draco pulls her hands away from her face, “It’s okay.”

“No, it isn’t! I am so glad you didn’t drink the potion; I’ve felt awful about it all day. I am so so sorry, Draco. Nobody deserves that! Please forgive me.”

He squeezes her hands, “You’re forgiven. It’s not like I haven’t taken my revenge by embarrassing you all day.”

She pulls her hands away from his, running them through her hair. “You faked the love potion? Why?”

“A number of reasons.”

“And they are?” She prompts.

“Well, for starters, I knew that if it didn’t work, you’d never hear the end of it from your friends.”

She nods; this much was true. They would never let her live it down. “Okay, what about the rest?”

He mumbles something so quietly that she has to strain her ears to catch any part of what he says.

“Draco, I didn’t hear you.”

A blush stains his cheeks and he doesn’t look you in the eye as he says, “I wanted to spend time with you.”

“You what?”

“I wanted to spend time with you.” He states.

Her eyes widen as she looks at him incredulously, “Why? Why did want to spend time with me?”

The blush is back in his cheeks as whispers, “I like you.”

If her eyebrows could go any higher then they would be in her hair. Draco doesn’t miss this.

“What? Would it be so bad if I did?”

“Of course not, Draco. I just don’t understand.”

“I know. I’ve been awful to you in the past, and you can’t know how sorry I am. But I do, I like you. I faked the effects of the love potion so I could be near you.”

“Oh, Draco.”

“Don’t pity me.”

“I’m not pitying you. Do you want to know why I was dared to put the love potion in your drink?”

“An explanation would be nice.”

“I had to choose in a game of truth or dare. I chose dare because if I chose truth, Harry, Ron and Hermione would pressure me to confess who I have a crush on and I wasn’t ready to say anything.”

Draco is quiet for a minute, letting her words sink in. She lets her gaze shift from Draco’s face to watching the fire currently warming the Slytherin common room.

“Who do you have a crush on?” Draco eventually asks.

She continues to watch the fire; not knowing what to say but also scared to look him in the eyes and confess. Her heartbeat races; her pulse sounds in her ears.

“Who do you have a crush on, (Y/N)?” Draco repeats.

She fiddles with her fingers, whispering, “I don’t know what to say…”

“You almost drugged me today. I think the least you owe me is the name of your crush.”

She opens her mouth; an apology ready on her lips, but when she sees the smile on his face, she realises that he’s trying to make a joke. He’s trying to make light of the situation.

“Draco! I’ve told you how sorry I am.”

“I know. And I’ve accepted your apology.”

She relaxes slightly, smiling at the blonde-haired boy sat next to her. The boy smiles back at her, poking her leg with a socked foot.

“Come on, tell me who you have a crush on. It has to be someone really important for you to choose a dare over a truth.”

She sighs, “I have a crush on you, Draco.”

His smile disappears, “I told you to not pity me.”

“I’m not pitying you, Draco. Not one time through this conversation have I pitied you.”

“Then what are you saying?”

“I thought it was pretty obvious when I confessed my feelings for you.”

“You really like me?”

A smile breaks out across her face, “I really do.”

“I don’t know if it’s been established but I have a crush on you too.”

“Oh, you do, do you?”

“I would only fake the effects of love potion for one person, and that person is you.”

She places a hand on her chest, smiling widely, “I’m honoured, Draco.”

He laughs quietly, grabbing her hand from her chest and bringing it up to his lips.

“I’d rather you kiss me properly, Draco.”

He raises a single eyebrow, “Is that so?”

“It is.”

He shifts on the couch, tugging on the hand he’s still holding to pull her closer to him, to press her against him. His hand reaches up to caress her cheek; his nose brushes against hers. She surges forward and presses her lips to his; Draco is shocked only for a moment before he kisses her back.

When they start to run out of air, they pull away.

“I’m glad you accepted the dare.” Draco whispers, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

She grins, kissing his quickly before whispering back, “So am I.”

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nicknellie · 4 years ago

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Anonymous requested: I know in a post you said something about Alex getting sensory overload so for the requests maybe Alex getting sensory overload and Willie being there to do his best to help Alex out

Ahhh, I love this request so much! This is my favourite Alex headcanon that I have so I’m really glad you requested this. I wrote it as a mixture of what I go through when I get sensory overload and also what I’ve found through research so more people can hopefully relate. I haven’t proof-read it yet, but I’ll come back and do that later. Thank you so much for the request!

Title from All You’re Dreaming Of by Liam Gallagher.

TW: sensory overload, anxiety

When The World Is At Its Worst

Alex had three extremes: worrying himself so much that he overworked, worrying himself so much that he got nothing done, and worrying himself so much that he broke. Normally, he could cope with pushing himself too hard – at least that way he got things done, and when he ran out of errands to make himself run it gave him some time to relax and recalibrate. Getting little done was more stressful, but it tended to happen less often, so Alex didn’t see it as much of a problem. What Alex struggled with the most was pulling himself back together when he felt utterly ruined.

Sometimes – not as often as he worked too hard, but not as seldom as he worked too little – Alex would worry himself to the point where everything simply became too much. The point where every sensation was painfully overwhelming, distressing in a way nothing else really compared too. Lights shone too brightly, noises were amplified tenfold, and if something was touching him he could feel it like a hand clasped too tightly on his skin. His parents had said it was just him being sensitive, Willie had said it was probably something called sensory overload, but Alex just wished it didn’t happen to him.

The worst part was that it was usually caused by him working himself too hard, something he didn’t think he could have ever stopped if he tried. He would worry, which would make him work, which would worry him more if things weren’t going well, and then his mind would dissolve into a mess of disarrayed senses and feelings and it hurt. He would shut down, which only seemed to make his anxieties worse.

It hadn’t happened in a while though, so that made Alex feel a little better about the whole thing. Maybe, if he’d got lucky for once, those episodes were starting to go away. Maybe he didn’t have to worry about them so much now that they hadn’t happened in a few months. Maybe he could start to get on with his life as normal. He could hope, at the very least.

Exams week was coming up at Los Feliz. For Alex, when exam stress hit, it hit hard. He wasn’t even sure what worried him so much about exams. Perhaps it was the big fiasco that school always made about exams, having to sit in total silence with the threat of disqualification looming over you so much that it was nerve-wracking to even lift your head to look at the time. Perhaps it was the orderly rows and having an entire year group lumped in the hall together, making it feel so formal and suffocating and painfully important in a way it almost certainly wasn’t. Perhaps it was the unpredictability of it all, not knowing what would come up or what it would be best to revise.

It didn’t matter too much to Alex what was stressing him out – even when he knew what was causing his nerves, he had never been much good at combatting them. His strategy this time was to prepare for the exams as much as he could, force himself to soak in as much information as possible. He just wanted to give himself a chance to be confident that he knew everything because just maybe that would help him do well and calm down.

He had enlisted Willie to help him revise over the weekend. Willie was more than happy to do so – he had said he was looking forward to spending some quality time with his boyfriend even if it was just the two of them pouring over a biology revision guide for four hours straight. If Alex hadn’t been so conscious that he needed to be revising, he would have felt bad that he was spending time with Willie without spending time with him, but thankfully Willie truly didn’t seem to mind.

“Ten out of ten, hotdog,” Willie said triumphantly after Alex had given them his final answer to the quick quiz Willie had been giving him. “Third time in a row, too. You’re going to ace this test.”

Alex closed his eyes and rubbed his fingers against his temples. He didn’t say anything. Willie had sounded certain that Alex would do well for the whole day, but the truth was that Alex felt like he was guessing most of the answers and getting them right by pure chance. Either that or Willie was giving him the benefit of the doubt and saying he was right when he was actually miles off. Despite the fact that he had constantly shown he knew what he was talking about, he still felt completely clueless.

Willie didn’t seem best pleased with Alex’s silence. “Hey,” they said, gently taking one of Alex’s hands. “You know your stuff. You’ll be fine. And if you’re really that worried, you’ve still got the rest of the week to refresh your memory. We’ve got this.”

Alex hummed noncommittally. He heard Willie sigh.

“Why don’t we take a quick break?” Willie suggested, running his hand through Alex’s hair.

At that, Alex’s eyes shot open, he sat up and immediately stiffened, looking wide-eyed at a baffled Willie.

“No,” he said, “I don’t need to take a break. I’m not going to be able to learn all this if I take time out.”

Willie looked at him, his brown eyes sympathetic. “I don’t want to push you too hard. At least get up and get a glass of water – we’ve been sat in the same place for hours, it’ll do you good to clear your head.”

“I don’t need to,” Alex repeated. How could he get up and walk away when he still had five more topics to cover? When he needed to doublecheck he understood everything and still have time to solve some physics problems afterwards? He couldn’t just ‘take a break’. It would ruin everything.

“Are you sure?” Willie said. They didn’t look convinced, but Alex wasn’t going to back down. He knew what he needed to do and he was going to stick to it.

He nodded shortly and then flicked to a new page. “Test me on this,” he told Willie, who – with a reluctant sigh – began to ask him questions about the information.

The problem was that Willie’s suggestion had thrown Alex off-balance. Now all he could think of was not working and how that would be detrimental, it didn’t even cross his mind that it didn’t matter because he was still working now. He suddenly found himself unable to concentrate on the questions and the ridiculously long sciencey words Willie was using, his mind bogged down with practical methods and half-remembered equations that had nothing to do with what he was revising.

He quickly started getting questions wrong, saying the first thing that came to mind only to be told that the right answer was something he should have known because it was obvious. With each wrong answer he became more and more distressed, tears stinging his eyes, feeling stupid.

“Breathe, Alex,” Willie said. “Take your time with the questions, you don’t need to rush it. This isn’t the exam, it’s just you and me here. You have all the time you need.”

But, Alex wanted to say, I won’t have all that time when the exam comes and I need to get this right now. He didn’t get how Willie couldn’t see that. So he kept guessing, giving answers he was sure were wrong, but his mind feeling so fogged that he couldn’t think of anything else.

He didn’t even realise he had started crying until Willie reached out to wipe a tear from his cheek and the sensation wasn’t soothing – he could feel it so deeply that it almost hurt.

Without thinking, he shuffled across the bed where they were both sat, out of Willie’s reach. For a brief moment, Willie looked confused, but then they seemed to realise what was going on and he didn’t try to move any closer.

Alex hated this feeling and he had been so sure that it was going to stop happening. But he had clearly been wrong, because now that he was sat in a different place it felt wrong. The way he could see his bedroom, from a slightly different angle to before, felt so strange and so alien that it hurt. The bedcovers he was sat on now were too cold and coarse against his skin, so he pulled his legs against his chest. That moved his shirt slightly, and he became painfully aware of how the material felt, how it clung to his body like a second skin, and that hurt too. He realised that the lights in his room were too bright, far too bright, so he clamped his eyes shut and slapped his hands over his eyes.

He heard the ruffling of bedsheets, presumably as Willie got up from the bed. He heard him flick the light-switch off and pull the curtains closed – a click that he felt like a knife in his skull and a grating drag that pounded against his ears. He pressed his thumbs over his ears while still keeping his hands over his eyes, trying to block out the noise. Everything was too loud, too bright, too something to be comfortable. He couldn’t talk, he couldn’t move.

He felt trapped.

There was no telling how long it went on for. He couldn’t move his hands away from his eyes to look at his watch, not that it was really the biggest thing weighing on his mind. In fact, for the first time in hours, there wasn’t much on his mind at all apart from how he just wanted to go back to feeling comfortable. He wanted to hear without it being too loud, look at things without hurting his eyes, take that break Willie had suggested – and probably apologise to Willie too.

These things usually lasted quite a while. If Alex had to guess, it would have been about fifteen minutes since he shuffled away from Willie when he slowly took his hands away from his eyes and ears and drew in a great, shuddering breath. He blinked his eyes open and was grateful that Willie had turned the lights down. He looked over to where Willie was, perched on the edge of the bed, watching Alex’s face carefully. Willie raised his eyebrows, asking a silent question, and Alex nodded.

“Can I touch you?” they asked softly. Again, Alex just nodded, still not feeling able to speak.

Gently, Willie reached out his hand and did the same thing that had sparked the overload in the first place, wiping away tears from Alex’s cheek. This time Alex didn’t shuffle away, but he didn’t lean into Willie’s touch either; it wasn’t insufferable anymore, but it still wasn’t pleasant.

“What do you need me to do for you, Alex?” Willie asked.

Alex thought for a moment, then made himself reach out and take Willie’s hand. Willie held it tightly, knowing that light touches were often worse than firm ones. Alex let his fingers gently trail along Willie’s palm and their wrist. He looked tearily into Willie’s eyes and almost felt himself smile at the reassuring look on Willie’s face.

“You’re okay, hotdog,” Willie told him. “You’re through the worst of it now. Just breathe. Dry your eyes and breathe.”

He did as he said, wiping at the dried tears on his cheeks with the back of his hand. Willie squeezed his hand, close, reassuring, encouraging. He didn’t talk, he just let Alex calm down the way he needed to, saving most of the noise for when Alex was definitely ready.

“I’m sorry,” Alex croaked eventually. His voice box felt dry and scratchy.

Willie shook their head. “You have nothing to apologise for. You can’t help it.”

“I should be able to by now,” Alex protested.

“You might never be able to,” Willie said matter-of-factly. “That’s not a bad thing, it’s just something that happens to you. It sucks, of course it does, but this might be a part of you forever. You don’t need to apologise for something beyond your control.”

“It shouldn’t be beyond my control.”

Willie left a hesitant pause but then seemed to make his mind up. “Don’t let your parents get that into your head. Don’t let them make you believe that. I don’t care what they say about this – they don’t get it. Alex, there’s nothing about this that makes you weak or too sensitive or whatever it is they tell you. Lots of people get sensory overload, it’s not something alien or weird. It’s not something you can stop forever, so please don’t hurt yourself trying to.”

Alex looked at him, suddenly teary-eyed again. “I don’t want it to happen forever.”

“I’m not saying we can’t do things to make it better,” they replied kindly. “I’m sure there’s techniques that can make it easier to deal with, even if they don’t prevent it forever. Or maybe it’s time we looked at getting you some therapy or counselling. What do you think?”

“My parents would never let me get help like that,” Alex said, chuckling darkly.

For just a moment though, he let himself think about it. He let himself wonder what it would be like if he could see a professional and get the right kind of help. Maybe he would learn not only how to calm his sensory overload but also how to control his anxiety better in general. Maybe if he’d been getting the right kind of help before all this then he wouldn’t have had the exam stress anyway and he wouldn’t even be having this conversation. There were endless possibilities but he was sure he’d never see any of them come to light.

“If you don’t want to tell them about it then we could wait until you turn eighteen,” Willie suggested, squeezing Alex’s hand again. “That way you don’t need parental permission.”

“That’s not for another three months,” Alex said petulantly.

“So?”

“So what if it stops by then?”

Willie raised his eyebrows. “Do you think it will have?”

Alex couldn’t have given an honest answer. He said nothing, just pulled himself to Willie and hugged him tightly. He felt their arms instantly loop around his waist, their hands planting themselves firmly on his back. Alex buried his face into Willie’s shoulder, holding him as close as he possibly could, all of a sudden wanting to touch him as much as he could.

“You’re going to be okay, hotdog,” Willie said, pressing a gentle kiss to Alex’s cheek. “I promise.”

“I believe you.”

Taglist (if you want to be added or removed just let me know): @ace-bookworm @williexmercer @willex-owns-my-heart @itstiger720 @the-reckless-and-the-brave @that-one-newsie @bluedarkness @lookingthroughmirrors @tmp-jatp @salty-star @julieandthequeers @lmaohuh @sunnysbright

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strayfreckles · 4 years ago

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all on you.

☕︎︎ hwang hyunjin x reader (ft. ryujin, felix, & yeji); highschool au, friends-to-lovers au, barista au, bulletpoint fic.

maybe you would’ve gotten out of highschool with your emotions (and pride) unscathed if it weren’t for hwang hyunjin and his so-called romantic, obnoxious—and, in your case, unfortunately effective—antics.

includes: fluff, angst (especially in the middle), mutual pining, somewhat slow burn (?), gn!reader, barista!reader, a hefty amount of swearing, the only consistent thing you’ll see here is how utterly terrible this is, fluctuating humor

notes: this was requested by a wonderful anon! before you dive in, i’d like to inform you that this is my first fic of any kind, so please tread gently 😔✋ though constructive criticism is appreciated !! hope you enjoy (and hopefully not cringe too much sdkdnkdks) <33

wordcount: 2.8k

let me be the first to say that you absolutely abhor romance films with every existing fiber and cell in your body.

like, you cannot physically withstand the atrocity that is occurring right before your very eyes and you have to tear your gaze away before you bash your head to the nearest table.

and though you do admit that you’re overreacting sometimes

you also admit that you’re a massive dumbass for falling prey to one of the most common—and one of the most infuriating tropes—that is falling for your best friend.

yeah, hwang hyunjin? that boy holds your heart between his palms and with every smile you fall deeper and deeper

you’ve known that kid since you started eating crayons in elementary, and since then you’d been attached at the hip, clung to each other through all the clownery of middle school

finding each other in places is like a sixth sense; it only takes you both less than a minute to find the other before startling them with a quiet “hey, you”

but time is impatient, and that timid, starry-eyed boy you knew became the dimpled heartthrob come highschool—geared with the smarts and the talents and love-laced words that sent boys and girls running after him

but to you he was always just that kid who nearly consumed clay cakes because “it looked so real!”

until he wasn’t

it just came to you like a blow to the face, in the middle of sophomore year, sitting on hyunjin’s bedroom floor on a weekend trying to cram revise for your upcoming exams

you decided to take a quick break, and made the mistake of looking at hyunjin

and my oh my was he stunning

every laugh that tumbled from his lips sounded like a fucking symphony

and the bastard was just playing with kkami !!

he looked so damn soft as he planted kisses on his coat

every single constellation you knew was embedded in his irises

haha heartbeat go brrrrrrr

and maybe all you wanted was for him to never stop smiling, because he looked the most beautiful when he did, and maybe you wanted to brush his hair away from his face because you couldn’t see his eyes all that well and what the fuck—

you just malfunctioned

because that was your best friend

he noticed you staring, of course, and had the audacity to smirk, and in a second you wanted to set yourself on fire

“y/n, i know i look good, but at least try to be subtle.”

“you look like a low-budget minion, hyunjin.”

“i’d rather be a minion than a shabbier version of gru, thank you.”

(many fists were thrown that day, and hyunjin learned not to pick fun at your clothing lest that he face humiliation)

for the first few months you were in constant denial, even going so far as to blame hyunjin himself for forcing you to watch countless romcoms on your weekly sleepovers

but once you catch hyunjin staring at you with that fond look in his eyes, one he’s carried since childhood, your heart finally has the courage to murmur into the concaves of your chest, i am in love

it gets worse around senior year

the summer after junior year you land yourself a job at miroh café, a coffee shop at the heart of the town bc you’re broke as fuck and you need the cash

and, as expected, hyunjin becomes a frequent patron

he’s armed with a pickup line every single time he orders

and every single time you have to tell your heart to calm the fuck down he’s always been like this c’mon gimme a break

it’s even gone to the point where the regulars mistake him as your boyfriend

and as if your conscience nagging you 24/7 wasn’t enough mental baggage, your coworkers and fellow seniors, felix and ryujin, decided to weigh in

“if that isn’t the look of someone who’s simping over you then i don’t know what is,” ryujin nudges you, and from the repetitive force you’ve sustained from the past week you’re surprised your ribs aren’t bruised yet.

“you act like you’re not in the same dance crew,” you scoff, “ryujin, he flirts with everyone—he even had the balls to hit on chan!”

“let me remind you that denial is always the first stage of falling in love,” felix chirps, cheerful as he replenishes the pain au chocolat in the display.

“and let me remind you that i’m holding a very hot cup of coffee straight out of the machine; ‘accidents’ can happen, felix.”

of course, you weren’t in denial—you’d been past that stage long ago

it’s just that you didn’t wanna give yourself false hope

you didn’t want to lose this beautiful thing with him that’s lasted for nearly a decade because of your stupid emotions

so you’ve trained yourself to remain indifferent to the many compliments and lines he sent your way, hoping that if you could fool the others into thinking he didn’t affect you, maybe you could fool yourself, too

but oh ho ho, do i have some news for you (☞ ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)☞

you don’t know how hyunjin’s pulse speeds up whenever he sees a handwritten note on his coffee wishing him good luck

you don’t know how often he forces himself to stop staring at you whenever you’re not looking

you don’t know how stupidly happy it makes him when he sees you smile

especially when he’s the reason why.

maybe everything about you makes hwang hyunjin happy

and maybe if you weren’t so kind and gentle and considerate during the times he lost a competition then maybe he wouldn’t have fallen this hard

but you were (and still are)

during the times you cried from laughter at all his antics

or cracked a smile at one of his pickup lines

he’d think that maybe—just maybe—he could stand a chance

but every time he did, he’d spiral into self-doubt

because there’s no way you would ever fall for him

you’re the kindest, most talented person hyunjin has ever known who deserves the universe

and he’s just… him

even if he did plan to confess, he’d be putting everything at stake; you’re too important to him, losing you would be a loss too heavy for him to bear

so he’s content with playing this role

even if the idea of you being with someone else hurts him so much

he’s content with reminding you everyday—even if it isn’t direct—that your mind is like no other, and that anybody would be blessed to have you

you both think it's always going to be like this

with you struggling to keep your feelings from showing

and hyunjin battling his inner demons

and those left to perceive the “discreet” ogling across the room and the hidden yearning in your voices are none other than (you guessed it!) felix and ryujin 🤩

it was funny the first few months

but now it’s just plain frustrating and they want nothing more than to bash your two oblivious heads together because y’all !! are !! idiots !!

no matter how much they persist, they’re always met with either a sad, gentle smile with a shake of the head or a monotonous “ha. you’re really funny.”

both have considered dropping your asses but they can’t because they love y’all too much

so all they can do is hope for a change

and change does indeed arrive when september rolls around

dance practice has just ended and hyunjin feels hyped because it’s movie night and he can’t wait to cry to kimi no na wa again

and lowkey stare at you for the entirety of the film

he exits his dance crew’s studio and is about to go straight to 7/11 for snacks when he spots the team’s newest recruit by the road, waiting for a ride home

hwang yeji’s only moved here two months ago and in a short span of time she’s already become one of the well-liked kids at school

but she’s a kind & humble sweetheart who deserves all the love & attention !!

so being the good sport he is, hyunjin approaches yeji with the brightest grin, having only talked to her a few times prior

“hey, there! yeji!” when the girl turns to him, her smile looks and feels like liquid sunshine. “waiting for your date?”

yeji turns rosy when he asks, like she does when everyone teases her about her special someone, who she’s been crushing on for weeks and who she finally had the courage to ask out. “c’mon, stop that. i don’t even know if they like me like that—they probably think it’s just another friendly date.”

“they’re a fool if they don’t end up liking you after, then,” hyunjin quips, hoping the bitterness doesn’t seep into his tone and wishing he has half the luck and strength yeji has, and she laughs.

“you know them, actually.”

“oh?”

“yeah! y/n l/n?”

oh.

o h

hyunjin can only blink at her dumbly, feeling like a thousand arrows are digging into his skin

you… with hwang yeji?

is that why you asked about her the other day? because you like her back? and that her feelings are far from being one-sided?

watching a dark cloud loom over his features, yeji thinks about asking if he’s okay when he blurts out an inaudible excuse as he walks away, zooming past the convenience store when he does

when he heads off he doesn’t even look at where he’s going, relying solely on muscle memory

he feels like he wants to grow smaller, biting his lower lip and clenching his hands into fists

he doesn’t even know why he’s upset

you were never his to lose

why would he regret what couldn’t be in the first place?

when his feet instinctively halt in front of miroh café, all he can do is stare blankly at the glass doors, at your figure behind the counter

but he wills himself to move away again, and when he does he clashes with another body

“hey, watch where you’re... hyunjin?”

ryujin stares at him with her mouth half agape, and she flinches when she sees his eyes glistening, his face flushed with the shade of pure heartbreak

“did you know about them?” he’s afraid to raise his voice, because doing so would mean there’s no stopping his emotions, “about… y/n and yeji?”

the lack of response provides the answer, and hyunjin walks away from the block

that afternoon, a cup of coffee with his name scrawled on the front went forgotten on the countertop

that evening, hyunjin doesn’t show for your monthly tradition for the first time in five years

you spend the rest of your evening obsessively checking your phone for text from him, wracking your brain for reasons he couldn’t come

of course, there are multiple reasons: like schoolwork (you are seniors, after all) and the upcoming dance competition

but you know he would text you over the slightest inconvenience, so why isn’t he saying a thing?

you rack your brain for anything you might’ve done, and your chest tightens when you think that maybe—just maybe—he’s finally caught on to you

you try to distract yourself with other thoughts as you lie wide awake in your bed: like your midterm exams, the nearing debate tournament… your date with yeji

bright, splendid hwang yeji who shares the wittiest jokes in biology and has the most colorful personality around

the first time you spent time with her she made you smile so wide it made your cheeks hurt

her laugh is the loveliest one you’ve ever heard; like dewy lavender fields beneath the spring sunshine

but every time you hear it you’re reminded that it isn’t hyunjin’s laugh, that you aren’t with him and every time you realize it you wanna cry

bc yeji’s been nothing but sweet and considerate this whole time and you’re more than guilty at the fact that all her attentions will be wasted because of you and your stupidity

you barely escape the wrath of crying yourself to sleep when you finally doze off when the clock hit two am

the next day at school, you both barely even make eye-contact

even the underclassmen who’ve heard the frequent calls of your names feel uneasy when they don’t hear hyunjin’s high-pitched voice or your shrill tones

felix especially, who’s experienced the trauma of sitting in between you two at history and feeling the tension that nearly chokes him

you’re more than terrified to look at him at him in the eye, terrified that once you do you’ll realize he doesn’t gaze at you the same way anymore

something inside hyunjin aches every time he spares you a glance, because every time he does it’s painfully obvious that he’s always been hopeless

in all honesty, hyunjin wouldn’t have shown his face at all if it weren’t for the tiny thread of patience inside ryujin snapping

so here he is, inside miroh a quarter before closing time

felix’s eyes nearly bulge out of his head when he sees him, so he sends a pointed look to his coworker,

“what did you do?” he murmurs. ryujin’s eyes are sharp when she looks at him, and he feels his blood run cold.

“what i needed to.”

no, she didn’t threaten to kill his entire family, if that’s what you’re wondering

she merely gave him… a warning

so one can imagine the surprise you feel when you emerge from the staff room, and felix drags ryujin outside to give you privacy

you both remain silent once they’re gone, neither one of you moving in place

until quiet words escape your mouth, and the familiar greeting makes hyunjin’s heart clench:

“hey, you.”

he doesn’t make a sound, so you continue, the tension heavy

“you owe me three dollars, by the way. i just wasted a perfectly good iced latte with the other day when you didn’t…”

when you trail off, hyunjin opens his mouth to let out an apology, and he realizes with a start that the words tumbling out are completely different:

“why didn’t you tell me?”

“what?”

“why didn’t you tell me about yeji?” hyunjin’s eyes begin to quiver when they meet yours, “we’re best friends, aren’t we?”

your jaw tightens, i told you. best friends. nothing more. “because you worry too much about everything; if i’d told you about us then you’d—”

“y/n, we’ve been together for a decade!” hyunjin intervenes, “we’re always going to worry about each other, whether you like it or not. and this— this is… i…”

every coherent thought vanishes as hyunjin grapples for more things to say. he knows he’s being selfish, undoubtedly so, but he wants you. he wants you so, so bad. the fight in him leaves until, eventually, all that’s left to say is the truth: “please, don’t go. don’t go… with her.”

your heart is close to breaking your ribcage when you stare at his face, you wait for him to say anything, to justify why he’s said it, but when the quiet settles, all you can see is red

“this is why i don’t tell you about these things,” you grit, trembling violently. “when i do, you say— say stuff that make me believe that you feel the same way i do when you actually don’t.

“and i hate you so much but in the end it’s all my fault because i’m the idiot who caught feelings for their best friend and—”

hyunjin doesn’t let you add anything else, because his lips are on yours and you’re overwhelmed with the feeling of him, him, him

the kiss doesn’t leave any room for doubt; he’s shaking, and his legs might give out, but he wants you to know that everything he feels is real

you’re both gasping for air when you pull away, but his hands still linger on your face and he traces the edge of your mouth, and you can do nothing but pull him closer by the waist

“still hate me now?” he asks, and you chuckle breathlessly, putting your forehead on his.

“yes, very much so,” you look at him tenderly, and he yelps when you pinch him gently, “this is all on you, y’know. if it weren’t for your godforsaken romcoms, we wouldn’t have ended up like this.”

“but if it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have ended up with a boyfriend, amirite? ow, shit— i’m kidding!”

bonus!

“oh, thank fuck,” felix exhales, looking through the windows one more time before ambling beside ryujin, who looks pleased with herself as she places her apron on the crook of her elbow. “so, spill: what did you tell hyunjin?”

she smiles, “i told him not to give up before he’s even tried anything; sometimes, there are people who are worth taking that risk for.”

just as felix is about to commend her for sounding the most wholesome he’s heard her, she adds: “and i threatened to revoke my tutelage—his ass is failing calculus so hard.”

#inkidz #skz #hwang hyunjin #hwang hyunjin x reader #stray kids scenarios #stray kids au #stray kids fluff #stray kids angst #hwang hyunjin fluff #hwang hyunjin scenarios #stray kids oneshot #just when i thought i couldn’t get more inadequate i hit y’all with a bulletpoint fic 🤩#but pls let me know what you think of this! i’d be happy to read your thoughts !!

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eliteprepsat · 1 year ago

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Don’t procrastinate (it only makes things worse). Eat well. Exercise regularly. Get a good night’s sleep.

All of these are vital—and common—pieces of advice that will help you manage all forms of stress, academic and otherwise.

But stress is also often a learned pattern of thinking, one that we need to unlearn if we’re going to get things done.

You’re Probably Wrong

After all, why spend the next 30 minutes trying to produce absolutely perfect work when you can just let your mind wander on Snapchat?

Sometimes, there’s freedom in getting things wrong.

Break It Down

This is why Stiffelman also advises breaking tasks down into small chunks.

In my own experience, to-do lists are lifesavers. List out the tasks ahead and break these down into the smallest possible tasks.

Timing is Everything

Let’s say you need to write an important paper for an English class. Your to-do list might look something like this:

Read the assignment [Monday]

Decide which text(s) I’m going to focus on [Monday]

Read my notes on that text [Tuesday]

Find 3-4 quotations from the text that seem relevant [Tuesday]

Draft a thesis [Tuesday]

See if the thesis goes well with the quotations I’ve chosen [Tuesday]

If not, find other quotations or revise the thesis

Draft an introduction [Wednesday]

Draft the first body paragraph [Wednesday]

Draft the second body paragraph [Thursday]

Draft the third body paragraph [Thursday]

Draft the fourth body paragraph [Thursday]

Draft the conclusion [Thursday]

Review my topic sentences [Friday]

Review my transitions [Friday]

Read the entire draft [Friday]

Check that the body paragraphs correspond with the thesis

Check that the body paragraphs proceed in a logical order

Make necessary revisions [Saturday]

Proofread the essay [Saturday]

Treat Yourself to Train Yourself

Keep yourself motivated by giving yourself a reward for each task or pair of tasks that you knock off your to-do list.

In sum: change your thinking, make to-do lists, chart out a rough schedule, and reward yourself along the way.

But of course, remember to avoid procrastinating, eat well, exercise regularly, and get a good night’s sleep. Those truisms are true, after all.

#productivity #study tips #studyblr #time management #high school #college #college prep

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coralstudiies · 5 years ago

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hello everyone! I got an ask from an anon asking for tips on time management so i decided to type this out before school starts heheh…

poor time management and procrastination, unfortunately, plague just about all of us lol. people with a short attention span (like me) and who are pretty much always on their phone (me again) and who hate scheduling are the most susceptible to these.

over the years i struggled with time management(studying the night before the exam 🤙🏼) but! these are some tips that have helped me in scheduling, avoiding procrastination and improving time management.

1. Write it down

as always, we’re starting with BEFORE the actual task. write all tasks, assignments, projects and homework, test dates down somewhere (notebook preferably so that you dont lose it. it doesn’t have to be your bujo and you do not have to start a bujo for this specific reason!!!) and write the deadlines. this is subconscious pressure to do work once you get home. also, since you can see everything, it’s easier to schedule it out later

2. Use travel time

i cannot stress this enough!!!! sorry that it appears in all my tips posts but it truly is very useful. for short commutes, review the content you’ve learnt so that when you start on your homework, you’ve already got the hang of it. ie you dont struggle to understand the chapter and be put off from finishing your work because you hate it. long commutes can be used to complete work itself. i like to place some books and a file under my worksheet while i write (if i have a seat lol) or you can take this time to plan your time in greater detail

3. Actually plan your time

you dont have to fancy it up with like, brush pens and highlighters. just do something on google sheets or excel. divide the day into appropriate blocks of time.

for me, since i use a focus timer (50+10 or 100+20, rare cases i do 120 with a long break after that) i keep my days in 1hr blocks. so i’d block in about 1hour after i reach home to chill, clean up and so on, 2hrs for homework and the remaining time can be divided by hour/2hours to complete my work. you can tweak the timings to work for you but so far this one suits me pretty well.

4. NEVER RUSH YOUR HOMEWORK AND REVISION WHEN PLANNING!!!!

i repeat, never rush. because when you give only, say, one hour to review 3 chapters and you fail to do so within that time limit, you feel demoralised and hence, will not want to work more. this is a very common issue i believe. sometimes i would rush revise and when i couldnt stick to the timelines, i’ll feel so defeated that i’ll probably binge watch youtube to cure my self-pity LOL

give yourself an ample amount of time. Assign one or two hours a day as ‘delay time’ (this was my free time) so that you can catch up on anything that unfortunately, you couldn’t finish. Assign one day of the week to be the ‘delay day’ -- anything that you cant finish the week before, do it now. this means that you can still ‘save’ your plan even if it screwed up somewhere along the way. it works wonders, believe me! i used to have ‘delay hours’ after training where i would (ahem sadly) study from 2330-0030 if i needed to. while i was tired, i always got my work done.

5. Prioritise

this one needs no explanation. i usually choose which task to start on based on a combination of deadline+importance+graded/non-graded. i start early for graded assignments because they count towards my semester’s final grade and i want to hand up the best quality work i can. find a system which works for you! note: start project work and large assignments early.

you can assign simple tasks first to start the ball rolling, and proceed with harder tasks.

alternatively, if you’re at your prime focus, start with the hardest and scale down to the simple.

6. Make good use of holidays + Wake up early

ok i used to game a LOT and go to training a LOT (still happens now lol) during holidays but i wouldnt get any of my holiday work done.

do your holiday homework first. schedule your time well, and maybe stay home and resist the urge to go out for the first 5 days. finish all your work (again, schedule well) with breaks in between.

thereafter, schedule maybe 3-5 hours a day to revise. if you’re going out with friends, i’d suggest you wake up early to study because once you come home you’re usually dead tired HAHA

so how early is early?? during my o levels study break i would wake up at 0330 (yes, for real) but i slept at 2130 every night. so thats 6 hours of sleep wew but AT LEAST i was very productive. think about it this way: waking up early to study at 0330 makes you more productive than studying till 0330. you don’t have to wake up THIS early, but preferably early enough when the sky’s still dark so that you can fit in those extra hours. DO NOT sacrifice sleep. that’s why you can see i’m still sleeping my usual amount, albeit sleeping and waking earlier.

more perks of waking up early: its quiet outside, the air is cool, your mind gets into the ‘get shit done’ mode, and if you absolutely have to use your phone to search something up, your social media probably won’t be pinging. in other words, early mornings are actually a great time to study! remember to eat something though :>

7. Remove all distractions to prevent possible procrastination

YES i know this is the dreaded one. lock your phone somewhere inconvenient and put the key outside your room. or if you don’t lock it make sure your phone is far away from you as possible. please i know how deadly your phone can get so just put it away.

if you find yourself drifting away and looking at something else, remove that.

alternatively, change up your study environment. you don’t have to go to the library or something (you can if you want to). this is as simple as studying in a different part of the house. a new environment helps to ‘prick’ my mind and help me ignore distractions. i dont know if this is scientifically proven but oh well, worth a try.

8. 2-minute rule

this is something i picked up from @studyquill! it’s pretty helpful (although i was skeptical at first). Tell yourself you’re only going to work for 2 minutes, which helps you get into the workflow. chances are you’ll get so into it (ok not in an excited but rather in a determined way) that you don’t feel like stopping.

if you’ve had a long day and after 2 mins you still don’t get any momentum, just stop and take a 15 min break. that means you’re really too tired and there’s no point in forcing yourself to complete your work.

9. Use reminders

set reminders on your phone for the tasks you need to do. for example, if you’ve planned to start work at 1500, set the reminder to ring 5 minutes before so you have time to gather all your stuff and ready yourself to do work. no excuses!!

set reminders for your breaks as well! those are equally important.

10. Reward yourself

if everything you need to do is done, give yourself a pat on the back. have you been extremely productive? great, treat yourself to your favourite drink/snack. honestly i feel like many of our brains function on the ‘reward’ system. if we reward ourselves for a job well done, we’ll be more willing to complete tasks and stay on time in the future (the brain thinks there’s a reward coming)

remember to take care of your mental health as well! this is one good way to ensure you don’t end up mentally exhausted.

Apps to help with time management

1. Tide - focus timer, meditation, beautiful and calming soundtracks (my fav!)

2. Pendo - everything in one tbh, schedule, to-do list, journal etc. (my fav too!)

3. Forest - focus timer $$$ (free alternative: flora)

4. Donut Dog - focus timer

5. Todoist - minimalist to-do list

6. Minimalist - minimalist to-do list

7. Google Calender - your entire schedule

8. Todait - smart study planner

a quick search will bring out many more! note these are all available on iOS but i’m not sure about google play. you don’t need everything to be productive. i rely only on Tide, Pendo and my iPhone calender and reminders. It’s less about having many ‘tools’ and more about how you properly and wisely utilise them to boost your productivity and manage your time.

also i don't think pendo is very well-known?? so this is how its interface looks like for 'Notes':

it's pretty, simple and clean and there are several themes to choose from! i rly like it omg HAHA (not a promo)

alright that's all! hope it helped :>

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