#I am okay; just school and exams and finals prep and other college stuff has had my ass in a chokehold | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

etraytin · 4 years

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Quarantine, Day 176

September 3

The only real thing of note today was a visit to the dentist, which is also the thing that continues to make me miserable many hours later, so I guess I will write about that.

After many months of bar-exam and COVID-related delay, I finally had to toughen up and go in to get the crown prep done on one of my back molars. I have temporomandibular joint disorder (commonly referred to as "terrible hell jaw") so no visit to the dentist is ever fun, but especially not when they work on the lower left side of my mouth. Back when I was in college, my folks let a friend of theirs do my wisdom tooth extraction and he fucked it up so that I had permanent nerve damage in that quadrant of my mouth, extending up into my tongue. Basically that part of my mouth and half my tongue never woke up all the way after the surgery, which kind of sucked. It also means that whenever anybody messes around in that area, I feel it in an undifferentiated fashion all throughout that gum area and all the way up the side of my tongue. It means pain is more diffuse but not less intense because of it, and my nerves can react unpredictably.

Basically the first thing my dentist did at the appointment was jam the needle straight into the biggest nerve in that quadrant of my mouth. His aim was extremely good and my mouth was numb within minutes, but during the injection, it literally felt as though my mouth was being electrocuted. Intense pulses of burning pain extending all the way up through my tongue and all along the side of my lower jaw, and it just went on and on and on. I held still because I am a grown-ass adult and thirty years of dentistry has proved that the better I can hold still, the faster the appointment will be, but I started to cry and basically didn't stop the entire appointment. Not like sobbing or anything, but just tears running from the corners of my eyes, down my temples and into my ears for a straight hour. I think it was just the stress, because after the initial pain wore off I was very numb and felt nothing more than discomfort. It really didn't help that the dentist and the tech kept noticing and apologizing and thus bringing attention to the fact that I was crying which always makes me cry worse because what even, brain? It was blocked out as a two hour appointment but they were quick and had no real problems other than the bad start and I was done in less than an hour, so that part was nice. I had to pull myself together in the truck before I could go home, but such is life. As is the 500 dollars I'll be paying even though I do have dental insurance because of the curious insistence that teeth have nothing to do with health.

Anyway, I came home after the appointment and my nerves were shot, so I just went to lay down. The kiddo, who is even worse than me about dentist appointments, was very solicitous and kept making sure I was okay and doing little things that needed done, like feeding the kittens. We have our conflicts, especially about honesty over internet time, but he really is very sweet and a great kid. We watched many episodes of The Good Place and ate ice cream because it was all I wanted to eat. (He also had some hot dogs so I would not be a terrible neglectful parent.) At bedtime he had a really rough time because he was itchy all over and couldn't settle down. I'm starting to wonder if this is an allergy pill thing, that somehow the Benadryl is making him itch even as it clears his sinuses. I may have to give his doctor a call about it. He wound up asleep in my bed, which I am going to have to do something about eventually here, but I'm just glad he went to sleep at all.

News came from NC today that MIL is doing very well and will probably go home on Saturday. Yay! The timing is really good because the long weekend means my husband can stay through Sunday and then drive home Monday without having to cancel any more classes. He's been teaching from down there, but he can't teach and drive at the same time. I am going to be so happy to have him home, even though I have sort of enjoyed having the bedroom all to myself so I can live like a gremlin and never sleep at the right hours. Him being home will be good for me, too. A Monday return gives me three more days to get stuff done on the house. Tonight I cleaned up the kitten room because until we come up with something better, it will also be doubling as the school room. I'll probably have to remove the screamlings somewhere else during school hours though, just so they aren't distracting with their constant clamoring for attention. Oh, and in kitten news, Audiva sampled food from the plate today! What a clever girl, I knew she could do it! A couple more days on the bottle should get her fully weaned to solids. Now if I can just get them all eating kibble and drinking water, we'll call Operation Big Kitten a rousing success. They're not big enough for the tall kennel yet, but they're nearing that awkward age where they can climb out of the playpen. They just grow up so fast!

#quarantine #foster kittens #tw: dentist #dentist #organizing

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millenialstudies · 6 years

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If you’re a student, it will happen. And 75% of the way through a crisis of such, I decided that it was only right to get the bad stuff out there, so you can take it, and fight it. You browse Tumblr, and see the pristine notes and the productivity goals, the occasional admittance to studying late, taking more caffeine than regular or being wracked with nerves for an upcoming exam and the workload it embeds into us students- but you don’t see any of that sheer, frantic rushing when some disaster or another throw you off course. It could be a family issue that has left you distracted; some recent general lack of productivity has pitted you several days behind; you’re having social issues, or some natural disaster forces you stay away from your school, college or university for more time than regular- there are thousands of things that can put you behind, and the catch-up is shocking.

Of course, I understand why people don’t regularly post about these mishaps and the partially reckless things they are forced to do to get back into shape when worst comes to worst- if you are beginning a crisis, you can sometimes seem disheartened and pessimistic, and who wants to read that for ‘inspiration’? But, being an optimist and being able to make light of all situations, I thought it would be reasonable to do so here, by recounting a current miniature disaster in blunt reality, and then presenting the reason why the occasional desperation downfall isn’t really so bad.

Here’s the situation: I’ve been ill for 3 weeks, with a horrible virus and my lack of immune system leading to me contracting a rash on my lower face. We’re finishing our last load of content, rushing through before we break up for Christmas and the torrential snow plus the fact we are all a little behind in our classes anyway means these last two weeks? They’re going to be crammed with heavy writing and classwork.

3:30 AM: I had a cup of coffee and chugged it down, hurrying to finish the next day’s Christmas cards in time for me to post or hand them out to my peers in the educational day ahead. I haven’t had any sleep, because I realised I had so much work, both social and educational, to get finished, and my head was pounding from my already debilitating illness. No, I shouldn’t be going to school tomorrow, I am too ill- but I can’t risk the time off and lack of work being given. When I’m done, I return to my room and look at the daunting mess of my most content heavy subject- history- and the 3 weeks (aka, 9 pages) of homework I’ve been unable to finish due to being bedridden- and revision for 3 other subjects. It has to be done.

4:30 AM: My heart at this point was genuinely racing. I felt awful and energised at the same time. Call me crazy, I had to stop myself shaking due to my body fighting the caffeine and how easily caffeine affects me by simply talking myself through the day ahead. I’ve pulled all-nighters before, and so I already know how I’m going to feel later on, and I’m mentally prepping for it.

5:30 AM: I’ve finally done my history and I know the rest will only take me an hour and a bit. I have to be ready to leave by 7:15- I can take 20 minutes at some point to grab my second cup of coffee (safely timed to be about 3-4 hours after the first, which is not bad for me, considering it’s only the second cup) and get myself prepped.

Right now it’s about 6:02, and I’m happy I’ve made it this far. I know I’m going to have a massive load of work thrown at me today, and that taking the day off and sleeping in would be much easier. I DO NOT recommend that you get yourself into the situation where you have to pull an all-nighter to work. It isn’t something you should just do, so don’t take that from this post. But this is the message I’m trying to convey by posting this:

Sometimes, things get bad. You get caught up, you’re depressed, you have just fallen behind in the race. And that’s okay- your situation could be a lot worse than this, or even a little easier but still hits you hard. When you feel that much pressure and know you need to do something fast, it is okay to endure an irritable night of study, lacking sleep, so long as you don’t get into a routine of it- learning and studying, at whatever level, is difficult. But the important thing about when you feel like you’re hitting a rock bottom with studying, or work, or anything- is that no matter what you think you have to do, you do it, and you persevere. You push yourself through your demoralised state and you keep writing, keep moving, keep calculating, even if you aren’t in your best form. Because however long it takes, after an hour, or five, it will be done, and you’ll be back on track. The feeling of accomplishment will help to alleviate some of that gritty hardship- and a day out of a year of feeling a little odd and not being as healthy for yourself as you might be normally is better than depressing yourself further.

Nobody wants to be in that situation, but it can happen, it might happen- let’s face it, it probably will happen. Just don’t give up, it won’t damage you once.

Mini Tips

• Don’t EVER make a habit of it. An all-nighter or general prolonged hours of study is fine if you know you usually are consistent with your work and rarely leave things too late or stray off tracks, but if you’re having to cram because you don’t have a study routine or leave things till last minute, I wouldn’t recommend doing this. Instead, I’d take a weekend to get your work straight then produce a routine so that you aren’t constantly cramming, because on a general it isn’t a good idea.

• If you need to cram for a test, then just don’t. You might be scared of struggling and not knowing as much, but cramming revision or pulling a revision all-nighter won’t be beneficial unless you’re producing revision material (such as flashcards) to revise from- if you’re trying to learn or memorise anything ready for a test in a few days or a week, it just will not process, and you’re better off with your current knowledge and the extra sleep/time in between.

• If you can find any other rational solution or something better than cramming, go for it. Some suggestions if you’re desperate but not quite desperate enough to do this:

>Between mass periods of work, do very small actions to keep yourself active and alert. Literally, go to the loo, brush your teeth, grab some water- 1-10 minute activities that barely take any time (avoid the phone though)

>Grab a 30-minute nap somewhere. It’s better than nothing, seriously. You’ll feel tired but you won’t feel brain-dead if you’re easily impacted.

>Instead of pulling an all-nighter, go to bed a bit earlier in the day and wake up early in the morning- though going to bed at 6-7 and waking up at 4-5 might be weird, you could find spending hours in the morning means you’re refreshed and will work for longer in comparison to procrastinating at the end of a day.

I know this is a weird post as one of my first- to be fair, I needed this as much as I felt like it would be beneficial to get it out there, and hopefully, it’s provided help of some kind! I’ll have more productive and optimistically viewing posts on study out soon!

Have hope, peeps!

millenialstudies

#all nighter #sleep #study #study inspo #realism #real life #study blog #studyblr

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studycell · 7 years

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Hello everyone! Haven’t posted a masterpost in a long time! Hopefully this will be helpful to all of you in the following semester! I’m posting this now and not in the middle of finals week because some of these tips actually require of you to plan ahead so don’t be lazy, start the summer semester right!

The tips are organised more or less chronologically through the progression of the semester.

Disclaimer: This masterpost is aimed mostly at college students, seeing as we sometimes take big exams with 1000+ pages of study material, but I believe these tips could be helpful for anyone else! So let’s get started!

[check out my other masterposts here]

1. Start on time

Starting with a big one. Start. On. Time. The earlier you start with revising and going through the material, the more time you’ll have to do practice test which are one of the most important aspects of your revision (more on practice tests below!)

What this includes:

Going to lectures - this is an important step in gaining passive knowledge about the subject, by paying attention to what your professor says, you are already saving some of the concepts in your short-term memory [find about more about short-term vs. long-term memory here]

Taking notes during the lecture - doesn’t have to be anything fancy, just follow the main concepts of the lecture and write down main points - do not write down every single word you hear!!! this has no effect and you just become a human tape recorder. [this makes you pay attention and has your brain actually process information it’s hearing instead of just recording it]

Make your notes such as they are editable, meaning either use a computer or binder paper so you can insert additional pages and add content from different sources (textbooks, past papers, etc.)

Revise your notes after lecture - this takes just up to 30 minutes every day and for me it would be colour coding the notes I made in class. [colour coding your notes during the class simply takes too much time and imo takes a lot of time, at home you can take time to colour code and sort the material so your brain doesn’t only remember recording the information, but now sees it as an organised unit]

2. Have a life outside of school

Make friends, join a sport club, join the chapel choir, go jogging every weekend, go clubbing on Fridays, whatever you like!

Personally I like learning Swedish, going to dance parties whenever I can and taking long walks along the river. I study Microbiology and Genetics so learning a language is a nice way to “stimulate other parts of my brain”, so to speak. The different the hobby from your major, the better!

I am very aware that during the finals week, you’ll probably have to cut some time on some of these activities, but keep in mind that just because you’re at Uni, you don’t have to abandon every other aspect of your personality.

This also includes:

Taking breaks

Treating yourself with some nice things whenever you reach a goal

Dating!! (if you want, of course)

3. Take care of your (mental) health

This is a tricky topic, but I am fully aware that a lot, and I mean A LOT of students struggle with mental health issues, some of us have had this struggle even before starting college/uni.

After having a horrible first semester mental health-wise as a student abroad AND a queer female student in the STEM field that already had a life long history of depression, this January I’ve realised how much of my potential is wasted on horrible panic attacks when I should be studying and dreading existential depression when I should be going out and exploring the city. I reached out to my Uni therapist and asked for help. I’ve been visiting the organisation for two months now and it is completely FREE. I am still struggling but just ASKING FOR HELP has helped me so so much. I thought there are no free options for me and I’d have to waste a ton of money on just getting help, but if you use that magical lil thing called google, I’m sure you’ll find many options for students in your area.

This also includes:

Taking care of your physical health - no school subject should make you get sick because you sleep too little or make you loose a ton of weight because you think you don’t have the time to eat healthy

Taking care of your reproductive health!!! - if you are sexually active and live in a college campus/alone away from your parents, chances are, you are in great risk of getting an STI or unwanted pregnancy. I think this isn’t mentioned enough but check in with your insurance company about the coverage for things such as IUD, birth control pills, nuva ring, etc. as well as other contraceptives that prevent STI’s (female and male condoms, etc.)! If you don’t practice heterosexual intercourse, here’s an important link, also here. When in doubt, talk to your doctor!

What does this have to do with big exams?

Well, many students I know seem to ignore their health and sacrifice their sanity, just to get “a good grade”. Emotional, as well as physical health is crucial for being happy and satisfied with yourself. I also mention reproductive health because it is often overlooked as something “people should know already”, but people often overlook the consequences of getting an STI or getting accidentally pregnant. Having a panic attack over a weird growth on your genitalia or missing your period and wondering whether it’s from stressing about exams or getting pregnant is the LAST thing that should be happening to you when you need to thinking about your education. Also letting your mental issues building up and then having a nervous breakdown the day before your big exam probably isn’t a good idea.

4. You are probably not a night owl

Before I get bombarded with hate for this one, I do think that, YES, some people are night owls! But I also believe that some people, SOME people simply have little to no self-control and/or organisational skills and therefore end up staying late at night finishing that last-minute assignment or studying the night before the test. I AM this person, I do this. But when I do manage to get my ass out of bed at an appropriate time and get a good nights sleep beforehand, my productivity is OUTSTANDING. Try rebooting your sleeping schedule and actually getting stuff done in the morning, you might be surprised in realising you are, in fact, a morning person! If you truly try and again fail, then congratulations, you are indeed a creature of the night!

By actually getting myself to be productive in the morning, I managed to have 0 allnighters for my last exam and pass it as well!

Here are some interesting links on the topic:

The AsapSCIENCE video

Sleep and good grades

5. To coffee or not to coffee?

This is also a complicated topic but IF you feel like you are well rested, fairly focused and you usually do not need to drink coffee! If you are like me, the additional caffeine will just send you into anxiety mode and for the rest of the day you’ll feel like someone spiked your drink with DMT. Not joking!! It is also important to remember that drinking too much coffee too early in the morning can indeed affect you negatively in the long run so be careful! The last thing you need during your finals week is to have painful stomach ulcers, yikes.

While there are negative sides to drinking too much coffee, there are also findings that show coffee helps with your memory!

If you find yourself literally OD-ing on coffee and not getting any results, try drinking tea instead. Fun fact: tea leaves actually contain more caffeine than coffee, but by diluting them while prepping your beverage, the effects are weaker.

All things in moderation, especially when preparing for a big exam!

Here are some links:

20 Harmful Effects of Caffeine

Perk Up Your Memory with Caffeine!

Caffeine and anxiety

6. Practice tests!!!!

Do. Practice. Tests. It doesn’t only prepare your brain for the exam environment, but it also makes you actively learn things.

My usual practice for big tests is 1 month of hardcore studying (going over the materials) and 1 week of going through past papers or practice tests as some call them. You can also do 5 days of going through the material and then 1 day of doing exam questions, but this is mostly up to you, as everyone is different and no person can study the exact same way as you! The uni usually has an entire server of these and a good tip is to join some facebook groups of older students and politely ask them to send you some old questions/give you tips on the exam you are taking! Most of them are usually happy to help.

An interesting study about practice tests

And lastly, don’t forget that your grades aren’t everything and as a college student, you probably won’t be able to get through all of those 1000+ pages of study material and that is okay! Usually the main thing you will be graded on is understanding the concept and applying it to a real-life situation in the field. Focus on the big picture and don’t stress too much over small details! I tried to be as general as possible, as to have this masterpost applicable for anyone and I am fully aware that your studying strategy will differ depending whether you study linguistics, history, computer science, or something completely different!

If you think that I forgot anything or have any questions, feel free to message me and I’ll make sure to answer to you as soon as possible!

Have a lovely Monday!

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