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studyscrasic · 7 months

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10,15,16

10 - What’s your favorite word in your target language(s)? Least favorite?

My favorite words are all over the place. In Norwegian I love eventyr (fairy-tale) and vitenskap (science) and skeiv (queer); in German my favorites are probably märchenhaft (fantastical, fairytale-like) and Wortschatz (vocabulary, but literally word-treasure); I love the Irish oíche (night) and its Gaelic counterpart oidhche, and truly there is no word better than the Yiddish verklempt (overcome with emotion).

I don't know that I have any least favorite words! Ones that I mix up or forget can be frustrating, but those change with time, and they still have fascinating etymologies and histories behind them. I just really love language, is the thing.

15 - Why are you learning your target language(s)?

I'm learning German because I have a lot of family history in Germany, including dozens of letters and other documents written by my great-grandmother's siblings to her after she moved to America in the 1930s, which have been very slowly attempting to translate. But I also think German history is fascinating, and loved the country both times I've visited! I also hope it will be useful as I continue my history of science studies and let me read more primary texts in their original language.

I'm learning Norwegian because I needed a foreign language for my degree program and thought it would be interesting to take a much less commonly taught one -- and then I fell in love with it a little, and I'm determined to keep studying it even though I'm done with my four semesters of classes. I also want to visit Norway so badly now.

I'm learning Scottish Gaelic and Irish for family history reasons, too, but also because once I started dabbling in them, I fell for the whole Celtic language family. I think the sounds and the grammatical features like eclipsis and lenition are all so wonderful, and find Celtic grammar to be a fun and fascinating little puzzle.

And I'm learning Yiddish and now a little Hebrew because I'm Jewish! There's so much history and weight to both languages and they're both so embedded in my culture. I think it's neat that Jews have such a strong connection to such an old language (there's even folklore about angels only speaking/understanding Hebrew, because we hold it in such high esteem) and I love love love that Yiddish is such a fascinating linguistic case -- a Germanic language written in the Hebrew alphabet! -- because it says so much about my people and our history.

16 - Do you ever want to live somewhere where you’d speak your target language(s)?

It would be my dream to get to live in a country where one or more of my target languages is spoken for a little while -- I'd just love to get to live outside the USA for a bit, honestly -- but I think it's unlikely to happen. I was briefly looking at study abroad options in Norway and Germany through my university, but the challenge is that my partner is very sick and can't really live alone right now, so she needs me to stay with her.

But I'd really love to get the chance to at least be a visiting researcher at an international university someday! Getting to at least spend a few weeks immersed in another language and culture sounds like an incredible time, and there are archives I'd love to spend time in all over the world, so I hope someday I can have the excuse :)

#ask meme

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ysabroadsk · 8 months

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I'm currently studying at my local university, and I find myself have this childish desire to explore more, and I have decided I would like to pursue my college at Korea, specifically at the Yonsei University, but I have a lot of questions spiraling in my mind. First, how on earth a person like me even afford studying internationally? Second, how, a person like me, who have zero knowledge with Korean language and not even fluent in English supposed to survive there? Thirdly, I'm not from an affluent family, my family's income is sometimes even short for our basic necessities, and this I don't really feel confident with my background, how can I do it there? Lastly, do I have to feel ashamed of all these challenges I am facing? With the desire to understand things, am I doing the wrong thing? Idk what is happening with my questions seriously

I'm so sorry for the late reply! I didn't think people would actually see this blog haha

I think the first thing to look into would be any scholarships or potential financial aid you could get, either from your country or Yonsei. I'm not super familiar with Yonsei financial things, since I currently pay (reduced) tuition to my home university for my year abroad here, but it's worth checking out their website. I know some people got support from the government/our home university to pay for some things like the flight over and tuition. I also know of some classmates who went to different universities in Korea on exchange that gave them free accommodation so that's definitely worth looking into!

As for not knowing Korea, I wouldn't worry too much about it! There's lots of places with English-speaking workers (or bare minimum enough English to make it through interactions) and I have lots of friends here who don't know any Korean who have been having a pretty fun time still. In fact, most of the time they'll default to speaking English if they can tell you're a foreigner. Most people also take language classes with the university and you would be surprised how much you can learn, even in a single semester! So I don't think there would be too many problems regarding that.

No one will judge you here for your financial background, I think. Everyone comes from so many different places with so many different backgrounds and are just excited to experience life. Honestly, I've found convenience store food a lot cheaper than I expected (but maybe that's just because food prices are kind of insane in the UK these days). I'm not entirely sure what your question is asking but I hope this helps, even a little.

You shouldn't feel ashamed at all! None of this is your fault and doesn't affect how incredible you are as a person and how smart you are/how hard you work. You deserve to experience good things and enjoy your university experience regardless of your background. It's natural to want to explore and chase after the things you enjoy! Don't feel bad for it at all.

I hope this helped! Please feel free to send as many other questions as you want if I completely skipped over things or didn't make sense. I'll try my best to answer everything as best I can :))

#south korea #year abroad #korea year abroad #yonsei #yonsei university #language exchange #exchange student

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terubakudan · 3 years

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This may be an old article from 3 years ago, but these cultural aspects/observations still apply even today. And though this is strictly a Chinese perspective, a lot of these everyday life bits are observed in Overseas Chinese communities in countries such as The Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, etc. as well as countries heavily influenced by Chinese culture like Taiwan, Japan, and Korea.

I've always liked learning about other cultures and making comparisons between how things are done East vs West. Which probably stems from growing up with two cultures and Mom raising me on American movies xD

So the irony is if you asked me how many Chinese, Taiwanese, or Hong Kong actors I know, chances are I know as much as you do xD Like Jackie Chan, Andy Lau, and that's about it. But if you asked me about Western (specifically American and British) actors, then I have a useless brain dump of movie trivia and who was with who in what movie xD

Hmmm, both Taiwan and the Philippines are two distinct cultures but both look up to a certain country and are fascinated by that. In Taiwan's case, Japan and the US for the Philippines. In both cases, this is due to being under the rule of those countries in their history. Taiwan being under Japan for 50 years, and the Philippines being under Spain for 300+ years, followed by periods of American and Japanese rule. To put it simply though:

Taiwan is "mini-Japan with a very Chinese culture".

The Philippines is "former colony of Spain with lots of American influences".

But unlike the author, I've never set foot in any Western country, so my understandings are strictly what I've observed in media, which while it can be accurate, doesn't compare to actually experiencing the culture.

Some further elaboration on most points:

#1 We quite literally use chopsticks for everything. We use it to pick rice, viands, vegetables, fruit, smaller desserts, almost all the food you can think of.

But where do you put your chopsticks when you're not using them? Just put them on top of your bowl or flat on your plate. But do not ever stick them vertically. It's taboo, since it looks like incense sticks, which we use to pray for those who have passed, like our ancestors or during funerary services.

#3 The majority of Asia is obsessed with fair/white skin. In my time at the Philippines, I grew up watching all these Dove Whitening commercials and my classmates often commented on how fair my skin was, how they envied it etc. In Taiwan, girls often say they don't want to 變黑 (biàn hēi) 'become dark'. Japan and Korea too are not innocent of this either (if their beauty/skin products weren't a dead giveaway).

People here at Taiwan often mistake me for being from Hong Kong or Japan (as long as I don't speak Mandarin with my heavy accent xD). A Taiwanese classmate of mine joked that she often gets mistaken for being from Southeast Asia due to having a darker complexion. And while I laughed it off with her at that time, looking back, I now realize she was lowkey being racist. xD

And believe me Filipinas have mentioned literally being told 'your skin is so dark' here in Taiwan, or being given backhanded compliments like 'you're pretty despite having dark skin' and...*facepalms*

My point is, beauty is not exclusive to skin color. People who still think that are assholes.

#5 Not to say we don't have salt and pepper, but yes soy sauce and vinegar are the classic condiments you see on the table, be it at home or at a restaurant.

And if I may add, Taiwanese love their pepper. xD If you ever get to eat at a night market or a smaller "Mom n' Pop-style" restaurant here, some dishes/soups tend to add quite an excessive amount of pepper. Not like anthills, but quite liberally and way more than average. Enough that you see traces of pepper at the bottom of the food paper bag or swirling in your soup. xD

#6 I know this all too well from personal experience. In my years of studying at Taiwan, I always had roommates. 3 in my first school (I graduated high school in the Philippines pre K-12 so I had to make up 2 years of Senior High), followed by 2 in college, with the exception of 1 in freshman year.

My college did offer single person dorms but at around 9000 NTD ($324) per month compared to around 6000 NTD ($216) per semester. Because I wanted to save, the choice was obvious for me xD. But ah, this doesn't mean I don't value personal space, in fact I love having the room to myself, and since both my roomies would go home to their families every weekend, weekends were bliss for me xD

And you don't have to be friends with your roommates (that's an added bonus however), you just have to get along with them. I was quite lucky to have really great roommates all throughout my schooling years.

#9 In the Philippines, we do. Owing mostly to American influences and maybe being predominantly Catholic? xD

#10 *sigh* Chinese parents and parents from similar Asian cultures tend to put too much emphasis on grades, so much that kids could get sent to cram school as early as elementary. This is because what school you get into could literally affect your future job opportunities, and while that's not exclusive to any particular country/culture, I feel it's especially pronounced here in Asia. I'm really lucky my own parents weren't that strict about it. However, if your parents don't point the mistakes out to you, chances are you'll do it yourself, if you're an Asian kid like me anyway. xD It just becomes a habit.

#11 My family is an exception to this. xD We do say 'I love you' directly, but complete with the 'ah eat well ok?', 'don't scrimp on food', 'sleep well' and similar indirect words/actions of affection. We were doing 'Conceal, Don't Feel' before it became popular. xD

#13 I'm kind of confused about this but this has sort have changed over the years in which eye-contact is now more encouraged. But don't stare, especially at elders and authority figures. Sometimes it's just shyness though. xD And I've observed this with my own Taiwanese friend, especially when I'm complaining or ranting to her about something. xD I'm a person who likes to express my opinions strongly, which tends to scare/alienate some of the locals here, as doing so is kind of frowned upon. Thankfully, she does listen and offers her take on things.

#14 Ah this. xD In the Philippines, this is a common greeting known as beso-beso, and I freaked out too when an auntie did that to me. xD Needless to say, Mom lectured me later on what that was. ^^"

#16 Along with #3 another crazy beauty standard. In my view, people always look better with a little meat on them and when they're not horribly thin. Asia still has a loonng way to go with accepting different types of bodies if you ask me. This combined with modern beauty standards has made the pressure for women especially to 'look beautiful' higher than ever.

I know many people love them but please, starving yourself or glorifying eating disorders is never OK just to get this kind of 'ideal' body. I'm not part of the Kpop fandom, but even I think when idols get bullied just for gaining the least bit of weight among other insensitive comments, that's really going too far.

#17 'If you want to make friends, go eat.' <- I couldn't agree more. In the Philippines we have a greeting: 'Kumain ka na ba?' (Have you eaten?) . Similarly in Taiwan, we have 吃飯了沒? (chī fàn le méi), both of these can mean that in the literal sense but are often used as greetings instead. By then which invitation to having lunch/dinner together may or may not follow. Food really is a way for us to socialize and to catch up with what's going on in each other's lives. Not to say we don't have regular outings like going out to the mall, going shopping, etc. but eating together is a huge part of our culture, be it with family or friends.

And while I'm at it, some memes that are way too accurate good to pass up xD

Parents, uncles, aunties alike will fight over the bill xD

Alternatively:

You just space out until your name is called xD

My parents are guilty of the last one. Logic how? xD

#18 True. xD I like giving compliments out to people but I have a hard time accepting them myself, though I've learnt how to accept them much more now than before. We're kind of raised to constantly downplay ourselves so we often say things like 'ah no no' or 'I'm really not that good'. The downside of this of course is that it can come off as somewhat fake. xD

Again from personal experience, that same classmate who made the lowkey racist remark, she was good, she was on the debate team, was a honor student, knew how to mingle with people, but she downplayed herself way too much, while praising me but I honestly thought that she never really meant it from how she treated me. She wanted to keep me around her yet make backhanded compliments at me and she didn't want me socializing with my other classmate who is now my friend. *sigh* It was only after discussing this with one of my roomies did I realize how this 'excessive downplaying' might come off to people like me who more or less grew up with a more 'Westernized' mindset. I'm not saying brag about your achievements but don't be overly humble about them either, which can also be a turn off.

#20 We do tend to be a lot more realistic on how we view things, neither entirely optimistic nor pessimistic. We try to think of things practically and often analyze things on pure logic. A downside of this however, is that Chinese people can be overly practical. Taiwanese for instance don't like to 'find inconveniences' and generally keep to themselves, meaning, they won't help you in your hour of need even when they do have the capabilities. Sounds really harsh I know, but in my 6 years of living in Taiwan, while this doesn't apply to all the people, a lot of them really do only find/talk to you when they need something.

So for some people saying Taiwanese are 'friendly', that's BS xD If you ask me, Filipinos are infinitely more friendly, and again while not all, generally make more of an effort to help you when you need it. I really felt more of a real sense of community during my years growing up in the Philippines compared to Taiwan.

#21 Children do tend to stay with their parents well into college and adulthood, since Chinese families are indeed very family-oriented, in a lot of cases, grandparents often live under the same roof as us as well! And it really does save a lot of money. I see there's a real stigma in the US when it comes to "living with your parents", but that's starting to change especially because of Covid and having more and more people move back in with their parents.

Housing unfortunately is pretty much hella expensive no matter where you go, and Taiwan is no exception. Steep housing prices and the very high cost of raising a child (schooling + buxiban fees, etc.) contribute to a very low birth rate and thus an aging population like Japan. It's not uncommon to see both parents working in Taiwan.

#23 I'm an overthinker myself, but I totally agree with the author that the best is to strike a good balance between these two. Which I guess is why I love drawing or any other related creative attempts, it helps me be more spontaneous or well, creative! I like to remain intellectually or artistically inspired.

#24 Is French high school really like that? xD My friend did watch SKAM France and more or less got a culture shock from what was depicted on the show. I can confirm however that most high schools both in the Philippines and Taiwan require students to wear a uniform, only in college is everybody free to wear casual/civilian clothes.

#26 Ah this is part of our Asian gift-giving etiquette xD We always open gifts later after the event/meeting and in private. Never open them in front of the person who gave it to you or in front of others. This is to prevent any 'shame/embarrassment' that may result both to yourself and to the gift giver. I know this may come off as something weird since some people may want a more honest response or immediate feedback when it comes to gift-giving, but that's just how it is in our culture. You're always free to ask us though (in private) if we liked the gift or not ^^"

#28 I want to say the same goes to drinking, partying, and drugs however xD Those are things which are still frowned upon in our culture. And to be honest, whenever I see those in movies, it does kind of turn me off xD It doesn't mean that we're "uncool" or "boring", we just think that there are much better or healthier ways of "having fun".

#31 Is this true in France?! Man I would kind of prefer that instead of people being on their phones all the time xD This kind of goes with #20 in that Chinese are overly practical or logical, and don't read fiction as much as nonfiction. My Taiwanese friend is an exception though, she's a bibliophile who loves the feel of paper books compared to e-books, and it's a trait of her that I like a lot. Both the Philippines and Taiwan however have a huge fanbase when it comes to manga and anime though.

I'm all for reading outside of "designated reading" at schools especially. Reading fiction improves your vocabulary too, and can be quite fun! It helps you imagine and really invest in a world/story, and if you ask me something that I feel Westerners are better at, they're more in touch with their emotions and creativity, and are thus much more able to write compelling or original stories. Believe me, I've seen a fair amount of Chinese movies that rip off Western movie plotlines xD

#33 Nothing much to add on here..except that since I'm a "weird" person, Mom often jokes that she got the wrong baby from the hospital. xD

#35 True. While I agree with the care and concern that your fellow community can give you, the downside of this is we tend to only hang out with our own people, e.g Chinese with Chinese, Taiwanese with Taiwanese, etc. I've seen too that it's especially hard to make friends in Japan and Korea as a foreigner. Not only is there the language barrier, but the differences in culture too. In a way, Asians can be pretty close-minded on getting to know other cultures or actually making friends with people from other countries. I know this all too well being half-Taiwanese/half-Filipino, being neither "Filipino" enough nor "Taiwanese" enough. xD It's more of people here being too used to what they're comfortable with.

#36 Oh this is something I feel that Chinese students and other students from similar cultures should really improve on. xD How will people respect you if you don't speak your mind?

I felt bad especially for my Spanish teacher in college, granted it was an introductory course (Spanish I and II) but the amount of times that our teacher had to prompt a student to recite/speak even with clear hints already made her (and me too) extremely frustrated. The thing is, these are college students, I personally feel they don't have any reason to be so shy of speaking and technically by not doing so they're slowing the pace of the class too much and a lot of time is wasted.

Unfortunately you can't always be very vocal with your thoughts and opinions in most Asian cultures. I would say strive for that, but at the same time, play your cards well, especially if you're in a workplace setting.

If you made it to the end, thank you for reading and here's a cookie! 🍪 I'm not perfect and there's bound to be something I missed so please let me know if you spotted anything wrong. Feedback/questions are very much welcome and please feel free to share about your country/culture's differences or similarities!

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ask-a-vetblr · 3 years

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Hihi! Can you tell us a little bit about veterinary stuff and working as a vet / how hard was it to get into vet school and what was it like? Thank you! (I'm thinking of being a vet and I've read about it online and the grades needed are awfully high and it seems like it's not for everyone)

Hello there! I was wondering if veterinary medicine would be a good career for me? What are the difficulties of "vet school"? I've read more than a couple of horror stories on the internet about people getting ludicrously good scores but still not making it? How true is that? Overall opinions?? Any comments about the financial aspect? Thank you!

vet-and-wild here.

In terms of getting into vet school, it honestly sucks. Most schools about 1000 applicants and 100 spots. They also tend to let in more in state than out of state students (although it depends on the school), so your chances of getting in are statistically pretty darn low. Every single person applying has good grades. Some people get in because they have exceptional grades, but schools are getting away from that trend because it turns out a lot of people that are booksmart aren’t necessarily great with people, and working with people is a huge part of this profession. My grades were below average, but I had thousands of hours of unique animal experience, so you certainly can get in without being a 4.0 student, but it takes work. When people want tips for applying, the best thing I can recommend is to diversify your application. The vast majority of students applying have high GPAs and a ton of small animal experience. What makes you different? Work with farm animals, wildlife, research, etc. My hours weren’t necessarily even veterinary related (about 200-250, which is quite below average), but I worked on a farm and did study abroads and did unique behavior/enrichment work with captive wildlife. Your interview also is a factor.

Vet school also sucks. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done. There will be semesters when you have over 30 credits and professors will expect you to prioritize their class and how dare you not remember this one tiny detail from year 1. You will be challenged in ways you never imagined. There is an insane amount of information to learn, plus you need to be involved in extracurricular activities to make your resume look good. Not to mention the cost is insane. Average vet students graduate with at least $250,000 (US) in debt. I had people straight up tell me I was stupid for choosing an out of state school over my in state, but I’m really happy that I did. I don’t think I would have done well at my in state school. The finances are terrifying, but I just remind myself that thousands of people before me have done it. I worked with a financial advisor and came up with a 20 year plan, which still sucks but it’s more reasonable than I expected. Honestly, it’s the interest that is the worst. If I think too much about it I get pissed off, because it’s literally robbing students. You cannot work enough hours while in vet school to make loan payments. It’s impossible. Vet school is full time job, and then some. I earned enough interest in just 4 years of vet school to get another bachelor’s degree, and I think that’s criminal, because it was literally impossible for me to make payments and go to school.

#vet school #vet med

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roscgcld · 3 years

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You're studying law??? 0.0 sorry if you've answered this b4 hehehe~

I'm planning on getting into law too! Any tips???

(Just wanna add, I've been so obsessed with your ddr! Reader! Been here for months but a silent reader so sorry about that~ I hope you have a great day or night beautiful Hooman bean!❤ 💗 )

yes i am!! and that you for being a reader love c: as long as you just give it a small like and come back to read it from time to time, it makes me happy regardless.

long rant at the undercut for law students - or uni students in general!

to be honest, my best advice to you is to research depending on your qualification. I am currently enrolled in a European course, so I can only speak from that point of view.

If you want to become a barrister, what are the subjects you need to take in university? what are the requirements for when you are called to the bar? is there the need to look into internships under other barristers in advance? If you want to become a solicitor and be called to the bar, what subjects do you need to take and pass in your uni in order to, 1) save time and money to retake certain modules/private courses provided by the bar council, 2) qualifying to sit for the entrance exams. It also depends on which country you study in - so make sure you do some reading into that before the course starts!

another thing is that you should talk to your Dean/course coordinator in advance about the course. For my course, in my third year, I am required to do one semester in an Irish firm to do some intern work and can spend the next 6 months in an international country in another European country/partnering countries with my university to do 6 months abroad. The reason I mention this is because my Dean had advised me to try and balance out all the subjects I am taking. The reason being is that I do not need to pressure myself too much towards the end by taking all the heavier courses in my uni career. It gives me more time to plan out my future timetable and what i might want to look into whilst i am given the chance.

also know that you need to be super disciplined. I am really bad at this honestly. But in law, unlike other courses, there is no "hand-holding" from lecturers. My lecturers meet me once a week for 2-3 hours, have tutorials every 2 weeks, and then just assign readings to me. Between writing my assignments, doing my tutorials and trying to explore a new country with my dormmates, I find it hard to focus on my reading list. And if any law students are here, they'd know that you need case studies to back up all your claims T^T So be prepared to have to do a lot of your own readings because lecturers are not necessarily going to help you at all

i also advise to go and speak to some seniors from your course! law books can be expensive, so they can either sell you textbooks for cheaper, show you places you can get them for cheap, and what mistakes they made as a junior. it may be awkward, but trust me when i say that a lot of us have no idea what we are doing half the time haha - so try to ask around as much as you can!

law is very interesting to me, and i enjoy the aspect of arguing cases and learning about how laws are applied depending on the variables of the case. but it requires a lot of discipline and a lot of work. plus you need to put yourself out there, not only in classes but important law functions to get noticed by not only your classmates but potential employers as well. it wouldn't be the best course for everyone, but i would say join it if you are passionate about it!

i do hope this helps tho - if you have any other questions you can definitely ask me and I will try my best to answer for you! hope this helps~

#roscgcld asks #roscgcld rants #law stuff

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profoundsaladshoeshark · 3 years

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DAY 1 APRIL 29, 2021

Good Morning everyone! So many requirements this week and I can't handle it anymore. I can't manage my time and don't know what to do. I didn't have enough sleep. It's so gloomy outside and rainy. I want to sleep but I have some lessons to study.

It's so cold outside, end of school year is quite near and I'm super excited. I should do first this requirements before enjoying myself watching Netflix movies.

So many tasks to do this week and I'm preparing myself to be productive to do this tasks without being lazy. Before I do some tasks, my grandmother asked me for help to clean her room. We replace the curtains, we mop the floor, we decided to take a break and have some snacks. She made my favorite pineapple juice and I toasted the slice bread and we enjoy eating together.

This Thursday, our internet connection gone unstable. I don't know why but it will come back to normal as soon as possible. I went to my room and take a rest. I used my cellphone, surfed the net, and listen to my favorite classic songs. I turned off the lights and went asleep.

DAY 2 APRIL 30, 2021

This Friday, it was so hot in the morning. I went to the bathroom and take a bath. I saw my grandmother making our breakfast for us. It was eggs and hotdogs. We ate it and I will be the one who will wash the dishes. I went to our living room and I watched my favorite show. My favorite channel is the Cartoon Network and my favorite cartoon is We Bare Bears. They're so cute! I want to hug tight and be my companion to bed when I sleep every night.

I called mom and we talked for awhile when she's not busy. She's working abroad. I dropped the call because I have something to do. Today was my cousin's birthday. Me and my grandmother were invited to attend to his party. When we arrived in their house, we saw them preparing for the birthday party. We arrived earlier than I thought. When I enter on his room, I saw him using his new phone, it was a gift from his dad. Aww, how sweet! I wish when my birthday comes, mom will give me a new phone.

DAY 3 MAY 1, 2021

Thank God it's Saturday! I want to rest this weekends. I want to watch movies at night with my grandmother and also my siblings. I want to use my phone all night and play Mobile Legends because for me it was the most addictive game in the world. I look up in the sky and watch the sunset. Sunset is my favorite scenery because it makes me calm and I was so admired by the sun.

I directly went to my room and changed clothes. I go to the kitchen to make Chicken Adobo, that would be our dinner for tonight. After we ate, I surfed the net, watched horror movie, and felt asleep.

DAY 4 MAY 2, 2021

Sunday morning, I woke up early and I made a milk for myself. Milk is not enough so I cooked my own breakfast today. It was bacon, egg, and hotdog with rice of course. I'm so happy it wasn't overcooked. I charged my phone because I forgot to charge it last night.

It's lunch time, I ate Adobo that I made last night. I go back to my table where I usually study and focus on myself. It's so hot in the afternoon and my eyes are itchy. I don't have any glasses to protect my eyes from the radiation coming from my device. Layer that time, I felt dizzy and weak so I talked to my grandmother and she gave me some medicines, I should take this because I want to feel better as soon as possible. Then I rest and felt asleep.

DAY 5 MAY 3, 2021

I hate Mondays but I woke up early because of the noise coming from outside. I can still feel the dizziness so I take medicines to cure this. Then I lay down in my bed and take a rest. I felt asleep again and woke up in the afternoon, I skipped lunch because I don't want to eat. Feeling well, I go outside and ventilated myself with the fresh wind. I saw my friend walking by and I smile with a wink to her. She smiled back but doesn't wink back.

I checked my temperature and it goes back to normal. I pray to God and thanked Him because He did not forsake me even I'm a sinner. We should pray and have faith on Him, He is great, He loved us all.

Our subject teachers gave us activities and I answered it already because I have time for it and I don't want to fail, my mom would beat me if I fail. I am ready to pass it, but maybe tomorrow I should go to school or I will send it to my aunt and she will be the one who will pass it in the Drop-Pick Area in our school.

DAY 6 MAY 4, 2021

I woke up early to do my laundry because I don't have any clothes to wear. After doing the laundry, I rest for some 30 minutes, then I did my homeworks and some activities. I also workout for like 30 minutes. My grandmother cooked my favorite dish called chop suey for our lunch. I love it since I was a kid, this is my favorite dish.

I go outside and trim some of the bushes. Suddenly, a beggar came to our house, wearing a surgical mask and she asked me if she can obtain some of our papaya fruit. She also said that she was so hungry and she badly want to eat that papaya fruit. She also told me that she's 4 months pregnant. I think she is craving to the fruit. I gave her the perfectly ripe papaya fruit so that she can enjoy it. She was so thankful to me. And i said "Anytime, you're welcome!"

Being generous also makes us feel better about ourselves. We have to focus on what we are giving not on what we are receiving. We have to be selfless.

DAY 7 MAY 5, 2021

Today is Wednesday. Finally, we have our internet connection and was faster than the recent wifi we used. We can watch youtube without lagging, play online games, and lastly surf the net faster than ever before. This day I read books to enhance my reading skills. I also practiced to sing. My voice actually improved when I was a part of Musical Play in Grade 10.

When I was bored in our house, I usually go to Pili to buy groceries and my needs when I have money. I always buy my favorite Choco-Strawberry Milktea. I usually spend my money to buy foods because it helps me to cope and reduce stress. When I have free time, I play online games like COD, ML, Valorant and many more. It helps me to think critically on how to kill enemies, know the strategies, and many more.

DAY 8 MAY 6, 2021

Today is my favorite cousin's birthday. I'm so excited! Her name is Zchan and she is my beloved cousin and also my bestfriend. Since nursery, she's within me. We play our favorite outdoor games, we watch our favorite cartoons together, we do our schoolworks together, even if it there's an Honor List, we ranked 1st together. We are blessed with intelligence but I am more talented thank her. We always brainstorm together when we have a problem to be solved and the funny thing is that we usually had the same idea. I really love her so much. I prepared her a gift, it was a Gucci sweatshirt. My mom bought it for me so I can give her the gift that I know she wants.

I prepared myself, I went to their house, it's already 3:00 and thankfully I am not late. i helped her sister for preparing the party. It's only a small party because of the pandemic and also she didn't wish to have a big party celebration. Later that afternoon, we ate the foods in the table, and after that I also helped wash the dishes.

When I arrived home, I saw my grandma watching news. I proceed to my room, changed my clothes and fell asleep.

DAY 9 MAY 7, 2021

The Finals Examination for Second Semester is near and honestly I am not ready. I should review my lessons this week but I have so many responsibilities to do. We will have the general cleaning in our entire house tomorrow. My grandmother told me that I should prepare and be ready for tomorrow and finish my school activities. I also have to be the cashier in our store and take care of it.

Before our general cleaning, I already clean and organized my room so that tomorrow I will focus only on the other part of the house. Honestly my room is always clean hehe. I don't want other people sneak into my room without any permission from me. I don't want any dust in my room especially in my bed. My grandmother always tell me that she even asked me "Why am I so clean?" I answered her that since I was a kid, I usually get the "Most Neat and Clean Award". And also I told her that Good hygiene lowers your risk for diseases and illnesses commonly spread through viruses and bacteria. Washing yourself and staying clean can kill and remove illness-causing bacteria from your body, lowering the risk for disease. Good hygiene is key to preventing infection when wounds and skin irritation are present.

DAY 10 MAY 8, 2021

It was Saturday, I woke up late and I drink milk and ate some bread to have energy when cleaning the house. I go to the bathroom and take a shower, my grandmother said that I should take shower before doing a household chores.

I started at the front of our house, I sweep those fallen leaves and piled up in a designated area where we burn those leaves. Next that I did was Grass cutting. I used the pruning shears to cut those unwanted grass in our yard. The next that I did is to water my plants. Grandma loves her plants as much as me. I sprinkled some water to the plants to make them alive and healthy. The next thing that I do is to clean the window, I wiped them using squeegee and a cloth to make them dry fast. The last thing that I did is mop inside the house. Then after that I take some rest and eat those snacks that my grandmother prepared for me. Then it was dark and I fell asleep.

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wontokkiluv97 · 5 years

Text

Club Love

A few little notes:

I'm real nervous about posting this but hi! This will be multi chaptered & I promise Wonho appears in the next chapter! It's very loosely based on my own experiences hah!

The only warning for now is for profanity I guess, that may change in the future...

This will be cross posted on Ao3 as well

That's it I guess! Hope you enjoy ~♡

"I really don't wanna go to a club this is not my type of thing..." You said with an edge of exasperation seeping through the phone, as you lay in your bed refusing to get up.

"Oh come on (Y/N), we're in freaking Japan you can't just hole yourself up in your room all the time." Your friend Amber replied with a whine in her tone. "You gotta let loose and have some fun sometimes, pull that stick out of your ass for god sake."

"I don't have a stick up my ass, fuck you Amber. I just don't see the appeal of being in a crowded room with the music blasting and being pushed around by a bunch sweaty people. Also, some of us haven't taken 3 semesters of Japanese, it's not like I can even flirt with anyone." You answered a bit sulkily. You were studying abroad in Japan for the semester, and even though you tried to teach yourself as much Japanese as possible before coming, the University you attended until now didn't offer Japanese courses like Amber's did, so you never got a formal Japanese education.

"Flirting has no language just come on it'll be fun!" She begged.

"Alright fine," you answered with a defeated tone, "But I'm gonna have to be drunk for this or it's not gonna happen."

"Of course! Hurry up and get ready, we'll take the train to Shibuya and stop at a Sev and pregame with some Strong Zeros. Meet me downstairs at 11." She blurted excitedly.

"What the hell am I even suppo-" you started before you heard a click indicating that Amber had hung up the phone. You pulled the phone away from your ear and looked at the time, 22:37, before groaning and rolling over onto your stomach and burying your face into the pillow and sighing loudly.

After a minute or 2 you pulled yourself out of bed and walked over to the dresser and began looking for something to wear. You scrutinized your closet for a few more minutes before purposely ignoring your more risqué outfits and settling on a thin cropped black sweater with shoulder cut outs and simple but tight, high-waisted white washed blue jeans. You quickly threw on the outfit then walked over to your bed and sat on the floor, eyeing the few pairs of shoes you brought before deciding against the heels and putting on a simple pair of black flats. You then walked over to the mirror and looked at yourself, debating whether or not it was worth it to put makeup on, before simply applying eyeliner and mascara and being done with it. As you were grabbing your bag and throwing your wallet in it, being sure that your resident's card was in it in case the police decided to stop you since your University threatened they would, Amber was sending text after text telling you to hurry out. You responded quickly telling her to "calm her tits" you grabbed your badge to get back in the dorm and your passmo for the subway and left your room.

______

You, Amber, and another mutual friend Jules, were precariously sitting on a guard rail on the side of the road right next to Seven Eleven, each of you nursing your third strong zero and most certainly feeling a rather strong buzz at this point, arguing about the alcohol content of the regular cans versus the larger cans.

"Dude, that doesn't even make sense." You argued squinting at Amber and pointing a finger in her direction.

"How does it not make sense?" She questioned right back, "If I'm drinking a tall strong zero, it's like drinking 2 regular strong zeros and therefore has an 18% alcohol content."

"Are you stupid?" Jules jabbed at Amber. "Both the regular and tall strong zeros are labeled as 9% alcohol, which means drinking 2 small ones will get you more drunk than one tall one."

"That still sounds wrong to me..." you replied hesitantly, because for some reason Jules' argument was swaying you when you knew if you hadn't been drinking at all, you wouldn't have given it a second thought. "Either way I think the fact that we are having this conversation proves that we are well on our way to being drunk so we should chug the last of these and head to the club." You said before doing just that with the last of yours and cringing at the aftertaste. You really weren't a fan of grapefruit but it was the only flavor they had left at the Seven Eleven.

"Oh, someone's impatient considering I had to drag your ass here in the first place." Amber commented with a smirk before her and Jules finished their drinks as well.

"Don't let the alcohol get to your head. You couldn't drag me anywhere if you tried."

"Sure babe whatever helps you sleep at night." Jules replied with snark.

"You know, I'm feeling really attacked right now, maybe I should just go home." You replied sarcastically.

"And waste a perfectly good buzz? Nah, lets go." Amber answered as she got off the guard rail and you and Jules followed behind her, since she knew where the club was.

_____

"TADA!" Amber screeched. "Welcome to Camelot, AKA the best club in Shibuya!"

"How do you know it's the best club in Shibuya?" You asked sarcastically. "Have you been to every club here?"

"I know you're trying to be funny but I honestly probably have, you know I go clubbing on weekdays too."

"Yeah I know, because you always miss class the next day and ask me for notes. Honestly they can fail your ass for breaking the attendance policy."

"I'd like to see them try."

"Can y'all shut up so we can go inside?" Jules asked heading into the club and you and Amber continued to bicker as you followed behind her.

You all walked down the stairs to the front desk gave the attendent your residence cards to inspect and paid the 1500 yen entrance fee for the club. She gave all three of you 2 free drink tokens and permitted you to enter the club. The club had several small circular tables spread throughout where there were various people smoking and drinking. Straight ahead was the bar in which there was a small line of people waiting their turn to order drinks. Further to your right you analyzed the dance floor where there was a small crowd of people dancing and jumping up and down. There was a fog machine periodically adding more fog to the atmosphere and red green and blue flashing lights. At the very front of the dance floor there was a stage with a DJ hyping up the crowd. There were three platforms on the dance floor that only girls were permitted to dance on. No one explicity told you that, but you assumed that was the case when you saw security guards pull guys down from the platform if they attempted to get on them. The music was so loud you couldn't hear Amber trying to get your attention so she smacked your arm instead.

"Ow you bitch, what do you want?!" You asked loudly, trying to raise your voice over the music.

"Do you have 100 yen?" Amber questioned.

"Yeah, for what?"

"There are some lockers over there we can put our stuff in, it cost 300 yen for the night. I figure we could all just share one for 100 yen each."

"Sounds good to me! C'mon let's go." Jules shouted.

The three of you walked to the locker room, taking some money out of your bags before stuffing them in the locker and taking the key. Your friends left the key in your care since even though you were all a little drunk already, you were known to be the more responsible one. You all left the locker room and walked to the bar and used your first drink tokens. Amber and Jules got tequila sunrises while you just got whiskey on the rocks. Not the tastiest but hey, if you're gonna make it through this night you're gonna need to be much more drunk and it needs to be right now.

"Hey Y/N!" Jules shouted both her and Amber already finished with their drinks. "C'mon let's go dance on the podiums!"

"I'll meet you guys there! Lemme just finish my drink." You yelled back and the others nodded in agreement before running over to the podiums and jumping up on them, dancing like maniacs immediately. You sighed as you downed the rest of your whiskey, and shook off that familiar burn. You mumbled to yourself as you walked over to join them.

"God it's gonna be a long night..."

#monsta x imagines #monsta x scenarios #monsta x wonho #shin wonho #lee wonho #wonho #wonho x reader #slow burn

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theancientgeekoroman · 6 years

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Hi so I'm a high school freshman rn lol but I want to study archaeology, and in my country they don't teach that, like it's not a career, there's only anthropology. So I've been researching a lot and I found out that La Sapienza in Rome teaches it. But idk do you think that it would be fine to go and study it abroad? Also, should I learn latin or ancient greek?

Hello! Anthropology is a good way to start and get to archaeology - the University of Delaware (my alma mater in the U.S.A.) just has Anthropology, but under that department, there are archaeology courses. One of my courses was Prehistoric Archaeology (which was one of my favorite classes!) listed as an Anthropology class. Also, remember that if you study a related program as an undergraduate, getting a graduate degree in Archaeology is possible. My undergraduate degree was in History with a concentration in Classics, so it was relevant for my Classical Studies MA, and then my Ph.D. is going to be specific to ancient art and archaeology (once I get in, that is!) A lot of different subjects are relevant to archaeology, so you don’t necessarily need to study it as an undergraduate. You can major in a relevant but different program, and go to archaeological field schools to gain archaeology experience. One of the most important things to remember about archaeology is that, from what I have been told, is that the most important aspect of archaeology is the experience. The more you dig, the better! Potential employers, at least in the United States, look more at how much you have dug in the past - it’s great to have the education - but finding digs you can participate in (and if you decide to go to Italy, there will be no shortage of digs you might be able to participate in). But there’s nothing wrong with wanting to major in Archaeology specifically before you start digging.

However, if you really want to do a program abroad, do some research on the program. If you’re proficient in Italian, then I don’t think that would be an issue - but remember, studying abroad for a long period of time or for a full program is much different than short-term studying abroad. If your country does not have archaeology as a career, you should assess where you might want to go if that’s your career goal. It does make it easier when you’ve studied in that country to get a position as a professional there once you’ve completed the program. I’ve studied abroad four times, but it was always between two and five weeks, so I can’t speak too much on doing a full program abroad (anyone who is doing their program abroad and wants to add some specific advice to this, please do!) The other thing you really should consider with studying abroad is funding; make sure you look into the funding available for foreign/EU students (depending on where you live). See what the university offers and search to see if there are any exchange programs between your country and Italy that might provide you with a fellowship/scholarship. Outside scholarships for exchange students are out there as well, so make sure you look everywhere for them! Unfortunately, since I’m U.S.-based, I’m not sure if your country does things quite the same way, but see if you can find scholarship search engines. I use things like FastWeb on a regular basis, but also Unigo, Cappex, and ScholarshipDetective. Smaller scholarships are always good to look for (I was awarded a $600 scholarship from Mensa in my last program, and all I was able to do was buy my books for two semesters, so it wasn’t a lot, but every little bit helps!) Look locally and at the university you’re applying to, and you can always e-mail the person listed on the funding page of the university and ask them questions about your concerns. I did this with the University of Wales Trinity St. David when I considered going there for Ancient Religions (and honestly I might take some of the classes for fun when I have the time and money because I don’t have enough courses about Ancient Religion), but the amount of funding that would be available for a distance student from the U.S.A. wasn’t enough for me to even take one course, so I looked for different options.

I would advise looking into other schools as well! If you’re proficient in Italian, you can look into other schools, too. You don’t necessarily have to stick to just La Sapienza, but I would suggest researching all possible options and perhaps compare them in terms of the specializations of the professors (if you want to study something that’s a research interest of a professor, you can e-mail them and discuss your desire to apply to the program), compare the weather for the university with the weather to what you’re used to and make sure you can handle the change or are at least prepared for it! I’m a beach baby who ended up in the desert, and I was not prepared. If you’re able to, I would visit the university as well, because I think visiting and getting to see the campus facilities (classrooms, dorms, library (libraries, if there’s more than one), dining halls, etc.) is important. This is where you’re going to study for a couple of years, it would be good to visit to get familiar with the campus and gauge if you feel that it’s a right fit for you.

So, in sum, I do think it’s totally fine to go abroad for your degree. I think studying abroad is really beneficial to people who do it, but the main concern for that is usually funding. If you would be comfortable living in a different country, I think you should do it, absolutely. As I said, I’ve only done short-term study abroad courses, so I can’t speak to semester/year/degree-length study abroad experiences, but if I had the chance myself, I would take it. Just do your research, e-mail potential professors, and consider whether you would like to stay at the university for a graduate program or to find archaeology as a career.

As for whether you should take Latin or Ancient Greek, that depends on a couple of things: your potential research interests, where you want to dig, and finally, what you think you will enjoy the most! My program only required me to take either Latin up to the 600 level (6 semesters for a new student), Ancient Greek up to the 600 level (6 semesters for a new student), or a combination of both Latin and Ancient Greek (a total of 8 classes). Since I didn’t know which one I would like better, I took both, so I could only take 4 semesters to complete the requirement because I took Ancient Greek and Latin at the same time. So, if you’re going to school for archaeology in Italy and you want to dig in the same place, Latin would make more sense. If you’re interested in digging in any of the ancient Greek areas (I dug in an ancient Greek and Thracian area of Bulgaria this past summer), then ancient Greek would be good to study. Part of the areas I visited in Bulgaria was inscribed with Latin, too, so it is prominent in a lot of places. Part of the reason I took both was because part of my research interest includes ancient religions and how they evolved, so I needed Ancient Greek and Latin and languages I haven’t even started looking at yet.

If you’re still not sure about whether to take Ancient Greek or Latin, I would read some of the Classical texts that are on reading lists in your native language, decide which texts you liked the best and decide from there whether you want to read those texts in their original language! For reference of what texts you should read in translation to decide, here is the link to the Yale list of reading for Classics: https://classics.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/downloads/YaleUndergraduateReadingList.pdf and here is one from Balliol College, University of Oxford: https://www.balliol.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate-admissions/classics-reading-lists. These would be a great place to start, and if you’ve already read a lot of or a decent amount of them, think of which ones you liked more.

Finally, if you want to study both and are able to, study both! If you think you’ll like Ancient Greek more, then go for that one. I’m personally better at Latin, but I like Ancient Greek more. This might also depend on your program as well, how much they offer, and how far they expect you to go for your program. This would be another thing to add to your research list when looking into potential programs.

I wish you all the best, and I hope this helps! If you would like me to clarify or expand on anything I’ve said here, don’t hesitate to drop me a line!

-The Ancient Geeko-Roman

#archaeology #anthropology #study abroad #Ancient Greek #Latin #Lingua Latina #ask #asks #personal #academia #long post #Classics #Classical Studies

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cmetery · 3 years

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Hello! Long time follower here, I'm coming to Bristol on a study abroad program this spring semester so was just wondering what you can tell me about the campus/city?? Thanks!

oh no way!! of course!

in terms of housing, i'd say start looking now if u can. the housing market in bris is a nightmare and there aren't many short term tenancies. there are fb groups where people post ads regularly so you might have some luck there! look at areas like clifton, redland, kingsdown/cotham and the city centre if u wanna be near the uni! ive lived in clifton, redland and another area called montpelier that id also recommend but it's slightly further out. the campus itself is really beautiful, mostly made up of victorian and georgian architecture with lots of green spaces.. the weather should b nice by the time you arrive so make sure you spend some time in the royal fort gardens :) idk what course you're doing but my fav libraries are wills memorial, queens, and the physics library. the latter has nice views and they filmed some scenes for season 2 of teotfw in there which is quite funny

the city is really fun!! very walkable (but extremely hilly) and always stuff going on. bristol is kinda known for its art scene and nightlife. if you're into clubbing then motion, thekla and OMG r decent!! thekla is my personal fav bc indie night on thursdays and it's also on a boat hahah. food scene is great, boscos is solid if u want pizza and the best arancini you'll ever have in your life (honestly better than the arancini i had in italy..)

this is getting way too long but feel free to dm me if you want more specific info . im sure you'll have an amazing time!!!

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realtalk-princeton · 3 years

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I'm wondering how you all found what you wanted to major in? Seems like a daunting decision after taking intro classes that may/may not be representative of upper level departmental.

Response from Ocean:

I came to Princeton knowing what I wanted to major in (Slavic Languages and Literatures), but I still had to do research and consider different angles -- I wasn’t dead-set on it until about after freshman year.

Here’s some things I thought were important to consider:

1) Independent work: what kinds of independent work do seniors/juniors in the department usually do? What might a typical JP/senior thesis look like? What kind of research are upperclassmen doing? It can be hard to know what exactly you are looking for here, but I suggest just seeing if the independent work looks interesting and doable to you or not.

2) Career: Many careers don’t require a specific major or concentration, but what kinds of careers are alumni from these departments going in to? What kind of career do you want to do (can be very broad or have multiple), and what kinds of skills do you need for that career? Do you want to major in something that will develop X skill, or do you want to just take a class in it and major in something else?

3) Department Size: Some people don’t care about department size, but some do. Do you want a small, medium, or large department? I wanted a small department where I could get to know my professors better and work with them one-on-one. Other people want larger departments for networking opportunities, certain programs only one department offers, etc.

4) Faculty: Princeton has world-renowned faculty in every department, but maybe there’s a specific professor whose work you love, or who you would like to work with.

I’m not sure how far away you are from declaring a concentration, but in many departments you can try out a couple upper-level courses that have none or minimal prereqs before declaring. Other things that I considered were study abroad opportunities and grad school -- if there’s something specific to your situation, that could be important to think about as well.

Response from Viola:

I came into Princeton deciding between SPIA or NEU premed so I decided to take NEU201 and a history class to help make a decision. I enjoyed the history class but absolutely hated college-level writing which put me off of SPIA (which has a lot more writing than neuro). That same semester, I took COS 126, absolutely loved it and then started to wonder if I wanted to be a COS major instead. I decided to explore CS as a career and spent part of my summer doing an internship at a small start up but soon realized I hated having a job where I was glued to my desk looking at a screen all day and much preferred working with people. Conversely, NEU classes I took were cool and I enjoyed them so I decided to major in neuro and continue with my premed ambitions.

My biggest advice would be to look at what subjects interest you and what career path you later want to go into. As Ocean mentioned earlier, not every career path requires specific major but some certainly do. If your uncertainty is more along the lines of “I don’t know what I want to do after I graduate and therefore cant pick a major!” I would 100% recommend trying to get an internship in the careers you’re interested in. Even if you end up hating your internship, knowing which jobs you don’t like can be just as important as which jobs you do.

From there you should be able to derive a list of majors both with a curriculum that interests you and which set you up for your ideal career. Then I would look into other factors. Department size is definitely an important factor, but so is department culture. I partially chose NEU over MOL because I knew MOL was saturated with premeds whereas NEU had a slightly better mix of premed and non-premed students (which generally means much chiller vibes). I would 100% recommend speaking to upperclassmen in each department about their experiences to get a good sense of each department’s culture (they’ll tell you things that the department would never tell you).

Lastly, I think it’s important to note that if you have super diverging and different interests, choosing a major isn't the be-all and end-all. I fully intend on taking more social-science and policy classes here at Princeton and doing more coding work in my lab work. Certificate programs are also great ways of getting formal recognition for your non-major interests.

Hope this helps!

Response from TNTina:

this response is getting really long but i do want to add my two cents bc i had a pretty winding journey to finding my major. i came in thinking comp lit or spia honestly mainly bc i’d spent my gap year abroad on a state department program, but super unsure. my interests ARE all over the fcking place and freshman year i took classes that were indeed ALL over the place. at one point i had made a list of potential majors i could do (included spia, comp lit, his, lin, ast, econ, cos, literally just random shit) and was just having a prolonged crisis for months bc i looked deep into myself and realized i didn’t like any of them.

then i took one intro class in a subject i’d never seen before (bridges) and made the switch to bse. although i totally agree that the above factors of career, department culture, department size are very important in choosing a major - i’d say these probably didn’t guide my decision very much; when i found cee i just kind of knew i was in the right place. and although i agree that intro classes are probably not super representative of later departmental courses, it’s probably a very good sign if you’re really into an intro class and probably not a good sign if the work you’re doing is really putting you off (the reason i started shying away from humanities/social sciences is because once i took some intro classes i realized even when i find the topic super interesting, i just really dislike writing papers and reading jargon filled texts). bridges is definitely not like the archetype of cee classes, but even after basing my major choice (and switch to bse) basically off one class, semesters later i have loved just about every member of the cee faculty i’ve interacted with, enjoyed almost all my departmentals (or at least disliked none of them) and have never regretted my major choice. not to say this is at ALL a universal experience when you liked your dept’s intro classes

so for advice i’d have to give... i’d say you can kind of trust your gut reaction in knowing what you’ll like doing and what you won’t like doing - but that it is super important to explore as much as possible as early as possible so you won’t be missing out on discovering majors you didn’t even know existed!

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agirlnamedally · 7 years

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Allyyyy I start hsc on Monday and I'm supppppeeer nervous. I have been studying a lot but ofc enjoying my time with everyone at the library and talking etc. I'm stressing about my atar bc I really want to get in to social work bc I really wanna help people :((((( I wanna do psych but it's 99!!!!!

My tips for anyone starting Year 12/HSC/Senior Year:

Know that it’s perfectly normal to be nervous! I’m pretty sure I was scared to start VCE from Year 7 onwards, it always seemed like this giant, scary, looming monster that would destroy my happiness and suck out my soul like a dementor. Mostly, I just assumed I would have no free time, wouldn’t be able to keep up with the workload, and would fail absolutely everything.

Then, something funny happened. Year 11 came around and I realised… nothing had changed. The work might have been harder, but I had done the required training (aka Years 7-10) and was fully equipped with the skills to handle it. The transition from Year 10 to Year 11, and then again from 11 to 12, is really not that significant or scary! Your workload might increase a tiny bit, because (and in hindsight now I can look back and 100% support this) practice really does make perfect. Teachers don’t make you write 100 essays because they hate you and want you to be miserable or have no social life, it’s because they want you to be a good writer, but more than that, they know that the more essays you write, the easier it will be for you to write one come exam time. It will be less stressful, less terrifying and so much simpler to just regurgitate a piece of writing you’ve practically memorised because you’ve ingrained it into your memory throughout the year. That’s just an example for say English or Literature, but I think the same thing applies for all subjects, no matter how you’re tested. Practice makes perfect. Or at least, practice makes progress, haha.

Now, ATARs. Those finicky little bastards. I’m not going to tell you to forget about it, because I know that when I was in the midst of VCE it was always on my mind. I even had older kids, who had already graduated, constantly telling me how insignificant it was and that it wouldn’t matter one year from now, but I didn’t believe any of that. Now, looking back, I know that they were right. In terms of measuring your intelligence or potential for future career success, ATARs mean nothing. No matter what score you get, I promise you, you can go on and be anything you want to be in life. There will always be obstacles and challenges between you and your dreams, but if you want something and you’re willing to work hard and be nice to others, nothing can stop you. The only difference an ATAR can make is the journey and how you go about it. The only thing an ATAR determines is which course you might do. You might have your heart set on a dream course with a super high ATAR. If you want to shoot for that, go for it! Just know that if your number is lower, there are still ways to pursue it. You can take a gap year, travel, discover the world and find out who you are, uncover your passions, gain some experience. Do a TAFE course, start somewhere else, transfer. Defer it, reject it, volunteer somewhere, change your entire perspective on life, completely change directions. You still have the choice. Unis will often accept someone who didn’t get a first or second round offer initially as a mid-year enrolment, or you could do a semester or two somewhere else and then jump across and hopefully they’ll let you keep those credits under your belt. You may not even want to go to uni! There are many many options and paths you can take, don’t let a number limit or define your future.

Personally, I knew I wanted to further my education but wasn’t entirely set on any particular existing occupation. I knew my two favourite subjects were Psychology and Health and Human Development, but that I also enjoyed writing for English, so I could envision myself happily doing something that encompassed those things. For me, an Arts degree was the perfect choice because it allows you to dip your toes into many different areas of study, test the waters of various fields before arriving at a favourite – your major. The course I most had my heart set on had a pretty high entry score, one which I actually thought I had no possible chance of achieving, but I set it as my goal anyway because as I was so undecided, I didn’t want to ‘limit myself’ (typical Year 12 brain thinking). It worked out wonderfully for me, somehow I found the drive and ended up doing a lot better than I’d expected, really surprising myself (and probably everyone else) and guaranteeing a spot in the course. However, I wholeheartedly believe that had I not achieved the score I did, had I gone to a different university or course, or even taken some time off from studying, I would be just as happy. I would have found another way to continue learning, whether it be by sitting in a lecture theatre or travelling to see it myself. I could have enrolled in a different course, disappointed in myself and thinking it was only temporary, and ended up LOVING it. Maybe even more than this course! Who knows? These are the kinds of ‘what if’s and ‘maybe’s that make my brain want to explode. Being a human can be exhausting.

Whether you have a goal course you’re hoping to get entry for, a dream uni, hopes of studying abroad, a plan to defer for a year or no desire to study at all – but they’re all okay and all achievable! No matter what it is you want in life, there are ways to get there. Not just one, but limitless varying courses of action you can follow. One might be more direct, but it might also be more boring, or less challenging. It might grow you less as a person, or prevent you from meeting some really interesting people that another path will introduce you to.

Year 12 is an awesome time. It can be stressful, overwhelming, demanding, sleepless. It can invoke self-doubt, nostalgia, fear of plummeting into the depths of the unknown (your future) and leaving behind the safety and security of routine (your past). However, it can also be rewarding, exciting, bonding, enriching, growing and deliriously fun. I say delirious because there will definitely be times when you and your friends are so overcome with work and anxiety that you just have to laugh. Misery loves company and Year 12 is proof of that. Study dates are perfect for simultaneously motivating each other and collectively crying into the bowl of chocolate you just devoured. I’m probably not painting the best picture here, but seriously, it can be a terrific time.

If I could give you one piece of advice for entering VCE, it’s to maintain a balance. Balance in life is the key here, because otherwise you will either burn out from too much studying, fall behind from not enough, get sick from not taking care of yourself, or something else just as un-fun. When you’re studying, dedicate proportionate amounts of time or energy to subjects depending on their current level of significance. If possible, do assignments as soon as you get them, but prioritise the ones that are due first or worth the most. More importantly, ensure you have balance throughout your whole life, holistically. It’s just as important to take care of your mental, social and physical well-being as it is to reach your education goals. Make the time to keep active, even if it seems like there is none. I can’t even tell you how beneficial it is to get outside, clear your head and get your heart rate up. Endorphins are your best friend and a powerful stress-buster, so keep a pair of runners at the ready. If you’re not a fan of solo workouts, can’t stay motivated or simply don’t enjoy it, I highly recommend joining a team sport! In fact, I recommend this for everyone, because it’s beneficial to your mental, social and physical health. All at once. Plus there’s the accountability factor – you can’t just skip the workout or hit snooze when you don’t feel like it - you made a commitment and your teammates are counting on you! Honestly being a part of a group like that will make you feel so needed or wanted, and it’s great to make new friends or connect with like-minded people. SPORT RULES. Taking care of your physical health also means nourishing your body with the right foods, getting enough sleep and drinking plenty of water – all the basics. Back to balance – it’s also essential to dedicate time to doing things just for you. Bubble baths are a great choice, there’s also reading, meditation, getting a massage or mani-pedi, having a movie night, seeing a friend, anything that makes you feel relaxed, happy and at peace. These are the things that keep you going! Imagine a pie chat, split into 3 sections. One section is school and schoolwork, one is health and fitness, and the last is dedicated to me-time or fun activities. The three sections represent mental, physical and social wellbeing = all equally important and necessary for not only success, but holistic health in general. If you’re feeling stressed out, look at which of the three sections might be out of balance. Are you not getting enough sleep? Have too much on your plate? Need some alone time? Not fuelling your brain and body with enough or the right nutrition? Try to keep these things in check and remind yourself that they’re all significant and deserving of your attention.

Most of all, know that VCE is completely unique to your own experience. Like karma, you will get out only what you put in. You can make it an easy time, just for socialising and blowing off class, you can dedicate 110% of yourself to studying every waking hour, never lose a mark and never see anyone else, OR you can have the best of both worlds and strike that beautiful, sweet balance.

Decide what your own goals are. Make your own rules. Ask yourself what motivates you, and then go after it. Use this time to challenge yourself, grow as a person and exceed any expectations, limitations or barriers that have been set by anyone – including and especially yourself. It’s an exciting time that you should definitely make the most of, because it will be over before you know it. I know it’s hard, but try to forget about ATARs, or at least diminish the all-mighty power and holy-grail presence that it can take. It’s just a number. If you try your best, that’s all you need to do. I have complete faith in you anon,

YOU CAN DO IT :D

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