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it’s time 2 quit being sedentary. If you are physically able, go outside. Not in a “go outside you strange internet hermit way” but just a “go walk down the street and be present in your own neighborhood” type way. Just noticing the seasons changing and paying attention to people and houses and street signs and critters is very very good for mental health and shakes off that dissociation, depersonalization feeling.

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Super helpful Ramadan guide for any students out there by @sahraisha on Instagram!

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Practice paintings in my a4 sketchbook | shop

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Hello very informal post reminding y'all that if you are having a hard time meeting deadlines for school and college you CAN reach out to your professors and academic advisors. They want you to succeed and will more than likely help you however they can. There is no harm or shame in asking.

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i found this documentary on youtube about africa’s great civilizations throughout history and it’s really good and chock full of info dispelling harmful myths and preconceptions about african societies, the first part is 2 ½ hrs long and the second part is another 2 ½ hours so there’s a solid 5 hours of content here completely for free and most of the scholars in the documentary are black african scholars and academics speaking about their own people’s history

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12.09.20

a simple spread as i find it harder and harder to be creative when i’m so swamped with work (∩´﹏`∩)

hoping everyone is safe and happy 💖

ig

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my november in photos / always the beautiful answer who asks a more beautiful question. – e.e. cummings

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🐻

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I’m trying out a different way to take my pics! I’m feeling like experimenting lol, also, is anyone else obsessed with the new TS album? I’m not a big TS listener but there’s something about this album I really like

✧･ﾟ: *✧Winter Study Challenge✧･ﾟ: *✧

15th December

What is the coolest gift you ever gave someone?I think the coolest gift I ever gave was the gift I gave to my boyfriend last year, I got him an xbox, he was so excited because his old one was near its breaking point and he uses it to watch netflix and stuff, he was so happy when he got it it was worth spending the money :).

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what's the best way to start reading about post-colonial theory?

postcolonial theory is interesting because it’s an intersection of race, gender, and class, and sometimes goes beyond what we would conceptualise as ‘postcolonial’ in the strictest sense, e.g. not just countries that were once part of the british empire. it’s more about the critique of supremacy of the ‘western’ world. it’s also an area of study that covers many different subjects, not just IR/polsci, so keeping that in mind, here is what i can recommend as a brief reading recommendation list.

orientalism by edward said — this is like. the foundational text on postcolonialism. as you could probably guess from the title, it’s focusing on the relationship between the west and east (the orient).

power, postcolonialism and international relations: reading race, gender and class by geeta chowdhry and shelia nair — this is a very IR heavy analysis of postcolonialism. it’s very good, very comprehensive, and has quite a few case studies.

africa in the colonial ages of empire by tatah mentan — this is a dense piece of work, but really really interesting and comprehensive when it comes to analysing africa through a postcolonial lens. this book literally taught me about the way US foreign policy is written to continue extracting resources from africa under the guise of ‘liberal internationalism’ which, hey! i wrote a whole essay on.

prison notebooks by antonio gramsci — hey i’m recommending gramsci again. gramsci coined the term ‘subaltern’ and he’s just a really important source for critical theory regardless of what perspective you’re coming from. i am biased, i really really like gramsci.

can the subaltern speak? by gayatri chakravorty spivak — she’s cool. her theory is cool. she makes the point to seperate ‘subaltern’ from the marxist sense of being synonymous with proletariat, and gives it a specific colonial meaning.

the white saviour industrial complex by teju cole — right of the bat, i want to be clear that teju cole is not a postcolonial theorist, but his article here is really really interesting, and i what i was talking about when i said i brought up kony 2012 as an example of postcolonial response.

imperialism, the highest stage of capitalism by lenin — >:)

as for non book/journal sources, i would really recommend checking out some of the speeches of fidel castro and che guevara, and if you live in a country with a history of colonialism, looking into the work of indigenous rights activists within your country. i live in aotearoa (new zealand), and would recommend specifically the legacy and activism of whina cooper.

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Monday morning

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i love looking at my study materials so much I feel so motivated ✨

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11.22.20 | it’s getting warmer and warmer these days, don’t you think? my apartment faces south so it can get pretty warm around noon. anyway, here is today’s spread and leftover vegan pizza from yesterday. 🍕

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really do gotta chill after exams

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What to do when you’re having a poor executive function day/been sitting in front of your computer for a few hours wondering why you can’t do your work: 

1. Take a deep breath - Let out all that anxiety over the project you’re doing so you can think clearly

2. Pull up a clean sheet of paper and something to write with - You can use a fresh word doc, new page in your journal or planner or whatever else works for you, the idea is that after this you will have a physical list to look at to help keep you on task.

3. Identify your obstacles (i.e. What is keeping you from doing this task?) - For example: Is it scary? If so, why? Does it feel too hard? Is there something else that you feel needs to be done first? Write these down!

4. Plan how to overcome your obstacles - This can take some creativity and some thinking to best figure out how to overcome the obstacle. I’ve included examples below for potential plans.

Example 1:

Obstacle: I don’t know the best way to approach this task.

Plan: Brainstorm on paper ways that you might be able to approach this task. Google ways to accomplish this task. Review lecture notes or example homework problems on how to accomplish this task. Ask a friend/coworker/classmate how they might start the task. Write down everything you feel might be relevant until you feel like you know where to start and where to go.

Example 2:

Obstacle: This feels too big and overwhelming so I don’t want to do it.

Plan: Break down the tasks into smaller, tiny tasks. Make them as small as you need to make them feel manageable. Write down all these tasks check them off as you go. 

Example 3:

Obstacle: I’m waiting for someone to get back to me with comments on this project but they’re taking too long.

Plan: Follow up with this person and identify what you can do without their comments. For example, if you’re waiting for someone to sent you a section of a project or paper, write your section to the best of your ability. Can you have someone else review this project and still get good feedback. Or tell yourself you’ll revise/edit your project and integrate their comments later when you get to them. Often when I identify what feels out of order, I can move past it or put it farther down my list so I’m no longer just stuck waiting.

5. Encourage yourself and commend yourself for filling in the gaps actively that your brain couldn’t do on it’s own today. - You’re doing a great job!

Sincerely,

A Graduate Student with Adult ADHD

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things that should be completly normal:

not going to uni

taking as much time as needed before going to uni

changing your majors many times before finding what you like

changing your career path

not knowing what you want

attending a community college 

valuing your health over your grades

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[28/06/20]

Study space set up & no, you can never have too many study table flowers.