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Notetaking

Sound Note - take notes while you record audio

Evernote - notetaking that syncs across platforms

Paper 53 - minimal notetaking that syncs

Microsoft OneNote - collaboration and syncing, best for Office users

Google Keep - jot things down, best for Google suite users

Notability - take notes and annotate PDFs

Mindly - create mind maps

Day One - a digital journal

Flash Cards

Quizlet - the quintessential flash card app

StudyBlue - another commonly used app

Cram - best for its “cram mode”

Eidetic - uses spaced repetition for effective memorization

Planner 

My Study Life - schedules, tasks, reminders, and more

StudyCal - keeps track of tasks, exams, and grades

24me - automated reminders and event planning

iStudiez - schedule and prioritized task list

Google Calendar - a calendar, best for Google users

Glass Planner - a calendar and to do list with incredible functionality

To Do List

Clear - organized to-do and reminders

MinimaList - simple to-do and focus timer

Trello - collaborative project organizer

Todoist - clean and functional task manager

Default notes app on your phone

Time Management

Forest - plant trees by staying focused

Pomotodo - pomodoro timer with to-do list

Timeglass - custom timers

Tide - pomodoro with white noise

Alarmy - forces you out of bed 

Pillow - smart alarm that tracks sleep cycles

Productivity

Workflow - automate tasks

Habitica - turn your habits into an RPG

Continuo - simple, colorful activity tracking

Freedom - block distracting apps

Free Learning

Coursera - free MOOCs

TED - listen to Ted Talks

Duolingo - language learning

Memrise - spaced repetition language vocabulary

Khan Academy - free video lessons

Ambient Noise

8tracks - curated playlists

Spotify - online music streaming

Coffitivity - cafe ambience

Noisli - background sound generator

Rain Rain - rain sounds

Binaural - binaural beats

Health

Rockin Ramen - recipes based on ramen

MealBoard - meal planning

Lifesum - healthy eating

Stop Breath And Think - mindfulness meditation

Pacifica - mental health management

Sworkit - personalized video workouts

Waterlogged - hydration tracker

Reference

WolframAlpha - Google on steroids

Oxford Dictionary - all of English at your fingertips

RefMe - citation generator

PhotoMath - solve math problems by taking a photo

Mathway - step by step math help

Desmos - free graphing calculator

Wikipedia - not the best source, but it’s handy

Miscellaneous 

Companion - stay safe when walking alone

Mint - money management

Toshl - finance manager

Tiny Scanner - scan documents

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Reasons why should read Americanah

Reasons, why anyone should read Americanah, is because of the stories that Adichie presents in the book and how no matter what kind of person you are you can understand their perspective. However, Adichie makes her stories specific to people of color. Her audience pertains to the confused Africans that arrive in America who are suddenly confronted with what it means to be “black”. Race becomes a concept that in “Americanah” the protagonist Ifemelu just coming in to America learns the conceptual idea of race and stereotypes, for example, Ifemelu recalls an example where the subject of watermelon and a student had said something about watermelon to an African-American classmate and apparently was offended but to her she was confused as to what was so wrong with liking watermelons. The problem was the anger that African Americans expected from Africans to have when some connotation of the history of the trans-Atlantic slave trade was brought up yet it was not taught to students Nigeria. It becomes complicated because then you have to learn what it means to be “black” in America what offends them and what makes them united. She has no answer as does one's identity does not just have one singular word to describe them you choose to identify how you want it is free will. Accept your identity disregard history because it does not separate us in our humanity. We are lost in history thinking that it can make us self-entitled to be different or the most oppressed or superior but in reality we’re just as equal and small and insignificant as anyone else and life is meaningless. A bit of existentialism but that’s the real catch is that if we’re all caught justifying why we’re entitled forget we’re repeating the very act that we sought to end. Below is a cool gif I just thought had nothing to do with what I was talking about but I just felt like it was metaphorical reperesentation of “ the world is my oyster “ but in fact it is everyone’s and it’s a giant place we have to share.

Immigrants come and seek education as a means of a better education than what is or isn’t provided in their country. “Americanah” shows the stories of Immigrants and the cultural barriers that they have to overcome. This one’s an obvious one if you like good books. However, it’s not written in overly complex language. The colloquialism involved is perfect for making you believe the characters, and yet, it’s so smart that it makes you believe in something greater. I don’t know how to explain it, but there it is. Okay, that’s cool and all but how does that differentiate any other book addressing or addressed by an Immigrant? Well, Adichie writers from multiple perspectives from a woman and a man's struggle. This book in whatever way it can it relates to anyone who has had the experience of being told to “ go back where you came from” or having their accent define their intellect and be mistaken for a speech impediment. I’ll give you my reason, not just the mundane reason why anyone should read this book, I read it for class, yes but I kept reading it because of the cord that stuck to me as Hispanic and I would be asking my parents whether they had experienced the things the characters have experienced. From, “Between the world and me” there’s a cosmic injustice or universal quality that her story transcends and affects anyone who decides to read. Interpret the book how you will, arise as new person, and subjugated to your new self differently than your old self.

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Borders, Race, and Immigration. Anti-Nativism

How do we consider the immigrant man or woman when he or she is the foreigner or the colonized? The idea of we as humans are all divided among race, class, sex gender, sexual orientation, religion. For example race or one's ethnicity helps describe how stereotypes form one’s race. Races have rendered the body upon which histories of racial differentiation, exclusion of race helps to locate the ways in which identities are constituted. In a sense, this represents the colonialist ideology that once embedded into a foreign society the immigrant must assimilate to the standards or culture of said society. These people are being colonized while having to experience disintegration of their own culture. Mimicry is when the colonial subjects who try to live in resemblance to the upper class to live to their living conditions. It’s not enough however, there will be a hybridity of your culture and the American Culture this patriotic ensemble.

The definition of the American Culture is ambiguous but it’s the construct that allows America to have its superior status as the most economically advanced and politically stable country. Throughout the time that myth has been repeated, America has always been the country with the greatest opportunities and is the hope of living a successful life. However, that is not the case when in depth the reality is that America is culturally diverse but socially incapable to see the transition from colonial times to the age of intersection. Subalterns will always exist, because of the diaspora upon the immigrants that make up this country.

The borders talked about in this piece go beyond a physical geopolitical border between countries it's a manifestation of the difficulties that an immigrant would face entering a foreign. The definition of a border and because of the unending violence of many geopolitical borders, including the thousands of people who have died attempting to cross the border, In this example Mexicans are the immigrants trying to enter into the U.S are facing this emotional border since they’re faced to live in their country even if the conditions are not up to par with he or she wants it to be.

There is only one benefit to being an immigrant it is that even if you’re hated by the oppressor you’re still going to be able to progress. Becoming a part of the society and fighting against the system whether it be sexist racist, America isn’t successful without the sweat and hard work produced from immigrants that make up the “melting pot” based economy with multiracial workers and education system regulating how we think about the world.

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Immigration

Immigration is a major theme in the book since Imefelu has migrated from Nigeria to America. Being from a different country and the transitions that are experienced like for Ifemelu coming to America she experienced cultrual barriers. Having a thick accent is a clear distinction to an American that a person is an Immigrant therefore they must not know English so they [being the American] has to slow down and bring down to a child’s way of speaking. Ifemelu has to gain an American attitude this include seeing race as a sensistive topic to bring up and race being a concept. In conversations americans try to avoid saying that people are this and that when distincting two people they try not say “ did you mean the black one?”. For Aunty Uju as a mature woman with a child she has to learn to deal with finding a suitable person to be Dike’s father it is one of Nigeria’s and Americas long for told norms. Aunty Uju has experienced discrimination against her accent, her presumpably bad medical skills because of her being an immigrant. I remember there was a joke on Family Guy and yes I know I didn’t take it seriously however I did realize this to be very true, the joke was “ would you rather be massaged by a gay man or heart surgrey by a hispanic female” and everyone agreed they rather take the massage which led to believe that immigrants are believed to be unskilled and incompetent when seen working in white collar jobs.

In the book you can see other immigrants assume ones “race” like ifemelu and the cab driver and how he assumed she wasn’t african because of her skirt was too short This is another example of an African immigrant seeing America’s corruption upon the Africans who move there. Ifemelu doesn’t share this sentiment, but it is all too familiar to her. Ifemelu has become apart curt’s inner circle but something as simple as a word can remind her that there will always be a divide between her and them. The story of the cab driver is a funny story to them, not something personally frustrating since she cannot relate hereself. In my own persepective people who are the new immigrants and the old immigrants tend to discriminate against each other. When immigrants come to the U.S. it is ironic how they then don’t want other immigrants to come in and mess it up for them. So even immigrants don’t want immigrants.

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Race in Americanah

My own race affects how socially significant I am and how I am willing to treat others differently because of it. However, race does not affect the reader's ability to sympathize with Ifemelu's struggles in the US as a minority. Having experienced a slight variation of what the protagonist has experienced. The world is full of different races, and now that everything has globalized and people have done mostly done everything possible to avoid being racist. In analyzing Ifemelu's interaction being a Nigerian that is entering America unaware of the education system and cultural/linguistic interpretation. When Ifemelu goes to sign up for classes she meets Christine Thomas Ifemelu now feels her identity and personhood being “subdued” just like Aunty Uju’s is. The oppressive power of white America, as personified by Cristina Tomas, wears Ifemelu down until a moment like this makes her suddenly feel valueless. So she starts to change herself in order to fit in better. The author makes it so the readers can empathize with Ifemelu when one of her friends tell her to erase the part of her having some form of education in Nigeria just because people don't like an unskilled worker that is too educated. It shows how insignificant getting an education or having an education in another country compared to the U.S. really is. Race affects how someone would relate to Ifemelu's experience being a migrant and seen as a person with little intellect. Race, in this case, does not prohibit one from learning about these real-life situations but it does give a better understanding of a situation better than other groups. In Ifemelu college, for example, Adichie gives more observations and examples of the complexities of racial issues in America. Different black students disagree about the same subject, and there is no clear-cut answer to anything. Adichie seems to mostly advocate listening to each other respectfully. The way in which African and African-Americans interact and don't really rely on each other when it comes to being whole, a community. Being American and being black doesn't automatically put someone that can empathize with an African migrant's struggle. That is what Adichie's purpose to show how race can influence one's perception of the book and how one can relate.

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Unconscious acts of the brain

Humans since put into academia we are taught math, the language of computers that only understand 0’s and 1’s we are made to understand, create and be controlled by machines. It is worse than we are reliant on the right consciousness. Computers, like humans, in some essence, have “minds.” However, when the “mind” of a computer is contrasted to that of a human’s, we see a big difference. A computer's function is to take in storage, and process data, and provide us with information. Just like a computer, a human’s mind also has those four functions, but a human’s mind also has three completely different functions. The human mind is capable of thinking, feeling, and wanting. Breathing, sleeping, dreaming, and even fear. Fear itself is an automatic response in your brain to perceived to scary stuff but, fear itself is not under your conscious control, it is automatic if it is automatic it’s not you. Right now you’ve been blinking and breathing automatically but now you're thinking about it so you’re doing it manually then you'll forget about it and it'll be automatic. Even the things you like involve preference which means that whatever causes your musical, or food, or social behavior - is out of your control.  

Things you memorize like simple motor skills are kind of in your control. According to Benjamin Libet performed experiments in the early 1980s that were enthusiastically if mistakenly, adopted by determinists and compatibilists to show that human free will does not exist. His measurements of the time before a subject is aware of self-initiated actions have had an enormous, mostly negative, impact on the case for human free will, despite Libet's view that his work does nothing to deny human freedom. Since free will is best understood as a complex idea combining two antagonistic concepts - freedom and determination, "free" and "will," in a temporal sequence, Libet's work on the timing of events can also be interpreted as supporting our "two-stage model" of free will. Libet himself argued that there was still room for a veto over a decision that may have been made unconsciously over 300 milliseconds before the agent is consciously aware of the decision to flex a finger, but before the action of muscles flexing. The results concluded that the brain was already prepared to click the button, perhaps the brain is playing a game on itself afterward to justify what it was going to do. Let us recap the brain does a lot balancing when you're walking, waking up and going to sleep, and remember who, when, perceiving color, and texts. So conscious you do not exist so maybe there is something in your brain doing the experiencing but at least you're still self-aware. so the bottom line you might exist... probably 

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The use of the “N” word

The ‘N’ word has been used to represent different forms of colloquial ways of speaking it has been used by white people during slavery as a means to dehumanize them. For other races to use it is to be ignorant to the pretext of the word. White people have fetishized the word to relate to pop culture as it stands now the N-word has become a way to claim the word and use it themselves. Entertainment outlets like social media, television have had the N-word represent itself as comedy, cultural expression [in how some ‘black people’ would be thought to talk like]. The “N” word is not offensive if it is being used in a documentary or as a primary resource to educate people in no way to spread the use of the word. That being said the “N” word like any other involuntary action or offensive word when used as a means to hurt or negligently harming is a double standard because yes it would be socially acceptable for a Black person to use the word but for anyone else it is not since they do not have consent or permission of the body of the person to use the word. I don’t want to just use White people as the only example of people using the “N” word as a means to culture appropriate other races don’t have any right or entitlement to a word that does not beseech such a status to refer another person to because it would be taking that privilege and enjoying it.

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Hair

In Americanah, Chimamanda uses hair in her book to examine how characters identify to their particular race. Hair becomes apart of one culture background, cultural appropriation, and the ties it has to their identity to their ethnicity. In the first chapter the protagonist  “the few black locals she had seen were so light-skinned and lank-haired she could not imagine them wearing braids” [She immediately] “wondered why there was no place where she could braid her hair”(3). In a american college especially where it's predominantly white it is not rare to see or experience “ [people] not wearing braids… [or] no place where she could braid her hair". It's the effects of having an institution where only white people have been most seen in and not people of color since there are no places to manage the type of hair people of color possess. This narrative allows the reader to see the struggles of keeping one's culture intact in a white institution and how it effects that person's connection to that culture. This environment in which the protagonist her mother’s hair was often awed by Nigerians for example the author would describe her hair as “ a  crown of glory. ‘Is this your real hair?’ strangers would ask, and then reach out to touch it reverently[…] through the years of childhood, Ifemelu would often look in the mirror and pull at her own hair.. Will it become like mother’s?” (49). Ifemelu’s hair represent her own insecurity with her identity, as a Nigerian and being seen as a Black American. Her mother’s hair represents “ foreign blood” or identity.  

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got the survival guide that I need 

realistic tips for uni students

i’ve seen many tips for university students fly around here and i’ve noticed that some of them are either unrealistic or not necessary at all (take it from someone who has been studying 3 years already) so here are some real tips to help you

BUY. A. BACKPACK. i’ve made the same mistake and my back is in s h a m b l e s. and honestly, you don’t need an expensive one, but be sure to check if your backpack has a laptop compartment in case you bring a  laptop a to class. i know it looks unflattering as hell but trust me your back will thank you for it.

You don’t need expensive stationary. any pen or notebook will do but make sure you bring enough pens to classes, exams, etc because you don’t want to sit there panicking because your pen gave out.

on the topic of stationary ALWAYS KEEP A NOTEBOOK IN YOUR BAG what if your laptop dies? what if you want to make a reminder to yourself that you will forget about 5 minutes later? just keep a small notebook in your backpack in case you need it.

Always bring food and water! i’m particularly bad at this, not gonna lie, but especially when it’s summer and hot as hell this tip is incredibly important or you will most likely feel awful. i’m not a big breakfast eater myself because i get stomach issues from it but i make sure to bring something for either on my way to class, just before class, or during the break you might have in class. 

For those of you who menstruate: keep tampons/pads in your bag. you’re friends will thank you for it as well!

Moving on from backpack arrangements: pro-tip you don’t have to be bff’s with you teachers, especially not in your first year. later when you’re writing your dissertation, it’s can be helpful, but honestly they most likely won’t remember you in your first year and they will also most likely not grade your papers/tests either so no need to suck up

on the topic of teacher: you don’t have to attend every single office hour. if you have a question, please go, but otherwise you’re wasting your damn time

wait until your first lecture/seminar before buying books your professor will most likely say please buy this or this is optional. don’t waste money!

read the damn syllabus not just so that you know what to do before class, but also so that you know what to do in case you fall ill and what the attendance expectancy is (some professors have a 80% attendance or you will fail and others don’t give a shit)

don’t sign up for 9 am classes you won’t go okay? it seems fun at the beginning but you’re gonna end up dreading that class even though it would’ve been interesting if you were awake enough to take it in

procrastination is normal everybody does it and guess what? YOU DON’T NEED TO GET ALL A’S!!!! strive for it? great! but work yourself until you’re crying from the stress and thinking about dropping out because you can’t handle it? not so great!

mental health is more important than that 4.0 GPA speaks for itself but also if there is something going on please talk to your student advisor or tutor! you can better warn them in advance than try to build a case after you flunked that assignment/exam

try to make friends honestly it will make your uni experience so much nicer. and i get social anxiety, but at least try to get on friendly terms with people so you have notes when you’re sick, a partner when there is group work to be done, and just a friendly face when it’s all too much!

wear comfortable clothes yes i get the need to look cute but honestly when you’re freezing in your lecture hall because you wanted to wear that one top, you’re gonna be mad at yourself. also bring a jacket/scarf to put over yourself when you know a lecture hall/classroom is cold as hell it helps, trust me.

have fun sounds cliche but sign up for that one class that has absolutely nothing to do with your major but it looks fun, go out partying with your new buddies and stay up later than you should, it’s okay. nobody is all study all the time and you get to enjoy yourself. just find something fun in everything you learn even if you f-ing despise that one course because it will help you get through these years!

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HAPPENING NOW: A key House committee is voting on net neutrality

This is super important. A key House committee is voting on the Save the Internet Act RIGHT NOW and we need Congress to know that the whole Internet is watching. Watch the livestream here:

Click here to tell your lawmakers to pass the Save the Internet Act with no bad amendments.

Unfortunately, telecom lobbyists have been working around the clock to try to derail the bill. Their main strategy right now is to punch it full of holes with bad amendments. So be sure to tell your rep to vote for a clean bill and oppose amendments that weaken it.

Taking action takes just a minute or two and it makes a huge difference.

The vote is imminent and we can’t afford to lose this one! If we pass the bill through the committee it will likely get a vote on the House floor next week. But if the bill is gutted through hostile amendments, then we’re back to square one.