clarasnotes

[clarasnotes]

How I take math notes

So for the last few days I've tried sooo much note taking systems. All my classes were in French until now, and this one is in English, which is quite challenging. So I needed something that would be really easy to read. I usually don't like digital notes because it can be a pain to write math on a computer. But I tried taking notes on paper like usual but in English it was just so long and annoying. So I did some research on how to write math on a computer. I tried a few software but it was just complicated and ugly. So I tried One Note because everyone on Youtube is talking about it like it's magic and I thought I could try writing equations with my graphic tablet so it's easier. But I gave up and wrote the equations with the tool included haha But I just haaate OneNote. It keeps switching to the wrong language, or doesn't want my equation to stay in the center, etc. So I switched again to Microsoft Word. I feel like it's exactly like OneNote but without the annoying things. (I'm probably using OneNote wrong so please if someone can explain) Word works so well, and I discovered the *shortcuts*. Basically with Alt + = you create an equation, with \doubleC you write the complex symbole, etc. Now I'm a pro 😎

[clarasnotes]

Okay so I'm back.

I haven't been posting anything here for a year, maybe two ? Ya know, too busy with life. I completely forgot I had so much followers here (well it looks like a lot for me at least). Don't know if anyone will be reading this tho.

Little life update:

I studied really hard for two years and I got to my dream school (well let's say it was my dream school, anyway I love it now). I've spent a year in this engineering school now and I've been busy with... all those things around school except classes? Like, having a social life after so much hard work to go to that school.

My grades haven't been great. Online learning didn't help at all, I just hated it. Hopefully in September things will get back to normal. But I'm still mad at myself for those grades. So I got the slides from the classes I'll have next year so I can work a bit by myself so it won't get too difficult in September.

What I'll be posting

I'm just gonna post some of the notes I'll be writing. Not trying to do something really aesthetic when I'm not in the mood, it's just for fun. Zero pressure here, just enjoy the content <3

[clarasnotes]

9 points about language learning and how I’m learning 20+ of them

I’ve had a few requests to write about how I learn my languages. To different degrees, there’s currently 20+ of them and I don’t see myself stopping yet. The thing is, learning languages comes really easily to me and I want to share, maybe it will be helpful to somebody else.

First, I’d like to have a look at first versus second language acquisition. I’m a linguist and I’m super interested in Child Language Acquisition. That however, has a critical age of 14 (or so I was always told) and is then no longer possible and any language learned after that age will never progress as quickly or can’t be learned perfectly. Well. I disagree. The simple difference is - first language acquisition is how you acquired your first language(s) as a child. By imitating, finding patterns, etc. Second language acquisition is what you know from language courses. Vocabulary, irregular verb tables, endless exercises. Now that we got some of the terminology off the table, let me see how I actually learn languages: 1) I utilise elements of the first language acquisition rather than second language I’ve only studied vocab a couple times at school, when I put them into Quizlet or when someone forced me to. I’ll get back to it in another point. I don’t learn patterns. I know there is one and I let the input do its magic of slithering into my head. Again, more on that in point 2. You always get told you’ll learn a language better when you’re thrown into the country where they speak it.  And it’s so true because of the processes behind it. Because input and immersion are the keys and that’s how children learn, too.

2) I don’t cram languages. I process them.

Around langblrs, I keep seeing all the ‘crying over verb tables’, ‘trying to learn a 1000 words this week’ and the like. That may work for you, sure. But I’ve never done that. I did learn a few irregular verb patterns for German in class, but while I could recite them, it wasn’t helpful. In Irish, I sometimes still wonder which verb ‘An ndeachaigh tú?’ comes from. The thing is, you’re able to process language. You know this word is probably irregular. If you come across it and don’t know what the irregular form is, look it up. After you’ve looked it up for the tenth time, you’ll probably remember by then. Same with anything else. Don’t try to learn things by heart when it comes to languages. 3) Vocab?? Same rule applies here. I’ve only learned vocab at school and then a handful of times when I wasn’t too lazy to put it into Quizlet (which is fun and I learn something, but it’s more of a useful pastime than anything). When you read, just skip the words you don’t know and only really look them up if you can’t tell by context. NEVER translate vocabulary. I mean, sure, look up what it means, but don’t connect it to the word itself. Connect it to the meaning. Pictures work better. As for abstract words, imagine the concept. Just try not to bridge the meaning of the word with your native language. Languages in your brain are meant to be two separate units. Unless you’re working on a translation piece, they shouldn’t be ‘touching’. 4) I use example sentences for everything.

Grammar guides are useful but rather than learning all the rules at once, take it one step at a time and remember some example sentences and let them guide you through the grammar rule you need.

5) Input is everything. Output is hard, but you’re basically imitating input and utilizing patterns you know (or think you know). Let me give you an example. Let’s say I’m writing a piece on my daily routine, for example. I make use of the example sentences and try to tailor them to my own needs. Trial and error, if I make a mistake, it’s okay, if somebody points it out, I probably won’t make it next time. As I progress, I will gradually remove the mistake. Same goes to new words and new verbs. Use the input you’ve got. Does this verb sound like some other verb you’ve heard before? It’s might have a similar conjugation pattern. You can check it, you don’t have to.

6) Learning languages should NOT be stressful! I never stressed over learning a language. Sure, I’m frustrated that after a year and a half of learning Irish, I’m not 100% fluent, but I’ve never stressed over it. I’ve never cried over it. I’ve never cried over a language (I only cried after a French oral exam which I thought I failed). Don’t be hard on yourself and try learning through a method that’s not stressful. Watch videos for children. Read books for children. Write down cool things in your target language(s). 7) You’ve learned a language before. Why wouldn’t you be able to learn it now in a very similar way? This is basically me saying that I have little belief in the efficiency of pure second language acquisition. Maybe a few individuals can reach fluency by cramming a language, the thing is, I think that if we concentrate on processing instead of remembering, just like we did when we were children, we can reach better results in a shorter amount of time. Also, if this is your third or fourth language, compare to languages you already know. 8) I don’t start with basics. I start ‘somewhere’.

Delve into the language the second you’ve started. Are you overwhelmed? That’s fine! You’ll find your way around it. Start with word meanings, finding out what kind of sentences those are and then build your way around it. Don’t start saying ‘hello’ and ‘I’m from’. Those are cool, but usually, they are used in a different way when you actually go out and speak. You’ll get them along the way.

9) Don’t rely on instructions (only). Rely on yourself.

This is just my two cents. I’ve pieced this together trying to remember how I’ve learned what I’ve learned and comparing it to how others around me learned. Please, let me know if it makes any sense. I may edit this and post this again later if I have any more ideas. Feel free to contribute or to bombard me with questions. I’m happy to answer.

[clarasnotes]

|| 15.05.19 ||

We started a new chapter in physics! Sorry not to post a lot. ♡

[clarasnotes]

|| 14.04.19 ||

It looks better, right? Now it's messy again because we're repainting the bathroom so all my stuff is in my bedroom for now haha

I'll start again posting my notes soon!

[clarasnotes]

|| 10.04.19 ||

Hey, you know what? This is my room after 6 weeks of really hard work. And... it looks bad. Really. But I wanted to be realistic, and show you the before/after instead of just the after.

Wait for the next post, my room will be sooo clean!

[clarasnotes]

|| 11.03.19 ||

You know what? I'm proud. I'm so close to my goal. When I look back at the beginning of this school year, I realize that I have made a huge progress. Now I'm able to work for hours without being tired, it's easier to get to work. So keep going guys, it takes time but you'll be so proud at the end!

[clarasnotes]

|| 20.02.19 ||

Hey, I haven't post very often lately, I got a surgery so I was quite tired but now I'm back, yay!

Today was the first time I tried the website Focusmate (I discovered it thanks to Thomas Frank, he has a great YouTube channel btw). You turn on your webcam, you get paired with someone and you work together, like those "study with me" videos but with someone just for you! It's so effective because you don't want to look lazy haha

So try it, it's still a small website but it would be nice to see more people ♡

[clarasnotes]

|| 27.01.19 || I've been quite busy recently, but I don't feel as much overwhelmed as a few months ago. I guess it's getting easier to study now. I still have a long way to go but I'm proud of what I've done so far!

[clarasnotes]

I'm happy it helped you, everyone can't be productive right after they wake up!

How to wake up earlier

What you need to know first

• Don’t try to wake up earlier if you are not really motivated. Don’t do it just because your favourite guy on Youtube does it. Do it because you WANT it.

• Waking up earlier does not mean less sleep. You will have to go to bed earlier too. Sorry guys.

• I believe that being a morning person and waking up early are 2 different things. You can wake up at 5am every day and still not be a morning person. I’ll explain it in the next part.

Are you a morning person?

Take a piece of paper and rate your level of energy every hour of the day during a few days. You’ll start to notice that you feel more energized at a certain point of the day.

/!\ I’m talking about your energy, not your laziness. You can have a lot of energy and not be productive.

• If you feel good in the morning but you are tired in the evening, and you can’t work late, then congratulations, you are a morning person. For example, I can never be productive the last 2 hours before I go to bed, I’m so slow. If I procrastinate too much and I would rather wake up 1 hour earlier to finish my work than going to sleep later.

• On the contrary, many people can work until midnight without any problem but they need a lot of time in the morning to wake up and feel good. If you’re like that, you’re definitely not a morning person. But you can still learn how to wake up earlier! It just means that you need more time in the morning to wake up.

• Most people are in the middle. If it’s your case, you’re not an alien.

Create your morning routine

Your morning routine will be different if you are a morning person or not. But whatever you are, start with something you like. It will be easier and it will make you want to get up.

• If you’re a morning person, start with the most difficult things. It requires a lot of energy and it will be much more difficult in the evening, when you feel tired. For example, you can wake up an hour earlier than you currently do to study before going to school, so you don’t have a lot of work in the evening. But it can be difficult to start like that when you just woke up, so do something you enjoy, like making aesthetic notes.

• If you’re not a morning person, start with easy things. Take your time and drink hot chocolate, take a warm shower, listen to music… You want to feel good, not to be productive. You can be productive once you feel better, when you’ve really woken up. You can work later because you don’t mind working late in the evening.

• If you’re in the middle, you can do something

Choose a method to wake up earlier

• Put your alarm clock far from your bed. Go to sleep like you usually do. Wake up at the time you want to wake up every day (you won’t have the choice if your alarm clock is far). You won’t have enough sleep because you went to bed like usually so it will be easier to fall asleep in the evening. It’s a good method but you will need a lot of motivation or discipline not to go back to your bed in the morning.

• Do it slowly. Wake up 10-15 minutes earlier every day (and go to sleep earlier, even if you don’t fall asleep). It will need more time but you won’t be tired.

What are the benefits?

• If you’re a morning person, you will have time to work in the morning so you can relax in the evening when you feel tired.

• If you’re not a morning person, it will help you to get out the right side of the bed. You have time to wake up so you feel energized once you go to school so it’s easier to pay attention in the morning.

[clarasnotes]

|| 13.01.19 || It's the first weekend since September that I don't have to work a lot, but I'm still working so I can be ready for the week after. It's sooo nice to work without stress! Even if my desk is still messy haha For those who are interested in my work out: I'm on day 5 of my 30 day program. I obviously can't see any physical change but the work out was much easier this morning than on the first day. I can do it!

[clarasnotes]

Thanks for the tag <3 Good luck with your studies! I also have consistency problems so I understand sooo much. (And have fun in French class, this is the obviously the best language haha!)

studyblr intro ♡

hi guys  ♡

my name is sarah. this is an old blog, so it has a few followers. but it’s 2019 and i want a fresh start (i literally typed 2018 first, i had to correct myself), so i decided to delete all my posts, change my user, and work on a new theme. so you may know me, but things change. roll intro?

about me

my name is sarah. nice to meet you :)

i live in mississauga, but most people don’t know where that is so i tend to say toronto

my birthday is 2004/06/22 so i’m a cancer sun, leo moon, cancer rising 

slytherin, and while i love harry potter, i’m not into it all that much

i speak english, french, urdu, and i’d like to pick up a new one soon

i love aesthetic feeds omg i’m going to do my best with this one

i have serious consistancy problems, you’ll see this as time goes on

i’m really gullible xD

i stress easily and procrastinate constantly

also! i am a type 1 diabetic. i really hope to share my experiences as a t1d on my blog too to clear up all misconceptions between t1d and t2d.

academics

i’m a freshman in highschool 

this semester, i have math, geography, music, and tech. this semester is about to end though, so my schedule for next semester is 

english, gym, french, and science and i’m so excited

my favourite subject this semester is probably math

school clubs and extracurriculars that i participate in include

choir

DECA

math club

drama club

debate team

band

interests

i have a lot of interests, hold on kids

espresso. e s p r e s s o. i love it and live for it.

pretty aesthetics

shane dawson and the whole squad

cats and reptiles. oh, yes, i have a cat. he will make features.

my school extracurriculars

music!! everything about it. playing instruments, composing, listening to music. i play

piano

flute

violin (not well, omg, i am so bad)

ukulele

vocal

recorder but i doubt that counts

psychiatry. this is currently my dream job. i’d love to go into psychiatry for criminals too, like at a state hospital in the U.S. i don’t know, but this is something i’m really passionate about.

business. deca really got me into it. i compete in HLM for hospitality and tourism. it’s my first year but i love it. i’m competing at provincials in feb

law or political science, idk really

literature. i love to read literally anything. i kind of do poetry too.

figure skating. i used to do competitve figure skating, but i put that away to focus on school. it has a special place in my heart though

studyblrs that i love  ♡

@studyblr @studyquill @stillstudies @studyingmood @studiyblr @coffee-fueled-studies @studieswmatcha @theannstudies @thomastudies @studywithmeici @aboysstudyblr @studyelement @clarasnotes @mybcy @go-study-nana @caffeine-study @studybutch @studyingbeebo @tomstudyblr @minimaliststudy @studydriven @studylustre @psychologyhermione @studystress @studyingmood @pianoandstudy @caffestudy

that’s about it. please reblog and follow, i really want this account to work out. i will follow back studyblrs. sarah xx

[clarasnotes]

I'm currently just using a normal planner. I've tried bullet journaling but I didn't like it at all, everything is mixed together, you can't take off ugly/useless pages, etc. Sooo I'll try using a binder someday! That way I can reorganize the pages so it's more clear. I'd would love to make a mix between planner and bullet journal but in a more flexible version!

What planning system do you use, (works for you) and why?

I’d love to hear how everyone else plans, their processes, what you track, etc! x

[clarasnotes]

|| 04.01.19 || Hey, this is just a little update as I didn't post much recently. My phone refused to post something in December so I got quite annoyed and I completely stopped posting haha Actually December was a horrible month for me, I was veeery tired and I couldn't work anymore. So I rested a lot during my Christmas break and now I'm ready to go back to school. I'm scared because I don't want to fail but it makes me procrastinate even more. Quite stupid right? This month I'm going to study. And I'm going to work out. I'll try to see studying as a kind of work out for the mind. I don't know why but it helps me to think that way :D Happy New Year guys!

[clarasnotes]

Hey it’s your secret santa here! Sorry for not sending that many asks recently, finals really demolished me, but I’m really glad winter break is finally here! How have you been spending your time out of classes? I’ve been at home eating good food and hanging out with my friends! A lot of them went upstate to ski for the weekend, and one of them had me watch their dog while he was gone. It definitely made my week! 😊

Hello! And merry Christmas 🎄 Don't worry about that, actually I think that December is the worst month of the year haha. I planned to do a challenge but I was very tired because of school so I stopped it and stopped posting on my blog. But it was nice to talk to you a little this month! I would have been better in a month when we were not that busy, but I'm happy we did that. I'm on break since the 22nd of December so quite recently! I can't believe that Christmas is already gone! I spent it with my family. What do you plan to do now? Did you enjoy Christmas day? ⛄

[clarasnotes]

It's so neat that you play the piano and that you're crafty! The bag you made is super cute! I tried to learn how to sew, but I usually just stick to knitting/crocheting. I also really like playing volleyball and ultimate frisbee, and I treat dog spotting like an Olympic sport. But, on that note, do you have any ideas of what you'd like to recieve as a gift? Would you prefer a Spotify playlist, a moodboard, graphics? Or anything else! -studyblr secret santa

Oh that’s nice! I’ve tried knitting but not crocheting, I’d love to do it someday. I’m really bad at team sports but I started stretching recently. My goal is to be able to do the splits, but it will take a long time haha! About that gift, that’s really nice of you, I don’t have any preference! Just take the one you like the most, thank you sooo much ♡

[clarasnotes]

Day 3

December study challenge: do maths exercises

Wow, I hadn't done my math exercises in weeks, maybe in months. I didn't feel really productive except that but I'm happy I did this! It actually helps a lot to have a specific goal for the day, because even if you weren't that productive it really motivates you to do that one thing that you planned.

I wanted something else than hot chocolate today, so I made this "recipe" which is hot milk with some sugar, cinnamon and an egg, that was sooo good ♡

Rate your day: 5/10