joshstudies

[joshstudies]

That strange feeling of longing when you are at a train station, in a 24/7 open market, when you are buying a coke from a vending machine, watching the city lights glow from your window, when you're walking aimlessly on a busy street after 5 pm, that feeling as if something is missing in your life and it will never come back although it was never there in the first place; that inexplicable urban sadness.

[joshstudies]

4/september : updates!

Today is my birthday !! One year until my teenage days are done 🎉

I finished my first week of Data Science uni ! That deserves an entire post lol.

Also first week of living in France - currently staying with my ❤️'s parents until we find an apartment in Caen!

Overall I'm exhausted but equally as happy-- have a lovely weekend everyone 😊

[joshstudies]

If you were looking for a sign that your “fresh start” will actually be a fresh start this time, this is it. Your fresh start begins now. You’ve healed, you’ve grown. It is finally time.

[joshstudies]

productivity hack

Create a Google doc, Notion page, or whatever workspace you use and name it “Things I’m afraid to do.” Here, you can put whatever has been on your mind that you’re putting off and procrastinating—such as a big project, studying, essay, or whatever you have that’s been nagging you.

By acknowledging the fact that the task seems daunting, you are actually working through the first step of accomplishing it. It makes large projects seem just a little more doable solely because I named it something that amuses me. 

For example, I was so anxious in asking a professor for a recommendation, so I put it in my “things I’m afraid to do.” Little by little each day, I drafted the email to send to them and ended up not procrastinating. Hope this helps!

[joshstudies]

house plants

[joshstudies]

yknow theres a lot of pressure to be successful, particularly on artsy kids whose professions are seen as useless unless theyre famous, but life is fucking hard and sometimes things dont turn out

but i think thats not bad. my dad has wanted to be a musician forever, and hes rly pretty good. but then he joined the military to get away from an abusive family, and then he got married, and then he got divorced, and a lot of horrible shit HAPPENED. he has ptsd and severe anxiety and he could never really get back on the horse. and he never made it as a musician, and now hes 53

but i grew up in a house full of instruments, and he can play all of them, and some of my earliest memories are of him playing guitar on the front porch and me thinking there wasnt a better musician in the world. so. even if you dont get to the stars, exactly, what you do isnt worthless. its not a waste of time if life is difficult and you cant make it, or if you arent famous, or if your work doesn’t influence thousands of people. it will influence someone

there are a million ways to be happy and a million ways to be a successful artist. we create what we do to enhance the human experience and relate to each other and improve ourselves. theres something to be said for just doing that,,,for the sake of doing it, yknow

[joshstudies]

Morning café light. I outlined my master’s thesis perched in that window — those days seem like so long ago now. I miss and crave cafés, sitting in them for hours, with friends, with a book, just people-watching or scribbling. 

[joshstudies]

why i hate (well, hate is a strong word) the 5-paragraph rule and what i use instead! these examples are tailored to the humanities and social sciences, so keep in mind this might be different for other fields of study.

i also have an essay preparation guide here :)

[joshstudies]

⚠ 𝖘𝖙𝖚𝖉𝖎𝖔 𝖌𝖍𝖎𝖇𝖑𝖎 𝖜𝖆𝖑𝖑𝖕𝖆𝖕𝖊𝖗𝖘. 𝖑𝖎𝖐𝖊 𝖔𝖗 𝖗𝖊𝖇𝖑𝖔𝖌 𝖎𝖋 𝖚 𝖚𝖘𝖊❗

[joshstudies]

[joshstudies]

MOTIVATION VS SELF-DISCIPLINE

I see a lot of people talking about the need for motivation to study or get their work done but motivation isn’t always what you need - what do you do on the days you have no motivation? This is why we need self-discipline.

MOTIVATION VS SELF DISCIPLINE

Motivation - a willingness to do something

Self-Discipline - making yourself do things you know you should do when you don’t want to

So if motivation is ‘why we should do something’ - self-discipline is more ‘what to do next’.

HOW TO BE SELF-DISCIPLINED

Set yourself a routine and stick to it

Never have a zero day - try and study every single day - even if you feel absolutely awful - 10 minutes is better than nothing!! Do flashcards from your bed or watch youtube ted talks if you can’t physically study.

Build on your productivity, not your failures.

If you come from a past of procrastinating and now feel motivated to change and discipline yourself, do NOT try to do everything at once. Start things slow and in steps.

Set yourself smaller deadlines for your goals like monthly and weekly deadlines - e.g. if you are doing a project, due 27th June, set personal deadlines, like have the introduction written by the 8th, have your literature review written by the 15th, have project complete by the 25th.

Know your limits. Self-discipline isn’t doing as much as you can until you break - it’s about having control, knowing what you can realistically manage and getting that done.

Give yourself rewards! I love to have something to look forward to as I get work done! This means mixing motivation and self-discipline. I tell myself after this lecture I can have an animal crossing break or check some messages etc.

Remove distractions from your study space! Personally, if my phone is out and I notice a notification…I’m gonna check it. It’s human nature! So to combat this, I use apps like Forest that force me to stay within the app while I study. If I know I might get hungry during a study session I’ll keep a little snack by my desk so I don’t have to get up and somehow find something else to distract me.

Just do it isn’t that easy. I find to get myself in a ‘work boss’ mood I need to feel good about myself so I put on a nice outfit and maybe some eyeliner and hype myself up so I know I can do my tasks and get stuff done! It feels so much better than lazing in my pyjamas trying to study.

[joshstudies]

One real benefit of reading I rarely hear anybody mention is how much more interesting life becomes when you read a lot. It depends what you’re reading, of course, but most (good) books will teach you something you didn’t already know, and even if you have to give the book back to the library, you get to take that much with you. A lot of people talk about things they wish they’d studied in school–I’ve done it, too–but it’s a nice consolation prize that you can always pick up a book and learn something new. And as that library in your brain collects more volumes, everything around you gains new resonances, new context, and new connections which make your lived experience richer. In quarantine alone I’ve read about religion and politics and history and evolution and computer science and astrophysics without even leaving my house and it’s already a more interesting world. 

[joshstudies]

● Seize time opportunities. If I have 15 minutes until your next class, I sit down and do homework in the hallway. If I have a long commute, I’ll do flashcards. This works because you most likely won’t have anything else to do anyways, so it’s easier to get your work done.

● Start something. When I get a lab report assignment, the first thing I do is pull up the directions and at least start the cover page and pull up some research links. It takes 5 minutes but it gets the ball rolling and makes it more likely that you’ll finish what you started.

● Auto-mode. When I procrastinating, it’s usually because I’m too busy thinking about what I’m going to do. Instead, I like to pretend I’m in “auto-mode” and just get started as fast as I can. auto-mode means shutting out distracting thoughts or pleas to watch one more funny cat video and forcing your hands to open your textbook. Works every time.

● Personally, creating time schedules don’t work for me because if I fall out of time, the whole schedule falls apart and I usually give up. Instead I use time games. I’ll tell myself something like “work as hard as you can until 11:00 sharp and if you finish, you can have a break”. This is great for developing self discipline because it’s in the moment so you can be more realistic and flexible.

● I don’t like writing down earlier due dates in my planner because it’s confusing so instead, it’s good to have some sort of mental rule. for example, my mental rule is to finish everything at least two days before the due date. following through with that will keep you on track.

● Do a little bit every day. If you have a big project, chip at it within a week rather than stressing out 2 days before it’s due. the same goes for studying for an exam. if you review lecture notes and attend office hours after class + work on flashcards throughout the week, then do a final review at the end, you’ll be well prepared and won’t need to cram. It’s a good habit and you won’t get stressed. Two birds with one stone.

● Use mornings too. I’m not really an early bird, but using mornings to get some work / chores done is great because it gives you a productive start to the day, which makes you feel proud of yourself for knocking out half of your tasks in the a.m. 

a. Lay out your lecture notes / worksheets on the table the night before and open your work tabs on your computer so they’ll be the first thing you see when you turn on your computer.

b. Put your computer far away from your work space and go to sleep.

c. When you wake up, the first thing that you’ll see is your ‘paper’ work, so get it done first. then start on your ‘screen’ work (you’ll be less likely to get distracted if you do your ‘paper’ work first). when you open your laptop the first thing you’ll see are the work tabs you opened the night before. Your job is to go on auto-mode and get started.

Good luck with self-discipline. You’ll do great. -thoughtscholar

[joshstudies]

all i think about is love. why does this consume me

[joshstudies]

Actual good first-time college student advice:

Wear jeans/pants that “breathe” and bring a sweater, even if it’s scorching hot out, until you know which building blasts the AC to 60 degrees F and which feels like a sauna

Backpacks with thick straps are your friend!  Messenger bags are cool and all but if you’re commuting with a lot of stuff, symmetrically styled backpacks are better for your back

You are your own person and you can walk out whenever you need to or want to, so long as you’re not disrupting the class.  Meaning you can go to the bathroom without permission, take a breather if you’re anxious, answer an important phone call, etc.

If you don’t like the class on the first day, if you can- DROP THAT CLASS AND TAKE ANOTHER ONE!  It’ll only get worse from there!

If you can, take a class outside your major; it’s a good break from your expected studies.

You are in charge of your schedule.  Your adviser and guidance counselor is there to ‘advise and guide’ but if you don’t like certain classes and you can substitute for others, that’s your choice.

Consequently, if you are changing anything drastic in your plan, talk with your adviser and instructors.

Pay attention to your credit hours and grades.  Never leave this to the last week of school, you will be sorry and stressed beyond belief!

Unless it’s a lab book or otherwise specified, go to the class for a week or so before buying an expensive textbook.  Some classes, while having it on their required list, do not actually use the textbook a whole lot and you might find some of it scanned online.  Rent if you can or buy used online (schools actually don’t give discounts).  Use your best judgement on what you think you need.

Tell the people who go up to you selling or advertising things you are not interested in that you are in a rush to class and don’t have time to listen to them.  It’s less rude and they’ll leave you alone.

The smaller the class, the better it is to have some sort of acquaintanceship with a couple classmates.  They might save your ass if you are absent one day or need to study.  And talking with them makes the time go by faster without it being so insufferable.

You don’t need to join a club or sport, but internships are cool and useful!

If you can afford it, take a day off once or twice each semester if you’re too exhausted.  Just be aware of what you missed and if it was worth missing!

Your health is the most important, this goes for mental health too!!  Note: College-age/upper teens is when mental disorders like depression and anxiety are most commonly diagnosed.  Most schools have therapy services, especially during exam time.  Look into it if you need to!

Communicate with your professor if you are having trouble with something.  Anything.

Eat and stay hydrated.  Bring a water bottle and snack to class.

All-nighters will happen but never go over 36 hours without sleep.

It’s going to be hard and there will be times you might think about giving up.  This WILL happen.  You just have to make sure what you’re doing isn’t making you absolutely miserable and/or there is something rewarding and positive to look forward to at the end!

[joshstudies]

it takes years to develop your craft. do not romanticize the idea of an ‘overnight success’. be a student. grow organically. get really good. hate your work. start over. find new ways to express the same ideas. the student becomes the master. your time will come.

[joshstudies]

The MCAT is the admissions test for those applying to medical school in America and Canada (less emphasis). It is a 7.5 hour test composed of 4 sections. This masterpost is a compilation of MCAT resources I have found and pulled together to help those preparing for their MCAT exam.

Disclaimer: I do not endorse one test prep company over another; I also do not guarantee that this is a conclusive resource list; there are several other resources out there as well that may or may not have been mentioned in this guide. 

Here’s a quick break down of the exam (table provided by Princeton Review):

General Tips

Take practice exams! Practice tests are not always a huge indicator to how well you will do on the actual exam but rather a way to familiarize yourself with the exam. Take practice exams like it’s test day. Whatever you do, don’t retake a practice exam. 

Have a study schedule that you will stick to like super Gorilla glue.

Plan on spending about 3-6 months/ one semester to prepare for the MCAT. If you are planning to study for the MCAT while in classes, take a light-weight course load that semester. 

Register early for the MCAT. It’s harder to get spots later on.

Make condensed one-page outlines of what you learn for each chapter.

Practice timing yourself and take your breaks. This is a 7.5 hour exam, you need the stamina and you need the breaks before your brain goes haywire. The test does not have a designated “alarm”. 

Flashcards! *Pile all your flashcards together and shuffle frequently; all information that you learn is connected together.

Make your own mnemonics. 

Think quick; think smart. The MCAT is meant to test you on how well you can think like a doctor. 

The best (and most popular) time to take the MCAT is in late May to early July of your third year. 

Do not cram. 

Do not study one subject at a time.

Don’t leave a question unanswered. 

General Resources 

bolded are my favorite resources

AAMC: your go-to website for MCAT stuff because they write the test

KhanAcademy MCAT: AAMC and KhanAcademy have partnered up to help students with free resources to tackle the MCAT

Princeton Review MCAT study guide

Princeton Review Free Online Practice MCAT

Kaplan: What changed on the test

Kaplan Free Online Practice MCAT

109 Tips & Strategies for the MCAT

ExamCrackers MCAT

StudyGuideZone’s MCAT study guide

Free MCAT study materials

Berkley Review books for MCAT

Kaplan’s MCAT quick sheets

Reddit’s MCAT content review: scroll down and take a look at the “what are the study materials out there” and the “free study materials” sections 

Other References

simplewanderings​​‘s MCAT tag

ephie-ubc-science’s experience with the 2015 MCAT

studycyclops’s 12 week mcat study schedule

premedtomd’s MCAT study schedule

How to Prepare for the MCAT

Reddit MCAT forum