nicenotesandprettycolours

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28-32/100 days of productivity

I’m back in Ireland and so I have access to my bookshelf again! I’ve been spending my days reading my diaries & choosing which books to bring to France with me~

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here’s a quick guide on how i proofread and edit my essays as an humanities undergrad! i tend to spend more time on research and editing and much less time on writing and my first drafts are often horrendous, so editing is really important for me :^)

i’ve also created guides on essay preparation, the 5-paragraph essay, how to research, and how to write essays. you can find all my other masterposts here.

transcript below:

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Notion is slowly but surely becoming one of my favourite sites to organise things. 

Even though the school year doesn't start for another couple of weeks (not counting down the days or anything), its around that time where everyone starts to panic about the upcoming semester. So I figured I would do a quick post about getting ready for the upcoming semester, and in the upcoming weeks, I will be posting different things that I am using or have used that I think would be helpful!

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8/8/21 | advice for anyone applying for masters this year or in the future: do not believe your referees when they tell you they've submitted your references until you've checked it on the portal or else you might be screwed out of your masters

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— another rainy day...

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9.08.2020. biology - plant reproduction

here’s a look at some of my notes for this chapter on reproduction! it’s an extremely long chapter and I’ve only managed to finish the plant part, but we taking it bit by bit :)

8th August - What TV show are you currently watching?

Lo and behold, I’ve finally started Umbrella Academy and I’m on Season 2 now. Damn, that show is on another level of crazy.

9th August - What was the last movie you watched?

Ohhh, it’s got to be Barbie: Princess Charm School! hehe, watched it again with my friends for my birthday and like, barbie movies [the old, good ones] have eternal charm. 

10th August - What is your favourite summertime snack?

Hm. I don’t know, it’s pretty much the same season here all round so everything’s always available. But I’d say, ice cream on sticks - the really cheap ones you can get. Those are yum. 

// when do you go back to school/uni?  i go back in a weeeeek and i’m pumped but nervous to be in grade 11!

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sh_mong_

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(July 17 2020)

Yay, it’s finally Friday!

Studygram

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On sunny days I go out walking. I end up on a tree-lined street. I look up at the gaps of sunlight. I miss you more than anything.

- Francis Forever by Mitski

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tips for science majors (and all college students)

hey everyone! i decided to compile a list of tips for college students, specifically science majors because a lot of people are starting college soon. a lot of these could apply to any majors in general, but i’m simply speaking from my own experience.

handwrite your notes! I know it can be tempting to type them on your laptop because so many science classes are so heavy with information and lectures move so fast, but handwriting notes is super helpful and a lot of times an easier option, especially when drawing diagrams and writing reactions 

make at least 2 friends in every class to study and share notes with. chances are you won’t understand everything perfectly and getting a different perspective might make things clearer. also helpful if you miss a lecture!

practice questions are your best friend! this is true for most classes, but they’re absolutely necessary when it comes to classes like organic chemistry. look up practice questions and tests online and use them.

if you don’t already know any statistics, learn the basics. stats is ESSENTIAL and has come in handy for almost every science class i’ve taken. knowing what a t-test is, p value, alpha value, etc. beforehand is super helpful for labs and reading papers.

practice reading scientific journal articles as much as you can. this is a skill that i’ve yet to master and can be really frustrating but knowing how to process and understand those dense articles is really important no matter what you want to do in your life. most school libraries have subscriptions to most major databases like pubmed and journals like nature and science, so dedicate some time once or twice a month to read an article that’s interesting to you. focus on trying to interpret the figures and summarizing the data.

youtube is great for explaining scientific concepts you don’t understand. because certain processes and molecules etc. are so complex and may be hard to understand from a textbook with words and 2-D pictures, videos on youtube might explain and help visualize things better. there are some good ones out there but googling the topic you’re looking for usually brings up some helpful material!

khanacademy (my all-time fave i would literally die for khan academy guy he can have my firstborn) 

crash course

interactive biology

bozeman science (also has videos for ap bio/chem/physics/environmental science!)

minute physics 

get involved in research as early as possible. even if you don’t think you’ll like it, getting involved in research is a great experience for anyone. research professors and their work and email as many as you can before the semester starts to see if you can work in their labs. not only does it look great on your resume but you’ll also learn so much about the scientific process.

get a chalkboard/whiteboard for your room. it’s a great study tool to practice drawing mechanisms, reactions, processes, figures, etc. it literally saved my butt in organic chem last year.

don’t get stressed if you don’t know what you want to do with your major. try different things. do research in different labs on varying topics, talk to your professors and advisors, do some shadowing, talk to people in different industries.  

rewrite your notes and redraw diagrams. rewriting notes is a good tip for anyone, but redrawing diagrams in a different way than they’re presented in your textbook or lecture in a way that you understand better is super helpful.

don’t put lab reports off until the last minute. lab reports are the bane of my existence, but there’s nothing more stressful than doing one at the last minute before it’s due and realizing your results made NO sense. start them as soon as you finish the lab and don’t be afraid to ask for help from your lab instructor or other students.

those are all the ones i could think of at the moment! hopefully some of these are helpful for some of you :-) 

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#BlackLivesMatter

Resources for Canada:

Mental health resources for the Black community in Toronto

A script for Torontonians to follow when contacting city officials

Podcast detailing racism and corruption in Ontario

How non-Black folk can support Black Canadians

Resources for America:

Split a donation between 70+ bail funds

How to donate when you have no money 

Podcast on racism in American

Podcast episode on racial inequality in medicine, and protest safety

Fund for Black Trans women in Atlanta

Twitter thread with compiled petitions, organizations, and other information

How to safely film police misconduct

Resources for biologists and naturalists:

Information on #BlackBirdersWeek 

Boost for Black paleoartists

Free Field Ornithologist memberships for Black students (must be sponsored by a mentor/advisor)

Opportunity to bird/botanize/geologize the Californian desert

Donation to supply Black birders with binoculars 

Article on structural racism in Natural History museums

Free to use antifascist paleoart/paleontology icons

Resources for the arts:

Google drive with Black revolutionary texts

Graphics you should be posting on Instagram instead of the ‘BlackOut’ square

Boost for Black Gamdev/Art streamers

Resources for Black animators

More resources for Black animators

#DrawingWhileBlack directory

Portfolio reviews for Black artists

Rad screenprinted shirts that benefit the Louisville Community Bail Fund

Feel free to add to this!

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if you can, share or donate to the official fund for george floyd’s 6 year old daughter. it was organized by the family’s legal team and shared by his best friend, so it’s legitimate. the least we can do is make sure his baby is set for life.

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happy pride fuck the police

happy pride fuck the police

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17.05.2020 / 22:33pm

i have to start my actual studying for my finals the day after tomorrow and i am not ready

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We love graduating from college during a pandemic. At least we got a good cap design this time!

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I can finally waste my afternoons at my favourite spot again. Not pictured: my advisor judgmentally sipping macchiato 2m to the left.