studyingwithjay

[studyingwithjay]

hi everyone !! i kinda disappeared for a while, life got incredibly busy very quickly !

but in other news, i graduated with my bachelor’s degree in philosophy and international studies !! life after graduating has been incredibly bittersweet and im honestly still adjusting to a lot of major changes !

and in the fall, i will be starting a masters program in philosophy !! im trying to restart up this blog during the summer so i can get into the routine of posting so its easier once the program starts !

it’s a very strange time but i’m trying to look forward to the future and what it has in store !

[studyingwithjay]

“The unexamined life is not worth living.”

— Socrates, in Plato’s Apology

[studyingwithjay]

thankful for making it through these busy couple weeks !!

i got to see one of my best friends present research this week and it was so cool !! i love having friends in different subjects and learning from them !

[studyingwithjay]

my deadlines have all been converging to the same couple days but i am staying afloat !

spent six hours yesterday and a couple more today working on a presentation on heidegger for my continental philosophy class — i hope it goes well !!

[studyingwithjay]

“Education is not just about the passive assimilation of facts and cultural traditions, but about challenging the mind to become active, competent, and thoughtfully critical in a complex world.”

— Martha Nussbaum, Not for Profit

[studyingwithjay]

some readings for this semester and a beautiful, snowy campus !

[studyingwithjay]

new semester, new carrel !

still trying to get into the groove of this new semester, but i’m making progress on my thesis !

[studyingwithjay]

i’m absolutely loving my continental philosophy class !! i’ve had a lot of personal stuff going on which has made classes and schoolwork a lot harder but i love this class !

we talked about an argument against the ontological argument for the existence of god, which was so clear and interesting !! we’ve been talking about kant and hegel and i finally feel like im understanding hegel, at least a little bit !

it’s very different from analytical philosophy, but i’m really enjoying this !

[studyingwithjay]

more thesis work !

one of the big struggles i am having is connecting everything i’m writing about on the paper — it is making sense in my head, but i’m not as eloquent in my writing at the moment. this is really frustrating, but i am trying to trust the process and continue working !

[studyingwithjay]

some work in the morning before my world geography class !

[studyingwithjay]

i disappeared for a while ! but i’ve been working on my thesis over the last month. i’ve been doing case study work, which has actually been very fun.

i’m excited to start the spring semester, i’ll have two theses to work on, and only a few classes to finish out my bachelors degree !

[studyingwithjay]

okay this feels so surreal to say but i got an offer to study at one of my top schools ??? oh my god ??

all of my grad school applications are submitted !! it feels so weird to be done with the application process, and now i start the waiting phase, and hope at least one accepts me !

[studyingwithjay]

21.01.2025—my dark academia inspired pin board set up in my new room 🤍 pictures are from temu x

[studyingwithjay]

An appreciation post for all the coffees & teas I’ve lovingly consumed this year. There is something so healing about taking a small moment to enjoy a warm drink, especially when it feels like a hug in a mug. ☕️🤍

[studyingwithjay]

Duolingo Sucks, Now What?: A Guide

Now that the quality of Duolingo has fallen (even more) due to AI and people are more willing to make the jump here are just some alternative apps and what languages they have:

"I just want an identical experience to DL"

Busuu (Languages: Spanish, Japanese, French, English, German, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese, Chinese, Polish, Turkish, Russian, Arabic, Korean)

"I want a good audio-based app"

Language Transfer (Languages: French, Swahili, Italian, Greek, German, Turkish, Arabic, Spanish, English for Spanish Speakers)

"I want a good audio-based app and money's no object"

Pimsleur (Literally so many languages)

Glossika (Also a lot of languages, but minority languages are free)

*anecdote: I borrowed my brother's Japanese Pimsleur CD as a kid and I still remember how to say the weather is nice over a decade later. You can find the CDs at libraries and "other" places I'm sure.

"I have a pretty neat library card"

Mango (Languages: So many and all endangered/Indigenous courses are free even if you don't have a library that has a partnership with Mango)

"I want SRS flashcards and have an android"

AnkiDroid: (Theoretically all languages, pre-made decks can be found easily)

"I want SRS flashcards and I have an iphone"

AnkiApp: It's almost as good as AnkiDroid and free compared to the official Anki app for iphone

"I don't mind ads and just want to learn Korean"

lingory

"I want an app made for Mandarin that's BETTER than DL and has multiple languages to learn Mandarin in"

ChineseSkill (You can use their older version of the course for free)

"I don't like any of these apps you mentioned already, give me one more"

Bunpo: (Languages: Japanese, Spanish, French, German, Korean, and Mandarin)

[studyingwithjay]

all of my grad school applications are submitted !! it feels so weird to be done with the application process, and now i start the waiting phase, and hope at least one accepts me !

[studyingwithjay]

all of my grad school apps will be done by january 1st, so that’s where my focus lies for the next week or so. it’s harder to focus when i’m away from college but we keep going !