#AND i have 3 other quizzes an assignment and a project deadline next week | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

soobiniebaby · 5 years ago

Text

Angels & Devils Part IX : Magic Hour

Tomorrow x Together Fanfiction

~ p a r t s : main post || prologue || part 1 || part 2 || part 3 || part 4 || part 5 || part 6 || part 7 || part 8 || part 9 || part 10 || part 11 || part 12 || part 13 || part 14 || part 15 || part 16 || part 17 ~ p a i r i n g : love triangle involving choi soobin and choi yeonjun ~ g e n r e : high school au | some social media au | some fluff & angst | childhood friends | love triangle ~ l a n g u a g e : English ~ w a r n i n g : contains swearing, alcohol, kissing (?) and may contain mature themes (angst, etc.) ~ a / n : This will be my first fanfic (go easy on me pls) and i’m just writing this as I go along, so bear with me juseyo The setting (place/country) of the story is up to the reader’s interpretation ~ s u m m a r y : What should she choose? Han Baby: the new girl with a troubled past MO Academy: her new high school Choi Soobin: student council president, member of the Ecosave club, volunteer at the Humane Treatment of Animals, member of the Honor Society, a vocalist in the Jazzed club, the school’s all around golden boy Choi Yeonjun: leader of the Dance club, star of the Jazzed club, the school’s it boy with a bad rep 5 best friends, 1 new girl, 1 childhood friendship, 1 epic love triangle? What will this school year bring?

Yeonjun had been on cloud 9 the whole weekend.

Ever since he and Baby talked things out and she finally said yes to him that Friday, he hadn’t been able to stop himself from smiling. They had been texting ever since he had left her apartment.

Even the horrendously boring and rigid dinner he had with his parents that night became so much bearable since he had been texting her under the table nearly the whole time.

At the end of the day, he’d call her on FaceTime and they’d stay on video call until one of them would fall asleep.

On Saturday, he and the guys had hung out at Kai’s house. They all put together a care basket, each boy contributing a little gift or token along with a note, to wish B a speedy recovery. He had delivered it to B by the end of the day, stopping by her place for a quick visit as well.

“There’s a cute plushie from Hyuka, a novel highly recommended from Tyun, a collection of movies from Gyu, and handpicked snacks from Soobin. And there’s a get well soon card with a short message from each of us.” Yeonjun says, slowly laying out each boy’s gift in front of B. “Also, Soobin requests that you take a picture with his gift so you guys will have something to post for your project this week.” he adds.

“Alright, I’ll make sure to take a few pictures before devouring them.” B says, excitedly looking at the snacks. “Wow, these gifts are amazing. The boys are so sweet.” she says in awe, grabbing the plushie from Kai and holding it close to her chest.

“The boys? What about me? Aren’t I sweet?” Yeonjun asks.

“Well, I guess you are, but you didn’t get me a get-well-soon gift.” she says, pouting.

Yeonjun laughs. “Don’t worry, I’ve got your get-well gift right here.” he says. When she raises a brow at him in confusion, he simply puts a finger under her chin and tilts it upward as he gives her a kiss, keeping it tender and sweet. He feels her smile against his lips and he pulls away, smiling back at her. “See? Bet you feel better already.” he says.

“Much better.” B smiles, feeling tingles all over her body. “Still no gift, though.”

Yeonjun stepped back, shocked. “Was that not enough for you? What more do you want from me?” he says, exaggeratingly putting a fist over his chest.

B laughs. “You’re so dramatic! Don’t get me wrong, your kisses are great, but I want a gift that’ll keep me from getting bored or feeling lonely while I’m on lockdown for the week. The boys’ gifts are all spot on.” she explains. “If I’m gonna be stuck alone here for the next few days, I’m gonna get bored and lonely.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got the perfect gift. You’ll see.” Yeonjun says mysteriously.

B raises a brow but raises no further questions. That night, she makes sure to take pictures and sends them to Soobin, each of them creating their own social media posts for their project.

When Sunday came, B decided to plan out her week of isolation, wanting to make it as productive as possible. First, she messaged the boys to thank them for their gift basket and to beg them to help her keep up with schoolwork and lessons, which they gamely accept. She also checks her other messages and sees a few from the girls.

She finally messages them, feeling guilty upon seeing how worried they were.

Meanwhile, Yeonjun starts to make plans of his own, wanting to make sure that the coming week would be perfect.

•°•

Monday

Wanting to start her first day of missing classes on the right foot, B had managed to convince at least one of her classmates in each class to secretly have her on call during the periods, so that she could listen in on the lectures on her phone, as if she were taking an online class. She had called Taehyun for first period Economics, Kai for second period History, Yuna for third period Biology, Beomgyu for after-lunch Maths, Taehyun again for Foreign Language class, and Soobin for Creative writing class.

“Why not me?” Yeonjun had asked her with a pout when she told him her plan.

B laughed at how adorable he was. “Because Soobin is one of my closest friends, plus he’s my partner in the class, so it would make more sense if I called him. Besides, it might seem too suspicious if I called you instead of him.” she reasoned.

The whole day, B had her phone by her side as she struggled to listen to the lectures and took down her own notes as well, making sure to catch any dates for assignment deadlines or quizzes. By the time last period was over, B had gotten showered and dressed, first for a quick visit from her family doctor to check on her condition and then for some time to hang out with Ryujin, who had promised to visit since she was immune to chicken pox.

Sure enough, the doctor came by and did a quick check up of her vital signs and assessed her rashes, simply advising her not to scratch them. He was there for a maximum of 20 minutes before leaving.

At a little past 5:30 PM, Ryujin came ringing on her front door holding a box of cinnamon rolls from Kang’s Kafe.

B excitedly hugs her as soon as she opens the door to let her friend in, squealing and thanking her for the cinnamon rolls.

As they step into the apartment, Ryujin observes “Wow B, you look so happy, you’re practically glowing, and I’m pretty sure it’s not the rashes.”

B blushes and waves her hand dismissively. “Oh, it’s probably just cause I’ve been getting a lot of sleep lately, but thanks.”

“A lot of sleep? More like a lot of Yeonjun.” Ryujin says, smiling devilishly. “Come on, tell me more about it! How are you feeling? What is it like to date him? Have you guys done anything yet?”

“Well if you must know, I feel really happy. So happy in fact that it keeps me too distracted to even think about how itchy these rashes are.” B says, rubbing her arms which had small specks of rashes. “And technically, we haven’t even gone on a date yet, but we’ve been talking a lot and he’s called me on Facetime the past 2 nights and he’s just really sweet. And no, we haven’t ‘done anything’ yet, we’ve just kissed a couple of times.”

Ryujin lets out a squeal. “Ah, it sounds so exciting! I’m so happy for you! Honestly, seeing how hard you were trying to avoid him for the past 2 weeks was hard. I wanted to shake you or something just to knock some sense into you. It was actually kinda funny seeing how stubborn you were about it, I mean he obviously liked you but anyone who knew your current situation could see that you definitely had feelings for him as well!” she laughs. “Speaking of, what have the other guys said about you 2 dating? I bet Gyu’s been teasing you 2 nonstop.” she asks, referring to the guys in the student council.

B laughs nervously. “Oh, uh, we haven’t really told anyone yet.” she admits. “I haven’t even told Ningni—I mean Hyuka, about Yeonjun asking me out at the party, so none of them have any clue about Yeonjun asking me out and me avoiding Yeonjun and everything. I’ve only told you and Yuna.”

Ryujin smacks B’s arm. “B! Why? You should’ve at least told Kai about it! Isn’t he your best friend?”

“He is, yes! It’s just hard, I mean I’ve told him about my past crushes and stuff back when we were younger, but it’s just that Yeonjun is his one of his closest friends, so it just feels kind of weird. Like it might make their friendship awkward, especially if things between me and Yeonjun don’t work out.” B says defensively.

“Please, those guys are thick as thieves, nothing could ever break their friendship apart. And stop saying that you and Yeonjun won’t work out, you’re worrying too much about something that hasn’t even happened yet or something that might not even ever happen. Instead of thinking the worst about the future, you should just try to make the most out of the present instead.” Ryujin says.

“Wow, that’s actually really good advice, Ryu.” B admits. “Fine, I promise I’ll try not to worry too much and stuff. But Yeonjun and I agreed that we’d wait until I’ve recovered enough to go back to school until we tell the guys anything about us dating.”

“Oh sweetie, he’s a guy. Heck, he’s not just a guy, he’s Choi Yeonjun. Guys like to talk about girls. And just like you’ve been talking to Yuna and I about Yeonjun, I’m pretty sure Yeonjun has been talking to at least 1 other guy about you too. The question is, which guy could he be talking to?” Ryujin wonders.

•°•

Tuesday

“So that’s what I’ve got planned out for the next few days. Well, while she’s still confined to her apartment, at least. I’ve got a whole week of stay-at-home dates and romantic stuff planned. I just want to make it as good as possible, even if she can’t leave her house.” Yeonjun says, finishing up explaining his plans in great detail. “It’s what she deserves, especially after hearing how much she struggled the past 2 weeks. I just want to make sure she won’t regret her decision to finally say yes.”

“Yeonjun, that sounds amazing.” Beomgyu says, looking at the blue-haired boy in awe. “I always knew you had your ways to woo a girl, but damn I’ve never seen you plan out something like this before. I especially like the part where you sort of kidnap her.” Beomgyu laughs. “Congrats on finally getting the ‘yes’ by the way. It was kinda killing me to see how hard the past 2 weeks have been on you too.”

“It’s what she deserves. It’s crazy cause I don’t think I’ve ever liked a girl this much before, especially since I’ve only known her for a few weeks.” Yeonjun gives him a bright smile, and Beomgyu could tell just how smitten he was. “And thanks, Gyu. Thanks for being there for me these past couple of weeks, too. And thanks for keeping it between us.” he adds, remembering how Beomgyu had noticed how different Yeonjun had been acting, and how Yeonjun himself had finally told Beomgyu about everything.

From how Yeonjun had been watching B at the party to how Yeonjun had found himself smitten by B during their 7 minutes together to how Yeonjun had asked her out twice and even to how he had winked at her onstage. He didn’t mean to tell anyone about his feelings for their new friend so soon, but he couldn’t bear the weight of it any longer. Now he was happy to be telling Beomgyu about how he had taken care of B when she was sick and how they had finally been able to talk things out.

“Dude, you’ve got it bad.” Beomgyu says, laughing and clapping him on the back. “I have to admit, it’s a bit weird seeing you talk about a girl so much, but I can’t help but feel proud that you’ve finally found someone you genuinely seem to care for.”

Yeonjun nods. “Yes, I really do. And thanks Gyu, really. She just feels really different, I guess. And I’m hoping that the more I get to know her, the more I end up liking her, instead of the other way around. Usually with me, girls can make a strong first impression at the start but then when I try to get to know them more, they end up feeling just like everyone else. I don’t think it’ll be like that with her, though.”

“With all the things you’ve got planned for her, I highly doubt that’ll be the case.” Beomgyu says. “I’m sure she’ll love it. Go get her, Yeonjun!”

And he did.

That afternoon, he stood outside her apartment door feeling just a tiny bit nervous, his hands full, whispering and instructing the people behind him for the last time before he rang the doorbell.

“Coming!” Yeonjun could hear her yell from inside the apartment, and he smiled to himself.

He braces himself as she opens the door, and as soon as he sees her face, his heartbeat instantly speeds up.

“Hi, Baby.” he simply says as he stands in front of her with a bouquet of blue roses, the string quartet that he had hired for the afternoon starts to play a soft rendition of Euphoria by BTS.

She stands there for a moment, a hand covering her mouth as she stares in awe at the blue-haired boy before her and the blue roses he held, to the four string players holding their instruments and serenading her, until the chorus comes up and Yeonjun softly sings, “Take my hands now” as he takes one of her hands in his and squeezes it gently. “You are the cause of my euphoria.”

She unfreezes then, taking a step towards him and wrapping her arms around him to give him a hug, which was a bit of a challenge considering the dozen roses between them.

He laughs as she gives up on trying to hug him and settles on standing on her tiptoes to give him a quick peck instead. “You’re supposed to take the flowers first, silly.” he says.

“Yeonjun! This is just…wow.” she says, taking the flowers in her arms, they were heavier than they looked. “This is incredible. You’re incredible. This it too much, this is… just, thank you so much.” she says, flustered.

“Oh, Baby. This is nothing, don’t sweat it.” he says, savoring her reaction. If she was gonna smile this wide and get this flustered every time he made a romantic gesture like this, then the rest of the week was going to be fun.

•°•

Wednesday

B had been wondering why Yeonjun had made such a strange request that morning, but she was happy to oblige. It’s not like she had anything better to do in her apartment, and she spent most of her time listening to lectures through phone calls in her bedroom anyway. She had called the same people as she had for the past 2 days, glad that she had found a way to keep herself up to date on lectures.

She had almost forgotten about Yeonjun’s request until her last class for the day ended, and she heard sounds coming from inside her apartment. She kept her bedroom door closed the whole day, so the sound of some unknown person in her apartment was alarming.

She quickly dials up Yeonjun’s number, trying to keep herself calm and telling herself that it was probably not a dangerous intruder but rather something related to Yeonjun’s request.

“Hey Baby, what’s up?” he says, answering on the second ring.

“Hey Yeonjun, uh, I’m in my bedroom right now and I thought I heard something from inside the apartment so I was wondering if it’s something to do with what you texted me this morning or if there really is an intruder and I should call the police.” she says, trying to sound causal and calm.

Yeonjun laughs on the other end, which causes B to relax a bit. “You are adorable. Very smart and safe that you checked with me first though, everytime you hear strange noises in your apartment, call me right away okay?” he says. “For now, don’t worry though, I promise you’re safe. It’s part of the plan, I asked some people to help me set up for our date today. Sorry for making you panic, I should’ve given you a heads up.”

B scoffs. “Psh, I was not panicking. I’m just being very smart and safe, like you said.” she says. “What kind of date requires you to ask for help to set up though? What exactly do you have planned for today?”

“Now why would I tell you that? You’ll find out in about an hour anyway, but for now, promise me you’ll stay in your room until I tell you it’s safe okay? If not, you’ll spoil the surprise.” he says.

B nods. “Yeah sure, I can do that.” she says, even though the curiosity was killing her. What kind of date did Yeonjun have planned now?

Just then, B hears a voice from Yeonjun’s end of the call. “Hey YJ, you want me to ride with you to Kang’s? Or should I ride with Soobin?” Beomgyu asks.

“Hop right into the car, I’ll just finish up this call.” Yeonjun responds. “Hey Baby, gonna grab a quick snack at Kang’s with the boys before I head to your place. I’ll make it quick, so try not to miss me too much.” he says.

“Don’t worry, it’s the rest of the guys that I really miss anyway.” she says teasingly. “It’s only been a few days, but I haven’t seen them in forever.”

“Oh? So since you’ve been seeing me almost everyday now, you don’t miss me? Yeonjun says, and B could practically hear him pouting from the phone.

She laughs. “Don’t be silly, you know I miss you too.”

Yeonjun laughs too. “I miss you too. See you in about an hour, alright? And wear something nice.” he simply says before hanging up.

“Was that her? Was that B?” Beomgyu asks as Yeonjun gets into the car, joining him in the back seat before the car starts to move, taking them to Kang’s café.

Yeonjun nods. “Yeah, she was worried cause she heard a noise in her apartment but I told her it’s just the dinner people.”

Beomgyu raises a brow. “The dinner people? Wait, which date is this? The one where you hire people to set up the apartment in like a super romantic—”

“Yes yes, it’s that one.” Yeonjun said, amused at how excited Beomgyu was, remembering that he told Beomgyu about all his date plans for the week. “I’m a little worried that it might be a bit too much? What do you think?”

Beomgyu laughs. “Honestly, what you’ve got planned for today is…small compared to what you’ve got planned for Thursday or Friday. Considering she’s not supposed to leave her apartment, it’ll be a challenge to pull off too.”

“Oh, I asked her doctor about it and he said that as long as she’s very careful about who she comes in contact with and limits exposure as much as possible, then technically I can take her out. Just a matter of how and where I do it.” Yeonjun says confidently. “I’m sure it’ll be fine, I can pull it off.”

Beomgyu gives him a smile and a pat on the back. “I’m sure you can, Yeonjun. Don’t worry about sticking around at Kang’s either, you can leave as soon as you want, I’ll back you up. Try not to keep her waiting, you know?” he says supportively.

“Thanks, Gyu. I’ll just order something for takeout and I’ll go.”

•°•

B takes a deep breath and straightens out her dress one last time before finally opening her bedroom door and taking a step into her living area.

And she was immediately rendered speechless.

The place looked almost unrecognizable. The furniture had been moved around to make space in the middle of the room for her small round dining table and 2 chairs. The lights were all off, the apartment illuminated solely by candlelight, with tea candles and blue rose petals scattered all over the apartment, carefully sprawled all across the floor and sprinkled on the furniture. The table was set up for 2, with delicious-looking dishes already in place and a bottle of white wine along with a flower arrangement and 2 candles in the center.

She could hear the string quartet from yesterday from within the apartment, and after letting her eyes adjust to the dim light and looking around she could see that they were hidden away in the kitchen, softly playing their rendition of Home by Michael Buble.

Then Yeonjun reveals himself, he was waiting right outside her bedroom door, and he holds out a hand to her. “Han Baby, I know it’s a bit early, but would you do me the honour of having dinner with me?” he says grandly.

B lets out a laugh, looking at him in awe. “It would be my pleasure, Choi Yeonjun.” she says, taking his hand.

He smiles back at her and leads her to the dining table, pulling out her chair and letting her sit before joining her.

“I’m not sure what food you’d like, but I got garlic butter baked salmon, chicken kievs, Caesar salad, a bottle of Moscato and a serving of chocolate covered strawberries for dessert.” Yeonjun says, presenting the table on the food.

“Wow, they all look so good.” B says, feeling her mouth start to water. “How did you do all this? How did you put this all together?”

“Well, I had a bit of help, of course.” Yeonjun says, pouring the wine. “I asked my driver Hwall and some help from home to bring over the food, move the furniture and set up the candles and flowers. And the string quartet, whom you’ve met yesterday, are a few friends from my old school.” he says, giving a quick salute to the four string players in the kitchen, who warmly smiled back at him. “I hope you didn’t mind having strangers in your apartment, I’m sorry if you got scared. I should have been more considerate.”

B accepts the glass of champagne but shakes her head. “Yeonjun, it’s fine. I trust that you’re being careful and that you wouldn’t compromise my safety. This is all very lovely, thank you.” she says, reaching over the table to take his hand and gently squeezing it.

He smiles warmly at her. “Thank you for trusting me. I’m glad you like it.” he says, once again savouring the moment. The warmth in her eyes as she looked at him, her initial shock upon seeing the dinner set up, how good it felt to have her hand in his, and just everything about her in general.

Since he couldn’t be out too late on a school night without raising suspicion from his father, he wanted to make the most out of every minute. From sharing the most compelling yet laughably random conversations over dinner, to the sickeningly sweet banter over dessert, to the intimacy of slow dancing in her living room.

He made sure to bid his friends from the string quartet goodbye and help B with putting her furniture back in place before calling up Hwall and letting him know it was time for him to go.

As she walks him out of her apartment, lingering by the doorway for just a moment to say goodbye.

“You know, you never cease to amaze me, Choi Yeonjun. I’m starting to think there’s nothing you can’t do.” she says, as he stands outside her door. “Except fly, of course.”

Yeonjun smiles at her quizzically. “What makes you think I can’t fly?” he asks playfully, pulling her closer.

“Because you’re only human?” she says, laughing. “Besides, I don’t want a boy who can fly. I just want you.” she says, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“Aw, Baby, you’re so sweet.” Yeonjun says, planting a gentle kiss on her forehead. “Now, let’s say I could fly, would you still want me then?”

“And you’re so silly! Of course I would.” she laughs, stroking his hair. “But for now, I think you have to go.” she says, seeing his driver standing by from the corner of her eye.

“I’m afraid I do.” he says, giving a quick nod to Hwall before completely wrapping his arms around B’s waist and holding her tight, which causes her to squeal.

“See you tomorrow?” he says, finally letting go.

She nods. “See you tomorrow.” she says, waving him off and watching him walk away.

Right before he gets into his car, he takes one last look up at B’s apartment, and he’s pleasantly surprised to see her still standing outside, a hand on her chest as she smiled to herself, spinning in place a couple times before walking back into her apartment and closing the floor behind her.

He couldn’t wait to see how she’d react for what dates he had planned next.

•°•

Thursday

With Yeonjun’s simple request, once again, B didn’t really know what to expect.

She certainly wasn’t expecting to be ambushed at her front door with a bouquet or blue roses and to be serenaded by a string quartet on Tuesday, and she definitely wasn’t expecting her apartment to feel like a romantic 5 star restaurant yesterday, but his request for today’s date caught her so off guard that she couldn’t help but to overthink.

Wear something comfy?

What did he mean by that? What kind of date would entail such a simple request? Would it be something as simple as staying in and watching movies together? Knowing Yeonjun, it probably wasn’t.

While still keeping track of lectures through cellphone calls, she spent more of the overthinking about what kind of date Yeonjun could have possibly planned for the day, and what kind of outfit she’d be wearing.

At the end of the day, she decides to message her girl friends for help once again.

And right as she finishes fixing herself up, she hears the doorbell ring. She calls out “Just a second!” and quickly swipes on some blush to finish the look before running up to the front door and opening it.

“Hey, Baby.” Yeonjun says, smiling at her. “You look nice. You definitely found the perfect balance between cute and comfy.” he says, checking out her outfit.

“Hey Yeonjun! Thanks.” she says, smiling back. Just as she opens the door wider, ready to welcome him into the apartment, he takes her completely by surprise and says “Come on, let’s go.”

She blinks once, twice, still surprised. “Let’s go? Go, uh, where?”

“You’ll see. C’mon, put on some shoes and grab your things. Hwall’s waiting for us downstairs.” he says casually.

“Go? Where? And how? I mean, I’m still highly contagious, my doctor said I couldn’t leave—” B starts, still a bit dumfounded.

“I’ve cleared this with your doctor. Yes, you’re still possibly highly contagious, but where we’re going, there won’t be anyone for you to infect.” he says.

Confused, B decides to put on a pair of sneakers and grab a small sling bag before locking her apartment door behind her.

“Ah, before I forget.” Yeonjun says, rummaging through his bag before pulling out a surgical face mask wrapped in plastic. “You’ll have to put this on for now. Safety reasons.” he explains, handing it to her.

She obliges, and once the face mask is secured, he grabs her hand and leads her to the car.

•°•

“So…where are we going?” B asks for what feels like the hundredth time.

“You’ll see.” Yeonjun responds for what feels like the hundredth time.

“Are you kidnapping me? Should I be worried?” B asks. “Hey, Hwall, is he kidnapping me? Should I be worried?”

Yeonjun’s driver Hwall looks at her through the rear-view mirror as he drives. “I assure you, with sir Yeonjun, you’re in good hands.” he simply says.

B lets out a huff. “You didn’t answer either of my questions, but fine, I trust you.” she says, looking out the window and noticing how unfamiliar everything looked. They were now going uphill and had a fairly decent view of the town. “Wow, I am just now realizing just how little I know about this place. I mean, I just moved here, and all I know is how to get to school and back.”

Yeonjun laughs. “I don’t blame you, but it’s practically the opposite for me since I’ve lived here since I was a kid.” he says. “Don’t worry, I’ll show you around the whole town pretty soon.”

B gives him a curious look but doesn’t say anything. She continues to look out the window for the rest of the ride, noticing how high up they were going. Once they reach the top of the cliff, the car suddenly pulls over and stops, causing her to look around excitedly.

“Is this it? Are we here? Where are we?” she says excitedly, trying to look around for any clue as to what Yeonjun had planned for their date. All she could see, however, was the edge of the cliff and how high above the town they were.

“Huh, I guess we got here a bit early.” Yeonjun says, looking out the window. “Molang isn’t here yet.”

“Molang? Who’s Molang?” B asks, raising a brow.

Just then, she notices a low whirring noise, not knowing what it was or where it was coming from. She notices the sound getting louder and louder, until a helicopter comes into view.

As she spots the helicopter flying in and slowly approaching them, her jaw drops. “No way.”

Yeonjun laughs as he stares at her, amused by her reaction. “Yes way. Baby, this is Molang. My beautiful Airbus ACH175 helicopter.” he says, waving at the pilot through the window, who raised a hand back to acknowledge him. “And that’s Sunwoo, our pilot for today.”

“Yeonjun, I—” B starts, but she doesn’t really know what to say. “I—”

He laughs again. “Are you ready to fly?”

B simply nods, staring at the helicopter that was now landing in very close to proximity to where the car was parked. Once Yeonjun opens the door for her and she steps out, that’s when she notices that they were parked next to a helicopter pad situated right by the edge of the cliff.

“Okay, so, helicopter? How?” she manages to say, still struggling to put together coherent words. She could feel the end of her cropped sweater flapping around her torso as they came closer to the helicopter

“Let’s just say that there are a lot of perks that comes with being the sole heir to my father’s business.” he answers, almost yelling to be heard above the noise, taking her hand as they approach the helicopter.

They take the proper precautions and double check everything to make sure that they were securely strapped in, with Sunwoo the pilot briefing them on basic safety protocols and informing them of how they can communicate via the headsets provided.

Yeonjun buckles B into the backseat himself, making sure that she was strapped in tight and taking off her face mask, telling her “Don’t worry, I asked and made sure that Sunwoo is already immune to chickenpox beforehand, so you being contagious won’t be a problem.” before stealing a quick kiss and securing her headset. Next, Sunwoo helps him buckle up next to B, making all the necessary safety checks before they take off.

“Are you afraid of heights, Baby?” Yeonjun’s voice suddenly rings into B’s headset.

“No.” she replies, looking at him and squeezing his hand tight as she feels the vehicle lift off into the air. She wasn’t exactly scared, but she wasn’t expecting to leave the ground when she woke up that morning.

The view was simply breathtaking. She had flown in airplanes before, and as much as she enjoyed being at airports and taking the window seat, but nothing could compare to seeing the small town from a thousand feet in the air.

Below them, the world looked green and blue, the town highlighted by the abundantly green trees and the river that surrounded it.

Throughout the ride, Yeonjun had begun to point out the most random things to B. From the park where he won his first soccer match in when he was in the 5th grade, to the building that his father owned which he absolutely hated. He told her endless stories of the places he’d run away to when he felt like escaping, and stories of the places he’s learned to love the most after years of living in one place.

As the sun started to set, the city lights started to light up slowly, then all at once.

“Wow, this is amazing. It feels like magic.” B says, staring in awe at the town below them, now illuminated in hundreds of shining lights.

“Magic hour, when the sun sets and all the lights start to turn on.” Yeonjun agrees.

B could feel her neck start to ache from keeping it outstretched the whole time as she tried her best to look out the window, drinking in as much of the view as she could.

Meanwhile, Yeonjun had his eyes on her the whole time.

•°•

Friday

Just then, B hears her doorbell ringing.

She yells out “Coming! Just a minute!” before getting up and making sure she was appropriately dressed before making her way to the front door.

As bummed out as she was about their her supposed last stay-at-home date with Yeonjun being cancelled, she also couldn’t help but feel curious about what could have possible come up that Yeonjun had to cancel it.

She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she forgot to check through the peephole before opening her apartment door, and as soon as she saw the person standing on the other side, she felt her heart skip a beat.

“Baba!” Kai exclaims, throwing his hands in the air. “Surprise!” he says, before engulfing her in a hug.

She unfreezes then, her mind in scrambles, trying to comprehend what was happening.

“Ningning! What are you doing here? And why are you hugging me, step away from me, you might get chickenpox!” she exclaims, trying to pull away from his embrace.

“Actually, I’m here because I have chicken pox.” he admits, subtly rubbing his arms, which B suspected were covered in itchy red rashes. “A few people from school have started to show symptoms, actually, myself included.”

“Oh my god, you have chicken pox? Are you okay? Did any of the other guys get it?” she asks, concerned.

Kai shakes his head. “I’m fine, just a little itchy. And no, as far as I can tell, it’s just me so far. The school’s in chaos now, everyone’s starting to show up to school wearing face masks and spraying alcohol every 5 mintues. Everyone’s afraid of the chicken pox.” he says, shivering.

“That sounds disastrous.” she comments. “So what brings you here exactly?”

Kai grins. “Well, since I have chicken pox now, and you’ve had chicken pox now, and no one else in my family has had chicken pox so I’d be a major health threat to them, I was wondering if I could maybe…stay with you?” he asks sheepishly.

“Oh, like we could quarantine together?” B asks. “I was actually medically cleared by my doctor already so I can come back to school on Monday but I’d love to have you here! Why not?” she says, squealing excitedly as she hugs her bestfriend.

Kai laughs happily. “Oh thank god, Lea practically kicked me out of the house and sprayed me with alcohol the whole time when I got sent home from school. I was able to grab a few of my things before I was banished from my own home.” he says, relieved.

“Oh, you poor thing.” she says, ruffling his hair. “Come on in, I’ll make sure the guest bedroom is clean and ready for you.” she says, welcoming him into her apartment.

“Thanks, Baba! Oh, I’m so excited, I’ve missed you so much! I haven’t seen you in a whole week.” Kai says, whining. “I can’t wait to catch up with you. Honestly, MOA has felt so boring without you so there’s not much I have to say. But I can’t wait to hear all about how you spent your week!”

B laughs hesitantly. “Oh, psh, there’s not much to tell you either.” she says weakly.

“Don’t say that, I’m sure spending a week at home felt like a mini vacation! So tell me, what did you do the whole week?” Kai starts, as they enter the guest room.

I’ve been going on dates with our dear friend Yeonjun B thought to herself, though she knew she couldn’t bring herself to just tell her bestfriend about it.

So what could she tell him about her week?

15 notes · View notes

studywithmeliora · 5 years ago

Text

The Essential Guide To Using Notion As A University Student

Some of you may have heard of Notion, the startup that's revolutionising the productivity sector. Many people have used Notion to write blogs, create databases and manage their online business. I for one, have used Notion not only as a personal wiki/workspace, but as a tool to help me plan out content for my blog as well as my Instagram account for the next few months. And the best part is, Notion is absolutely free for students.

The Basics

But first, let's talk about the basics of using Notion and all the features that it has that makes it so easy to use.

Markdown: Markdown is a plaintext formatting syntax. It's easy to use because it relies on simple symbols and keywords to format your text however you want it. You might not realise it but you use Markdown in many platforms, such as WhatsApp and Reddit. Notion's Markdown relies on slashes (/). It lets you embed text, to-do lists, websites, callouts and so much more.

Embed Everything and Anything: Notion is unique because it enables you to keep all your productivity tools in one place. Using Notion, you can embed websites, pdf documents, maps, GitHub codes, tweets, a google drive document or spreadsheet, an Invision project, a Figma file, and even a Typeform. This is especially useful for students who work on a wide variety of projects and tasks. Make it uniquely yours With Notion's recent update, users are now able to customise font styles as well. They provide three main styles: Default, Serif and Mono. Additionally, you can customise your text with different colours and backgrounds as well. Notion also allows you to customise your pages with icons (emojis or any picture that you can upload) and a cover image.

Get organised: Notion's productivity system enables you to build workflows, calendars, tables, databases and so much more. In fact, they have a specialised template (more on this in the next point), for customer relationship management. This can also be used for students who want to manage their professional network and build professional relationships. Notion also lets you create a weekly, monthly or even yearly agenda with its calendar and to-do list features. With this, you can plan a week ahead or even a year ahead. This is especially helpful for keeping track of assignments, homework, readings, and other deadlines.

Templates: Notion comes with templates specifically targeted towards students. They have templates for Cornell Notes, Job Applications, Grade Calculators, Basic Budgets, Course Schedules, Thesis Planning and so much more. The best part is, you can create your own template or browse the many templates that Notion curated here.

Collaborate: Notion's system also allows you to collaborate with your classmates and teachers and work together. It will keep your private pages away from prying eyes even during collaboration and you have full control over what a collaborator can and can't do.

Notion Template Ideas

Notion’s amazing features give you the freedom to create any template you want. If you’re a university/high school student, I recommend the following tracker ideas:

College Application Tracker

Job Application Tracker

GPA Calculator

Semester Schedule

Notes Organiser/ Master Notes Database

Digital Bullet Journal (!!! save paper and look super cool doing it !!!)

Habit Trackers

Journal Entries

Mood Boards

Collections (movies, articles, etc -> refer to feature 2 above)

Future Log (with an inline calendar!)

Resume

Active Recall Notes (with the toggle list option!)

Quizzes for self testing (also with the toggle list option!)

And so much more!

I hope this post was useful to you all <3

xoxo, studywithmeliora

7 notes · View notes

happystressedmuffin · 7 years ago

Text

Among the articles I wrote for our school newspaper these past three years, my most successful ones have been on the topic of education / the education system. As a person who has increasingly become disillusioned with the way school’s operate, I have a couple of thoughts. This may end up a little vague and I may go back to explore these ideas in more detail when I have more time.

First things first, my parents used to be teachers back in Belarus, and they often tell me about rules they had and how their schools worked. A lot of my thinking is influenced by them and their stories, in addition to personal experience.

Communication

One thing that American schools as a whole seem to lack is effective communication between teachers. I have seen this again and again, and it’s a shame considering that It’s an issue that can be fixed without bureaucratic measures. Why do teachers still have a difficult time communicating with one another? Countless times, I’ve had teachers schedule tests and quizzes on the same day, leaving students studying for three whole different topics, rather than focusing on carefully understanding one. My dad said when he used to teach, he would talk to the other teachers and they would plan their schedules out in accordance to one another to ensure that the students would not have an overload of work. While I cannot attest that lack of communication is a problem in every single individual American school, I can certainly say that just a couple weeks ago, our IB coordinator walked into our TOK room because our class snapped under pressure and some students were on the verge of tears. When we told her about the mountain of projects and tests, she seemed surprised, and even our TOK teacher decided to move one of her deadlines, because she was previously unaware of the pressure we were under.

Personally, communication between teachers is probably one of the biggest problems in any school system. Teachers should talk with one another and plan their assignments out; if not, at the very least, be ready to change the dates of certain assignments.

Of course, some things cannot be helped -- teachers cannot move standardized test days, and sometimes the speed of the lesson needs to quicken in order to have time to cover all the right material. Of course, that leads to another problem.

Standardized testing // allowing teachers to teach what they want

Standardized testing. A lot has been said on the topic already. Some countries such as Finland manage to get amazing marks without a lot of standardized tests; other countries get equally impressive marks with a lot of these tests (China). Whether or not standardized testing works depends on different factors, such as how the government operates, how the tests are structured, etc.

For example, the United States is a federalist form of government, meaning that power is shared between the federal and state governments. Largely, education has been a state issue, meaning how schools prepare their children for these tests and even the tests they take differ.

In terms of how the tests are structured, let’s talk about my friend who I will call “V.” V is in higher level classes. V has passed multiple AP tests. V wants to work in the film industry. As we all know, the SAT tests people on math and reading. Now, tell me, what does math and reading have to do with working in the film industry? English is not V’s first language -- he speaks Hindu and Spanish. He is not so bright in math. But if you’d seen the videos he produces, the editing work he does, even the scripts he writes, you could easily tell that this is a bright kid. His SAT score is certainly not bad in the slightest; in fact, it would probably be considered in the upper quartile. Nonetheless, in comparison to most our peers in this particular program (IB), his score seems a little...weak, to say the least. Some colleges rejected him as a result of his testing, which does not reflect the skills he will use later in life. Why should we consider this fair? Obviously, all people should know rudimentary math and reading; however, why should they be judged solely in those two categories?

At the end of the day, the real question we are trying to find is whether or not the state should give more control to the teachers in the classroom. Standardized testing limits what a teacher may teach due to time constraints.

Bad teachers / respect for teachers

And now, let’s bring our focus onto teachers. I have become highly disillusioned with teachers, especially this year. Here are a number of things I have witnessed:

1. A teacher “predicting” what our grade will be on a test and putting it in the grade system as our final grade for the assignment (essentially giving us a grade for something we have not actually done; and she wasn’t kind about it either; I got a C)

2. a teacher claiming we have to learn six chapters in three days and proceeding not to do a single thing to help us learn in class; instead he gave us a pop quiz and told us to read the book (hint: if we can replace you with a plant and have it not influence the class in the slightest, perhaps you need to do some teaching!)

3. A teacher telling us that the highest we can get on an assignment was a 70 and if we wanted something higher, we had to an “optional assignment”

4. A teacher taking off an entire letter grade because a student wrote the wrong class period on the header.

5. A teacher pausing a student in the middle of a presentation to yell at the student for seeming “too nervous” (how does yelling and humiliation help?)

6. One of my teachers accidentally taught the wrong curriculum for an entire three quarters before finding out that what we were doing was wrong. (I don’t blame the teacher too much -- this was actually a rather complicated situation).

7. A chemistry teacher who sat at her desk eating snacks while she played videos of her teaching, rather than teaching in person.

Now, all of this makes us students want to bang our heads against the wall; especially number 2 and number 6. The same teacher from #2 never read a single one of our essays (problematic, considering this is an AP / IB class) and instead has us peer score every single time. Nobody studies for his class because he curves every assignment so that a student with a D gets an A.

Should students not demand better? One of the issues with teachers, I believe, is that one does not necessarily need a teaching degree to teach; just a degree in the particular subject area. But at the end of the day, knowing a subject does not mean knowing how to teach it. Some people may disagree. Some people may say, a true sign of knowing is being able to teach. But teaching in itself is another art form. It involves communication. It involves a little bit of psychology. It involves knowing how to explain concepts in ways you may not have thought of before (A visual learner may not think to incorporate auditory details, for example). A person may be an awesome biologist, but that same person may not be an excellent communicator (outside of a research paper, that is). A person may be an awesome biologist, but that person may understand little about how an art/literature student may learn concepts. Knowing a subject well does not mean teaching a subject well. To say so insults the very art of teaching.

Another problem when it comes to teachers is a lack of overall respect for the profession. My AP Gov teacher (a really awesome man) was telling us a story about attending his wife’s party with her co-workers.

Someone asked him, “Hey, what do you do for a living?”

He said, “I teach high school government!”

That person frowned. “I’m so sorry!”

“Why are you sorry?” my government teacher asked, confused. “I love my job!”

And that story conveys a giant problem. People in general assume that teaching is a bad job. That we should feel sorry for those who teach. If you look at the amount that teachers get paid, you can tell that the job isn’t as highly valued as it should be. Teachers are entrusted with the entire future. They are tasked with educating future politicians, future surgeons, future historians, future writers, future academics, future working class people who may change living standard for the better. Why should we not pay teachers more? Why should we not make it harder for people to become teachers (increase the required training or make it better) while at the same time paying them more?

Students do not respect teachers too much either. That may be a sentence young people do not like to hear, because we feel cheated in the education system many times. But it’s true that many students do not respect teachers. I am a student; I have seen how the worst of us can behave. My favorite teacher (I’ve had her for all three years now and will have her next year too) talks quite frankly with me, and she always talks about students who put in no work all quarter and then have the audacity to call her and blame her for their grades.

I am quite lazy -- I really am. But I do my work, and I have never had anything below a A in her classes; and the one I’m taking at the moment is an IB class.

However, respect is a two-way-street. To say that students are respected would be a lie. Otherwise, we would be listened to more when it comes to problems that directly affect us.

The ultimate point is -- respect for teachers needs to increase, but we should also cut down on teachers who don’t know how to teach. These solutions seem obvious, but implementing the necessary actions to put them into place certainly isn’t.

Taxes / wealth

A big point to mention -- taxes. I had any power in this government, I would not have schools be funded by taxes. In order to learn, students should have the resources to do so. How can an underfunded school possibly compete with a suburban, rich school? The education system creates cycles by constantly valuing the rich and punishing the poor.

If you have money, here’s all the things you can do:

-Live in a nice area with well-funded schools

-Buy a tutor for the SAT

-Have enough money to be well-fed; no worries about food

-Buy all kinds of educational programs (rosetta stone, etc)

-Buy more books

-Get invited to go to interesting educational summer camps, and go

-Clubs (basically no clubs are free)

All these things contribute to college applications and success. But what about the student who struggles in math and cannot afford a tutor? What about that student who lives in a poor area and struggles to learn because of underfunded and stressed teachers? What about the student who has to turn down many opportunities simply because that students cannot afford it? What about the student that can’t afford to pay a fee to participate in dance club?

What about those students?

Is it not evident then that those students are put at a disadvantage, and that they never had equality to begin with? Is it not evident that those students will have a harder time getting to a brighter future?

Here’s some ideas I have seen around that I have not thought too much about, but I do want to look into:

- Religion’s affect on schools (the US has a long history of Protestantism / Evangelicalism; those who structured our schools may have been influenced. It would be interesting to see how religious thought has played into our education system)

-schools shaping students for labor / a career rather than education / useful life skills

- I would really love to learn about an anarchist’s point of view of the education system. I believe that most anarchists would be pro-education, but they typically are anti-system (anti-authority), right? How would people be educated in an ideal society? (this is mostly curiosity)

#education system #problems of the education system #teaching #student #school problems #school #education #long post #standardized testing #respect for teachers

6 notes · View notes

digitallearning10 · 5 years ago

Text

Reflection (by Mohamad Rezal Bin Ali)

I’m Mohamad Rezal Bin Ali (KIG180070), a second-year undergraduate student in Bachelor of the Mechanical Engineering University of Malaya. Throughout the implementation of this Social Engagement project, I have gained a variety of new knowledge and also learned new experiences. I underestimated this task would be simple and easy to implement but there were a variety of problems and obstacles that we have to face. The work that we have done is to provide brief notes, quizzes, and teaching materials for the students. After a discussion with my teammates, I was assigned to provide notes and teaching materials English (Reading Comprehensions and Summary Writing).

4th March 2020. This marked the beginning of my 14-week journey with my teammates. It was the first meeting for the subject - Social Engagement. To be honest, I didn’t know what to expect from this subject. I did not know what subject was really about when I registered for it and I don’t think any of us did. I only knew it was a core subject and every student must register for the course to graduate. But what happened during these 14 weeks was insightful and I am thankful for this wonderful experience.

During our first meeting of the subject, Mr. Norhafizan, our lecturer for the subject introduced to us what social engagement was about and the activities we could do for the communities around us. Social Engagement is a subject where we volunteer to help out a community and try to improve their lives in any way possible. We were instructed to start looking for organizations as soon as possible as other schools were conducting the same program as well. We were then told to form our groups for this course and fatefully the ten of us formed Group 2 for this project. We quickly searched for an organization that we felt would suit us and we managed to find one. We were planning to go to a school to teach the students there some life skills like cooking and baking. We were already starting to plan our schedule and the fun programs that we were going to do with those students. But then came the bad news.

Covid-19 had hit Malaysia and things were bad. Our government had just announced the country would be going under Movement Control Order or better known as MCO. This meant that every event and program that involved a group of people needed to be cancelled. No wedding events, no sports activities, and the worst, no physical classes. This meant that for one, the school we had been planning to go to would be closed, and second, we as university students would have to suspend physical classes including Social Engagement. Thus, our usual method of conducting this subject would have to be modified and the university decided to ask the students to conduct this subject digitally. From then onwards, we began our digital learning program. The next week, Mr. Norhafizan was kind enough to help us look for a school to conduct our project. Our project was mainly to interact with the students and guide them on certain SPM subjects. Mr. Norhafizan proceeded to conduct a few meetings with us to give us some information regarding the school and also the goals of this program. We were given a list of subjects to choose from and our group got to go with the English Language subject.

i. Planning Phase

Like what I mentioned above, I was assigned to teach reading comprehension and summary writing. As I'm finishing my parts, I found out that it is very difficult for me to teach and prepare teaching materials for the student of SMK Puchong Utama 1 because English is not something that can be easily taught. Every student- everyone has a different point of view on certain topics and has a different level of reading and comprehension skills. One’s reading and language skills can be developed by personal reading and of course through a lot of practice. However, I’m not just going to live like that. I figured out something and I’ll try my best to help students answering reading comprehension questions and writing a better summary. I provided notes and slides on guidelines to tackle these two questions. This will help students gain at least 1 mark rather than no mark. Without enough reading and practices, students will face problems understanding the text and unable to answer the comprehension question precisely. To overcome this, I also provide a ton of practices with HOTS (high order thinking skill) questions. This is not only testing student reading skills throughout this program, it is also will be used as their practices and preparation before sitting for SPM next year (2021). I’m so happy that we can collaborate in making sure our program to run smoothly and successfully.

Figure 1: some notes and practices I provided for this program

ii. Operating Phase

On the class session day, we posted all material we have prepared; quizzes, notes, and teaching material, on our digital platform so all students can access it and learning with us. We were using Google Classroom as our digital class platform. Unfortunately, there was no participation during the first week when the program was launched. There was no student joined our WhatsApp group that we created for them. We already provided the QR code in our poster but maybe they missed it. We were a little bit upset because we were far behind other mentor groups even though they got low participation. Even without any participation, we continuously posting notes and promoting our program on Google Classroom. We gave our best so every student can learn for their sake. This is just a bump on the road. After discussing with our teammates, we decided to personally email all the students of SMK Puchong Utama 1; sending invitation letters and posters of our program. It turned out good eventually. Our plan works very well. There are a total of 8 students in our WhatsApp group and 19 students from overall community have participated this program. Even though it is few in numbers, we felt so happy and blessed because they are students that willing to learn and join our program. We have done all class sessions and announcements in that WhatsApp group.

Figure 2: our group's program poster

Figure 3: some announcement done in WhatsApp group

iii. Ending Phase

We have faced some challenges during these 14 weeks but we are grateful that we have gone through it as a team. The main challenge was of course interacting with the students as we could not see them face-to-face. This made the teaching process slightly complicated as the students did not dare to ask questions through our digital meeting and we were unsure if they were paying attention to our teaching. Of course, there was also room for improvement for our group. For example, we should have distributed the posters earlier so that more students could join our sessions. Nonetheless, we learn through our mistakes and we will surely do better in the future.

This course has taught me the true importance of teamwork. Without the help from my fellow teammates, I am sure that this program would not have been a success. They have given me a lot of encouragement as well as guidance during these 14 weeks. My teammates were also not reluctant to volunteer for any tasks and they were more than willing to help out the group. Whenever one of us faced any difficulties, we would help each other out. They were tolerant towards one another and they followed the deadlines set by our group. All the reports and materials were done before the dateline and this had contributed to our success in this digital learning program. I couldn’t have finished this course without their help.

In addition to that, this program had shown that physical classes are not the only way to study and online learning may even be the best alternative to physical classes during this crisis. Students can have access to more interesting ways of studying instead of facing a textbook daily.

At the end of this course, we believe that we have helped these students in a way that they could have a new learning experience and also know that physical classes and textbooks are not the only way of studying. We have also made new friends including my teammates and the students. Our group has become closer after this project and we hope to work together again someday. If there comes a similar opportunity in the future, we hope we would be able to conduct more sessions like this to different students from different backgrounds. I just want to thank my fellow teammates for their help during this 14-weeks. Without them, this program would not have been a success. I would also like to thank Mr. Norhafizan for his continuous guidance during this period and throughout the course. Without his constant assistance, we would not have been able to find a community to conduct our program by ourselves.

0 notes

ahoforminho · 8 years ago

Text

Important Tips for Upcoming Freshmen/Ninth Graders!

1. It’s alright to feel nervous or anxious! After all, you are going into a new school, new building, new classes/classrooms, and yes, you will feel a little intimidated by all the older students and the new teachers. However, I can assure you that is normal! Just take your time to learn your way around, familiarize yourself with the place, and make some new friends. (: Don’t be too intimidated by older students because I can tell you this; they’re probably too worried about college/university or other classes to worry about the freshmen haha.

2. DO. YOUR. HOMEWORK. One mistake I did when I was in ninth grade and I wish I could go back and change this! This is high school, not elementary so the teachers will most likely have a different teaching style/system. So when your teachers assign homework (or even if you just have any unfinished schoolwork), do it right away or whenever you have time even if it’s not due until next week, next month, etc. because trust me, if you keep procrastinating or pushing it aside, they will pile up on you and it’s. gonna. suck. It’s better to be done early than stressing about it last minute. It’s also good to develop this habit for the next years (: which leads me to my next advice.

3. Develop good habits. What I mean by ‘develop good habits’ is for example, handing in your homework on time, studying for tests, exams, even the smallest ‘quizzes’, etc. Just because you’re in ninth grade, don’t think “Oh, I’m only in grade nine, I have three more years to get my crap together. I can just do whatever for now!”. Don’t have that kind of mindset because I can assure you, if you don’t get used to doing these things, you will have trouble doing so in more difficult grades and it will bite you in the butt. Think of the first year of high school as a practice round to get you ready for the next years.

Also, even if you’re not a freshmen, it’s never too late to develop and practice good habits!

4. Your health comes first. If you feel a little overwhelmed or stressed about your assignments, projects, tests, exams, or school in general, don’t be afraid to stop for a moment, take a breather, and relax. Don’t hesitate to put everything aside for a while and just get your thoughts together. Get some coffee or tea, grab a book or watch a few episodes of your favourite show on Netflix, or even get your favourite snack and snack on it while listening to music. Not only does stress affect you physically, it can also affect you mentally and emotionally. Stress can make you more irritable and less focused and you want to be as focused as you can especially if you’re around finals week (:

Also talk to your teachers if what they’re doing is too much for you! Let them know because otherwise, they’ll just keep going while you’re left to deal with it on your own! Tell them what the problem is and I guarantee you they will fix an arrangement for you (:

5. Invest in a planner. If you’re the type of person who keeps forgetting important dates or assignments, then I highly suggest you buy a planner! It doesn’t have to look all pretty with fancy writing or designs like what you see on studyblrs or on youtube, so don’t be pressured about making it look like that! You can go to a dollar store, staples, walmart, target etc. and buy a planner for probably less than $15. You can even just buy a notebook for $5-$10 and make your own planner! Just simple write down the month, list the days of the week, then jot down your exams, important events, when homeworks are due, etc. This will help you keep on track!

6. Last and the most important tip of all,

Have fun! I know it’s a weird tip because c’mon. It’s school??!! School isn’t fun.

However, if you make it fun, it will be! Attend pep rallies, dress up with your friends for school dances, go to field trips, etc. School isn’t just about tests, homeworks, deadlines (though they really do make it seem like it at times), it’s also about making friends and creating fun memories with them (:

Goodluck to upcoming freshmen and ninth graders! Even if you’re not a freshman, goodluck to whomever is (or already is) starting a new school year!

#school #tips for students #tips for freshmen #highschool advice #studyblr #studyspo #study motivation #studeality #myposts

20 notes · View notes

lucy-boyd · 6 years ago

Text

Competitor Benchmarking

We were split up into groups in class and were asked to look at courses provided online for education. We then had to present out finings to the rest of the class. This was a very useful task because it allowed us to see the pros and cons to a variety of sites that already exist. Below are my notes on each of the companies looked at....

Skillshare

online based

self paced

workshops - this provides more accountability

subscription of £13 a month

content in video

workshops have a hand in date which again provides accountability

users can join groups to discuss with others who have similar interests

anyone can teach - don’t need a qualification to be a mentor

there is an app provided for video downloads

Udemy

prices ranges depending on the course

offer discounts ( you rarely pay the full price )

video content

overload with the amount of courses on landing page

lifetime access

responsive for mobile and TV

no quality control

content from online content curators

no premium option for access to extra privileges

courses range in length

share with friends

tells you what you will learn

get a certificate after completion

get 95% off price once you complete but only if the next course involves the same teacher

Thinkful

engineering skills platform

if you don't get a job then you won't be charged

team with students

1 on 1 sessions with mentor

same people the whole way through course

mock-interview at the end of course to assess and provide accountability

help build a professional portfolio and actively help you get a job

price from £6000 - 30000

aimed at people who want to change career path

Butter Academy

$195

own time

32.5 - 42.5 hours of work

email youtube videos

practical assignments

build a portfolio

certificate after completion

add skills to add to existing career

need to make information clearer

consistent design with theme and colour

Alison

short courses and diploma courses

all online

self-learning

no mentor or teacher so no accountability

pay for your certificate

free and premium options

refer a friend for discounts

poor navigation

module structure

poor design

pointless reviews

no feedback

image based - no video content

have to pay to remove ads

Code Academy

all ages can learn code

free for most but can upgrade

easy onboarding

7 day free trial

rewarded with badges

quiz to establish what level you're at

basic modules

cheapest option £15 a month

upgrade £17 or £19 per month for extras

FutureLearn

short courses - 8 hours for 1 course

regular courses - 56 weeks for 4 courses

degree courses

initial sign in free but paid upgrade for premium

shows educator for each course

audio , images and video

online only - no download or pdf option

interact with other people online for feedback and issues

reminders throughout course

target market is anyone

Duolingo

fremium

language app

universally accessible

85 language courses and 24 languages

uses gamification

tiny cards - online / offline flashcards

good visuals

audio content

childish aesthetics

micro learning (notifications ? )

streaks eg. snapchat ( is there a way of saying you are unavailable to avoid losing your streaks ? )

Career Foundry

aimed at people in UX

developers , designer , UI , UX

6-10 months courses

£3000 - £10000

self paced or timetabled

10 months maximum

part time or full time

progress reports to get you encouraged to keep going

600 hours learning time

people who want to change career

reading material , videos , worksheets

£4749 one time payment

support while studying

6 months job guarantee

Treehouse

for developers and designers

quizzes , challenges , tasks , tutorials , code challenges , slack community

£20 per month

tech degree - structured online course with soft deadlines

tech degree in UX , dev etc and it £200 per month

lots of support

hands on tasks

own pace

wide variety of courses

degree is expensive

Skillshare

video format 1-12 hours

projects

workshops

can receive likes and comments

tells you level to complete class eg beginner

£13 / mo or £7 / mo

social media style ( youtube / instagram )

Khan Academy

free

offers tuition on subjects

free advice when applying to college

american based

video format

STEM subjects

choose level of education

quizzes

badge rewards

coaches and students get badges

collect avatars with the more you complete

avatar evolves with experience

boring information layout

Code Institute

online based bootcamp for advanced coding

own pace

‘you don't need experience’

‘kickstart your career’

IAC: industry approvement council

full time - 600 hours in 12 weeks

part time - 600 hours in 12-48 weeks

must be completed in under 60 weeks

HTML5 and others in 12 weeks

€375 / mo or €5000 one off

video content

one to one mentoring for 150 people

Open University

open door academics

no entry requirements

flexible study

3 hours £5,904

pay by module - 60 credits £984

120 credits is £1,968

equivalent to full years study

books , websites , videos , audio , online tutorials

lecture feedback and personal tutor

Looking at each of these online courses has given me a good overview of what the common pros and cons were. Common cons were cost and layout with overall poorly structures modules. Pros were that some of the sites kept a good consistent look throughout their site with branding. This is something I definitely need to consider throughout my design is the overall look I want to go for with my design.

#ixd303

0 notes

organizingconceptsanddesign-blog · 6 years ago

Link

Monthly Archives: June 2017

Even Professional Organizers Need Help Getting Organized Sometimes

Posted on

June 19, 2017

I was talking to a good friend of mine last week and told her that I was going to spend time over the weekend organizing my garage. She was surprised that my garage wasn’t already organized. I explained that EVERYONE hits a brick wall at some point in their life or in some place in their life when it comes to organizing. For me (and my husband), it’s the garage.

Because our home is relatively small, we use our garage for storage. After we take the time to organize the garage which is usually about once a year, we try our best to keep it that way. Unfortunately, as time goes on, things slowly but surely get out of hand. So, while not the perfect scenario, especially for someone as organized as I am, sometimes things just can’t be perfectly organized. Perfection is hard to maintain so, as I tell all of my clients, getting organized isn’t about perfection. Getting organized is about:

1. Being able to find things when you need them (quickly)

2. Getting rid of things you don’t need (regularly)

3. Making sure that things are accessible (especially the items you need frequently)

4. Making sure that things are where they make sense. For example, plates should be in the kitchen. You’re probably thinking… duh, where else would I put plates. Well, you’d be surprised at the crazy places where I find things when organizing for other people.

5. Having a place for everything that you want to keep. If it (whatever “it” is) doesn’t have a place it is considered clutter. If you don’t have room perhaps its time to get rid of something else to make room.

BTW, true to my organizing principles, everything does have a place (even in the garage), it’s just that sometimes things don’t find their way back to that place when it comes to the garage.

One more thing… because I have to share my space with my husband, it helps to get him involved in the process. Neither of us enjoy spending a day organizing the garage when we can be doing something else (or nothing else as the case may be). So, if he’s involved in the process, he’s more inclined to TRY to maintain the space, at least for awhile.

So, my point is that things don’t have to be perfect to be organized. They just have to work for you and whoever else lives with you.

If you or your loved ones need help getting things organized or better organized and don’t know where to start, give us a call. WE’D LOVE TO HELP!

It’s Back to School Time

Posted on

June 10, 2017

Back to School is a time for meeting new challenges and taking on new responsibilities.

The following 7 Tips will help you get organized & help you stay organized throughout the school year.

THE IMPORTANCE OF ROUTINES

Create a morning schedule and practice it at least once before the start of school.

Try setting up a schedule in the morning that will help you stay organized. A sample schedule might be: Wake up and shower at 6:45, get dressed at 7:00, eat breakfast at 7:15, pack your lunch at 7:25, do your hair and makeup at 7:35 and leave at 7:50. b. Make sure you allow extra time in case something goes wrong (ex: you wake up late) c. Follow the same routine every day.

Mornings in most households are busy. To leave yourself enough time make these part of your routine:

Set out your clothes to save time the night before

Also set out any sports equipment for the next day’s extra-curricular activites

Pack your backpack the night before.

In addition to homework, also place lunch money, papers that need to be signed, gym clothes, etc. along with the bag.

TIME MANAGEMENT

If we had more hours in the day, we’d just fill them up with more things to do so USE YOUR TIME WISELY This is a point in your life when time management skills really become important We are soooo busy and have so much to do and remember that anything we can DUMP on paper gets it out of our heads and on to paper where you can see it and be reminded. Writing things down will help you remember so when transferring over to do’s you’re less likely to forget. Prioritize your list so the important things get done. Whatever doesn’t get done today can be done another time. Just make sure it’s written down so you don’t forget. You can take on more personal responsibility by getting yourself out of bed at a certain time every day by setting your own alarm—without any help from parents. You might also explore using your cell phone as a time management tool. If you have difficulty waking up with an alarm clock, try putting it on the other end of your room so you have to get out of bed to shut it off.

CALENDAR/PLANNER:

Choose a daily planner with large weekly format over two pages.

Tape a copy of class schedule to the first page and place copy of schedule on inside of locker.

Be sure your full name and grade level are listed in your agenda.

Use it EVERY DAY and make sure it has enough room for assignments, to do’s and note!

Make sure it is kept in the same location at all times so you know where to find it. I keep mine with my keys.

Do not underestimate the value of keeping an accurate planner

Don’t’ forget to calendar homework assignments, exams, quizzes and project deadlines in your agenda as soon as you get them.

Write the assignment on the day that it is due!

Look ahead in your agenda to see what assignments are coming up.

If it is a big project, then break it down into parts and make your own due dates for each part.

Give yourself PLENTY of time to complete assignments because middle school work is new and different.

Write in reminders one and two weeks before something is due.

Even when you do not have an assignment, write: “NO HOMEWORK.” Once writing in the planner becomes habitual, the student will have few, if any, excuses for not completing an assignment.

Have a special place for your agenda and carry it to every class and bring it home every day.

At the end of every day, read your agenda before you leave the locker area or during your last class to be sure what you need to take home to study or complete homework.

Another way to keep track of assignments is through a monthly calendar hung up at home.

There are some assignments, such as science projects, that will be assigned further ahead of time.

Break down the project into smaller projects that can be done along with the nightly homework, rather than a day or two.

Of course, you can always use the calendar on your phone, computer, tablet.

Make sure there’s a place for your “to do’s.

Make sure there’s a place for your appointments (sports, music lessons)

Make sure there’s a place to schedule your projects, quiz’s, tests

ORGANIZATION:

Everything will be MUCH EASIER if you are organized.

Don’t rely on your parents or teachers to keep you organized.

Organization should be important both at home and at school.

Organization is a skill that will help you not only in school but also in every aspect of your life.

If you establish an organized routine, you will lay the foundation for academic success.

There are many different ways to organize anything.

Everyone organizes in his or her own way.

You have to decide which way of organizing is easiest and best for YOU!

*NOTE: Some people like files, some people like piles: some people like things out so they can see them; some people like things put away. III. The following are some tips and ideas that may help you decide how to BETTER organize your items for school.

9. At home, you should have a special place for all of your belongings, not just schoolwork. (Maybe it’s your desk or, it can be a shelf in your closet)

10. Always keep things in the same place so you know where to look for them and where to store them. For example, put your backpack by the door where you will see it on your way out.

11. To keep your space clutter free, put away your things when you finish using them.

12. You can place books and folders in your backpack and secure them in a corner or on a shelf.

13. A special container for supplies such as pens, pencils, markers and scissors will also be helpful

LOCKERS

Practice before you need to use it!

Try it out several times to make sure the key works or that you remember the combination. b. Keep the combination written down somewhere where you can find it (ie, your wallet, purse, backpack) and not where anyone else would know what it is. The locker combination should be written down at home as well.

Having a clean, organized locker is really important as well.

Purchase extra shelves and locker organizers. The shelves will give you more space for books.

Keep a magnetic pencil holder and a whiteboard on your locker door.

The magnetic pencil holder is for spare pens, pencils, highlighters, erasers, and supplies.

The whiteboard is where you will write your assignments, classes, and memos on.

How well you keep your locker arranged and decorated is up to you.

The ultimate goal is to be organized so that you will know where your things are and where to put things away.

Look over your list/agenda at your locker each day before leaving school to make sure that you bring home the correct books and notebooks.

One big pitfall of being disorganized at school is forgetting a book at school.

Getting in the habit of going over the assignment list at your locker will create a positive habit of always having the materials to do assignments.

Don’t give out your locker combination.

Keep your cell phone in your locker. HOWEVER, never leave it on because if it goes off, and a teacher happens to walk by, it can be confiscated or misconstrued by the authorities.

Anything you don’t need at school, take home immediately

BINDERS

It is a good idea to get your binders organized from the start of the school year.

It’s always nice to start off on the right foot!

Make sure everything has a place and stays in it! Math papers don’t belong in your English notebook.

There are several different options and you should choose the one that you like best:

You can have separate binders for each class and choose a different color or pattern for each subject.\

Purchase dividers for each binder and label a section for class work, homework, notes and other sections as needed.

The binder should include at least one two-pocket folder to keep handouts and other items that the student will have to remove from the binder.

For important handouts such as a syllabus, use sheet protectors to preserve these items.

Or, you can: Color-code notebooks and/or book covers by subject area.

Keep the color-coding for the subjects the same every year.

It is easier to remember which subject is which color, and it saves money and the environment because you might be able to reuse items.

Get covers that are diverse in design or color so that you eliminate grabbing the wrong book or folder by mistake.

Have a special folder or place for homework and for notes to your parents. Carry this folder to all classes and home every day.

You can also use an expanding folder with 6 or more dividers in it to keep your homework or anything important in each section according to your class.

Have a separate project folder to keep all your project information and papers together in one place

Keep binders and folders organized.

Take your folders home periodically and clean them out.

Keep papers in their corresponding notebook at all times. It will make things so much easier. You won’t have to be worried on the way home about which binder something is in

Many schools or teachers will require you to have a binder for their class and even schedule “notebook checks” where they make sure that you have all your papers in the right places in your binder

Keep your books and binders for the same class together so that they are easy to grab. .

HOMEWORK

Always do your homework Set a designated time to do all of your homework

Limit distractions for concentration purposes until study time is over (Close the door, turn off the tv, cell phone)

Prioritize your assignments

One thing to keep in mind is to work on tomorrow first!

Some assignments are given a day or two before they are due. But, be sure if time allows, that they do everything on the first night assigned. For instance, if on Monday, one assignment is given in math that is due Tuesday and a short composition in English due Wednesday, have them do both. Because, on Tuesday, they could get several more assignments due Wednesday- Monday was a light day, and there would have been time. If you wait another day, you face the possibility of being inundated with more work!

Do your most difficult homework assignment first so you can get the hard stuff out of the way.

Designate a study space, preferably a clean and well lit area

If you have sports or other extra-curricular activities that might conflict with your homework schedule, plan accordingly

Keep completed homework assignments in the inside front pocket of the binder for that subject so you will always know where to find it.

When you’re done with your homework, place it in your backpack in an area by the door

You don’t want to lose homework and possibly suffer a lower grade because you can’t find work to submit to your teachers

Always be prepared.

Have extra sharpened pencils on hand as well as a water bottle.

Keep phone numbers of two people in each class so you can call them to get information about homework assignments.

Visit your teachers’ websites to check homework assignments.

Bottom line is if you’re organized, it will make your life much easier!

0 notes