#give a lecture -- but with a walkthrough of a whole ass problem (instead of preparing a lecture with only exposition and motivation)

[ofmettleandzest]

"feeling like everybody around u just ‘gets’ things because they’re just Naturally Smart and ur Naturally Not Smart and u have to study so much just to match them blah blah."

"any intellectual ‘ease’ u observe from ppl around u simply stems from former knowledge and practice they’ve had. none of it is about the smooth linearity of learning some ppl seem to exhibit, all of it is about invested time and work into something. our brains can literally learn anything... remember that u r always in full control of how much knowledge and how many skills u have. 

nice grades r simply a reflection of effective studying and nothing else. having to retake a class is not an indicator of ur value as a person, it only means ur study methods aren’t as productive as they could be. i’m sure the material ur learning now, at age 21, is a lot more complex than what u were studying at 17, so as ur class content evolves, ur ways of studying need to as well... u need to full-on confront what u don’t know – yes scary but yes necessary – and revisit that and repeat until there’s nothing left to confront.

let’s say u r one of the worst students of ur class. so what. what are u going to do from there?

I simply can't study properly anymore. I see people in my classroom studying and having nice grades while I study and have to retake a class because I wasn't approved last semester. It isn't a medical problem, I can literally feel my confidence level getting lower as the years go by. I'm 21 and I miss who I was at the age of 17-18 so much. I studied so much that time and I felt so happy. I don't know what's happening to me, all of a sudden I feel like I'm one of the worse students of my class.

i’m not sure what u mean by can’t study properly, but here r some things:

people in ur class are studying and have nice grades…and? because they’re inherently intelligent and ur not? no. ur doing urself a big disservice by viewing ur classmates w/ awe while devaluing ur own path and potential. 

i used to have this mentality too honestly and i still catch it bubbling up sometimes–feeling like everybody around u just ‘gets’ things because they’re just Naturally Smart and ur Naturally Not Smart and u have to study so much just to match them blah blah. none of that is true and it’s also a completely pointless and destructive mentality to have because barring ‘medical problems’, we r all born with the same neurological system that picks up information thru the same mechanisms. any intellectual ‘ease’ u observe from ppl around u simply stems from former knowledge and practice they’ve had. none of it is about the smooth linearity of learning some ppl seem to exhibit, all of it is about invested time and work into something. our brains can literally learn anything (otherwise it’d be a very inefficient organ wouldn’t it. humans would’ve died out early on). remember that u r always in full control of how much knowledge and how many skills u have. 

nice grades r simply a reflection of effective studying and nothing else. having to retake a class is not an indicator of ur value as a person, it only means ur study methods aren’t as productive as they could be. i’m sure the material ur learning now, at age 21, is a lot more complex than what u were studying at 17, so as ur class content evolves, ur ways of studying need to as well. in a nutshell, u need to study actively – thru quizzing urself / flashcards / practice exams / giving a fake lecture on the material. u need to full-on confront what u don’t know – yes scary but yes necessary – and revisit that and repeat until there’s nothing left to confront. good site on this: cal newport study hacks / good article on this: effective learning: twenty rules on formulating knowledge

let’s say u r one of the worst students of ur class. so what. what are u going to do from there? that’s what u gotta ask urself when stuff starts feeling bad, when u feel like u are no longer in control. 1) u are in control – u always are, 2) how are u going to use everything u’ve done up to this point – ur experiences and skills and knowledge – to reorient urself. focus on ur self. this is about u and ur path. make the competition about u, figure out where ur yesterday self could improve and act on it. feeling sorry for urself never gets u anywhere!!!

hope this helps. u got this.