momo - likey
♡ LIKEY ♡
types of study breaks for every situation
if you realize you’ve been studying for hours: grab a snack to refuel your body and watch a sitcom to refuel your brain. then back to the books.
if you’re feeling stressed out: take some deep breaths, text your friends, maybe stare at a wall for a few minutes. gather yourself.
if you can’t seem to focus: get moving and get outside. take out the garbage, check your mail box, maybe walk your dog. just get moving and get fresh air. it’ll help bring you back.
if there’s something else going on in your life and you can’t get it off your mind: write down what’s going through your head, sort of like a diary entry. it’ll help you work things out.
if you’re just mentally and physically exhausted: set a timer for 25-30 minutes and take a nap. any longer and you’ll hit REM and you’ll wake up feeling just as tired. once you wake up, get some caffeine in you.
if the material is boring as hell: find another way to study. see if there’s a crash course video online about it or draw out what you’re trying to learn in diagrams and pictures to make it fun.
if people around you won’t shut up: listen to some music. soundtrack and classical music is always good because they won’t absorb you as much as music with lyrics. white noise (like ocean waves, rain sounds, etc.) also works.
if you only half understand a concept: call/message a friend who’s not in the class and try to teach the material to them. this will help you mentally work through the material and will help you remember it as well.
Appropriate SAT words
to use in an essay or presentation without sounding like a pompous ass
NOUN
antithesis
audacity
censure
dexterity
diminution
myriad - plethora
novelty
paragon
penchant
platitude
ramification
tenacity
VERB
alleviate
articulate
belie
concede
elucidate
engender
exacerbate
facilitate
refute
reiterate
ADJECTIVE
adamant
affable - amiable - cordial
copious
culpable
cursory
detrimental
dogmatic
eloquent
elongated
extraneous - superfluous
futile
holistic
inadvertent
laudable
lethargic
loquacious
obstinate
poignant
precarious
prolific
rudimentary
scrupulous
tantamount
tentative
< Please feel free to add to this list >
don’t click this link!!! if you see it, delete it.
i recently found this in my submissions box:
it’s obviously a scam and i just wanted to remind everyone, in case they receive it as well, DO NOT CLICK THE LINK. delete the submission.
Getting a bad teacher is always unfortunate, but you can still learn the material & manage to ace the exams! Even if they don’t teach you anything, they still might have resources you can use, and there are plenty of other ways to take your learning into your own hands.
Get resources from the teacher!
- Ask for a textbook to take home. If you don’t have a book or something similar, ask for your own book, an online textbook, or another resource that you can learn from.
- Get worksheets and practice problems. Teachers usually have really good resources, even if they aren’t good at what they do. Get relevant worksheets, online recommendations, or other resources.
- See if you can get help during free time. Ask your teacher if they have any open hours to get help, or ask specifically if you can go in during your lunch, or before or after school for extra assistance.
Learn from textbooks!
- Take very comprehensive notes. If you don’t have a good teacher, you’re going to need to get the material from somewhere, so your notes need to be extremely thorough.
- Use supplementary books. A lot of subjects– especially AP classes with standardized exams– have books from publishers like Barron’s, Kaplan, and Princeton Review to help you learn the information.
- Make flashcards & extra study tools. Since you don’t have the variety of learning methods you might in a good class, learning in every way you can is even more important to ensure that you do well!
Use online resources!
- Check YouTube for instructional videos. If you need to know about it, there’s a fantastic chance that YouTube has it. Standbys include Khan Academy, Bozeman Science, and Crash Course.
- Make use of masterposts. If someone has already compiled oodles of resources for you, they’re definitely worth checking out! Plus, if they’re student recommended, there’s a better chance that they’ll be helpful.
- Find free questions. Exam boards like the College Board publish questions (and answers!) online, and these are super useful for knowing how well you’re doing.
Ask for extra help!
- Talk to older students for tips. If they’ve been through the class before, they usually know what the teacher is missing out and also how to do well.
- See if your school has a tutoring programme. Some schools have teacher or peer tutoring programmes where you can get one-on-one help without having to pay for a more expensive professional tutor.
- Get a friend to help you. Don’t be afraid to reach out and ask for help! If your friend is a science genius and your physics teacher is atrocious, it’s always worth a shot to ask.
Good luck! You can still do fantastically, and hopefully you’ll have some better teachers next year.
Sometimes, when we are presenting, our bodies act completely irrationally. Sweating, stuttering, or just shutting down completely are all things I have encountered during public speaking; behaviour that is usually connected to extreme danger and fleeing behaviour. Completely unnecessary, as your teacher won’t kill you (hopefully), but trying to convince your body to be just as rational is a tough task. Turns out that this is exactly what we’re going to do.
The basis for this (personal) advice all lies in my musical training, where posture is extremely important. Performance practice lessons have taught me one important thing: you can trick your body into thinking it’s okay, and with that, your audience. disclaimer: I have posted this information before in a slightly different way. Regard this as an updated version. Hopefully one with better spelling.
hoooooow???
Stand up and try to follow these instructions. I’m your only audience right now, so mistakes aren’t a problem.
- Start by relaxing your shoulders. Many people tense their shoulders when they’re anxious, which is a very natural reaction. However, tension in your shoulder automatically reaches through to your back and arms, and even your neck, tensing up your entire upper body. It’s confirming to your brain that yes! this is scary! Well, brain is wrong and we’re going to prove it wrong by relaxing our shoulders. Just let them hang down (make sure you don’t start leaning forward though, it should be just your shoulders). Doesn’t that immediately feel more relaxed?
- Keep your feet a little bit apart, firm on the ground. This sends the message to your brain and audience that a single push will not have you fall over. Standing with your legs closely together simply isn’t as stable, and you want to radiate stability and confidence. Even if you’re feeling dizzy, this simple way of pretending will keep your feet on the ground. Literally.
- Chin up, back straight, eyes at the audience. I used to tend to look at the ground, or to lean forward. No, no no! You want to maintain an open posture, and to address the entire audience. When you do this, you’ll look more secure, and maybe you’ll even notice people will listen to you more closely. Make sure you address the entire room, and not just one spot. if you’re scared to look at faces, look at the back wall. But not just one spot, find some nice different wall spots to look at.
- What to do with your hands? I know I used to put my hands in my pocket, or fidget with something. Instead, try to talk with your hands more. When you’re using gestures, people will usually pay more attention to what you’re saying, and they’ll sometimes understand more easily (if you’re interested as to why, message me).
- Do not hide. This is special advice to musicians, too. I used to hide behind my music stand because it was nice and safe. During public speaking it’s easy to hide behind some notes or to stand behind other people of your group, maybe. Don’t. Remember, fake the confident posture till you make it.
- When you’re finished, don’t stop pretending just yet. When people ask how it went, always say it went okay. This is so so so important! Because if you’d say “ugh it was awful!! So many things went wrong, I suck at presenting!” they’ll start thinking hmm, yeah, there were indeed some mistakes… Could have been better. Whereas if you just say it was okay or good, or even decent, they’ll hardly even question it and will most likely remember the positive aspects, as humans tend to do.
I promise this works, at least to some extent. It may not help you get rid of anxiety right away, especially in really severe cases, but it can help you feel more at ease in front of a group. After that, you can start working on other things, such as volume, intonation, powerpoint use etc.
Just take a few seconds before you start talking to breathe, focus on those muscles, and to follow this with an amazing presentation (and a good grade).
You can always send me an ask for advice on public speaking! Even though I’m not a professional coach or whatever, I have overcome my speaking anxiety and maybe I can be of any help at all <3