Studying and Believing

Thank you so much for the sweet messages yesterday about the name change, and about my weekend. I was floored with all  the support and cheerleading I got.

If you haven’t noticed from the pictures, there’s a new baby in the house. Her name is Callie and she’s about 5 months old. Every night I wake up to her snuggled up against my neck. While I study, she lays her head over my heart and cuddles. And in a weird way, it almost makes me want to study and try harder. Because I get to cuddle with her while I do it. And because I know that no matter what happens with my tests, this little kitten will still love me, still run to me when she’s scared, and still believe that I can protect her from anything.

Which has helped a lot. I’ve had a test every day since Thursday, and I’m starting to get really burnt out. Test days usually wear me down anyway, but to get done with one, then have to come home and cram again is completely frying my brain. So I’ve had to tweak my study habits a bit to make sure I’m still absorbing material. Like, I know if I put something in a list, I’ll remember it. Without a doubt. So I make lists of key facts. I also do really good with flashcards and repeating them over and over. I need music, studying in silence is too distracting for me. I know there have been studies that say your brain can’t multitask like that, but I’ve heard from professors that low volumes are okay.

For flashcards I use Quizlet. In a high school AP class, my teacher introduced us all to it, and gave us extra credit for playing some of the games when studying vocab words. I kept using it and always feel so much more confident going into tests. You put in your terms, then can generate flashcards, practice quizzes and play games while it tracks your knowledge. I also love it because you can search other users sets, so you can type in the name of the book you use in class and find a set already made.

For background noise I use Pandora or Netflix. I’m OBSESSED with the Colbie Calliat station, seriously love it. I try to only watch documentary type things on Netflix while studying so that I won’t get distracted. Intervention was my go to, but they just took it off instant stream because the contract expired so I may have to rewatch all the seasons of Mad Men. Which isn’t a bad thing at all.

I take notes on my iPad in class, using EverNote. It’s an app that lets you type things, and will synch those to devices you also have the device on. So I can bring my iPad to class, take notes, then have them appear on my computer for home. I also love color coding my note highlights (because I’m weird) so it’s nice to be able to move them to my computer and highlight.

I have three tests left this week. So send some good vibes my way. And if you have any study tips let me know, I’ll need them.