- Always, always, always do your readings (especially for my course). If you don't do your readings you're just going to go for class and be totally lost. And everything is going to pile up and you will want to die. Just like how I feel now.
- Not as important, but definitely revise after the lesson within the same week so that if you have doubts you can clarify with the professor within an appropriate timeframe lmao because clarifying something from week 2 in week 8 is just... not a good look.
- Never just read through the material, make sure you annotate (underline, circle, whatever) and write down some points to help you understand the material better. I realize if I just read the notes I definitely don't pay attention and nothing really gets into my head. If I annotate, well, nothing really gets into my head also lol but upon the subsequent times I re-read the material it makes things a little bit easier. I'm also someone who learns better when I write down things, doesn't matter if I'm literally just copying everything word for word.
- Recess week is CRUCIAL. It's crucial because it's a time when you get to catch up on your readings and prepare your work for any deadlines/tests you have after recess week ends. Never, ever, slack off and procrastinate during recess week because I am regretting it so badly right now. Get a planner, and set aside precise tasks to complete each day. This helps you spread out your work and makes it seem doable. I made the mistake of writing a single to-do list and I never got around to completing ANYTHING on it because every time I thought of the to-do list it seemed insurmountable and then I just did nothing instead.
- When your essay prompt is given out, READ IT PROPERLY and not brush it off and saying "lol i have no idea what's that about" and think you'll get it when it's time to do it because most likely, you won't. My essay was given out about 3 weeks ago maybe and I only started on it LAST FRIDAY and I've no idea what is going on. I am screwed. Even if you have tests and shit going on, still make it a point to make sure you understand what exactly the essay questions mean and what you're supposed to produce. This also ensures you know what content you need to focus on.
I've been feeling mopey and depressed the entire day because I'm so stuck with my essay and I'm feeling really stupid because I can't seem to digest any information. Honestly a lot of it has to do with how clueless I am about the content and it just makes me question why the hell am I doing this course and how the hell am I going to survive the next 3.5 years. This is why I'm writing this post, not because I'm helpful as shit and I want to help others, but because I NEED TO LOOK AT THIS EVERY SEMESTER TO HELP ME GET MY SHIT TOGETHER.
