失败原因有多种，坐失良机首当其冲。

两个注定在一起的人，没有长不可待的时间，没有遥不可及的距离，也没有能够分离他们的人。

When two people are meant for each other, no time is too long, no distance is too far, and no one can ever tear them apart.

真正的成功在于克服对不成功的恐惧。

True success is overcoming the fear of being unsuccessful.

Hello incoming freshman and studyblr addicts! I finally have a “master post” of sorts for you! Hopefully this will help you all out! ~ S.R

STUDYING:

Please don’t think you can get away with not studying! It’s seriously going to hurt you! Especially if you’re taking an honors class!

Plan out what you need to get done and set a certain amount of time for each subject! An app to help you bunnies out and get stuff done is called 30/30! You can read about it here!

I find that a lot of bunnies can easily get distracted by their phones, tablets, etc. Well I have the solution for you! Its an app called Forest! You choose the amount of time you want to work without getting distracted, and hit start! It plants a seed for you and when you reach the end of the timer a little tree is grown! If you quit though, to check snapchat, or answer a text etc, it dies! I personally like it though because after the month comes to an end you get to see how big your forest has grown! Get it here!

For bunnies that are taking a language ( or any class you need to memorize stuff in ) this year, or are continuing with one I have an app for you! (If you like flashcards of course!) It is simply called Flashcards, and is one of the coolest study apps I have found! As a pre-warning though I will admit that it is a little hard to figure out at first. After a few times navigating the app it gets easier! The app of course has normal flash cards, but then there are over 24 games. These include things like Flappy Bird, Fruit Ninja, Whack-A-Mole, and the list goes on! Another thing that REALLY comes in handy is the dual station! You just connect your friends to the flashcards by giving them the link, and then they join in through their device, and then you  can compete against each other! To get the games though you must put in a email. (They never send you junk mail, and don’t worry, its free!) I used this all year long and it was a life saver! Made studying a lot more fun! Get it here! 

When you don’t have homework, remember you DO. There is always going to be something that you can improve on! Don’t brush it off!

Only study as a group if you feel like you can handle it! @studyign made a perfect video if you plan to though!

If you feel like listening to music, studies have shown to only listen to music that doesn’t have any words! This is because your subconscious won’t be focusing on the task at hand and will be thinking about the lyrics rather than being 100% concentrated! Spotify has a good list of playlists that are perfect for studying in the Focus section!

MOTIVATION:

A common thing I’ve seen in the studyblr community is the 100 Days of Production Challenge. This is a personal goal that you set for yourself, and you post a photo each day of what you did to be productive! You’ll be surprised with what you get done, even if its a small amount! Get the info from @elizastudies ’s post here! (I will be starting this when school starts in a week!)

Another common thing I’ve seen float around the community is a simple quote called, “NO ZERO DAYS.” I do not know who this originated from but props to them for creating this. Its basically where you do at least ONE thing to be productive a day, because One is greater than Zero right? See how long you can go for! ;) 

Think about where you want to go in life! Nobody had things just handed to them! They had to work for it! Step away from your laptop or computer, and get whatever IT is done! (After you finish reading this of course! Otherwise you’ll miss out on the rest!)

What are YOU going to do to get into that dream school of yours? What are YOU going to do thats different from everyone else? How are YOU going to get to that point in your life? What is it that YOU could be doing right now to push yourself closer to that dream? Think about what will happen 10 years from now, and you didn’t accomplish that dream? How happy will you be? How is the guilt of not doing all you could do to get there?

STRESS:

Don’t stress out about grades. If you study hard you’ll be perfect!

If you’re the type of person that DOES get stressed out, you have to remember to not push yourself too hard! Thats where the stress could be coming from!

Things that may help you de-stress are always helpful! Here are some ideas! 

Take a nice, soothing warm bath or shower, and listen to some calming music! (DON’T BRING YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA WITH YOU!!!)

Meditation! There is always a place to meditate. Lay down or sit up on the floor, or your bed, and listen to some meditation music! After a song (meditation music is usually seven minutes long or so,) slowly wiggle you fingers and toes, and then open your eyes. When meditating make sure you release your tongue from the roof of your mouth. Try not to think of anything. Just lay there.

Stress relieving lotion always help! You can get it at Bath and Body Works here!

Make sure you’re taking enough breaks from studying and drinking plenty of water. When you’re dehydrated you’re more prone to stress.

SLEEP. Please don’t stay up studying or being on your phone until 1 am. It isn’t healthy at all! You’re going to be overtired and it is scientifically proven to decrease you’re capability to retain information.

SOME OTHER LIL RANDOM TIPS:

Eat breakfast. I do not care if you convinced yourself you don’t need it. Im here to tell you you do. You will not make it to lunch without the hunger making you unable to focus, and will no longer be concentrating on the information being thrown at you.

Set an alarm for an early wake up time. I recommend two hours so you’re not rushed, because that isn’t a good way to wake up. (Please keep in mind this is my personal preference, its not going to work for everyone.)

Not many people know this but setting your alarm with multiple times is horrible for your health, this is because it teaches your brain it doesn’t have to get up right away since there are more alarms. Get up the first time!

Dont procrastinate on any of your homework or projects! Please try to start and finish them when you get them! The work piles up quickly (Especially for those of you taking honors) and you will become overwhelmed!

Do ALL the extra credit! Even if its the stupidest thing ever! Ive noticed if you even get one bad grade on a test your grade plummets! That extra credit could mean the difference between a A- or an A. *cough* *cough* Math last year for me. *cough*

Don’t be on your phone during class of course. If you do most teachers will take it away, and you may end up on their “Bad Side.”

100 days of languages: day 5

day 5: memorize a poem

我坐在这里 by 刘霞

(I Sit Here by Liu Xia, translation by Ming Di and Jennifer Stern)

我坐在这里

I sit here

看天色由明到暗

watching the sky go

倾听最后一缕阳光

from light to dark,

发出呻吟

listening to the last of the sun

等待等一滴泪

groan, waiting for the first drop to

敲响敞开的窗户玻璃

knock on the open window.

.

一个词等待另一个词

One word waiting for another–

永不相遇

they will never meet.

一滴雨

A drop of rain

使天地浑然一体

makes the sky and earth one piece.

在静止的时间里

In stilled time,

雨的灵魂

the soul of rain

悄悄的降临

quietly comes down.

I personally struggle with depression and anxiety, along with an eating disorder (which, believe me, can have its toll in your academic life) and chronic tiredness, so I decided to make this post to share things that have helped me. Here are some study / productivity tips!

If you are feeling burned out, take a productive, physical break. If i start feeling tired but my task isn’t done, I take a small productive break. I fold clothes, clean my brushes if I’m painting, clean your room, exercise, stretch, anything that will briefly take my mind off things. 

Don’t be too strict with your timetable: Allow yourself a 10 minute window between tasks because you might need a small break or something might come up. Have in mind that you will be doing the tasks you are planning to do, not the idealized version of yourself who doesn’t need breaks and doesn’t get tired (something I am definitely guilty of doing).

Don’t fight yourself! Your mood matters! Notice your mood and your body, how are you feeling? Are you tired, does anything hurt, are you thirsty, do you need to take a short walk? If you don’t feel like doing something very mentally taxing, you can put on a podcast, music or a YouTube video, and just organize your files, fold clothes, declutter your school folder, etc. You will thank yourself later without sacrificing your mental health even more. 

Have a place to write down distracting thoughts that you can address later. I have a recycled piece of paper taped to my desk at all times and there I scribble ideas and things I have to do. You can check the list later, just write those thoughts down and forget about them while you’re doing your task. 

Experiment with how many tasks you can do in a day. Set your priorities) and put tasks together and do a little bit of each category

Ask for help from your friends or professors! They just want you to do well and helping you or giving you a little bit more time is easy for them to give you. 

Eat the frog first. Do the most difficult thing first, the one you fear the most, the one that will take you more time and energy. I have found that some tasks seem a million times more difficult in the evening than in the morning, so I usually start with the most unpleasant tasks right when i wake up since I have more energy then. 

Break up everything in small parts. Outline a task before you start. Starting something is the hardest thing for me, once I know what i have to do everything is so much easier to do. Sketch it out, then just fill out the blanks. 

Be aware of your learning style. One of the reasons why you find studying a certain subject difficult might not have to do with the subject at all, but with how you are learning it. Here’s a test to find out your learning style 

Dedicate a whole day to one thing. This is an approach I use when I’m in a weird mood / energy fluctuation state. I just dedicate a whole day or a whole week to do something (this week is painting, I’ve gone a bit overboard), and it helps me to cram something until my desire to do that thing has gone away and then I can focus on something else. 

Force yourself to work on something for only five minutes. Only five minutes! I do this when I have tried everything else and I just cannot be bothered. Put on some music and promise yourself you only have to work on that assignment for five minutes, and then you can stop. Many times I see that it was easier than I expected and I continue working on it after the five minutes has passed. 

If you get bored easily, try multitasking with tasks that don’t require a lot of brain power. This is for my ADHD folks. I personally don’t have ADHD but here are some study tips from people who actually do: link one link two 

Put the deadline a few days earlier so you have time to ask for help if you need it. This is a very common study tip but definitely helps if you struggle with time management. 

Change the location or study with someone

Have multiple schedules: I personally have a high energy schedule and a low energy schedule. Both are necessary and I have found that they create a great balance. I can do a post on this later if you guys want! 

Build an automatic routine and group habits together. This might be good for forgetful folks. Have a morning/afternoon/night routine and group tasks that you tend to forget. Organize it around an even (before going to class, after a meal) to make it impossible to forget it. It will become automatic in no time and then you won’t have to worry about that stuff. 

Here are some reminders if you’re feeling discouraged. 

Language Learning Ideas Printable

Here is a printable I made that I hope can help you out on your language learning journey. It has different activities based on how much time you have, as well as a checklist for frequent activities. By using it, you can see what works for you and what doesn’t. 

I tried to include as many things that many people can use, but some activities can’t be used by all language learners, unfortunately. The links to the website are clickable in the PDF file. I tested this myself and have even included a blank version if you prefer to write your own activities. Again, these are just some ideas for you to incorporate and I hope that they are useful.

Download Links: Dropbox

Full Activities 

Blank Version 

100 days of languages: day 10

day 10: learn 4 idioms

1. 如火如荼 rú huǒ rú tú like wildfire, unstoppable

他的生意如火如荼。

2. 大街小巷 dà jié xiǎo xiàng great streets and small alleys, everywhere in the city

每天晚上都有很多警察在全市的大街小巷进行查巡。

3. 赞不绝口 zàn bù jué kǒu to praise without cease, to praise to high heaven

游客总是对我们的优美环境赞不绝口。

4. 平易近人 píng yí jìn rén amiable and approachable, easy-going

好的领导平易近人。

Turns and Steps, Explained (1/2)

Okay party people, after jumps and spins, are you guys ready to take your figure skating watcher know-how to its next level with turns and steps?

To avoid indigestion and to keep the post within not completely outrageous length I’m going to divide and conquer ‘em this time. This first post will cover the turns. A second post will follow to cover the steps and some additional interesting tidbits.

Before we get down to business, there’s one topic we must go over as a primer. I’ve actively tried to avoid mentioning it in the previous tech posts because according to my experience, bringing it up is a surefire way to turn off any spark of interest new fans / casual viewers might have in a skating discussion. However with turns and steps we cannot, repeat, cannot, circumvent this topic. So, let us talk about edges.

Now there are only 3 possible states a skater’s skating blade can be in at any given time on the ice: inside edge, outside edge, or flat edge. In order to tell them apart you just need to answer this question: is the blade leaning toward or away from the center of the skater’s body? If it’s toward, they’re on an inside edge, if it’s away, it’s an outside edge, and if it’s neutral, it’s a flat edge. Once we’ve established that, the next step is to check out the direction of the skate, is it backward or forward? Combining these two answers, you’ll get to whether it’s a forward inside edge, a back inside edge, a forward outside edge, or a back outside edge.

(In case you’re still wondering why you need to know all this stuff, well that’s because a turn is, by definition, a move in which the skater changes edges or changes directions or both, on one foot. A step is basically the same thing, but with a change of foot as well.)

Here’s an example on how to “read” edges: Yuzuru’s triple Axel at Skate Canada 2015. He entered the jump on an outside edge (note that since it’s a spread eagle, his left foot was on a forward edge and his right foot on a back edge). He moved to a forward outside edge on his left foot to take off for the Axel, finished 3.5 rotations in the air and landed on a back outside edge on his right foot. He transitioned out of the jump into another outside spread eagle and then changed edge midway to turn it into an inside spread eagle - pay attention to that subtle shift in center of gravity at the edge change. (And that, kids, is how you get a perfect score for your triple Axel.)  

Here’s the jump and transition in all of its real time glory to get your eyes some practice: 

With that done, we can move on to examine the 6 types of turns in figure skating. They are: twizzle, bracket, loop, counter, rocker, and three-turn. 

Keep reading

教育者，非为已往，非为现在，而专为将来。 Education is not for the past, not for present, but particularly for the future.

每一個故事都會結束，但是生活中，每一個故事的結束同時也是一個全新的開始。

Every story has an end, but in life, every ending is a new beginning.