Ducks and Finals

Hi, everyone!!

It's a rainy Friday night just like last week, and I'm sitting here typing away my last post of the semester. And what a semester it has been. So full of challenges and difficult moments but also filled with a bunch of happy moments. So now I'm officially a rising senior. Ahh! And the summer is ahead of me, and hopefully, it will be a good one. Btw, I plan to post every two weeks over the summer just to keep you guys up-to-date on what's happening with me. I still can't believe I have three school years worth of blog posts on here. I'm going to enjoy reading all of my old blog posts when I graduate.

Last Sunday were the Billboard Music Awards, which I welcomed with open arms because I had been studying for my physics final that day and just needed a break.

Some of my fav performers were:

• Shakira (Her song, "Empire", is just plain awesome, and she was such a powerhouse when she sang it live that night.
• J. Lo (I loved her acceptance speech when she received the icon award, and her performance of "First Love". This woman can do it all and makes it look so easy.)
• Ariana Grande ("Problem" is a great song, and Ariana is the cutest. She's a Disney star who hasn't lost her way, which is super refreshing to see.)
• Lorde (She's just so different from any other artist right now. I love her haunting songs.)
• Miley Cyrus (I thought her performance of a Beatles' song was just awesome. I know she does some wacky things, but she actually has real talent.)

The next couple of days, I continued to study for my physics final. Fun times. Right after I took the final, I headed over to Central Park to enjoy the beautiful day. I saw Belvedere Castle for the first time. I've been wanting to go see it for the last two years but never got around to it. My friend and I had talked about visiting it some day so we decided to just see it that day. It's beautiful and feels every bit like a castle. Then, we took a walk through some parts of Central Park that have less people around, and it felt like we were in the middle of the woods. It's the funniest thing. We were in the middle of Manhattan and yet there we were surrounded by trees and the sounds of birds. The best part was when two ducks walked by us when we were sitting on a bench. I think the male was chasing the female. They were the cutest thing. We also saw this cute little robin who was hopping around getting some food. What a great day.

Yesterday, I handed in my final biochem lab report, and today, I handed in the final paper for my other bio class. So now I'm free so to speak. But we all know that students are never free in college. There's always something to be done. But for now, I'm just going to enjoy myself for a bit.

I wish all of you the best summer!!

S.

College Tip of the Week: Enjoy the little things.

College can at times become overwhelming with all of the things that are happening to you (seemingly all at once), but take the time to enjoy those small moments in your life. Like the ducks that I mentioned in this post. With all of the craziness of this semester, I'm never going to forget those ducks, which may sound silly, but those are the kinds of moments that you remember. Or maybe it's the time that you and your friends were laughing so hard in the library that you got stares from everyone around you. Or that time your professor told you that he admires your work ethic. Or that time you got an awesome grade on a paper that you worked really hard on. Or that time your parents came to visit you in your college dorm, and put you in a good mood. Enjoy those moments.

Finals Week Shouldn't Exist....

....but it does.

I'm crying because it's finals week. There it is. I am currently a very grumpy, sleep-deprived, stressed student with way too much work and way too little time to do it.

For English majors, there is no such thing as finals "week". In our world, there is only finals month, which is spent writing endless papers and crying into your ice cream. Now, this is usually worth it in the long run, as there are no final exams. However, this year I have both final exams and final papers in every single one of my English classes and in my one philosophy class, a supreme injustice to English majors who just wanna write a paper and be done with it. Final exams don't even make sense for these types of subjects. But here I am writing so many papers while also studying for finals.

So even though we all wish this week would just not exist, here's a couple of tips to help you through it all:

1. First of all, reference my essay writing post.
2. All of your papers are due at the same time? No problem. Do some in advance, then edit and add to them later. You'll feel better if you have even the roughest of drafts to start from.
3. The library is open continuously throughout finals week. Take advantage of this. Camp out with your friends, pile up the books and get to work.
4. Eat good food. Don't forget that when your body is craving something, it's for a reason. Just give in and go get that bag of popcorn or ice cream sandwich. However, also know that eating healthy will make you feel better and more attentive (not just during finals week). Eat snacks throughout working and stay hydrated so you don't lose focus. Take breaks for the same reason: you don't want to get tired or inattentive or fidgety.
5. Get some sleep. It'll keep you from feeling run down or getting sick. Your brain will actually work better too. Because science. Here's how to figure out when to go to sleep.
6. Figure out what method of working is best for you. Love working in a study group? Gather up some friends from a class and study for your final together! Wanna work on your essay alone in your room with noise-cancelling headphones? Go for it! This time is all about getting it done, and you need to prioritize yourself above all else.
7. Get comfortable. Change into sweats and keep your favorite snacks readily available.
8. Download Self Control. This will stop you from checking certain websites for an allotted period of time when you're supposed to be writing that paper.
9. Here are some studying mixes, rain noise, coffee shop noise, white noise, nature sounds, a fireplace, and assorted noises. 
10. Here's how to google stuff like a pro. This website will explain anything that you're confused about.

Good luck on all of your finals, and god-willing we will all get through this alive!

Rain and Writing

Hey, everyone!

It's Friday night, and I'm listening to the rain fall as I type out this blog post. I just finished watching the season finale of Grimm so I have a lot of emotions right now. haha. Ugh. So many cliffhangers. I love this show. I love a show that makes you fall in love with the characters. That's what makes you want to keep watching.

Speaking of great characters, I finally got a chance to finish watching season 6 of Mad Men. This is another show that makes you care about the characters. Since I don't have AMC, I can't watch season 7 (it's airing now) yet, but absence makes the heart grow fonder. Season 7 is actually the last season, and I can't wait to find out how it all ends for these awesome characters.

Wow. The rain is coming down hard.

On Wednesday, I ran into a few people from my high school while at Hunter. It's always fun to see old friends after awhile. We've all changed and grown quite a bit, and I'm glad that they are still a part of my life.

Yesterday was the last day of classes so it was a bit bittersweet. I had my last biochem exam yesterday so I spent the majority of the day going over my notes. Then, I met with my study group, and we went over anything that any of us had trouble with. We took some pictures right before the exam. I've spent 2 semesters with these amazing people, and I'm going to miss them. We are proof that study groups do work if done in the right way.

I had some writer's block this week, which was frustrating because I had to write a paper for my Filipino Lit class, and I just couldn't get the words out. Ugh. It's the worst feeling. There are two strategies that usually help me with writer's block. I either just sit down and force myself to write or I step away and do something else for awhile. Sitting down and just writing is effective because I'm not letting myself think about the writer's block. I'm just writing and letting the ideas come out. The second strategy also works because I'm letting my brain relax and not stress about the writing. Usually, when I come back from the break, I can write so much more easily.

I didn't get to watch the season finale of The Big Bang Theory last night so I'm going to go watch it now. I heard a lot of interesting things happened so I'm excited to see it.

Good luck on all of your finals (if you're a college student)!! And if you're a high school student, congrats on finishing your AP exams!!

S.

College Tip of the Week: Learn to write well. 

Writing is a skill that must be mastered in college. There's no way that you can get through these four years with poor writing skills. Virtually every class that you take will require you to write an essay, a report, etc. But fear not. You'll have many chances to perfect your writing. The key is to learn from each writing assignment and make the next one that much better. Seek advice from your professors, the writing center, your friends, the Internet, and read other people's work to learn what it takes to produce a good piece of writing. Words are powerful things, and if you learn how to master them, you'll be successful not only in college but also in your future career.