So it’s the start of a new semester, and hopefully, it will be my last semester in the diploma track of the graduate program I am enrolled in.
And with a new semester comes new school supplies. I was supposed to be on a stationery spending ban, but my readings need to have a home. Plus some of my supplies have run out, so…there. However, I promised myself that this will be the last time I will be purchasing stationery. Honest! Read More
Let’s get this clear–I am posting this with absolutely no intention of bragging, but I’ve promised myself that if I get better grades than those I received in my first year of graduate school, I would share how I did it. So, here I am.
To be honest, I am still in a state of disbelief. That I was able to do it. That I was able to perform well in graduate school and in the university nearly every Filipino wants to study in, no less. However, I have to believe it, because a lot of hard work went into it. And for the first time, the grades were commensurate with the effort I put into my studies.
So, how did I do it? It wasn’t an easy process. It took dedication, determination, and discipline to get it done. I’ll be sharing my process, which you can try and tweak.
There’s a little science behind that. Jalali and his colleagues have pointed out the effects of sleep on academic performance, and their study reveals that students who do not have adequate sleep do not perform as well as their contemporaries who have enough sleep. Sleep allows your brain to recharge and repair.
Milojevich and Lukowski revealed in their study that sleep is closely associated with the mental health of students. A large number of students with sleep problems also suffer from mental health issues. Listen to your body and brain: if they are tired, then go to sleep. You can’t tweak this. Sleep is definitely not for the weak.
I am no stranger to shelling out my money in the pursuit of learning, apart from paying my tuition fees. After all, when I was still studying law, I spent thousands of pesos buying law textbooks. I spend almost a thousand pesos a week–no exaggeration–in photocopying cases to read for grueling, soul-crushing recitations. In graduate school, there are no cases or textbooks to read–at least, for now. If there are any, it’s a rare instance, but there are pages and pages of journal articles to read instead. That didn’t pose a problem for me. After all, I’m a veteran where readings are concerned. Read More
Well, that’s quite a title. Sorry for that mouthful.
It hasn’t been the best of years for everyone. A lot of people lost their jobs, their loved ones due to the goddamned pandemic, poor governance*, not to mention the way George Floyd was killed–I CAN GO ON ALL NIGHT.
I won’t mince words. I really hated 2020. It felt like going back to 2016 when my mental health was in The Worst Shape Ever, and I was really wasn’t a wonderful person to hang out with back then. I’ll admit that. I have to admit that I am still an odd duck in a lot of ways. And odd is an understatement. #sorryIwasabitchbackthen Read More
NB: This pic was taken a year ago. I haven’t been to the UP Diliman campus since the Enhanced Community Quarantine was announced in March. So yeah, I miss my university.
While I’m enrolled right now, attending classes on Zoom is a different ballgame. I know this feature picture is totally irrelevant to the current blog topic, but this university has given me a new lease on life, and it has given my confidence back. I do acknowledge that that newly regained confidence is only a small piece of the puzzle, having managed to survive graduate school–and to do well in the first semester–and it is all due to hard work.
But I would like to say it’s because I was also willing to try something new. And this is what this blog post is about.
I have friends who asked me how was I able to survive my first semester of graduate school, it was all down to five things: a goal to work towards, discipline, determination, working smart, and yes, a willingness to try something new. I wanted to make graduate school work. So I invested time in making sure it worked. How? Watching YouTube videos of studytubers. No, I’m not kidding. And I’m still doing it now. Read More
Well, hello there! And hello, August!
We’re having a pretty late start where the first semester is concerned, but with the world being pretty much upside down at the moment, it’s understandable. I’ve gotten word that enrollment will start mid-August. And that’s just mighty fine with me.
I’m pretty excited yet apprehensive. I don’t know how online learning is going to pan out. I guess we shall wait and see. Read More
