21-24/11/2018 - 73-76 Days Of Productivity

05/10/18 - 23 days of productivity

Hi all! Today has been a busy one - I only had one free period today and I was blessed with Doppeldeutsch :D

Chemistry involved revising the very start of AS, which was boring since it encases the very basics that have been drilled into you and used so much since the start of GCSEs that you will never ever forget them. Ever. However, I did get to work with people I don’t normally work with, which was fun.

Biology came second, where we started the topic of neuronal communication (I made the notes last month hehe).

Then I had 2 hours of German, where we did some reading, listening and talked about our individual research projects. I’ve decided on women in the GDR vs the BRD.

And then I got to practise a Cambridge admissions test for the maths practice.

When I got home, I made three quizlet sets ready for next week, finished my German and French homework and then did an end of topic test in maths for proof (which you see pictured).

I’m going to curl up with a book now, and yet another cup of tea!

How have you spent your Friday?

11/3/19

I’m really happy with how today has gone. I’ve had two hours of French and an hour of Biology, and then started these notes in one of my frees

Happy Monday 😊

2/1/19

I love the library! Plus I’m spending time with my good friend and am just round the corner from town so... did someone say shopping? x

I used to think scientists were mortal gods; that I should never be clever enough to be one of them. Even now I am astounded every day by the minds that solved some of nature’s most incredible problems. Maybe that’s why I took no interest in science until I was 14.

Or maybe it was because of all I have been told over the years. I was told I was hopeless with maths - my secondary school maths teacher admitted that I was only in the top set because my confidence was already on the floor and would not allow them to move me down.

I was told that if I needed to be medicated for depression and anxiety, I would have no hope in the “real world”.

I was told that given my socioeconomic status (my single-parent family is among the poorest 10% in the U.K. based on income) and postcode, all the predictions pointed to my failing school. I don’t suppose the truancy due to constant bullying helped my case. If I didn’t even have a desk to work at, how could I ever expect pass any of my exams? (Look carefully at the picture and you’ll see carpet. It’s 23:56 on a Sunday and I am reunited with the only study space I have in my family home - the top of the stairs!)

And yet here I am, despite all the odds. I did not fail in school: I was top in my year, twice. I am striving for a first in my chemistry degree at a Russell Group university. I taught myself an A level in maths and got a top grade. I am now so totally in love with my degree and with learning that it hurts.

I did all that from the top of the stairs.

[Sorry for the rambles, and I hope that the wall of text doesn’t look like bragging. It’s just that lately, I’ve been so overwhelmed with how far I have yet to go, and I’ve only just realised how far I’ve come.]

23/09/18 - 12/100 days of productivity

« Aujourd’hui Lauren est morte. Ou c’était peut-être hier, je ne sais pas »

- Camus, L’étranger... also how I feel right now. Dead.

I have contracted the illness that was making the rounds at school... symptoms started today (or perhaps it was yesterday 😉). I’m one of the last people to get it. I fought so hard 😭

So yeah, studying with a raging cold. Possible? Doesn’t feel like it. Nevertheless, I’m reading my the latest French book my lovely teacher brought back from France for me and I’m going to do some maths on my whiteboard and then revise my AS French notes for speaking practice tomorrow. And I might do some German quizlets too.

Time to make my three millionth cup of tea and plug my nose with a mountain of tissues folks. And hope that I don’t sneeze so hard I bite my tongue off :)

Say it louder for the people at the back!

Just a reminder, but you do not need to “earn” being tired.

You’re allowed to be tired, even if you haven’t “done” anything and you’re allowed to be tired even if you did less than someone else.

Being tired is a normal thing your body does for a whole plethora of reasons, and is a basic bodily function. You don’t need to “earn” basic bodily functions, no matter what anyone else tells you.

11/4/19

Mindmaps make everything look so much more manageable

Today has been really productive. I went to school for two hours for some biology revision and then went to meet a friend for lunch. It was such a lovely day that I chose to walk the hour back home rather than catch a bus so I could listen to the audiobook version of Nineteen Eighty Four. However, as punishment for being healthy, I now have blisters on the soles of both feet :(

8/3/19 - Finally, some good news!

Happy international women’s day!

THIS is the result I’ve worked my arse off for since I was 14. Maths was the only subject I didn’t magically get A*s in. In fact, I used to be so scared of maths because I got more questions wrong than I got right. I had no confidence to say I didn’t understand. But my maths teacher from Year 7-11 gave me the confidence not just to understand, but to actually enjoy maths.

But he left last year, and I knew that I wouldn’t have him at A Level so I didn’t choose it as a taught subject. Instead, I chose to teach myself - but I only made that choice at the end of Year 12.

2 years’ content in less than 1 academic year. Harder than ever. On my own. On top of 4 other subjects. Everyone thought I was crazy but I wanted to prove I could do it.

And do you know what? This may only be a practice paper, but I am prouder of this result than I am of any other test I’ve done because this one I had to work really REALLY hard for.

Story time! I noticed that the really pretty enamel pins you can get are REALLY expensive so I decided to buy some shrinking plastic and make my own! These are my latest designs, and they’re my most ambitious ones yet. I hope I can pull them off!

07/02/2020

Organic chemistry is addictive torture