I’m going to try and draw up comics!

Hey all!

After being inspired by certain authors/artists, I decided that I want to try and start up a comic series! It will probably take a little bit to start up, but I think this will be fun to do, and hopefully fun to read! When/if the comics happen, I will let you know! Right now, I will most likely post the comics on a different blog, but I might also post a few comics here! I just have to not overthink my drawing skills…

What do you guys think? Good idea or ehh? Let me know!

Have an awesome day!

Music Recommendations for Studying or Writing!

I know so many people who study with music or some sort of white noise on. But most of the time, it’s distracting, and not much productivity happens with it. So I have a few recommendations! Whether you have a huge exam tomorrow, a 20 paged paper, or need inspiration to get started on a novel.

1. Piano music

Piano music is my favvvvv. And it’s a great “background music” kind of sound. I recommend pieces by both modern and classical artists like Ludovico Einaudi (his Divenire or Primavera), Brahms (his Intermezzo Op. 118), and a youtube channel that has a bunch of originally composed piano pieces made for studying called the Study Music Project. He has a lot of good stuff!

2. Movie Soundtrack music

Movie Soundtrack music is the best because it doesn’t have words. My most recent favorites have been Unlocking the Mind from the movie The Theory of Everything and Inception’s Time. Some good artists of soundtrack music are Hans Zimmer and Johannes Johansson.

3. Acoustic Guitar Instrumentals

Nothing is more soothing than the sound of quiet guitar in the background. It’s helped my study sessions and chores a lot easier to do. I haven’t listened to too many in a while, but a simple search in Youtube will help you find tons of good artists.

The main thing is, listening to music with words or having the TV on full blast doesn’t really help the productivity (if it DOES help you, great!). In case you needed some ideas, here ya go! Good luck!

Time Management?

Hey there! It’s been a while, (Sorry!), but I’m back! Things have been kind of busy and things have changed a lot! (kind of)
Because of the “less stress” I’ve been giving myself lately, I thought of an advice thing! Time management and all that jazz.

First, the main rule should be to NOT overload yourself. I’ve done it before–it’s not fun. I think that I’m going to do so many things and get super involved to just work all the time. No, don’t do that. It’s stressful and it can wear out your body. Make sure the things you’re signing on for (whether it’s classes, work hours, or hobbies) coincide comfortably with your relaxation time.

Second, when a due date or important event that you need to remember comes up, write it down or record it on your phone! I know times where I say stuff like “Oh, I’ll remember to do that!”. More than likely, I dig a hole for myself when I do that and miss out on certain things (mainly outside class help, homework, or out-of-the-blue work/service stuff).
It’s important to get things done in a timely manner rather than wait the night before to get it done. I did that with a composition assignment. I got it done, but under time pressure, it wasn’t to the potential I wanted.

This brings up the third point to outline your work in small portions. For example, let’s say you have a book assignment, a summary paper due Monday, and an online discussion all due the following Monday. Rather than wait Sunday before to get all of that done, get each assignment done on certain days. Cut out an hour on a Wednesday to do the summary. Find a few minutes in your internet surfing on Thursday to finish up that online discussion. Doing things little bits at a time is so so much better than cramming it all in the night before.

If you happen to come into a time conflict, find which one can be put off for another day. I tend to do this with certain activities and school events. Sometimes martial arts, church, and school coincide too much with each other and I have to decide what’s healthiest for me to drop for a day so I can concentrate more on the things needed to be done.

When you manage all these accordingly, it can be a real stress reliever (no stress acne!). This will help you for the better both in your health and in your social/work life. I hope these tips have done some good for you.

If you have any questions for me, just ask! I’m happy to help!

Practicing Music

For practicing music, I think it’s better to practice your sheet music in small sections. Trying to play everything all at once equals frustration and a headache. So here are just a few tips!

Section off your music with a pencil. Depending on the flow of the music, it’s sometimes good to have even sections. But sometimes, the certain structure of the piece can be difficult, so if the section you practice is one measure, that’s totally ok.

Start at a slow pace. Slower than the music tells you. Starting right on tempo only creates mistakes that you could keep into habit in the long run. Start your first section slow and keep repeating it until it flows. Then go onto the next section.

Quality better than quantity is what someone told me once. It’s better if you get a piece or two worked on in an hour than only worked on one little thing in four hours. Sitting in a practice room or with your desired instrument and staring at your music for hours won’t get you anything.

Use a metronome. It helps, I promise. You can find a free one on your smart phone (if you have a smartphone).

Most of all, have fun with it. Music isn’t any fun if you just sit up straight and play through a piece. Have some emotion in it. Play with the piece. Make mistakes. It’s all about the experience 🙂

Thinking about doing Martial Arts?

Hi! It’s been a while since I made a post and I just thought that it’d be good to give a few tips on if you want to start doing martial arts. Lately, a lot of people I’ve run into thought about doing it, so here’s some things to remember!

1. While looking into different programs, if one you see charges a ton of money and claims to “make you a black belt in X amount of years if you pay $X much”, it’s probably not worth it.
It’s blunt to say, but that’s just my opinion. A martial arts school should give you as much time as you need to become a black belt or whatever rank you want to become. If they’re rushing you to become a black belt to get your money, it’s a waste and you probably didn’t learn as much as you wanted to in that certain amount of time.

2. Meet the Master, Grandmaster, and/or Sensei.
When I first started up martial arts, my dad and I almost immediately met the Grandmaster of the school. Now, it’s totally ok if you don’t meet the main guy/girl right away. But it’s good to get to know your master or the owner of the school.

3. Don’t let the cocky ones get under your skin.
It’s pretty common to see a cocky student in any martial arts school. Sometimes when you first start, they’ll try to give you tips that they think are right. But you don’t really know if they’re right unless you ask your instructor first. So don’t let the pompous ones bother you. They’ll grow up (eventually).

4. You want to have fun with it!
If you are taking a certain martial arts and you find yourself dreading going to class, then you should probably pick up something else to learn. There are tons of different martial arts styles everywhere. Some are Kung Fu people, others are Taekwondo people. You gotta remember to have fun with it and if you make a mistake, just pick yourself up and try again!

5. Sometimes, contact sparring isn’t the way to go.
If you want to spar with a partner, coming in close contact and getting bruises, good on ya. But if you’re not into that, you should probably look into programs that don’t allow contact, or at least do light contact. A lot of martial arts have you working in partners, especially in sparring or judo on mats, so if you’re a germaphobe (or a sweat-phobe), sorry. You can always shower when you get home! 🙂

6. The way to the black belt rank is a journey.
You’re going to have ups and downs. It’s like going through high school or college, or going through your first full time career. You’re going to have awesome days at class, you’re going to have days where you want to just flip a table and quit. Don’t give up! If you find the journey having its ups and downs, you’re on the right track. The way you handle that gives good life lessons to how good of a black belt you’ll be!

7. Meet the people there.
As you get more into martial arts, you’ll start getting to know more people. Sometimes, they’ll become your second family–the people who know the crap you go through on your bad days of class. They’ve been through the same thing and will be able to support you in the right ways. It’s really awesome and gives you that warm feeling like when the Grinch’s heart grew 3 sizes bigger.

Those are just a few tips I can think of when you’re considering martial arts. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. I hope you find something that makes you happy! 🙂

-Paige

Dating Tips?

Dating is a tricky topic (in my personal opinion). I was just asked out on a date by someone from my university and so…I panicked, telling him I’d think about it! Here’s some things to think about for dating:

1. don’t “settle”. Settling for whatever isn’t the way to go. It definitely won’t make you happy.

2. As my father has told me, “Don’t date just to date”. 

3. If hitting out of anger is involved, GET OUT of the relationship

4. It’s ok to be picky. It’s how you figure out who’s right for you.

5. common sense, man. 

Think about what you want and just go with the flow. If something happens, great! If something doesn’t happen, then wait. Patience is the best thing and can sometimes have the best outcome. I’m not good at dating tips, but that’s what I think about when it comes to dating. 🙂

De-Stress Options After Finals!

Hi! It’s been a while! Since I’ve been here, I’ve moved out of the dorm and back home and I’ve been busy with remodeling my room/cleaning it up, plus homework/finals. So I thought…how about some options to relax after finals are done?! I mean, all of us have our brains stuffed with information, ready to write onto our final exams and now, after all that, we can relax our brains from the stress and do something fun!!!

So here’s a few things to think about doing:

• Going to the zoo
• painting/drawing anything you want
• writing some stories
• cleaning up your room/living space
• taking a long bath/shower
• buying your favorite foods
• going on a walk/biking
• taking a nap
• hang out with friends and/or talk with your family about anything
• ANYTHING YOU WANT MAN. YOU’RE DONE WITH FINALS. GOOD JOB! 🙂

Just don’t do drugs or drink underage 🙂 that’s not cool. Binge drink on coffee or tea or something. But the main thing is, after finals, give yourself some relaxation time before doing anything else!

Don’t Let People Get to You

More than likely, people have been mad at you, irritated at you, or you’ve thought that you did another person wrong. Well, even though it’s easier said than done, don’t let it get to you. Half the time, the person who just snapped at you has probably already had a rough day or something’s come up that really pushed their buttons. Even if you did make this person irritated or mad, you have two choices:

You can resolve it by talking it out with them or you can leave them be.

Of course, if you seriously made them mad and you know you did and you know it’s your fault, it’s simple: apologize. Talk it out. Don’t let things simmer and grow and turn into a big blow out. I’ve had enough experience from my first year in college that you either have to not care or you need to communicate in order to make things right. 

If you’re like me and if someone’s mad about the simplest thing and you feel horrible, don’t feel bad. 

(sorry, little side note: my speech professor just hid behind the smart board and acted like the Great Oz….)

Anyways, you just got leave people be sometimes. It’s not always your fault, so don’t feel like it is. Things happen and you gotta put it behind you. Concentrate on your own needs and wants and stress or whatever you’re going through.

🙂

Study Habits to Work Into Your Life Routine

Hey guys! I know a lot of us who are students absolutely dread just the thought of studying. But I came across some interesting ideas and thought of a few of my own for helping you study. I’m still trying to work them into my own routine/schedule, but due to me not feeling well, having the energy to do that has been kind of down the drain. 

1. Exercise in between

This is good for keeping your body and mind healthy. If you have a book/textbook you’re reading or writing a study guide or something of the sort, create a system that involves a form of exercise. Read about 3-4 pages, then get up and do 25 pushups/25 jumping jacks to get the blood flowing. Sit down, read another couple of pages, and start a new exercise. This should keep you rolling for a good hour or two 🙂 If you don’t want to do that, just walking around your room/apartment/house whilst reading is good too. Just don’t run into the walls!

2. Color coordinate your notes/rewrite your notes

This is something I do for my Music History I class. I have a notebook that I bring to class for notes and (luckily) my professor posts his PowerPoint slides online. When the week is over, I look over the slides we went through and rewrite my notes in a separate notebook. Then I highlight important things in certain colors. For example, I highlight names of people in green, terms in orange, and names of books/texts in pink. Every time there’s a new chapter, I start a new page in the notebook. 

3. Listen to inspirational music

If you like a calmer environment to study in, I suggest piano or acoustic guitar music. A good YouTube channel that has music specifically for studying is the Study Music Project. He does a great job creating piano music and I think he’s a medical student too! 🙂 If you’re more of a person that likes to listen to fast paced, loud music, I suggest rock music that you can totally jam to! I’ve been listening to a lot of piano music, but also music that makes me feel like I’m in a movie (for example, Quintessence from the OST The Secret Life of Walter Mitty).

4. Friends

If you have a specific friend that’s good in your subject of study, ask him/her for help! If you have a big test coming up, it’s better to work with the people/friends in your class so you can gather your thoughts together. But don’t get distracted!

5. Drink what you like

If coffee helps you concentrate, drink your favorite drink! If you don’t have a specific favorite, tea or water always helps. It’s healthy and it should help you concentrate a little better than super sugary drinks.

6. Pace Yourself

It’s not healthy to go on and on for hours and hours on the same subject. You won’t retain as much and you’ll waste time. Pick a time interval where you can take breaks. Maybe every 20-30 minutes. Walk around a bit and go through in your head what you remember from your studying.

7. And overall, DON’T STRESS, YOU’LL DO GREAT :))

I got a lot of these tips from Bonneiver’s Studying Tips. I refer to this a lot for help with studying. I wish you luck on whatever you’re studying and I’m sure you’ll do great on your quiz/exam/final/paper/whatever you’re doing.

Have a good night guys! 🙂 

About to start school, thinking about making a Youtube channel, paying for books…

Hi there!

Hope you’re keeping warm. It’s been on and off with horrid cold weather. On Monday, it was about -4 degrees with a -35 degree wind chill. Luckily, I didn’t have school. I start school this next coming Monday. 🙂

I’m still getting used to this blog, even though it’s already been almost a year since I’ve used it! I appreciate all of you that have started following me and now, I need some advice from you! Inspired to get out of my comfort zone and by certain Youtube channels, I’m thinking of starting my own channel! It’ll have advice, some ranting, telling you how I’m doing and ask you for questions that you’d rather hear from my voice instead of reading on a blog. If I do start one, I will still have this wordpress blog up 🙂

Please tell me your thoughts! I like to hear advice as well as giving it! 

Here’s a good tip about books for school (if you’re in college): barnes and noble has good deals right now for buying books. One of my books, which I though was going to be like 100 dollars, was actually only 70! They have awesome deals and trust me, used books aren’t that bad. I got one of my used books from my university bookstore and oh my days, it looks brand new! Amazon sometimes has good deals and I’ve heard Chegg is good? I’ve never used Chegg, so I’m not a good reference about that website.

Hope you enjoy your day! 🙂