Coffee Keeps Me Young

It's that time of the Quarter Again!

What time of the Quarter you ask?

MIDTERMS!

So naturally college students here at UCSD and all of the other colleges/universities on the quarter system are lounging around in bum clothes, downing espresso shots, and losing sleep while surrounding themselves with books and lecture notes and listening to podcasts.

Not an overreaction

But luckily for me, I have two awesome friends that showed me the best study spot I have ever come to know: Young Hickory

And to be honest I don't even know if I should be talking about it on such a "public" place because its very underground and hipster as some have described it, but you know what, I have been so productive there and love it so much I MUST BLERG (Translation: "mispronunciation of the verb "to blog") ABOUT IT.

That's my friend! She's probably gonna get really excited that she is in this post

                                     

These are some shots of the interior which is really cool, the chalkboard is really well designed, and the music is very relaxing but still just gives off a cool college vibe (super cheesy I know but I don't care).  The place is not very small and has a lot of tables, but it does tend to get pretty packed ... but it's only probably because it is such a great space.  Also, the workers/baristas are very kind and helpful and if you walk in looking distraught seeking a table, they tend to help direct you to an open table so that's nice.

And so yea that's the environment, but you're probably wondering about the coffee right? You know, since it is a coffee shop and all haha

The coffee is delicious and the food is on the same great level.  My usual is a Vanilla Latte and an Acai Bowl which comes out to a nice $12 and I probably have made that purchase every single time that I have been there, and I probably need to be more adventurous in trying out new things there ... but what I get is just so good

$12 of delightful satisfaction

My friends showed me this place at the end of last quarter during Finals Week (my other favorite time of the Quarter) and I ended up going literally 4 days in a row.  I have never been so productive in my academic years.  The first day I went we were there for a good chunk of time and I was able to crank out most of my 10 page Visual Arts Paper that I originally had no motivation or no idea where to start.

(Me before finding Young Hickory)

(Me once I found this haven)

The next few days were also JUST as productive and it is officially my choice location for studying. And ANOTHER cool thing is that you can open a tab!  Now some of you may think this is not a big deal but I have never done this before so when they first asked me "Would you like to open a tab?" I tensed up and had no idea what to do and said "No Thanks" but man did I regret it.  I have never done anything so foolish again haha and now every time I go I open a tab and I feel so legit it's cool like now I am just ranting about it but I felt like an adult doing my thing just drinking coffee and keeping tabs open and what not... But then I get my tab back and turns out I downed 3 Vanilla Lattes, an Acai Bowl, and a Brownie woops

But anyway, back to studying

A lot of people are different, and so if you are still a student and can't seem to find that one place that really allows you to get those juices flowing in your brain, try out a new spot.  Try getting away from your friends if they distract you.  Try bringing them with you if you don't like studying by yourself.  TRY SOMETHING NEW - you'll never know what the results will be, I did not expect to have this place be so great and now I love it 

P.S. I am going back there this weekend to study 

 (There is something so satisfying about this gif)

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Jottin' It All Down

I definitely have not been able to post as much as I had before but that is mainly because I am back at school and classes have picked up but I still have it in my head to at least post once a week but preferably twice a week but we will see how this all goes.

Going with me talking about classes and the fact that I was an Orientation Leader at my school, I think it would be good to give some tips about taking class notes for new college students and/or for anyone who is having an epiphany that maybe the reason you failed that class was because your notes were 3 pages long for a quarters' worth of lectures.

First off, be clear in the way you are going to be taking your notes... In this I mean that from the first day of classes (WHICH YOU HAVE TO GO TO), make the decision of whether you will be taking notes on your laptop or on actual paper with a pen like they did in them olden days.  Whatever floats your boat, but really let's be real, it is fun to type notes on your laptop and hearing the click click of every letter you type... but Wi-Fi is pretty good in lecture halls and Facebook/Tumblr/Yahoo/Reddit is only a click away so unless you have a strong will against it... I recommend the old fashioned note taking way.

BUT IF YOU HAVE TERRIBLE HANDWRITING AND NO ORGANIZATIONAL SKILLS AND RECOGNIZE THAT IN YOURSELF BY ALL MEANS TYPE IT OUT

(you the night before a final incapable of reading your own writing)

ALSO KEEP YOUR PHONE IN YOUR POCKET : I know it is very convenient and fun to pull it out and check your messages, check Instagram, check your email, and suddenly decide you want to color coordinate your apps and make them spell out funny things... but this ain't the time and you cannot honestly pay attention to your professor and also enjoy social media nonsense.

Yea, it is hard, trust me, you may think you "are listening while on your phone" but after about 30 seconds of being tuned into the lecture, you will find yourself 20 minutes behind the lecture and the professor 6 slides deep into their discussion.

Some more tips I found were these lovely quick tips that I found on StumbleUpon and cannot believe I did not write down the site but read them and enjoy.  I don't claim them as mine but would love to share them with you.

KEEP ON STUDYING!