First Semester Done! The ups and downs...

I must say, coming home is one of the best feelings. After being away at university for the last four months it is so nice to be home in my old bed again and with my lovely family. While for the next 4 years I study to become a Math and History high school teacher I will spend a large majority of my time living in a different city, it still seems that this right now is my home...and that being in that big city is just a temporary thing. Hmm...but, I have done so much these past couple of months. Being away from home, away from everything I know so well has pushed me so far out of my comfort zone. So, as a record of some of my first experiences and impressions, and maybe as a bit of help for some of you, here are just some of the lessons I've learnt from semester 1.

1. Find a group of amazing, inspiring and awesome friends.
People who you want to be around, who you want to share your ups and downs with, who you are not afraid to be silly around, who encourage you.

2. University exams are hard.
This semester I was lucky. Only two exams, Math and Greek History. During study week I thought I was doing fine and I was getting though my workload just as I did at high school. However first mistake: as the first test drew closer I just wanted to get it over and done with and decided that I had done enough work for it. So...I stoped actively studying and occasionally just read through my notes. Bad mistake. The history exam was so much more harder than I had expected and I very nearly didn't even finish. I had extra time to study but I didn't take it and that cost me. Luckily I learnt my mistake in time for the math test and did not let the boredom of studying get the better of me. But, please don't let this little story scare you. Uni is great, Honest!

3. Don't choose back-to-back classes that are on opposite sides of the campus
If you're like me and get just a tad bit stressed, make sure you have enough time to get between classes. There was maybe a couple of times where I walked into a lecture after the professor had  started...complete with that guilty look on my face.

4. Do Your Readings. All of them. Now!
During my first few weeks I was on one of those 'freshmen motivation highs' and so kept up so well with my readings and revision. However....you can guess what happened next. As much as I said I would be focused the entire term, it was not to be. I did last around 5 weeks before I started to slack off, but what I have learnt is how helpful keeping track of your readings really is when it comes to studying for finals or putting together an assessment item. It makes it so much easier and less stressful when you already have the notes. Also, for next year I'll be setting up an app to remind me to do my readings. Hopefully it will keep me on track this time!

5. Learn how to reference properly at the start of semester, not two hours before your assignment is due!
This is pretty self explanatory and like the last point it makes a big difference in terms of lowering stress levels.

6. Call home all the time
Home, makes everything better. Call the people who love you constantly. It will put you on a huge high, even when you think the day could not get any worse.


University is hard and its a lot of work, but it's totally worth it!

Love, TVT

Make the Most of Everyday

Ok, so I am definitely a busy bee. In fact, I love being busy. It makes the days feel productive rather then lazy and I am definitely all for that. But, with having days packed to the brim with things to buy, pick up, post, attend, do...it sometimes just gets a little bit too much for my brain to remember. So I've created this Daily Planner. I've seen so many of these handy little things on Pinterest, but they were always just slightly different to what I personally needed in an organiser. So, here is my adaptation. Feel free to use it yourself or adapt it to what suits you best. I'll leave the download link below.

 

 

Love, TVT (The Vintage Typewriter)

If I Stay - Beautiful and Haunting Young Love

Hello!

So I have a confession. I am an absolute hopeless romantic. My capacity to watch cheesy rom-coms and Disney movies has no bounds, I solemnly believe in true love, and the idea of receiving a spontaneous bunch of flowers gets me all kinds of excited. So, there was no doubt that I would absolutely love the new movie 'If I Stay'. Now, as mentioned previously I prefer to read the book before watching the movie, and this time there was no exception. However, while I am in the midst of assignments and exams I chose to download the audiobook, so I could listen to it while transiting to Uni every day (best decision ever)... and I loved it! Now, this may sound totally cliché but I honestly, laughed, cried, and beamed with happiness while both listening and watching this beautiful story.
As a quick, brief summary, I have enlisted the help of Wikipedia (remember kids, Wikipedia is not a reliable source for academic research):

"Mia Hall thought the hardest decision she would ever face would be whether to pursue her musical dreams at Juilliard or follow a different path to be with the love of her life, Adam. But what should have been a carefree family drive changes everything in an instant, and now her own life hangs in the… More balance. Caught between life and death for one revealing day, Mia has only one decision left, which will not only decide her future but her ultimate fate." - Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia

I am now re-listening to 'If I Stay' (written by Gale Foreman) and I must say, there are so many little details that you can miss during your first reading. I've never realised this before, always thinking that once the book is read, you loose that precious first-impression...but I was wrong. I actually really want to go and watch the movie again too...maybe I'll just have to buy the dvd when it comes out!

Love TVT (The Vintage Typewriter)

"An Act of True Love"

The Magic of 'Frozen'

Yesterday, I decided to take my little sis out on a girl's date. Only two weeks till I leave so I though I might as well make the most of our time before I do. Its funny how that seems to work. You only really appreciate something until you are (or almost are) deprived of it. Anyhow, we decided to see Disney's 'Frozen'. The theatre was quiet due to it being the 2nd last day it was to be shown, meaning we go smack-bang centre seats (Yay!). And it was spectacular!

Disney certainly got it right! Here is a list why (because I LOVE lists!):
1. "you can't marry a guy you just met!"
2. The reimage of 'true love'
3. Anna's adorable awkwardness and her fearlessness (eg. to jump off a cliff and to taunt a snow monster)
4. The gasp-evoking plot twist! and...
5. OLAF (enough said.)

The music was also stunning and beautiful and to be honest I spent all afternoon 'Youtubing' all the songs and lyrics! And I am addicted...so far enough that my sisters were yelling at me to change songs (Oops!).

My sister liked it just as much and we obsessed over the characters and quoted OLAF while eating chocolate nachos afterwards! Picture Perfect Day!

Love, TVT (The Vintage Typewriter)

Book Review - The Fault in Our Stars

Month 1 of my 2014 Book Challenge
So, if you haven't heard already, 'The Fault in our stars' by John Green is a-maze-ing!! It is going to be so hard not to reveal any spoilers, so if you are one of those people who hate being told about things before they experience it themselves (me included) look away now.

This beautifully written novel tells the story of a 16 year of girl, Hazel Grace Lancaster who meets a guy, travels to Germany with him and falls in love. But she has cancer. She meets Augustus Waters at her cancer support group. He is witty and charming and as she herself puts it, 'HOT'!

There is a good reason this book is on the New York Times best-sellers. The sentences are strung together in a way that's believable, humorous and yet deep with meaning. But it's the lovable hero and heroine, their intelligence and the sweetness yet unforeboding nature of their love which makes this book for me. But beware: Its a tear jerker. I have even heard that people have had to 'mentally prepare' themselves before tackling it. Me? Well I was sobbing for an entire half an hour after I had finished.

I am a true believer that you have to read the book before you see the movie (in most cases).So its lucky for you that there you still have 5 months to read it before the movie comes out! Whoop Whoop!


Love, TVT (The Vintage Typewriter)

My 2014 Day Planner

I love lists and having a schedule I can stick to. Sometimes, more often then not, I end up changing my plans around anyway. But none the less, I still like to plan. Late December I was introduced to the Day Designer by Whitney English. It is absolutely stunning and I fell head over heels in love with it. But...shipping to Australia costs a fortune :-( So, instead I ordered a Moleskin Daily Diary in Red (Eeep!!). Classic Ruby Red! I found it on larrypost.com.au which has some of the cutest little gifts you can mail! It's bound incredibly well and I really didn't want something that I will be carrying backwards and forwards to uni everyday to fall apart. It comes with stickers as well as a small, tabbed notebook for any spur-of-the-moment ideas and notes!

Written on each page are times (from 8 to 10) a well as the date, and week of the year. However, I wanted to make it more organised for my everyday planner. So each Sunday evening, I rule the pages for next week in half and allocate the left for scheduled events and the right for my to-do list/things to remember. Below this is room for food and exercise notes as well as 'things due'. I have also ruled off the bottom two lines of the page which I am planning on using as a 'download' or 'daily gratitude' space (an idea from the 'day designer'). Here I will write one awesome thing that happened to me that day!

 I'm hoping that this new system will help keep me and my rather busy life in order. Although it means I will have to allocate a time each Sunday to prepare for the next week, I think it will be important that I do this, putting my thoughts and plans in order before I tackle the week head-on!

Love, TVT (The Vintage Typewriter)

Intense Study Organisation Tips

So, I know most of you (at least here in Australia) have already started school, but believe me its not too late to get in the habit of organising your notes. I'm mainly talking to high schoolers here, but it is all too easy to get carried away with assessment and teacher's stressing you out that you no longer have any idea where those notes you took on derivatives or ratios has got to! Now, to be honest it took me a good 4 years to finally find this system and I believe its a pretty good one, but keep in mind that everyone studies and works differently so this may not be your ideal organisation system.

This method I'm about to explain works best for math subjects or those with lots and lots a worksheets or questions from a textbook. I used it for my two senior years in high school and it was by far the most effective and simple way of keeping track of my notes. But I do hope it can be of some help to you!

 * * *

Normal Topic Notes
All the notes that your teacher writes on the board, example questions they do with the class, or handouts, write as normal (ie. all the things you do with your teacher in class). Note: 'handouts' are referred to here as those which just contain information, not questions. I will talk about what to do with 'worksheets' (ie. Questions) later on. Remember to title, date and glue in those handouts (you DO NOT want to lose these when it comes to study) and make them neat!

Worksheets with Questions
When you receive worksheets that you have to complete by your self (either at home or in class) allocate a highlighter colour to it. Highlight the title, the border, the picture or anything that tells you that that worksheet is 'green' (or whatever colour you decide). Now when you start working on that sheet in your book, highlight the corners of those pages with the same colour as your worksheet. This may seem strange, but what it does is show you very clearly where you did that particular worksheet in your book. It also shows you where you did your notes from class (as they will have white corners). So, when it comes to revising for the exam you can quickly flick to the pages you need. Another trick is to highlight the question number (on the worksheet) when you complete it and get the answer correct. This will enable you to know exactly what question you're up to if you don't finish the worksheet in one study session! When you're finished and completed the questions, don't glue it in, instead file it in a display folder or binder in the order you received them so again when your studying you have easy access to it and don't have to keep flicking back in your book.

Textbook Questions
Ok, so while I usually received worksheets from my teacher in school, I know there is a lot of you who work from the textbook. If this is the case then perhaps you may want to allocate one chapter or section a certain highlighter colour or if you only use it occasionally, just allocate the whole textbook a colour.

 

The trick for this system is to have lots of different coloured highlighters so that each of your worksheets is a different colour and that you always highlight the corner tabs of your book when working on question sheets. This way there is a clear distinction between the work that you do and class notes/examples. But, whatever way of studying and taking notes works for you, good luck!

Love, TVT (The Vintage Typewriter)

Those of you in College or University already, any good tips for organising your notes?