A Levels - Blog Posts
Studyblr intro!
Hi I'm Amy, I'm 17 and I am studying 3 A Levels and I use she/her pronouns
About me
I take history, politics and art
I want to do a history/politics course at university
Virgo
INFP
British
My interests
Books
Culture
Languages
Eurovision
Baking
History
Day 34/100 days of productivity
Today’s Achievements:
Started an online forensic psychology course
Deep cleaned my room
Helped my dad sort and rearrange the office
Cleared out all my old GCSE notes that’s aren’t needed next year
Planned out other things I need to do the next six months
Hand made a Mother’s Day card (forgot to ask a friend to grab one for me and I’m isolated ahah)
Face timed other family members who are quarantined
Had a good day! It’s nice being off because I can get so much done :)
12/8/19
3 days until A Level results day and I feel physically sick knowing that what’s on that paper is not going to be a reflection of my best work by a long shot.
However, I know that I will have plenty of opportunities to prove myself at uni. New chapter, new start. It’s all a learning curve and those results can’t hurt me. I’ve already got a confirmed place at uni; now I need to focus on that.
Good luck to any fellow A level takers of 2019. We will get out the other side x
Can we talk about how hard it is physically and mentally to take exams with IBS that won’t quit. Would not wish it on my worst enemy - I am exhausted and all I could think about for my six hour stay in solitary confinement was how much my stomach hurt
Well fam, 6 hours of solitary confinement and two exams later I can say with 100% certainty I will not get A*s in German or Maths ahahahaha
18/5/19
17 days until my first A Level exam!
Sorry I’m so inactive - I’ve just been getting speaking exams out the way for French and German.
French went amazingly; German not so much - but then my standards are very high so it will likely still get me good enough marks.
But now I can get stuck into my other 3 subjects! Not a fancy set-up this evening; just my favourite notebook and pens and my trademark cup of tea haha
I hope you are all looking after yourself during this stressful period - especially those who are taking exams, whatever level they may be at x
12/5/19
Got some motivation to work so I’m going to run with it until the discipline has to take over
Edit: my stupid ass got the date wrong haha
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 :(
Revision time!
ft tea and toasted hot cross buns
27/3/19
Coordinate geometry with circles!
I love overcomplicating things, apparently! Anyhow, I got the right answer so I’m good.
Happy Wednesday :)
Aphantasia
Story time! I don’t have a mind’s eye. In fact, I think the notion of anyone having a mind’s eye is bizarre! I thought it was normal - until I realised it’s not. Not really. It’s kind of funny, then, that the only trophy I’ve ever been awarded was one for a piece of descriptive writing with no physical stimulus.
It’s not that I don’t have an imagination - I do - but the scenes unfolding in my head are behind a closed curtain, and I am the wrong side of it. There’s a bundle of energy in the back of my mind I can feel as pictures paint themselves... suggestions of movement in dynamic scenes, perhaps. Or maybe it’s the frustration that I. Can’t. See. Anything!
I sometimes wish someone would lift the veil; that they would let me imagine those sandy beaches everyone is supposed to envisage - let me find my “happy place”, which will forevermore be a black and lonely void.
But most of the time, I am glad I am blind to the canvas up there. It has made me sensitive to the nuances of language and I am always looking to appreciate every detail I lay my eyes on. Even if my mental arithmetic is shocking and I can’t describe my mother’s face, it’s part of me. And every time I place my eyes on someone, I get to appreciate anew all the things that make them beautiful.
If I want to remember something and be able to look back, I just have to take lots of pictures :)
22/3/19
Real studying is messy
Also if you haven’t heard Lewis Capaldi’s “Grace” I THOROUGHLY recommend you do because it is amazing
Happy Friday folks! Enjoy your weekend x
18/3/19 Essays in the fading light
So my mental health is struggling but I am self-aware enough to know that and I am actively getting some help because I don’t want a second bout of severe depression HOWEVER I know that my stress is transient and I will have the summer to recover. It isn’t worth destroying my brain and wellbeing for A Levels!
I decided to just write a plain old paper essay for German but then quickly remembered I can’t double tap the pen to erase my mistakes sooooo Tippex is my friend!
12/3/19
Transition metals are legitimately so interesting! I feel like I’ve got stuff done today.
Happy Tuesday :)
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 😊
10/3/19
Gotta love that NMR!
Also can we appreciate those perfect hexagons because it took ages to draw those ahaha
Have a great Sunday!
5/3/19
Photosynthesis is so interesting! I still can’t believe that lowly plants and even cyanobacteria harness the energy of the humble electron to power this stuff. It’s so intricate
Edit: this app is called Notability for anyone wondering!
4/3/19
I hate electrochemistry so much but I’m trying not to make life harder for myself by creating a mental barrier
2/3/19
Sorry for a the long absence!
So I have the flu and am sofa-bound but not even an uncomfortable illness can keep me away from Les Liaisons Dangereuses. It’s all written in letter form so I can read small chunks at a time.
So if you’re not familiar: this is an 18th century scandal among the Parisian aristocracy. The two main characters basically plot to exploit a young, newly-engaged, fresh-out-a-convent virgin girl and her fiancé to bring shame upon their names all because said fiancé rejected the salty antagonist. That is MAJORLY oversimplified but the gossip in here is very juicy haha
Have a great weekend!
Walking home from a long day at sixth form
Ft my old primary school :)
I did a lot of reading today and caught up with my old head of year.
The weather is gorgeous but it should NOT be this hot in February :(
Break the problem down
From personal experience, life is hard and stress hits you like a tonne of bricks. Exams are coming, deadlines are forever nearing and you feel like one thing is coming at you after another and you can’t possibly finish all this in time to the best of your ability but omg everyone will be mad or disappointed if you don’t and AHHHHHHHH
Stop that.
When you are overwhelmed by stress and believe you cannot possibly succeed, face that shit objectively. Write your stress source down or talk it out and belittle it as much as you can.
For example: “holy shit I have to sit an A Level in Maths and I’ve been learning the content for less than a year all on my own. I don’t have many practice materials and that shit looks hard. I will run out of time because I also have 4 other A Levels to sit and I will fail.” (Me irl bc I’m crazy)
Becomes: “It’s a few questions on a sheet of paper. All you have to do is work on your weaknesses. You should make a timetable to prove to yourself you have time. It’s not A* or bust - do your best.”
Because that’s all it is. Take the emotions away from the problem. Temporarily take everything that’s riding on that one thing away and strip it right back to what it’s really about. Make yourself believe that it is not above you. Once you convince yourself you can do it, actually doing it becomes a hell of a lot easier.
*I’m not saying those things are not important or not a big deal. I’m saying for the sake of your sanity, make it manageable.*
Good morning, sunshine!
My eyes snapped open at 7:30am so I figured I’d have a wash, stretch out my aching muscles and do some maths. After this I’ll go and grab some breakfast :)
It’s finally half term so the pressure is momentarily off and I can catch up on all my outstanding tasks.
I feel like I’ve achieved a lot in the past couple of hours I’ve been up!
Have an amazing day!
8/2/19 Chemistry :D
I hate surprise tests but I know I need to start revising now so that’s what I’ve been doing all evening. Now I’m done I can finally sit down with the book I’ve been wanting to read all day!
I love that feeling of being so absorbed in a book you don’t want to ever put it down. I’ve finally found pleasure in reading again - something I lost when I found out aphantasia wasn’t something anyone else I knew had. I just read because I love words and can feel their nuances rather than see them in action in my head :)
Have a lovely evening!
30/1/19 - Where has January gone?!
So I’ve become very bad at posting lately but I am so so busy! I’ve made good progress with A2 Maths and I have so many French books to read, too. My lovely French teacher has lent me three books in one go after I finished the one she lent me yesterday that very night haha
I hope your January has gone well :)
20/01/2019
So I bought myself an iPad to save my back because I carry about far too many notebooks but I still like writing my notes. I’m also saving paper haha
I’m still getting to grips with this but I really love it so far!
Sorry for the inactivity - I just needed to take some time off. But I’m back now! I’ve got my mock results back and I’m very happy with them :)
10-12/1/19 - 4-6/100 days of productivity
Omg I am so bad at posting but I promise I have been productive! I’ve done all my homework and read ahead in advance because I am missing Monday and Tuesday’s lessons as I am flying to Berlin tomorrow and spending my 18th birthday there!
Have an amazing week 💕
9/1/18 - 3/100 days of productivity
Today has been awesome. I had chemistry first thing, and then double German (my favourite class!), then I had some Galette des Rois in French and ended the day with Biology. No frees today but a really positive time all round :)
I’m sat doing homework now and I’ve promised myself I can watch a new TV programme that’s on later if I get it done haha
8/1/18 - 2/100 days of productivity
Sorry this is late - I had no WiFi yesterday at all! However, in my only free I made these notes on the brain :)
I hope you’re having a great week!
07/01/19 - 1/100 days of productivity
Thank you for 2000 followers! I love you all!
First day back at sixth form and first day of a new productivity challenge! I will honestly try to suck less at posting every day this time hehe
Because I have 4 free hours on a Monday before my first out of two lessons at 2pm, I got a lot done. I started out with some maths, but then my computer logged me off my digital books and it wouldn’t load again, so I ended up writing up some biology notes and then doing some chemistry - that’s what you can see here :)
Although I am full of cold, it has been a good day all round! I found out I got an A* in my bio mock when I thought I actually flunked that test so hard.