Hello lovelies! I'm sorry about my hiatus. I've been terribly busy writing, or rather plodding through, my end of term exams, and I've been putting all of my energy into my revision. Now that I'm back, I'm ready to take the blog by the horns, and get back on track with my weekly posts.

I've come to learn a lot of things, not only about myself, but about school and learning which I'd like to share with you. My last panic attack (mentioned in my previous post) completely shook my ground, and I realised that my outlook on my education, as well as the pressure that I put on myself, was in dire need of critical analysis. Thus developed my philosophy on education:

Studying is not about relearning what you already know. That in itself is a waste of time. Studying is a journey of building on what you already know. My mom taught me the most wonderful technique, and I use it to reassure myself when I am panicking and feel as though I literally know nothing. She told me to get a blank piece of paper, and write down a topic in the middle as a bubble to expand upon. Then, quickly jot down everything you know about the topic from your own knowledge. You will see that you are smarter than you think as you begin to build upon your ideas. Afterwards, examine your class notes, and add on extra information you have left out. This, I have come to realise, is what learning is all about. It's about adding bricks and cement to the foundation of your own knowledge. If a brick falls out of place, this does not mean that the wall will fall apart. It rather provides an opportunity to learn from your mistakes, and try harder next time.

Anybody who knows me knows that I make study notes fit for an exhibition. I take a lot of pride in making sure my notes are labelled, stapled, colour-coded, highlighted, filed, you name it. However, at this stage of my high school career, this expectation I have put on myself to rewrite class notes in a kaleidoscope of rainbow colours is unrealistic. There is simply not enough time to rewrite notes. Besides, rewriting an entire textbook or revision worksheet is futile. You could learn the information just as effectively by reading it a few times, and then testing your memory. In my experience, writing something down doesn't necessarily guarantee that you will remember it, especially if you copy down something word for word. Write your notes in a way that you will remember them. Try using shorthand, mindmaps, anagrams or flowcharts. This will help you reduce the information into a simple format that is easily memorable, and reduce redundant copying of already-processed information.

Another thing that I keep having to remind myself is that my notes do not have to be perfect, because no one in the world is going to see them but me. You will save time, and get through much more content if you simply cut down the amount of time you spend looking for your sparkly glitter pen to ink out the perfect heading.

I guess I would call this my period of enlightenment. I cannot begin to describe how my life and outlook on future studying has transformed. I am grateful that this transition has occurred, as it has lifted a remarkable weight off of my anxiety and pressure to stretch myself too far. Obviously some stress is good, as it motivates us to push ourselves beyond our boundaries, and as they say, "Life begins where your comfort zone ends". However, my anxiety was becoming shrouding, and I needed to have a serious look into my views on studying and school.

Have a wonderful and restful weekend, and I look forward to my next post. P.S. Has anyone else begun their Christmas countdown? I'm too excited for the festive season!