My Top 5: Study Tips!

Hello everyone!!

I'm here today to bring you my top 10 study tips that help me be successful in school, and get the highest grades I can. I don't have much scientific evidence to back these tips up, but I like them so... Let's get started!

1) Keep a clean study space.

This is really important. You have to be able to balance between having all your needed supplies out, but also keeping your desk relatively clean so you won't get distracted. I use a desk from Ikea, that has a desk connected to a bookshelf. It's really easy and convenient for me to get all my books out because I have so much space. I'll talk about my necessary supplies in a tip later.

2) Concentrate.

This is easier said than done. Now that we have so many buzzing phones and stuff, it seems as if no one can get anything done without checking their phone. My favourite app for concentration is Forest (on iPhone and Android, I believe). You have to pay for this app, but trust me, it's worth it. Basically how it works is: You set a timer for however long you want to study (minimum 20 minutes, I think), and in that time, a tree begins to grow. If you finish the time without checking your phone or going on any apps, your tree is grown! However, if you check your messages or go on any other app, the tree dies and you must start again. Killing the tree is just too much guilt for me, so I keep concentrated and working.

3) My favourite supplies.

Obviously, you will need supplies in order to study. I'll try to link them so that you can take a look. Here are some of my favs:

Staedler Triplus Fineliners
(http://www.staedtler.ca/en/products/ink-writing-instruments/fineliners/triplus-fineliner-334-triangular-fineliner/)

If you have a study blog or studyblr, you will know what I'm talking about. These fineliners come in a lot of colours, so I use them a lot for colourcoding my bullet journal, taking notes, or just doodling. The triangular grip makes it really easy to hold the pens, and they are pretty good at writing too. The only downside is that the nibs tend to wear out (not super often, but they do) and you'll have to get a new pack if you want new, sharp, nibs.

Bic briteliner Grip Fluorescent Highlighters (http://www.bicworld.com/en/products/details/110/brite-liner-grip)

These highlighters are so neon and inky, I love it! They are great for highlighting important things in your notes, planner, or anything. I've had them since 2014 and they STILL work. It's incredible. If you love highlighting, these are the way to go.

Zebra #2 Mechanical Pencils
(http://www.amazon.com/Zebras-Zebra-Mechanical-Pencil-51391/dp/B001BZ4RJS)

These mechanical pencils are my newfound love. I don't know what's so great about them, but they're so thin and easy to hold. I kinda don't like 0.7mm lead in general, but honestly, the pencils are so great that it makes up for it. I use these pencils all the time for math homework, in class work, and just anything. They are my favourite!

4) Stay motivated.

Motivation is key to study. We all know that studying is boring, school sucks, blah blah blah, and I think that too. That's only the mindset you have when you aren't motivated to get better marks and having fun. The way I stay motivated is to hang little quotes around my room, as well as study tips. They are placed just in front of my desk, and whenever I look up, I see many different study tips telling me how to work and be efficient. One of my favourite quotes is "Studying doesn't suck as much as failing." Another way to stay motivated is to think about the great marks and results you'll have if you study. This keeps me motivated all the time.

5) Take breaks!

No one can study for 10 hours straight. Everyone will tend to drift off after half an hour or so. So, I suggest using the Pomodoro technique! I don't think I really use it right, but basically, I use the Forest app to time 25 mins. When the 25 mins is over, I take a break, eat, go on Facebook, and relax for 5 minutes or so. This really lets my brain relax so that I'm ready for my next 25 minutes.

That's it! Those are some of my top tips for keeping a good attitude towards school and studying. I'm obviously not the best student in class, but these tips are what keep me motivated and willing to study.

Hope you enjoyed!

Lots of love,

Manny

In the Wild: Elfin Lakes

Hey!

Welcome to my very first blog post! I'm so excited to share with you my (sorta) recent camping trip to Elfin Lakes with my school.

A little background info:
Elfin Lakes is in Garibaldi Park, which is in Squamish, BC. Basically, you arrive at the trailhead at Garibaldi, and hike 11 kilometres to reach Elfin Lakes. It is such a beautiful park, and there are many different activities that you can do all four seasons, including biking, hiking, swimming, and canoeing in the summer, and snowshoeing, skiing, and snowboarding in the winter. My class went during one of the weeks of February, and snowshoed to Elfin, and back in 4 days.

So our trip!

On the first day, my class hiked 5 kilometres into the park. You'll know when you reach the 5k mark because there is actually a Red Heather Hut. It's just this little house that has a fireplace, and a few stoves. The first 5k of the hike was, not gonna lie, hell. It was all a steady incline, I was carrying a huge backpack with heavy things inside, and the pace was fast because we wanted to reach the hut before sundown. I honestly thought I was gonna die.

The trail is really beautiful, though. That made the hiking a little easier, at least. The trees were blanketed in snow, and the floor was covered in fluffy, white, snow. I hadn't seen that much snow in all my life. Anyways, when we finally hiked to the hut, I was probably the happiest I'd ever been. I dropped my bag, and jumped for joy when I saw the hut. That night was hard though. My group had to make snow kitchens, and it got really cold when the sun went down. What's even worse was that our group forgot to bring pots! So, we had to constantly ask other groups for their pots during the entire trip. Our class slept in tents that night, and it was okay, I guess. I was really warm up until one of the girls in my group, Sophie, asked me to go to the washroom. That meant I had to get out of my sleeping bag, and escape the heat. I actually had to pee, though, so I mean, that was a plus. When I got back into my sleeping bag, it was really hard to fall back asleep. I got colder and colder. Our tent was also on a little hill, so I always rolled to my right the entire night.

On the second day, we hiked 6k all the way to Elfin Lakes. The first kilometre of the hike after the Red Heather Hut was absolute torture. Some of the girls in my class began crying, fell over, and couldn't breath at some points. I felt like I was going to pass out sometime during that kilometre. After that though, the hike was pretty good. When we finally reached the hut, I was so so happy. The cabin was heated, and had stoves, a fire, tables, and bunk beds! That meant I got to spend all night in this warm little house. 

This first photo below is me from the spot where my class stopped for lunch. If you look carefully behind me, (hint: in the little V of trees), you'll be able to see the cabin! 

This photo is of my friend, Joey, and I, in our bunk. I was so warm this night, and started sweating! (Who says that on a winter camping trip? Hahah)

I loved spending the night in the cabin. There were also these two boys that were at the cabin with us too. They were from White Rock, and our class called them the White Rock Boys. More will come on them later ;) They aren't really important right now; they spent the entire night blaring some Justin Bieber, and drinking whisky.

The third day was super chill. Our class stayed at the cabin, and we made quinzhees the entire day! Quinzhees are kind of like igloos, except that they are made differently. You have to pile snow into one big dome, and then dig it out from the inside. Igloos are made from many cut out snow blocks that are stacked onto each other. I was in a quinzhee group with Joey, Lauren, and Varshita. We spent basically the entire day making our quinzhee. There was one guide with us, Steve, who helped us a lot with our quinzhee. He was probably the reason why it was so awesome in the end. This day was probably my favourite. We spent so much time together, and really enjoyed each other's company.

This is Joey, Lauren, and me standing on top of our quinzhee :)

Joey and Varshita in the entrance of our quinzhee

Finally, on the last day, our class hiked 11 kilometres back to the beginning of the hike! It was unbelievable, but I actually didn't find it that hard, and I also had lots of fun hiking too! This trip was so fun, and I played in the snow so much that week. 

This post was really long, but I hope you enjoyed reading it! Get outside sometime, and don't spend all your time looking at that cellphone or laptop glow :)

Lots of love,

Manny

My New Blog!

Hey internet,

I really don't know who's reading, but honestly, I don't care anymore.

This is my new blog! Manny's Little Things. I'm thinking of posting whatever I want on here, sometimes little rants, maybe adventures I go on, things I like, music I listen to... I don't know! I think a blog would be a great way to write little entries every few days or so, and share some stuff I want to talk about to the internet!

A little bit about me:
I'm currently in Grade 10 (sophomore, I believe?) in high school, and I'm a full time student. I am currently 15 years old, but I'm turning 16 on April 2nd! I live in Canada, and no, I don't have a pet polar bear, but... My igloo is pretty roomy at times ;) Some of my other hobbies include: dancing, being a neat freak, photography, videography, and listening to music. My favourite kind of weather is when the sun is shining, but it is behind a cloud. It's still warm, but you're not going to get sunburnt anytime soon. I also love camping, and the outdoors. I'll probably post some entries about camping trips that I go on with my school on here too.

There's a lot of other stuff you'll learn about me as I post more, but I think that's the gist of it for now! I'll try and post every couple of days, so that whoever is reading can learn a little bit more about my life.

If you're still reading, thanks a bunch! I hope that you'll come back and read more when I actually post my first blog post. :)

Lots of love,

Manny