Sunoo: If Ni-ki And I Were Drowning, Who Would You Save?

Sunoo: If Ni-ki and I were drowning, who would you save?

Jay: You kids can't even swim?

Sunoo: It's a hypothetical question, who would you save?

Jay: My time and effort

this cute af

– 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐬. / 𝐤𝐣𝐰

warnings: mentions of food

White crystals of snow were falling from the sky, creating a huge pile on the ground in your neighborhood. It wasn’t typical for the snow to appear during the Christmas holidays these years, but you were lucky enough to be able to witness this magnificent moment today. You were holding a cup of hot chocolate filled with marshmallows, the steam rising from it created a sweet scent that filled the air you were inhaling. It was a peaceful day, only you and your family watching Christmas movies, staring at the sky and the houses that shined with a milky color.

You felt a pair of arms wrap around your shoulders, the body warmth immediately transferring to you. Judging from the fruity smell coming from the person hugging you right at that moment, you assumed it was Jungwoo. The one who had decided to come over to your town to spend the season of joy with your household after your parents had invited him over. The one who had kept you company during all the days of this crucial year, and also the one who was determined to end it by showering you with love and being there for you.

“Let’s go have lunch, your mom is calling us,” he softly whispered directly into your year, while his right hand traveled down to your waist, outlining small circles with his thumb through the thin fabric of your shirt. You hummed to respond to him, not moving even an inch. You were enjoying the moment. Being in the comfort of your boyfriend’s arms, drinking the seasonal beverage as both of you were watching the outside from your window. “She prepared your favorite pasta,” once you heard each word from your man, you gave him the cup to run over to the dining room, which left him only giggling to himself. After all, Jungwoo knew you like the back of his hand.

I get inspiration from 40+ places yet the minute i type, it’s like i am on crack

Study Tips that Aren’t Bullshit

Ok. Listen. I just graduated college on time with two degrees, a minor, and a 3.9 GPA, and now that it’s back-to-school time for some of you folks (my grad program doesn’t start until September) I’ve been seeing some study tips that are half-useful but mostly bullshit. So I’m here to give you some tips for collegiate success as a person who was pretty successful in the collegiate realm.

1) The Three to One Rule is Useless

Here’s the truth. Some classes are going to require minimal effort. Some are going to require more than three hours of outside study time per credit. It’s not a good rule of thumb because different people have different skills and take different amounts of time to do shit. For organic chemistry, you might be spending more 9 hours per week studying (and according to the success rates of some of my peers, I recommend you spend at least that much time on o-chem). But there’s also, say, Oceanography. I took that class. I studied/put in work… maybe an hour per week, and it was a three credit class. But I also took a class that was 3 credits called 18th Century America, and I would say I probably put something like 10-15 hours per week doing the readings and assignments for that class. It just depends, you guys. Figure out what works for each class and then distribute your time accordingly (and don’t waste time studying for something you very obviously know and have already aced). 

2) Study When You Can

Sometimes you have to cram. I don’t recommend it, but it happens. If you do, use the whole day before to go over stuff and test yourself. Do not do it the morning of, don’t do it right before the test. That is useless. If you have a good memory, you can study the night before/two days before.

That said, if memorization and improvisation aren’t your strong suits, do go over your notes at the end of each day, and if you don’t get something, as your prof or your TA or your friend who definitely knows what they’re doing. Talking about it will only help you remember it more.

Overall, study when you can find the time. Sometimes that means staying off twitter for a few minutes and reviewing your notes instead, but if you’re paying good money for higher education (and I assume you are), don’t waste it by never studying or blowing off an exam. 

3) Manage Your Time, But…

Just because you manage your time to make school a priority does not mean that you should let the other things in your life fall by the wayside. People often forget basic self care when they put school before everything else. Remember to shower and brush your teeth and take a minute for yourself because life is a lot and school is just a small part of your life. You cannot let time management become a synonym for school > everything else. It just means that you need to spend all of your time wisely, whether that’s getting some socialization in there or eating dinner or doing homework or taking a shower.

4) You Are Allowed to Forget Stuff

Look. I recommend always having more than one writing utensil, but you can forget one day. You can forget a notebook or a textbook every once and a while. I did, and yet I succeeded with flying colors. Definitely try not to be rushed all the time, but don’t freak out if you grabbed the wrong notebook. Just take down notes and staple them into the right one, or however you do it. 

Also, yeah, your college profs aren’t here to attend to your personal needs, but if you have a class on one side of the campus and only ten minutes to get to the class on the other side of the campus, see if you can leave early or let the prof know that you’re going to be a few minutes late because you can only cross a mile so fast. Professors are far more understanding than they let on (some of them aren’t, but they’re just dicks, and you’ll either have to deal with that or be prepared to challenge them).

And, of course, if you’re struggling, ask for help. Profs want you to succeed, actually, and if they don’t, then it might be time for a discussion with the chair of the department.

5) Stay Organized, Whatever That Means

Some people stay organized with color-coded pens, tabs, and a designer planner. Some people have the patience for bullet journals. Some people write their assignments down on their phones, or set a google/apple calendar alert. However you remember things, just remember them. What’s organized to you won’t be organized for someone else, and what’s organized for someone else might not look organized to you. There is no objective way to stay organized. I don’t recommend trying to store everything inside your head, but you’ll figure out what works for you. 

6) You Don’t Always Need to Read/You Don’t Always Need to Take Notes

Some classes are really important, some are not; some textbooks are really useful, some are not; taking notes can be effective, or they could be useless to you by the time the exam or essay rolls around. I took very light notes for my Brit Lit class (and did 75% of the reading), my World Drama class (90% of the reading), my Monuments in History capstone (20% of the reading), and I got A’s in all of those classes. I took heavy notes for Biology and Western Mythology and read about half of what was assigned. I took no notes for my Anthropology of Sex & Reproduction class, but I read absolutely everything. 

It will probably take you about three weeks to figure out your prof’s teaching style. If it’s an English class, you’re gonna need to read most of it. If it’s a science class, maybe not. If you only have a midterm and a final, and not tests i between those, you might want to keep the textbook handy. But different classes have different requirements, just like they do with the number of hours you spend studying. So you know, act accordingly.

7) Read The Assigned Chapter Before Class, But Don’t Read Ahead

Look, most profs are gonna tell you to read the chapter before class on Monday, or maybe they’ll give you until Wednesday, so you should read in advance. But unless a prof says to read ahead, you really don’t need to read ahead, especially if you have content-based reading quizzes. It just gets really confusing and getting ahead is only necessary when you know that otherwise you’ll get behind. I mean, read ahead if you want to, but know that you probably don’t have to.

8) Show Up, For Fuck’s Sake

Look, showing up is the easiest thing in the world. And I know what having those 8am/9am classes is like. I’ll admit, I didn’t show up half the time to my 9am freshman philosophy class, but I bet I wouldn’t have failed two tests if I’d shown up (I still got an A in the class, don’t worry, there were a lot of assignments and one test didn’t count for much). I just wanted to sleep. But if you show up and pay attention, you’re more than likely going to get a lot of out of the class.

Oh, and if your prof takes attendance. Show up. Especially if it’s a small class. Trust me, they’ll notice, and it will be so embarrassing. 

But also, don’t sweat it if you’re sick one day or sleep through the alarm. It fucking happens, and like I’ve said before, profs are pretty understanding most of the time. 

9) Take Notes However Works For You

Some people use that weird method of dividing the paper in half hot-dog style, and that’s fine. Some people scribble shit down that no one else can read. Don’t feel pressured to rewrite your notes unless you can’t understand them. Do not review right after class - give your brain some fucking time to process that shit. But maybe review in the next 48 hours, it’ll help you be ready for the next class.

10) Don’t Be On Your Phone

Unless you’re literally not learning anything. I spent more time in my Geography class on my phone or computer getting useful things done or playing games than I did actually learning anything from the professor. In my Asian History class, the teacher was mediocre at best, so my friend and I sat there in the front row and played hangman (which was kind of disrespectful but we were idiots at the time so). But if your grades slip because you’re on your phone and not paying attention, or if your teacher has to tell you more than once to get off your phone, you might have phone addiction. See someone about that, k?

11) Review? Maybe

If you choose to review your notes, do so in a quiet, calm, and un-rushed manner. Don’t just look at them - actually try to absorb them. Otherwise there’s no point in reviewing them. 

12) Study When You Can

Wait, didn’t I already have this one? Yeah. But! I saw a thing that said study early and often, which is great if you can make the time, but the truth is that if you study too early you’ll forget everything, and if you study too often you likely won’t be able to focus on other things that require your attention. So study not too long nor too shortly before the exam, and don’t study so much that your brain explodes. Give yourself a break. Have a kit-kat.

13-14) Flashcards? Mnemonic Devices? 

Use them if they work for you, and maybe try color coding them. That can help with memorization. But if they don’t work for you, don’t use them.

15) Don’t Rewrite Your Notes

Unless you can’t read them. Then definitely either rewrite them or type them up, so that they’re actually usable. 

16) Consolidate

This suggestion was actually pretty okay. Making lists and/or tables or whatever can really help, especially if you’re a visual learner. But if they don’t help you, don’t use them, because then it’s just a waste of your time.

17) Teach It To Someone Else

Yeah, this one is good, too. But make sure the person you’re explaining it to doesn’t have a lot of background knowledge, because it’s being able to explain it correctly to someone who hasn’t heard it before that really counts.

18) Is There Even Such a Thing as a Good Study Environment?

Some people can’t study on their own. I sure have a hard time of it, especially because I get distracted on my own. For me, studying with others for exams has saved my grade. But there are times or assignments that are best done on your own.

What I will say, is that when you study with other people, sometimes it’s best to study with your friends who are studying something else. My friend Breea and I had completely different majors and classes, but we made the best study partners because she could explain science to me and I could explain anthropology and history to her, and that’s how we knew we were good to go. 

19) Sleeeeeeeeeep. Plan. Deal. 

Get a good night’s sleep before an exam and try not to be late. Mean profs will not let you make up a missed exam. Good profs will, even if it was just a traffic jam. But generally speaking, try to prepare for all worst case scenarios when you have an assignment due. 

20) Ask. Questions. Jesus. Christ.

Look if you get something wrong, don’t be embarrassed or ashamed. Ask why you got it wrong, and if you think you did something right but the TA or prof just graded it wrong, feel free to point out their mistakes (in private, though, not in front of the class). Go to office hours and make use of that time, or make an appointment with a prof so that you don’t have to skip class to go to office hours.

21) Midterms and Finals Are Different. Or Not.

Ask your prof at the beginning if the final will be cumulative. If it is, keep reviewing that midterm material through the end of the class. If not, feel free to forget most of the stuff from the midterm and earlier. Each prof is different and some finals aren’t even exams, they’re papers or projects. So, you know, plan accordingly. 

22) Don’t Keep Your Fucking Textbooks

Look, unless you fell in love with a text (happens to English majors), sell back your books. And after a few weeks (or once the next term starts) throw out your notes, especially if you can’t read them or if they’re for a class you had to take for university credit but didn’t actually need for your major. 

SELL. THOSE. BOOKS. I can’t say it enough, you won’t make much, but it’ll be nice to get that lunch after finals are over. But remember, don’t sell the book until you’ve taken/turned in the final. 

23) Talk to People!

I saw something that said not to discuss grades/quizzes/tests/exams with classmates. Fuck that. I mean, try not to talk about it before the exam starts or whatever, but fucking talk about that shit. In my Mediterranean Archaeology class, we all talked about the readings before class on Fridays because we had a reading quiz and no fucking idea what the reading was about (those were some of the hardest readings ever). It was really helpful to discuss and summarize to make sure we got the point of the article. Also, like, if you’re comfortable with sharing grades, do, and if you’re not, don’t. It’s your grade, you can do whatever you want with it.

Also, if you’re unsure about something, you can ask a classmate. That’s probably a better first resource than a prof, who will get annoyed, especially if you didn’t do the reading.

THAT’S IT.

Well, I hope this fucking helps. This was basically how I survived college, except add a lot of caffeine. Every major is different, some things are universal. So. You know. Go ham.

uwuwuwuwu thank youuu!

a love so loud, yet so quiet

now, you will not say or consider yourself an intelligent person or a highly-praised person. you, well, you work hard, you live earnestly; you have notebooks for individual classes, you have coloured-pens, you even have a planner to stay organized. it is not your fault that your grades does not cooperate with your effort.

however; you can not explain to any of your friends about your giddy feelings for jake. here is why you can not: jake, is popular, not just appearance-wise but academic-wise as well. such a famous face around the familiar hallways and famous name in your schoolmates lips. alongside with that, jake, loves being acknowledged, anyone could tell. ok, rephrase it as; he loves being recognized publicly: the attention. sadly, not a big fan of love confessions. or that is what you heard.

you do not, you do not secretly go to his soccer competition to cheer him up, you do not buy tickets to see his debate competition, you do not go to teacher’s room to eavesdrop his conversation with his homeroom teacher about his future universities, you do not know what time he finishes his class before lunch, oh and you most, certainly, do not go to library after school so you can stare at him while he is studying. so, if you do not, clarify why are you standing in front of him, and saying, “is this seat in front of you free?”

“uh yes, it is free.” he replied, and went back to focusing on his biology past paper. four words, and your heart is pounding restlessly and your whole body stiffen with a certain burn stirring in your stomach, your cheeks slightly red. you wanted to sprint out; but you are no coward. pulling the chair, you sat down.

next move, next move. your eyes roamed around the quiet library, anyone close to you can tell by one glance that, it is not your environment. “oh look it’s snowing.” you slowly started up a conversation, which you without a further ado, regretted those words from ever slipping out from your mouth. “I can see that.” answered you back, again. your heart was beating so quickly that you can hear it beating in the quiet room.

“do you know there is one saying if you confess to someone during the first snowfall, you guys will stay together for a long time.” you whispered softly, not wanting to disturb people around you; who unlike you, are studying. “so what is your point?” he dropped his pen in between his books, staring directly at you with a hint of amusement and a hint of confusion holding in his sparkly eyes. his intense eyes, with his oh-so perfect eyebrows, to his perfect-shaped nose and his plumped lips intimated you to its finest that you just shook your head.

the whole time, you attempted to solve some maths equations. math isn’t your biggest weakness; that does not mean it is your strength. you work hard, you live earnestly. millions of questions ran through your brain, internally screaming about it, since there is no way, in hell, are you showing jake that you, suck at, almost, all the subjects.

clock struck to seven in the evening, the closing time of the school library. you can see jake was packing up his studying materials being done for the day. “are you not leaving?” he asked you, your cheeks did not stop growing red. so, you nodded.

then, he left.

you threw your own arms in the air, frustrated with yourself or with jake? you do not know. you do. it is now or never, you assured yourself, what is so hard about confessing your own feelings? it is, technically, not even your fault? you did not ask to have a crush on him? it just happened. so you bolted out, with your bag on your back and your jacket in your hand.

you caught up to him, breathlessly. your throat running dry, “wait, you.” you paused in front of him, gasping for air, bending down after sprinting down the staircase and then catching up to him. “god, why do you have to walk so fast?” athletic legs. you questioned him, seriously. inhale, exhale. confess, leave. literally, bolt like the flash, done deal. solid plan.

“here goes nothing, see ok, i like you. not those girls who leaves love letters in your locker about 100 reasons why they will make you happy or those who leaves 10 different types of chocolates inside your drawer. i like you as in, even if you reject me, right now, i would not might. you do not know me and i only know you from what you show. but if you give me, one chance to show you my sincerity for you about my feelings, it will make me the happiest person.” your mother usually questioned what exactly did she eat to give birth to someone, as impulsive, like you. now, it’s your turn to question what your mother ate to give birth to you. “now if you have nothing to say, i am gonna leave. good day.”

“you scream the loudest during my match. you seem to be more happier than me when i do well in my exams. you also have this weird hobby of staring at me during all the classes we share. oh, and all of your math equations that you were doing today, were wrong.” after everything you said, you laid out all your feelings, bare, for him and he had the audacity to just say this. “listen here, yo-” he took a huge step towards you, leaning forward to match your height “to be honest, you interest me. so maybe, i will give you a chance.” he whispered, gently. letting out a chuckle, going back to his normal height, ruffled your fuzzy hair as he walks away, shoving his hands in his pocket.

the snow was falling heavily, almost blocking most of the roads by now; but you do not might walking. the warm feeling that was radiating within you was cozy enough to keep you safe from the cold. your cheeks has not stop turning a darker shade of red, your heart has not stop beating fast after his words; you are willing to do this, for your first love, since, you work hard, you live earnestly.

[you end up taking the bus.]

the minute I read gemini , I just realized how true this was

if a certain sign doesn’t stop showing up in your circles, you likely have something to learn from them. the universe is bringing you this recurring energy so you can learn from them.