Keeping Up with Uni Work

Online learning is a moment.

I realised today that I had totally miscalculated and so missed 1 hour of a 2 hour class. It’s not the end of the world as it was an introductory class but I think that it serves as an example of how confusing all of this online work can be. If this kind of thing were to happen in a test setting I would honestly die (emotionally). I’ve made triple sure of not missing anything by writing down all of my test and assignment dates on my mum’s calendar. Let’s bring her down with me why don’t we? Just kidding but for real, it’s good to have an extra layer of protection against the possibility of accidentally missing something.

The worst thing about this whole confusing scenario is that it’s no one’s fault. There’s no one to blame. Lecturers are doing the best with what’s available to them and the university heads must be so overworked at this point. I can’t even blame myself because I am doing all that I can to be organised. I have THREE different journals for Pete’s sake! The lack of anyone to blame for this confusion just makes the situation even more frustrating.

Online learning has the perk, however, of being able to be worked from at one’s own pace. Except for obvious deadlines, I can centre my lecture schedule around any time of the day that I want for the most part. Narrated slideshows are often uploaded the day before a lecture so I’m free to do them in the morning rather than the afternoon if I so wish. The only immovable aspect of online learning are the online discussions and live classes. This kind of perk is something to consider when analysing the pros and cons of online classes. Maybe online classes won’t be so bad after all…

Keep learning!

-Birdie

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First Day of Online University

I’ve only had two classes today but somehow I am beyond exhausted. I have no idea how or why but I just am.

Today has been really great in the sense that I had an official goal for today, like set classes and work that I had to do. I really missed that, as crazy as that sounds. I guess that I’m exhausted because while I only had two classes, I had a bunch of work that I had to do relating to those classes and other classes. It was such a good day for productivity, I am SO stoked.

It was really weird to take part in classes online. It more about discussion forums rather than zoom meetings, we don’t do those thank the gods. Let’s be real about online uni though, it’s kind of super stressful. I mean there’s no one there to keep you on track and you’ve got to stay super up to date in order not to miss anything important. Not to mention that I’ve got to do this for 5 classes, not just one. The whole process is just insane and hard to keep track of. Hopefully though, this only lasts for a couple more months. Wait. That’s not a good thing.

Be that as it may I am grateful that I can get any schooling done at all. Like, I actually have the resources to learn online? That’s like the definition of privilege. I think as much as I’d like to complain about online learning in terms of data costs and keeping on top of things, a little perspective goes a long way. I feel as if I keep having to remind myself of that but its a good exercise. Here’s to hoping that coronageddon does not last too long.

Good luck, y’all.

-Birdie

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Staying At Home

Even though Phase 4 of lockdown is barely any different from Phase 5, people still feel the need to invite their friends over. I’m seeing this all over my Instagram feed and I just can’t believe how dumb some people are. At this rate we’re gonna be put right back into Phase 5 lockdown. As one of my best friends said, nobody likes this, we aren’t staying at home because it’s fun. We are doing this so people don’t get sick and die. I really don’t know how to deal with people anymore. This is why the aliens don’t want us.

Aside from the idiots of the world, I have found staying at home to be an interesting experience. It feels like I am living in a fishbowl. There’s like a veil separating me from the rest of the world yet I am constantly feeling watched. Privacy isn’t something that I have experienced much of during lockdown, staying with family can do that to a person. I also feel though that whenever I go to the store I am scrutinised and judged based off of what I buy. I literally went to buy medicine today and I felt this way. I honestly doubt that anyone gives a shit about what I’m doing but for some reason I just feel observed.

Staying at home really separates you from the outside world. I look out of the window and it’s crazy to me that there’s a whole world out there. I’m just so consumed by and focused on my own little world indoors that I can’t even comprehend what lies beyond my window. It’s a weird feeling. Reflecting on life indoors is an interesting activity to say the least. Life in lockdown has been crazy, I think we can all agree on that.

Stay safe, y’all!

-Birdie

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Online Learning

Since I don’t have actual uni to look forward to, I have to settle for online uni.

I for one, am nervous for online uni to begin. I guess my fear stems from the potential for missing out on certain tests or tasks that would cost me marks because of missing a single email. This is a very real fear for me. I also feel that all the fun of university has been snatched away. This is a reality, though that keeps us safe and so I am somewhat grateful for it. Online learning will be an interesting opportunity to observe whether or not I thrive in online schooling compared to physical schooling. At the end of the day I’m just grateful for online learning to rescue me from potential boredom and lethargy. At least it helps me to differentiate between which days are which.

I have received online schedules for three of my subjects so far which being out of five subjects, makes me wonder when the rest of my subjects are going to let me know WTF is happening. I’m sure though, that those organising the subjects are under a lot of pressure right now and so I appreciate what they are able to let out. I just want an end to this grey area.

There are some perks to online schooling, however. I can listen to music while doing my coursework, I don’t have to walk to uni everyday and I can do things at almost my own pace. That is a plus. It just feels so strange that I won’t be able to go back to physical uni until around September (at least, that’s what people are estimating). I feel as though I’m losing half a year of my university experience and that just does not compute in my mind. Let’s just hope that online schooling works out for me.

Stay groovy.

-Birdie

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Taking Pictures of Myself

People who complain about selfies are either old or lack confidence. Prove me wrong. Just try it.

I realise that this may be a controversial statement but I speak from experience. I used to be one of those people who made fun of others for taking photos of themselves, calling them vapid or self-centered. Now that I am more confident in myself and less of a twat I can see the good in taking selfies and the purpose behind them. Making fun of other for doing something that they enjoy just ain’t it chief.

I mostly take selfies for the purpose of preserving a bomb-ass makeup look through time. I also like taking pictures with my friends because of course I’d want those memories. Selfies can also be used to raise your self-confidence by looking fly as hell in a photo. Don’t get me wrong, selfies can still be problematic but those problems are always the focus of conversation rather than the good that taking photos of yourself brings. I also feel like attacking something simply because it’s mainstream is problematic in and of itself. I actually like it when my friends are feeling themselves and posting pictures to prove it because it gives me an opportunity to admire them even more than I already do and give them an extra confidence boost by commenting positively below their pictures. Flame emoji, flame emoji, flame emoji. I don’t have a problem with people who don’t take selfies, rather I have a problem with people who berate those that do.

I just feel as though some people can be really negative about certain mainstream topics and being one of them, as I know from personal experience, isn’t a good feeling. Try to lift people up rather than drag people down, it’ll do wonders for your mental health, I promise. It’s time that we accept people for their hobbies regardless of how unique they are.

Be nice.

-Birdie

Originality

I’ve decided that the title ‘Lockdown With Me’ has become somewhat redundant seeing that it could extend over the next couple of months.

I am creative but not original. I love drawing, painting and sculpting but I struggle to come up with anything unique or special. There is, however, the idea that nothing is original anymore. I mean, someone, somewhere has already come up with whatever you can think of but is that a bad thing? Now I’m not talking about plagiarism which I think we can all agree is Very Bad but I’m more so talking about common though processes. We can’t make anything truly original anymore but we can add our own spin on things and blend two different unoriginal concepts together to create something a little more special. I am not the kind of person to whom unique thoughts just jump into but I like to thin of myself as creative in the sense that I enjoy making art regardless of its originality. I hope everyone understands what I am trying to say here. Being creative and not original may be a common state of being but it isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

I have been creating a lot of artistic projects during this lockdown. I feel the need to stimulate creative though for fear of becoming bland while staying at home. Having all of this spare time has been great for my creative productivity. I have been drawing, painting, bullet journalling, you name it and I’ve done it. I study a ridiculous amount generally so during lockdown that has been even more pronounced but so has the solace that I find in art. I realise that this all sounds extremely pretentious but who am I to hide from the truth. It do be like that sometimes.

Stay creative.

-Birdie

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Lockdown With Me: Rain

Today it rained.

It’s funny how something so seemingly insignificant can make one’s day. I’ve just been feeling super cosy today. It’s the kind of day when you make yourself some green tea, turn on some Lo-Fi hip-hop and just vibe. At least, that’s what I did today.

I also hit 1000 followers on Studying Amino. That community has just treated me so well and so I’m happy about any milestones that I hit within it. All I really post is blog posts about studying and bullet journalling. I guess people like that? Studying Amino helps me to stay motivated so it’s comforting to know that people gain some sense of motivation from my posts as well.

Today has just been a good day. Going to the store today though has been an interesting experience, mainly because whenever I wear a mask to the store my glasses fog up something terrible. Sight is a luxury few can afford. I’m planning on baking later today just to add to the cosiness of it all. I’m really in the mood to be warm and cosy. It’s just one of those days that everything in the world seems to fall in place. Not to worry though, I have been productive academically as well. I studied for a while this morning mainly so that I keep in the rhythm of studying for when uni starts back up again (albeit online). The rain just put me in the right mood to conquer today and as silly as it sounds the rain is basically my greatest motivator. Today has also been different from other days in that sense which really helps me to better differentiate this day from other days which is, as we all know, an extremely difficult task to undertake during lockdown. Here’s to more days like this one!

Stay cosy!

-Birdie

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Lockdown With Me: Looking Out the Window

It sounds super cheesy but during lockdown, I love to just gaze out of my second story window. The ‘second story’ bit is relevant as the higher I am, the more I can see. Doing so has led to several observations about the outside world.

When I look out of my window I see a plethora of large trees and some extremely green grass. The trees in particular fascinate me as to them there is no lockdown. They are so unaffected by coronageddon it’s crazy. I always picture myself sitting up in those trees just looking at the world from up above. I warned you that this was gonna be super cheesy. The trees just spark my imagination.

The grass on the other hand upsets me a little bit. This is because it is the PERFECT picnic grass but my friends aren’t around or even allowed to join me on one. It just sparks a sense of longing for hanging out with my friends. On the bright side though, nothing is stopping me from sitting out there and gazing at the clouds which I am actually planning on doing when it gets warmer (I am currently freezing, thank you for asking).

I don’t know what it is about gazing outside the window that just feel so cosy. I love thinking about the world outside my window (that I may or may not have enhanced a little in my mind). I also find that it’s healthy to just get away from our computers for a split second because gods know just how long we spend on them during lockdown. I also find that it is a blissful break from staring at my textbooks all day. It’s like being outside without actually venturing into the cold and wet environment that it is currently. I find that valuable.

Stay cosy!

-Birdie

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Lockdown With Me: Homesick

Ever been homesick for a place that isn’t your home?

That’s me and my student room. I’m technically at home now but there’s a part of me that’s longing to go back there. I miss the calm and tranquility of my student commune (two phrases that don’t often go together except in my very specific case). I guess why I miss it so much, besides the lovely idea of being alone is the fact that I spent so long making it a worthy study space. Being at home is like starting from scratch and I am finding it very difficult to concentrate here. There is a lack of freedom at home, not to mention the limited Wi-Fi.

An important thing to remember, however, is that this is the epitome of a first-world problem. I have a place that I can be safe in and that’s something I definitely won’t be taking for granted. There is a reason for everything and being at home means being safe. That doesn’t necessarily stop me from being homesick for a place that isn’t my home but it does add perspective to the who situation. There are upsides to being at home though, never fear! Being at home means that I can bake because at home there’s actually an oven. This is very important. In fact, my lemon meringue is in the works as we speak (or…er…read?). It also means that I don’t need to cook dinner and that I have access to a whole array of craft supplies. This is good, this keeps me entertained at least. There are many upsides to being at home during this time, one particular example being that I can walk instead of drive to the store (I can’t drive so this would be an issue). The only challenge is remembering this. Either way, lockdown can only be for so many months and I will get through this. I just have to be patient and grateful.

Stay safe!

-Birdie

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