More Anubis drawings
Sooo yesterday I got to get out of class to go to a panel at DHS to talk about our stories and whatnot, and there were quite a few questions on what to say and what not to say when your kids come out.
This is our youth leadership along with the amazing Program Manager and Inside Out (I’m on the left next to the tallest one). It definitely was a fun day and a fun (bus serious) panel.
I’m honestly really glad I know these people and that I (technically) work with them. And hey. If you live in the Colorado Springs area, you should totally come to Inside Out. it’s so worth it and everyone here is totally gay (or allies) and accepting.
After finishing my fall semester, I have decided to compile some study strategies that will hopefully help any other college students out there (especially the premeds). These tips helped me get a 4.0 at an Ivy League school.
- Cornell Note-taking is KEY. Especially if you use the question-answer format. For example, for my Biology class, I took notes on the lectures in the question-answer format. By covering one side with my hand and answering the questions out loud every day, I aced all the midterms and the final.
- Study every day or at least most days. Trust me, cramming everything at the end is not fun. It may have worked well for a high school class but college classes have so much more material and it’s not worth it.
- If you live on your college campus, I recommend finding a study spot that not many undergraduates or your classmates use. Whenever I go to the most popular study spot at my school, I can practically feel the stress in the air and I just cannot focus. On the other hand, if that kind of thing motivates you, go for it.
- HYDRATE!
- For papers and essays, write your drafts as early as you can and then go to your professor’s office hours. They will appreciate the time and effort you’re putting into the assignment. For my Writing class, I went to my professor’s office hours every week and kept asking her to look over my essay. I can guarantee I definitely wasn’t the best writer in that class but she appreciated the effort I put in and gave me an A.
- For STEM courses or problem set heavy courses like Econ or Math, practice problems and office hours are so important. If you have practice problems in your textbook, do ALL OF THEM. I know it sucks and it can be terribly boring but it will pay off! Also, if you do not understand something on your homework, go to the professor’s office hours. Most of the time, you and the professor will solve it together and then you will definitely have the right answer (This is so perfect if your homework is graded on accuracy rather than completion).
- Be friendly to the TA. Even if you are going to miss a recitation or two, make sure you ask questions and participate in the ones that you attend. That way, the TA will recognize your face when it comes time to put in your participation grade or give you a bonus point or two on your exam.
- When you are in class, especially large lecture halls where the professor cannot see what you are doing, turn off your phone or put it on silent. Then stuff it in the deepest part of your bag. Do not look at it until the lecture is over. If you take notes on the computer, turn off your WiFi and take notes on Word.
- Life is too short not to party a little. Remember to spend some time with your friends or go out every once in a while. I have found that taking a few nights off helps keep me from becoming burnt out.
- Always remember that you are extremely lucky for being able to get an education. There are thousands of people who do not have this kind of opportunity. College can definitely be hard and I have had some bad days but in the end, mistakes help you learn. It is better to fail at something new you tried than never do it at all and never learn from it.
Thanks for reading! Hope you all have a wonderful Spring semester!
the autistic ping
Look, we’re not actually narcissists
When you talk to us about an emotional issue
And we respond with a personal experience or anecdote
We’re not trying to make the conversation about ourselves.
Most times (at least with me), I have to find an experience within myself that is similar to what you’ve described
So I can furnish an appropriate emotional reaction to what you’re experiencing.
It’s sort of like when you ping an IP address to fix a faulty Wi-Fi connection.
It’s not personal, it’s just how I navigate Feelings™.
This is how many people on the Autism spectrum express empathy. We don’t say things like “You must have felt so…” like neurotypical people are used to. To us, that comes across as presuming to know. We look to when we felt something that seems similar, and offer that experience. That lets the other person decide whether we truly know how they feel.
When I do this I am trying to show you that I really do know how you feel, and not just saying something arbitrary to make you feel better. Since I’m not good at showing and expressing emotions or even knowing exactly what it is I am feeling, I barely know what others are feeling. But by relating situation to situation, I’m acknowledging what they are feeling now and that I felt a similar way once, so that any advice I give can sound like I’m feeling the right emotion.
Oh I had no idea this was an autism thing I always respond to people by talking about situations where I felt similarly
Literally this is so common they test for it during the diagnostic process.
There was a huge traffic accident?? And the bus i used to take home goes on the exact route that all these police cars were blocking off, so it’s almost 9 and I just got home and everyone was super worried about me and I have a headache :(
I’m turning 15 in exactly 1 week!!!
apotheoseity
