Introduction

Over the past several weeks I have been trying to figure out: what is studying?

How many different ways are there to study and which methods work better than most?

What I found is that there are a million ways to study, but only a few will work well for the concept for which you are studying for. I learned about active and passive recall. I learned that sometimes it is better to take less notes, or at least a much more condensed version of your notes. I learned how to set up the right atmosphere for studying, how to resist procrastination, and much much more. 

Everything I have learned has been a combination of reading Cal Newport's blog, his books, and a few books I borrowed from the library such as How To Study by Ron Fry. All texts bear various amounts of academically life-changing advice. I will spend my whole summer learning the techniques from these books/blog.

My goal is to maintain a 4.0 GPA in college and to become what Cal Newport calls a "stand out student". During my last few months of high school I have surprised myself in many ways. First and foremost because I took up a major that has everything to do with the subject I fear the most - Math.  And I am actually looking forward to it. This fear I previously had was due to my lack of studying skills and now that I understand how to study this fear no longer controls me.

I am now ready for anything in college. 

This blog will be a combination of what I have learned about studying, and also what I have learned about being a successful student in college. 

- Arietta