Time to Paint! (DIY Post #10)

This week we finally set out to finish what we started last week: painting the room. Before we started painting, we had to move out a few things, including a bike (we had no idea whose it was), and there were still a few more holes that Makenna spackled, and I sanded, but that didn't take too much time. I would definitely say that this was the most fun we've had with this project because it wasn't terribly tiring or boring.

It was my first experience painting anything. I had never done anything like this before at my house, so it was really entertaining and exciting for me. The room looked amazing the paint dried, and all of us looked funny because we were in old clothes with paint all over us. My family and some of my church friends came to see the newly painted walls, and they all loved it. Then we closed everything up and went home.

However, about an hour later, while I was at Banzai Bowls, I realized that we had forgotten to turn off the lights, and put the bike back into the room so I called Connor and asked him if he could go back. I told Makenna about it too, and then she realized that she couldn't find the key that locked the gate. A few hours later I found that Connor hadn't been able to make it back to the team room to turn off the lights and put away the bike. Because of this, Makenna and I decided to go back. We were hoping that the gate was still open, because there were people instructing a kids swimming class when we left, but we had no such luck.

The only alternative was for me to jump the fence, to get on deck and do what I had to do. So I did just that. I jumped the fence. It was much more exhilarating as well as a lot easier than I was expecting. I made it over, and turned off the light, then climbed back over. Then, when I was about halfway back to the car, I realized that I had forgotten to put the bike back in. So I ran back, climbed the fence again, put the bike back into the room, and then climbed over the fence for the last time.

About an hour later, Makenna texted me that she had found the key, and the weekend ended in relief.

The Art of Not Studying

Finals are coming! Finals are coming! The more I see people studying, the more I feel like finals are like the redcoats, coming to attack us and that studying is like arming for battle. For many people, finals week is like the Revolutionary War. People are completely consumed in studying/cramming for finals. I don't see the sense in studying so much in such a short amount of time. Why put the strain of a whole semester's worth of material onto your brain the day before the test? It will cause an information overload that will make your brain explode like a hydrogen bomb.

I hate studying. So I just don't study. I focus on other things like swimming, playing the piano, and getting enough sleep. However, since I want to avoid studying at all costs, there are three important things that I do proactively, on a day-to-day basis, that allow me to not have to study: stay awake in class, do my homework, and get enough sleep.

Staying awake in class and paying attention allows me to absorb all of the information given to me throughout the school day. It goes into my brain and is stored there semi-permanently, especially because of all the repetitions and reinforcements we get in class. Doing my homework positively supplements everything I did in class, and often permanently engraves the material I learned that day into my long-term memory. In my life, I feel as if it has been statistically proven that getting an extra two hours of sleep rather than getting an extra two hours of studying has been way more beneficial to my grades. Sleep is the key to success, as mentioned in my previous post: A Science to Sleeping. Without enough sleep, your body does not perform at its optimal conditions - so make sure you get enough sleep before finals. For me, a good night's sleep is much more important than pulling an all-nighter of studying.

For those of you who don't have exceptionally gifted memories and don't absorb information like sponges, I suggest you review a little bit each night so that you don't have to relearn everything the night before the finals. Learning a little bit each day will help you in the long run. And you will find that eliminating studying from your life is pretty amazing.