The final countdown has started. 18 days until I fly back to the Netherlands. 16 days until my mom gets here to help me pack.
My roommates and I have now moved into our new house. It did not go as planned but most problems have been solved now and we can finally study in peace. Our landlord probably shivers at the sight of one of our numbers on his screen, but we persisted and got it all fixed.
You don't realize how much you rely on internet until you do not have any. Not only in the sense of social media and keeping in touch with your friends and family but also while writing an essay and studying. Not only is not all the information you need available in books but even getting the books requires internet. For my essays I usually do a lot of searching for articles and books and I usually need internet to access these sources. So it was library days from 10:30 to 19:00 for us. It puts a lot more pressure on your productivity as well. You can't say: I'll finish it at home, because at home you have only limited access to the resources you need. You need to do your work in te library and it needs to be done when you go home. I was a bit stressed these past few days, and that might be an understatement just ask my roomie. But I feel, now that the internet is fixed and I am well on my way with my final essay, that I've got it under control again. I'm past the halfway mark in my wordcount so that is a good thing, eventhough i have to hand it in Tuesday. This blog is a bit of a distraction so I can look at it with a new perspective in an half an hour.
Letting go was difficult but my roommate and I have been watching movies and series to get away from it all, and we even went shopping yesterday just to get out of it a bit. When the exams are over we are probably going to London to celebrate. I am super excited!
My other roommate does not come back until tomorrow and we've missed her so much. It is a really weird idea that it is just us three left of 7 and then in 18 days I will have to live on my own again. That is gonna be a hard transition, but i'll allow myself the time to adjust back into normal Dutch life.
It is strange to think about leaving this place but I am looking forward to it, eventhough it is with pain in my heart, I'll just have friends all over the world now, who I can visit and who can come visit me.
But I won't dwell on the sad for too long, so here is some of the things I do when i study in the library that could help you with studying there yourself:
- Go there with a clear head: preferably walk there or something so you can get some fresh air into that head of yours and look at your work with fresh eyes
- Clear your desk: I usually make neat piles of stuff I need for different subjects so I can just grab the relevant pile and get crackin'.
- Bring earphones/earplugs: I personally like a bit of music and noises when I study. That is why I go to the library. Sometimes I have music but sometimes the sound of people typing helps me focus as well. If you don't like that then bring your earplugs(I do this only when I really really really need to focus for a longer period of time)
- Drink water and bring food: It is just the easiest and cheapest, you can refill your bottle whenever and fresh food is good for you!
- Put your phone behind something: In this case it is really out of sight out of mind for me. I barely think about it when I can't see it so it cannot distract me
The library I know is not for everyone but if you are forced to go because you don't have internet at home for example, these notes might be useful for you. Hope it is!
Thanks for reading buddies, wish me luck on my exams please, and send positive vibes for my essay!
Byebye