Things to do this summer

Summer has fully hit us in England, with heat-waves expected for the next two weeks I thought I’d write out some things to do this summer, either by yourself or with friends and family

  • Go to an outdoor swimming pool: there aren’t many of these in the UK because of obvious reasons, but the ones we do have are decent and some even have a water slide or two. This is a great thing to do with a group of friends, family or even just by yourself to get a bit of down time
  • Go for a hike: there are some stunning places to go hiking and luckily for me I live fairly close to Surrey so getting to a nice walking trail isn’t too hard
  • Sunbathe in the garden or park: one of my favourite things to do is sit in my garden and read a good book (check out The Sunday Lunch Club by Juliet Ashton) and relax in the sun, perfect for getting my pale skin some form of colour
  • Go for a road trip: pile all your friends in your car, designate a DJ and set off somewhere. I like to road trip to the coast, and eat fish and chips on the beach before heading back
  • Picnics: I do this a lot with my friend Sammiie where we raid a Tescos meal deal section, get some ice-lollies and crisps and go sit in a field somewhere
  • Go to a beer garden or bar: nice beer gardens and bars are easy to come across and nothing beats sitting with some friends in the pub chatting

 

5 Ways to Prepare For Exams

Exams are always the most stressful time of year for anyone. My course has two exams a term as well as additional essays and presentations, so it’s key that I keep on top of everything, so whilst I’m having a study break, I thought I’d write some tips on how to prepare for exams!

  1. Print out all your learning resources. I print out all of my powerpoint slides through out the term and put them in a folder, then I annotate them with revision or teacher notes, this is helpful for when I want to look back over them or use them for revision
  2. Learn your learning objectives. I personally write all mine out on a word document to print out towards exams, but its also helpful if at the end of the week, you go back over them and try to answer them in a separate word document, or use them to make some kind of revision aids
  3. Start revising early. You always get those people, who two days before the exam are all like ‘eh yeh I might revise tonight but I haven’t done any yet’. Their lying. They’ve probably been revising for a while, and honestly the sooner you start revising, the less stressful it is towards exams
  4. Set aside personal time. Its important to set a study plan and have certain times that you dedicate to studying, for example I study most afternoons for three or four hours, unless I have a whole day free, when I study for around six hours a day, taking plenty of breaks in-between. As great as this is, its also important to take time out for yourself. I give myself at least an hour a day (not including study breaks) to do something non study related, read a book, watching a film or hang out with friends
  5. Write a list of all the topics you need to cover. I find this is a really good way to keep on track of what I have to cover and actually helps me organise my study time a lot better as I can prioritise topics I don’t understand too well over ones I know a lot better. This will also allow you to organise your time better and fit in more personal time

Hope these tips help, I know they’ve helped me! I have two more exams to do and then I’ve finished my first year of university, so over the summer I should have plenty more time to update and make YouTube videos!

Let me know if these helped you or what things you do to help prepare for exams!

Hazel xoxo

  

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