Things I Learned While Going Through an Extremely Stressful and Difficult Time

1. It's okay if you make a B on a test, especially when you know you have worked and studied hard. Success comes after failures. 

2. Sometimes, you need to leave things in God's hands. Stop worrying and stressing. Do as much as you can and leave the rest in God’s hands.

3. Take a break and relax. Put the work aside and take a walk outside, watch some television, talk with your family and friends. Just relax.

4. It's okay to dress like a hobo. If your future spouse sees you one day without you knowing who they are, then they wouldn't mind if you dressed a certain way. After all, they will be your future spouse.

5. Read your holy book. It might just inspire you, enlighten you, or even lift the heavy weight you carry around with you.

Misbah's Advice: How to Really Study for Midterms/Exams/Finals

I can't believe it's already the middle of the semester! University seems to be going by fairly quickly - or maybe it's just the super busy schedule I've had recently... Regardless, I have my first midterm tomorrow in psychology and I seem to be prepared for it. I'm still kind of stressed out because I get stressed out at the sound of any test, especially now that my enrollment into university is on the line. I decided it was the best time of the year to advise others about my study tips that will {hopefully} enable you to earn an "A" on your midterm, tests, or final exams! 

1) Always review your notes after class and before the next class.

Ebbinghaus theorized that the most forgetting takes place right after we learn something. So, if you're reviewing your notes on a daily basis, you are able to retain that memory a lot easier. Also, it makes it easier for you to study when you do have a test because you already know most of the material. Also, when I was in Ready, Set, Teach; we were told to reinforce the main idea in our lesson plans three times. We did this because it takes three times to fully remember and ingrain an idea. So keep on reading, rereading, and rereading! 

2) Study at least 4-5 days in advance.

I like to study four days in advance, sometimes five if there is a lot of material to cover. It's proven that if you study collectively (meaning, you study over the course of a few days) and then reserve one day to review, you will retain more info and you will be able to recall that memory easier. So studying the night before or a couple of days before and cramming material in will not help you. It will only hurt you. 

3) Pulling an all-nighter will hurt you more than you think.

Sleep deprivation lowers your ability to recall stored memory. So, you may seem cool to your friends when you brag about the all-nighter you pulled for that Bio exam, but in reality, you know you totally bombed that exam because you couldn't remember anything regardless of studying all night. The best remedy for recalling studied material is to study it collectively and to get eight hours of sleep each night and before test day. Your body needs those eight hours in order to process and store all that information into sturdy memory! 

4) Write and do not type.

Studies have shown that retention is better when you are writing your notes. The muscle movements send signals to the brain which help you remember the information you are learning. So next time you're in class, bust out that notebook and pen. Typing on a computer will only hinder your ability to learn correctly. If you're in a class where your professor talks too fast and typing is the easiest solution to get everything they are saying, I would still recommend writing but also invest in a sound recorder or just use the sound recorder on your phone! This way, if you miss anything, you will be able to go back to the lecture and fill in holes! 

5) Go to the review sessions!!!

Review sessions may not seem helpful, but sometimes, professors will give subtle hints as to what is on the test. Going to that review session may seem painful because you could be doing other things, but what if that session was able to earn you an "A"? I always go the review sessions because it makes me feel more comfortable with the material on the test. My professors tell me exactly what's on it and some even give out a couple of questions from it! 

6) Relax before the test.

If you've studied well, gotten enough sleep, and you know everything there is to know, then relax. Drink some tea, slap on a face mask, and just sit back and relax for a moment. Breathe deeply and do some stellar yoga poses. Just relax for just a moment. Sometimes, we stress out and freak out right before the test. What's even worse is when that freakout causes you to suddenly forget all the material you just learned! DON'T PANIC. It will come to you if you just take a breather and relax. You've done your share, now it's up to your brain to recall all that memory from your very sturdy engram. 

Good luck on everyone who has midterms coming up! MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU. 

~Misbah

10 Misconceptions about Texas

1) We ride horses everywhere.

I don't how or even why this is still a misconception in today's time, but for some reason people assume all Texans have horses and they actually travel places with them. For the most part, few Texans actually own horses and I've never seen anyone ride them to get to another city. The only people who do own horses house them on ranches that are far from the city.

2) It's just a bunch of plains.

NO. Texas is fairly flat, however, we are very urbanized as well. We have tons of cities and beautiful landforms. We have lakes, rivers, natural pools, mountains, hills, whatever you can think of! Texas is a place where you have to really search to find pretty sanctuaries, but when you do find these sanctuaries, it will most likely be breathtaking.

3) We say "Y'all" a lot.

This is FALSE. Most Texans do have the habit of saying "y'all" but not all. (Hehe that rhymed) I for one, do not say unless I'm poking fun at Texan culture. I've heard people who aren't even from Texas in different states who say this word.

4) We all have an accent.

The only people I know who really have an accent down here are George Bush and Rick Perry. Most Texans do not have distinct accents and if they do, they are not Texan accents. I've heard tons of accents but nothing similar to how the former president and the current governor speak.

5) We always wear cowboy boots and hats.

I have never owned a pair of cowboy boots or a cowboy hat in my life and I have lived in Texas for a good majority of my life. I have never seen anyone wear cowboy boots/hat unless they are from West Texas. Otherwise, seeing a person wear these is pretty rare.

6) We are just a bunch of republicans.

Although Texas is primarily a "red" state, not all of us are part of the Republican party. In fact, there's tons of us especially in North Texas who are part of the Democratic party. Texas is primarily a state made of up people from many other states.

7) We all want to secede.

OKAY. Just because our ridiculous governor suggested to secede, does not mean the entirety of Texas wants to. In fact, the majority of us thought Perry was crazy.

8) We put butter in everything.

Just because Paula Deen puts an unrelenting amount of butter in all of her dishes, does not mean every Texan/Southerner does. Sure, there are probably those few "Southern delicacy" dishes that I don't even know about that might have a large amount of butter in them. The only use of butter in my house is in baking shortbread cookies!

9) It gets really hot down here.

FALSE. I gets hot in Texas, especially in July, but the high is usually 95 degrees and on a really sunny day, it gets to 101. This is hot, but not as hot as other Southern states. Plus, at one point during this past summer, it was cooler down in Dallas, Texas than it was in Chicago, Illinois. It's actually not that bad if you cover yourself, wear a sun hat, and mostly just stay indoors! When I was in Chicago, I thought it was super hot up there!

10) Everything we eat is deep-fried.

This is only true if you go to the Texas State Fair. Very few places deep-fry their foods and the South follows the rest of the nation's trend into eating healthy! We may seem like a totally different species down here, but we're actually just like you.

Here's just a few misconceptions about Texas. The last few I put together hastily since I am getting super tired so I apologize for lack of explanation or any grammatical errors. If you've never been to Texas, I definitely recommend you take a trip here! It's actually much more beautiful than you think. Texas is full of quirky people, great culture, fantastic food, and just overall beauty in the oddest of places.

~Misbah

DIY: Upscaling with Magnets!

Hello everyone, it's time for some DIY-ing so get your crafty glue and scissors out because this one is [hopefully] a fun one! So recently, the fridge has been looking a bit bland and I decide to spice it up with some pretty magnets. I have tons of those ugly business magnets that random businesses mail out and they are absolutely no use to me. Back when I was a little girl in elementary school, I bought my mother a porcelain plaque type thing at a school event. I gave it to my mother later that day - who loved it - but she didn't know where to place it. She and I both decided to turn it into a magnet. And that's where the creativity for this DIY was fished out from! Recently, however, the magnet I placed on the back of the plaque has been falling off so I created an improved version of this DIY! Enjoy~

Step 1:

Find some objects around the house that are small, not too heavy, and are flat at the back. Here, I'm using the plaque I bought, but you could also use stones or other sentimental objects.

See my reflection?

As you can see, the first time I made this plaque into a magnet, I used magnetic scraps from a magnetic checkers game (that I still have! haha). I was very creative in my youth. I scraped off the magnets and started with a clean slate.

Step 2:

Find a few business magnets that you do not need. You will be cutting these up, so make sure they aren't anything important! 

Place the magnets on the back of your object and trace out any parts that need to be cut. I cut out sections for the ribbon and I trimmed the edges a bit. Also, I did this part backwards. Make sure the magnet side is facing up. Luckily, the edges I needed to trim were all symmetrical so no worries! 

Step 3:

That is henna on my hand because I did this during Eid weekend! 

Use a very strong glue to glue down the magnets onto your object. I used Super Glue glue, but Hot Glue should also work. 

yay for weird lighting change

This is how mine turned out! Make sure you wait for the glue to dry before you place it on the fridge.

Finished!

I also found a few class marbles with flat backs, painted them, and cut out small circles to create cute little magnets! Also, these magnets are totally useful - they will hold papers up! 

~Misbah

Life Update: Why I Stopped Blogging (Temporarily)

Hello everyone! It's been a while since my last post and I know, I haven't been up to date with my Tuesday-Thursday blog days, BUT I've been quite the busy bee lately!

I have not posted since September 13th and now it's October 3rd! Where did all the time go?! As you all may know, I am a freshman in college and university has been interesting. I wouldn't say I'm having too much fun, but it's okay. Class has been "eh" and everything has just been a whole big ball of "eh" at university. I'm a full time student so my first batch of exams just finished this past week. I was swamped with online homework, quizzes, and exams almost every week during the month of September. Aside from that, I had to attend parties every weekend and do a whole bunch of other stuff while studying and I was honestly a mess.

However, I am alive and well! I made it through my first batch of exams and they went pretty good! I studied like no other and it really did pay off :) That being said, exams are not until the end of this month which means that I am FREEEEE to blog every Tuesday and Thursday. Also, I have decided that when times get busy, I'll have a few queued posts to post. That way, it will seem like I never stopped blogging hehe. 

I actually have tons of ideas for DIY's and related things to post in the future! I also have my September favorites to post which will probably come out Tuesday...yes Tuesday! 

Thanks for reading my ridiculous blog and being with me through every trial and tribulation!

~Misbah