Tips on studying by Kavya Chunduru

 When a big test comes up, it's hard to stay on task for hours on end without getting distracted. Here are some productivity tips to help you on your next test. 

First, plan your study schedule ahead of time. You don’t want to cram study it all in one day cause that could lead to you being so overwhelmed. Plan your days before you start studying and divide the topics up so you can focus on a topic or two a day. This could help a lot because it's hard for your brain to process so many things in a short amount of time.

Next, adding on to the tip before, set study goals for each day. It helps you have something set in place. After achieving each goal you could think that you were finished for that unit or sub unit and there wasn’t much more to do for it.

Set yourself specific break times. Not taking breaks while you're studying can do more harm than good. That's why you set yourself specific times that you can get up and take a stretch break. You have to be careful about breaks because it's easy to forget about time and end up spending too much time on your phone or doing something else and losing time and focus. 

When taking notes, use brighter colors to understand concepts better, like red and blue. Research shows that the color red helps you focus and the color blue helps spark creativity. Using those colors, you can understand your notes faster and easier.

Lastly, listen to music. I find that listening to music motivates me for when I want to get things done fast. Don’t listen to fast paced loud music, but find some quiet music on your streaming app that you can play into the background or turn down the volume a lot if you're using earbuds.

Now, hopefully you can use these and apply them when you're studying for your next test in school.

How young is too young for social media? Article by: Svetina S

 How young is too young for social media?

Article by: Svetina S

How old were you when you got your first phone? Chances are, the younger you are, the earlier you got it. People born in the early 2000s might have gotten their phones in high school. Those born in the late 2000s might have gotten theirs in middle school. Now, there are elementary schoolers walking around with phones, and children even younger- in strollers even- have their faces plastered to an iPad before they have even learned to walk. With this comes the various dangers associated with technology- such as addiction, insecurity, and sexualization- at an extremely young age.

Short-form content has been on the rise recently, mostly because it is extremely addicting. Apps can personalize the for you page or explore page with almost creepy accuracy, keeping people hooked for as long as possible. With this, I believe that people become accustomed to instant gratification. If they don’t like a video, they can replace it within seconds with a swipe of their finger. Learning this behavior as a child may carry effects into adulthood, as I have seen that children are extremely susceptible to stimuli from their environments as they grow. 

What’s more, social media could create unhealthy standards and promote sexualized behavior for children. Platforms like Instagram and TikTok feature women who seem too beautiful to be real, with hourglass figures and perfect features. In my opinion, ingraining this image of beauty in the mind of a child could shape how they perceive themselves. Furthermore, a lot of content is oversexualized to attract viewers, and there are vulgar lyrics in many trending songs. It seems like children are growing up too fast, and social media might be why.

So, how young is too young exactly? While there may not be a definite answer, it’s clear that social media can have negative effects on youth. In my opinion, children should not have unrestricted access to the internet until they are in middle school, and even then, their use should be monitored. Let’s do better for the next generation. After all, they are our future.

Book Review: The Five People You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom Article by: Svetina S

 Book Review: The Five People You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom

Article by: Svetina S

What happens once you die? This idea has been questioned for generations upon generations. It is a fundamental part of human thinking- hardly anyone has gone their entire lives without thinking about it at least once. A commonly-discussed idea is that of heaven: an idyllic place where you can spend the rest of your dying days in peace. However, Mitch Albom has a different idea of what heaven is like.

The Five People You Meet In Heaven follows the story of Eddie, an 80 year old war veteran with a leg injury. He spends his days working maintenance at Ruby Pier, a seaside amusement park. However, one day, tragedy strikes, and Eddie dies in an accident. He wakes up in heaven, and meets five people from his past, all with the same goal: to show Eddie the meaning of his life.

Mitch Albom’s books are written beautifully, and his language immerses you in the atmosphere of his literature. His works have an air of nostalgia, creating a romantic and charming ambience. You fall in love with the characters as if they were real people(and they are- his characters are based off of his family!), and you will finish the book with a full feeling in your heart. Few books have a good plot, and even fewer have good writing. The Five People You Meet in


Heaven has both. Mitch Albom is able to put life itself on paper. His books are short but powerful, and you will not be the same after reading them. The Five People You Meet in Heaven is a must-read!