As the school year slowly wraps up, this blog is a freshman year edition for the tools I’ve found useful, which varies from general advice, websites, YouTube learning channels, and music channels!
──── General Advice ────
(Not the expert, but here’s some advice coming from a 9th going on 10th grader)
School / Time Management
- Take notes carefully in class. You don’t have to copy everything down but trust me, you’ll be thankful for those notes when it’s exam season
- Read textbooks & preview/review chapters (notebook). I know this is difficult for a lot of people (ME TOO 😭😭), but I think once you incorporate this into part of your daily schedule, you’ll grow used to it. It’s also pretty useful because you get a better hang of whatever the teacher is teaching! You also don’t have to read for a long time, but 15-30 minutes daily, and if you read and master the material beforehand, you won’t have to cram everything in one night when it’s exam season
- Try to stop procrastination. Our best friend procrastination… I know it’s tempting to scroll through your phone/electronic devices or do something else right after school, but you’ll be grateful if you do your homework first! Lesson learned: If you don’t have a class every day, it’s best to finish your homework on the day you received it, NEVER leave it for the last minute (you will soon be pulling all-nighters or rushing throughout the night, trust me 😭)
- Be productive but make it fun at the same time. This sounds difficult and contradictory, but something I like to do is write small to-do lists every day or set mini goals! You’ll feel accomplished once you finish them <3
- Something else you could try is to use cute timers like Forest (phone, iPad), they create the mood quickly for learning
- Make your notes aesthetic! Use highlighters and cute pens, if you don’t have inspiration you can search online hehe, but one thing is that USEFUL NOTES is better than PRETTY NOTES, and please review them
- Find a study buddy! It can either be a figurine you really like, or a stuffed animal that makes you smile. Even if you’re not in the mood to study or you’re in a bad mood, it’ll instantly help you feel better <3 (BUT PLEASE DON’T GET DISTRACTED LOL)
- Change the environment! I love studying at cafes^^
- Reward yourself! After studying for a duration of time, treat yourself to something or do something that you like (this leads us to our next point lol)
- Rest in between. Focus well when you’re focusing, and you can rest afterward (but do something productive like baking, drawing, or doing hobbies hopefully WITHOUT looking at electronic devices. PLEASE don’t just doomscroll through your phone, it’ll drain all your energy … 🙏)
──── Websites ────
(e.g. my dashboard)
- Category: Organization
- Summary:
- Great for preparing for new school years, keeping up with your schedule, goals, etc. Very aesthetically pleasing haha
- I’ve even seen some people on YouTube who take notes on Notion! Honestly, I prefer notebooks over anything digital, but it’s up to you :’) Though if you’re in a rush and the teacher is talking too quickly, using a laptop to keep track of notes (Notion) is quite nice, I guess
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- Category: English Vocabulary
- Summary:
- I haven’t learned vocabulary in SUCH A LONG TIME but this is really fun, and I think you can actually learn something from it! You basically pick a topic to start learning, and they’ll provide you with questions (you can even learn words from books!)
- My favorite part, though, is the vocabulary jams! It’s so fun to do them honestly, you can start your own (learn with friends!) or join those started by Vocabulary.com themselves
- I’m pretty sure there’s also a Vocabulary Bowl which I’ve never tried, but this website just has a lot of activities (you can try your own spelling bee)
- It’s a great dictionary too !!! (I use this website for my ‘vocabulary’ blogs haha)
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(e.g. my Pinterest page)
- Category: Inspiration
- Summary:
- ik, ik, but this is my go-to when writing (great for researching, worldbuilding, and establishing book vibes, though one downside I’ve noticed is that some of the ‘aesthetic names’ are rather… aesthetic)
- This is also very motivational for studying? Aesthetic Pinterest girl vibes hehe
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PapaCambridge & Best Exam Help (VPN)
- Category: Past paper
- Summary:
- List of past papers for various subjects, with mark schemes. The dates are sorted very carefully, and I’ve found them super useful when checking mock tests!
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- Category: Reading
- Summary:
- For all of those students who want to download books (novels and textbooks alike) but never find a free website, this is the perfect one for you! Out of all the books I’ve searched for so far, they have everything, so this is SUPER helpful
──── Learning Channels (YouTube, VPN required) ───
(Note: If you don’t have YouTube/VPN, maybe try BiliBili! I’m pretty sure they also have these videos uploaded there and a great range of materials)
General
- Category: Basically covers everything lol (SAT, AP, English, Economics, Sciences, etc.)
- Summary:
- I’ve watched Khan Academy since I was in second grade, and although I don’t use it as much anymore, it is really a FANTASTIC learning channel!
- Not only does it cover a lot of different topics, but they also explain everything very clearly. I especially loved learning Grammar, because it was so humorous and interesting, and you could really understand it easily with lots of examples and illustrations (drawn on a black board)
- Their videos are also on the website version, with practice problems and unit tests, so if you’re looking for something to commit to this is great in my opinion!
- Website: Khan Academy | Khan Academy
Sciences
- Category: Biology
- Summary:
- This was the channel that first got me interested in biology 💗 I love their cartoons (the drawings are chef’s kiss and soo adorable, there’s even merch lol), the sisters’ sense of humor, and everything is just explained pretty simply <3
- Personally, I really like their way of teaching and even have the copy of their cartoon book, though one downside for me is that if your school is a fixed IB/AP/A-level curriculum, Amoeba Sisters is mainly for high school biology in general, so it might not cover every topic you come across.
- Website: SCIENCE WITH THE AMOEBA SISTERS – Home
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- Category: Biology, Chemistry, Physics
- Summary: I don’t use this that often, but they explain the concepts quite well. It’s basically sort of like these class presentations made by the teacher, though I think it’s good to pause a few times in order to go over the information.
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- Category: Math, Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Psychology
- Summary:
- This is very useful for both revision and learning, especially if you don’t like watching long videos :p It’s honestly a miracle how the channel can cover EVERYTHING in less than 10 minutes (I’m pretty sure the shortest I watched was 3-4 minutes ??)
- He also lists everything out very clearly (with illustrations as well), so it’s good for copying notes!
- They have a website too, which contains more practice problems, the same videos, revision flashcards, etc., which is very helpful for studying GCSE, A-level, and O-level
- Website: Dashboard | Cognito
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- Category: Math
- Summary:
- This is honestly pretty similar to Cognito, though it focuses solely on Math (A-level, GCSE, EDEXCEL, etc.)
- The videos are a lot longer (10-30 minutes I believe), but they have a lot more various practice problems, which is super helpful! I use this most of the time for Math, and it’s really good 😀
- He also has a website, but I’ve never checked it out before. If you like his videos though, you should definitely take a look at it!
- Website: 1st Class Maths – Free online GCSE Maths Revision
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- Category: Math
- Summary:
- If you’ve learned most of the material already and want to practice with word problems, this is the channel for you! He goes over lots of different topics and provides many various questions, and he explains everything pretty clearly (I would say)
- I suggest you watch it at a faster speed though as the videos are VERY lengthy, and by ‘VERY lengthy’, I mean that his videos are 40 minutes and above. If you get distracted though, I suggest you split it into different parts/questions and rest in between.
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- Category: Math
- Summary: This channel has a lot of interesting techniques about how they solve math problems, which I think is very fun to watch!
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- Category: Math, Chemistry (hence the name I guess?), Physics
- Summary: I think basically everyone knows this channel haha, it’s pretty popular! He also uses a black board to explain lots of topics, sort of like Khan Academy, and does a lot of word problems. He explains problems in simple words, which I find very useful! But honestly, I don’t watch this that often :’)
- Website: Video-Tutor.net – Home
English / Writing & Reading
- Category: English
- Summary:
- This pretty much got me through IGCSE English First Language, and I’m sure it’ll be helpful for IGCSE English Literature too
- She includes past paper questions and answers them together with you, and she also makes her own presentations! My English teacher also used her materials, and I think I got the hang of some questions pretty easily because she explains VERY WELL
- There are also model answers, and although I’ve never tried one before, she’s created videos where you time yourself to do an entire paper, and she’ll walk it through with you after. Like I said, this is very helpful hehe^^
- Website: Home – Taughtly
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- Category: Writing
- Summary:
- I’ve started watching this channel since 2020 (6 years ago…? the realization-) and it’s accompanied me throughout my writing journey! She gives such genuine writer advice, ways to publish/write/plan/begin your book, character personalities, vlogs, etc.
- She also uses a range of inferences from different books and movies, and although I’m not officially (?) in the writer community, I think you’ll definitely enjoy her videos as an aspiring/working author!
- Website: Abbie Emmons – Make Your Story Matter
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- Category: Writing
- Summary:
- I discovered this recently, and she mostly talks about ways to publish your book, how to rewrite parts and what readers/agents look for (she’s a book editor herself at Penguin Random House I think)
- She also talks about writer scandals/the impact of AI on the author world, which is very crucial and interesting in my opinion!
- Website: Alyssa Matesic | Professional Book and Novel Editing
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- Category: Writing
- Summary:
- Ana Neu also discusses a large range of writing topics (how to brainstorm, plan, plot, create Pinterest boards and character profiles, writing vlogs, etc.)
- Personally, as an aspiring author, her videos are super inspirational! She also has a podcast on Spotify (I’ve never listened to it, but I think it must be pretty motivating) and her own website
- Website: ananeu
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- Category: Reading
- Summary:
- This is honestly just a channel I came across while searching for book (classics?) summaries/study guides, but I love the way they explain the plotline and analyze detailed parts! It’s very intriguing 😀 You should check this out if you’re looking to write a book report or an essay for English about a classic, very helpful lol
- Website: Study Guides & Essay Editing | GradeSaver
──── Music Channels ────
- Category: Lofi
- Summary:
- So aesthetically pleasing eekk 🫶🏻! I especially love the bubble and rain ones, they’re very soothing. There’s also a lot of different vibes (Christmas, color-coded, treats), named Lofi tracks, and motivating quotes <3
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- Category: Lofi
- Summary:
- The illustrations are so adorable aww, and their music is really good! They’re separated into different albums with different tracks, and each song even has its own vibe hehe
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- Category: K-pop
- Summary:
- Suitable for fans of K-pop! They post songs and 1-hour versions, though they honestly don’t have a lot (?) You’ll have to check, please don’t be disappointed if you don’t find them 😅
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- Category: Lofi, K-pop
- Summary:
- This is my own YouTube channel so why not advertise it here? Lmao
- I make a new playlist every few weeks/months with different K-pop songs, and I’ve even created my own Lofi music using Soundtrap! If you could check this out, I’d really appreciate it, tysmm
I hope this blog helped you in some way, and have a lovely day/night~
Also, I wish everyone a happy summer (if you’re on holiday already, have a wonderful summer holiday!), and good luck to all the people taking their exams. You can do this 🍀.܁⋆
6/5/26 ♡
