0 CommentsFinals can be a mind-boggling amount of work, but guess what’s not?
Welcome back to the Bwogcast! In this episode, Staff Writers Avery Baumel, Erika Avallone, and Julie Chow, brace you for finals with study tips, procrastination techniques, and more! We promise more fun and insights than you’d imagine for reading week! Audio on Spotify and transcript below. Enjoy!
Transcription:
*Fun intro music*
Avery: Hi Bwog Nation! Welcome back to the Bwogcast.
All: Yay!
Avery: I’m Avery Baumel, CC [Columbia College] class of ‘26.
Erika: I’m Erica Avallone, I’m Barnard ‘26.
Julie: I’m Julie Chow, I’m Barnard ‘25.
Erika: Let’s start with our rose-bud-thorns for the week or the semester or just kind of like wherever something happened. So I’ll go first. My rose for today was… I finished my 15-page paper, which was so great, but I’m not entirely sure if it’s all good, but that’s okay as long as it’s in! My bud was that I’m almost done with my second final paper that’s due tomorrow, and my thorn was honestly, no, something bad had to happen today.
Oh, I went for a run and it was very, very windy and I really thought the cars were going to be the last people that saw me before I was swept into the river. So that’s my thorn for the day. And my bud and my rose.
Avery: I saw your Strava update for your run –
Erika: – because –
Avery: it was cute!
Erika: I really, I really thought I was going to, like, not be alive anymore. I was very nervous and nobody else was on the highway. So for like me and this one guy and he was going really fast and I was like, first of all, you’re making me feel kind of bad about myself. And also, you don’t look like you’re going to save me if I just kind of, bloop, go over. But I made it! I made it back. And then I had to run to my class. And it was kind of pointless though, because we didn’t do anything in the class. So I was like –
Julie: Aww.
Erika: So I’m stressed for nothing. Thank you.
Avery: Wait, did you run on the – like by the river?
Erika: Yeah.
Avery: Okay, yeah.
Erika: That’s where – why the –
Avery: It’s so pretty.
Erika: Yeah, it’s pretty when it’s not windy and cold and winter, but it was a nice winter vibe.
Avery: Yeah.
Erika: So I don’t know.
Avery: So overall good!
Erika: Overall good. But it was still a thorn in my side. But I did see lots of dogs.
Avery (laughing): A thorn in your side!
Erika: Yeah. So let’s see how it goes tomorrow.
Avery: Okay, amazing!
Erika: Thank you!
Avery: Julie, do you want to go?
Julie: Sure! So my rose for today: I finished like two finals –
Avery/Erika: Yay!!
Julie: and for one hour there, I wasn’t able to, like, get into the Digital Humanities room because somebody booked the room for, like, until 4 [P.M.] and I had something due at 5 [P.M.]. And I was super adamant, “Oh no, this is a priority for, like, media projects.” And they got – and then yeah, so I was like really late on time –
Avery: Oh, yay.
Julie: And then uh, my bud, um, I don’t know, I’m just trying to be alive for like two days before I start to, like, think about why I procrastinated for like two other finals.
Erika: Mm.
Avery: This is so true.
Julie: And then my thorn. So like in today’s presentation, we got a bit over time and I almost did a talk like, over, like, 30 seconds and now I’m worried like, how’s that going to go?
Erika: No, I think it’s okay.
Avery: It should be all good.
Erika: It’s over now, so that’s – Sorry, these are supposed to be thorns, not buds, or roses.
Avery: What are you talking about?
Erika: I don’t know.
Avery: Wait, when are your next finals? Are they next week?
Julie: Uh, it’s like, due, like around, like, the 13th, around – December 13th.
Avery: Okay, so you have a little bit of time.
Erika: That’s good!
Avery: Am I going?
Erika: Yes!
Avery: I, okay, my rose is – I had my final class of my dance criticism class, my favorite thing in –
Erika/Julie: Aww!
Avery: – the whole wide world. Anyway, and we presented zines as our final project, which was so cool. Also shout out to the Barnard Zine Library because that’s such a cool space. And that’s where I learned about zines.
Erika: Go zines, go zines!
Avery: Go zines, go Barnard, go Milstein! And so we presented them and everyone’s was so beautiful. And it was like – I felt like so inspired to make art and it was really cool and fun. Um, so that was awesome. My, I’m not doing my bud in the middle because I’m going to end –
Erika: Oh!
Avery: – on an uplifting note!
Erika: Aww, that’s so nice, that’s so nice of you!
Julie: Cute!
Avery: Anyway, my thorn was that – I honestly – Oh, my thorn – I was telling Erika about this earlier, but I got a hazelnut coffee from Pret and I did not like it and I was really hoping it would be good because I love coffee and so I thought it would be amazing and it just really was not hitting, um, but that’s okay! There are other coffees that are better.
Julie: Like – everyone who is going to Pret tells me, like, I hate this, like a new specific thing every day.
Avery: Okay, the thing with Pret is I don’t actually think it’s good. I think just it’s so convenient, here, and also because of the subscription, like it’s so cost-effective.
Erika: Wait, do you normally like hazelnut though?
Avery: Yeah like I like Nutella, but I don’t know if that counts.
Erika: Okay, no, that does count.
Avery: I like hazelnut as a flavor for sure. I don’t know if I’ve – do people eat hazelnuts? This is another thought. Like as a – by themselves?
Erika: I think – I don’t think so. The first thing that I think of when you say that is (sings) “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire” (all laughing).
Julie: I mostly consider hazelnut as like a color rather than, like, a flavor
Avery: No, right.
Erika: Oh, a color!
Avery: It’s like a color and Nutella and maybe coffee and that’s about it. This is so interesting. Okay so investigative article when?
Erika: About hazelnuts.
Avery: About hazelnuts.
Erika: Someone get on that at Bwog, if you’re listening, okay.
Avery: Yeah. Bwog friends. Anyway, so didn’t like that. I love – Okay the thing with – Yeah. Anyway, that’s my thought. Pret also has a chocolate chai latte, which could be the best or the worst thing in the world. So that’s my next adventure. We’ll see.
Julie: Okay. Two girls one snack.
Avery: I have low expectations. Yeah. Yeah, two girls one snack! Okay, anyway, and then my bud… Oh, gosh. Oh, tomorrow I’m going back to see my friends from last year. I’m a transfer student, so I’m going back to see my old college friends, and they’re going to do their, like, fall performance show. And I was just texting one of my friends about the tap piece. And it’s wild, and it’s like a prequel to this random TV show episode, and it sounds like the coolest thing ever in a tap piece. And so, yeah, I’m just so excited to see what that is and to see all my friends. So that should be amazing.
Erika: Aww, I’m excited for you to experience this bud.
Avery: Thank you.
Erika: You’re welcome.
Avery: I really appreciate that.
Erika: Um, okay, should we talk about some winter traditions and stuff that’s been happening on campus and stuff like that?
Avery: I went to Ferris today for dinner right before I came here, and they had the, like, all the holiday decorations up and I feel like I’ve been seeing them all around campus and it’s been so nice.
Erika: Were there like little twinkly lights and stuff?
Avery: Well, okay, the thing is, so you know, like, the main part of Ferris, like where they have the dessert tables, like above that on the ceiling – I’m like, raising my hands to the ceiling. Sorry for those listening at home – was like, these icicle lights. And so they were like.
Erika: Ooh.
Avery: Like, lights, that were kind of like, long.
Erika: Oh my gosh, wait, I know what that is.
Avery: Yes. And then they like, were, like, the light part of it was like going up and down, like as if it was like, waterfalling, and it was so cute. They had like, little, like, you know, like, I don’t know what it is. Foam, I guess, that looks like snow. Not foam… Thin layers of cotton ball material.
Erika: I mean, shout out to the people that decorate dining halls for the holidays.
Avery/Julie: Yeah.
Erika: You guys are great and you make me want to go there more.
Avery: Is Hewitt decorated?
Erika: No.
Avery: Is Hewitt ever decorated? I feel like I haven’t been to Hewitt on holidays –
Erika: Well, they –
Avery: I’m sorry Hewitt, I love Hewitt.
Erika: They did do a cookie decorating thing today.
Avery: Wait that’s – that’s so cute!
Erika: But, like, I didn’t go to it because I didn’t know when it was, and it was over by like 2:00.
Julie: Oh, yeah.
Erika: So I feel like that would benefit more a dinner situation. But also, like, that’s a lot of people. I know John Jay was really nice today and like, it was really cute and they had good music and, yeah, but, but Hewitt is, was not so great. But that’s okay. Hewitt. You can recover.
Anyway, but I like Hewitt.
Avery: I don’t know what I was going to say. Oh, I went to John Jay for lunch and they had iced chai, like in the dining hall.
Erika: No way.
Avery: And, like, it wasn’t great, like it was not good chai, but like it was chai, which was kind of amazing.
Erika: That’s impressive.
Julie: It’s like, there is just been all these, like, new things in the restaurant without me knowing it ever! I know my friends went to Ferris the other day and she had like egg Benedicts. Why don’t they ever serve those when I’m there?
Avery: I feel like somebody wrote a Bwog article about that.
Erika: Oh, yeah!
Avery: Shoutout Bwog article about that.
Erika: Yes, oh my gosh, okay. Wait – what was –
Avery: Anyway, no, you’re so right. Like, I feel like they don’t advertise these always like –
Erika: No, they don’t.
Avery: I just show up and I’m like, Oh, hi chai latte!
Erika: There are –
Avery: It’s amazing.
Erika: new things, new events.
Avery: Okay. So the goal of today’s episode, because we do have a goal, we’re not just going to ramble, as much as we love doing that, um, is to talk about studying and finals and what we’re doing and what you should be doing and what you should not be doing, but maybe probably will.
Erika: Yeah, yeah. We’re going to cover all the basics.
Avery: And also procrastination techniques if you are so inclined. Such as? Well, you’ll find out. Silly things. Silly things will come. So, do we want to start – what do we want to start with?
Erika: We can start with, like, some favorite study spots that we have on campus and stuff like that. So I would say, we were talking about this before we got here. The green chairs in Milstein. Like, I used to hate them. I used to hate them with every single fiber in my being because usually – one, they’re not available most of the time.
Avery: Yeah, preach.
Erika: They are not – they are not near outlets. My back sometimes hurts, and usually I just get very cold. But that’s just like a more Milstein problem.
Avery: That’s a you problem.
Erika: Yeah, okay. Yeah, but whatever. Usually I hate the green chairs. However, this week when I was writing all my thousands of essays, I found myself very comfortable in the green chairs –
Avery: Interesting.
Erika: And very productive. And I like to sit there. I look out the window, I just write my paper, the green chair still goes back and forth and now I know where the ones by outlets are. So I don’t have to, like, scavenge for an outlet. And yeah, so basically I like the green chairs now, but I know you have other feelings, Avery.
Avery: Okay, before I get into my other feelings, Julie, would you like to share your feelings? I don’t want to bias anyone. I have strong opinions.
Julie: I feel like I’m neutral with the green chairs.
Avery: Okay.
Julie: I just don’t understand, like, how they put the outlets. Like, there’s an outlet, like, next to the sculpture in the middle, I don’t know who’s going to be using that?
Erika: I agree, it’s so weird.
Julie: Like, every time I look at it I’m like “I really need an outlet, and that’s the only one I’m looking at,” like, okay, I can’t sit there.
Avery: Maybe the solution is just we need to charge our devices before we go study.
Erika: Or, they need to replace those stupid blue things.
Avery: No, I love the – wait, the blue things that we were sitting on?
Erika: No, not the couches. The, like, weird blue bubble cushion things that have outlets that you, like, really can’t sit or lie down on. Do you know what I’m talking about, Julie?
Avery: I don’t think I know what you’re talking about.
Julie: The second floor?
Erika: Yeah, like when you walk right up the stairs.
Avery: Oh, the ones that are, like, curvy?
Erika: Mmhmm, yeah.
Avery: Oh, I love those too. Okay, I made a friend sitting on one of those, though, like, I genuinely made a friend on one of those, so I have good memories.
Erika: Those made me wish I broke my back.
Avery: Okay. Um, I’m going to go back to my green chair thoughts, which is, okay, shoutout Tal, we love you Tal –
Erika: Yay Tal!
Avery: Um, anyway, Tal wrote this article about the green chairs. That was, like, it was a silly scientific analysis of why they’re bad for your back. And I read that maybe, I don’t know, what, like a couple – maybe a month ago. And I had been using, I had been a green chair fanatic like you (Erika laughs), like you, in my youth I was a green chair fanatic. And then I started to notice that my back had been hurting also around like a month ago, which I was like, I assumed it was because of dance.
Erika: Wait, what?
Avery: Yeah. So I assumed that my back was hurting because of dance. Because I was like, I dance a lot, whatever, I do things that my body probably shouldn’t do on a daily basis. And then I was like, wait, after I read the article, I was like, huh, I’ve been spending the past week, like pretty much only on the green chairs and my back has been hurting this past week. And so then I experimented and I stopped using the green chairs and my back felt better. And then I was like, “There’s no way.” So then I just happened to be in a green chair a different day. And then that night my back was hurting. And I have noticed a serious direct correlation.
Erika: Wait, what?
Avery: No, like I genuinely think it’s true. Like they’re not good for your back.
Erika: Like your upper back or your lower back?
Avery: Love your back! Um, I don’t have enough specificity of anatomical knowledge to know, but part of my back, I don’t know.
Erika: Wait, now I’m a little nervous.
Avery: Yeah, be warned, Bwog community.
Erika: But wait, what? Okay, because this is… wait a second.
Avery: Right? Like, if you think about sitting in the – in those chairs, like, it’s not, it’s comfortable in some ways, and in other ways, it’s really not.
Erika: Wait, I don’t want to believe that about the green chairs. I just started to like them, aww.
Avery: I feel like they’re okay – I noticed – because I did experimentation, guys, like really serious – I noticed that if I stayed in them for longer than like, I don’t know, maybe like two – an hour and a half or something, like that was when it started to hurt.
Erika: Wait, like, you don’t get up and walk around.
Avery: Mm, yeah.
Erika: Oh, see…
Avery: Okay, this is like problem set era, like, you know? I would sit in a chair, do my whole problem set and then be like, well, my back hurts and I’m sad. And then… that was how that went.
*Transition Sound*
Julie: So we are sitting here in Uris library.
Avery: Uris library.
Erika: This is Uris? (Avery/Julie laugh) Wait, what? Wait, are you serious?
Julie: Oh, my god.
Avery: Can we include this?
Erika: Yeah, yeah, wait, I didn’t know this was Uris! Wait, oh my gosh.
Julie: Where do you think this is? (Avery laughs)
Avery: Wait, Erika, where do you think we are?
Erika: It’s the business school, or something, so I was like, okay.
Avery: Where do you think the business school is?
Erika: Here! But I thought – I didn’t know that Uris was –
Julie: What’s the name of this building?
Erika: I just thought it was the business school. I didn’t know it had a name.
Avery: Okay. So moving past that, this is an ad for the business library, which is in Uris. We love it. We – have you – Julie, have you been here before today?
Julie: Yeah! I’ve had a few classes on some floor, and stuff like that.
Avery: Okay, so Erika and I have not been here. I was here once. Erika’s so distracted by the people, right now.
Erika: I just. I can’t believe that this is Uris. Wow.
Julie: Have you heard of this before? Heard of this building?
Erika: I did, but I just didn’t – I thought it was by… like… Dodge? No, I thought it was by Mudd.
Avery: I mean, this is kind of by Mudd.
Erika: No, it’s not.
Avery: Like, if we – Yes, it is!
Erika: Okay. It’s kind of by Mudd. But I thought it was closer to the central location of Mudd.
Avery: Okay, I think I know where you thought it was, yeah, like I know the vibe. Where north – where Pupin is.
Erika: See, I don’t know where that one is either.
Avery: Okay, so Erika doesn’t know buildings. Anyway, so, um, I have not been here before today, but I kind of love it like it is actually very, it’s very pretty.
Erika: You know what it is –
Avery: We’re in one of the little study rooms and they’re very nice and I booked one, and it was very easy to book one, so shoutout that.
Erika: And you know what it would be? A good study spot! Which means we’re going to get into our favorite places to study and how to study! Does anyone want to go first?
Avery: That was the best transition of all time.
Erika: You’re welcome.
Avery: Do you want to go first? Since you brought it up.
Erika: I will go first. Okay.
Avery: Clearly not here.
Erika: Yeah. So this is not my favorite study spot. Not because it is horrible, but because I didn’t know it existed at all. But my favorite study spot would be the reading rooms in Butler. If they’re open, which they’re usually not. But if they’re open, they’re great because there’s like peer pressure to study. But it’s also, you’re in a small table, you got space, you – it’s quiet, it’s very nice. It’s also kind of pretty, if you look at it as a pretty thing.
Avery: Wait, wait, what does that mean?
Erika: Like, if you’re, if you’re like, Oh, this is so nice, then it is pretty. But if you’re like, I just don’t want to study, then it’s not gonna be pretty.
Avery: Okay.
Erika: But my second favorite spot, which has been my more recent favorite spot, is Milstein in the green chairs! But now I might have to switch that so I don’t get lower back problems. So that was it for my favorite study spots. Um, Avery, Julie, does anybody want to go next?
Julie: I feel like mine’s super personal. I kind of like places where there’s supposed to be a lot of people but there aren’t many.
Avery: Whoa.
Julie: Yeah. So like the Digital Humanities room. Because there’s an outlet under each, um, sort of like laptop. Yeah. Like each and every one, there’s like three rows of them, I can just hop on to any, and there won’t be many people there.
Avery: That sounds like utopia, I will say.
Erika: It does. Stuff is never charged and it probably should be, but it’s just not.
Avery: My iPad is always –
Julie: Yeah whoever listens to this and then you want to find a regular stable outlet place –
Avery: But now it’s not gonna be, because you revealed the location.
Erika: Now everyone’s gonna go.
Avery: You need to gatekeep it.
Julie: If, if people are listening, it’s great.
Avery: Go, but also, like, don’t go.
Erika: Yeah, let’s gatekeep this for the community that’s listening in. So.
Avery: I have so many this is, like, my favorite question, sorry guys. So um, I’m going to say I really love Avery Library, not just because it is named after me, um, don’t look at me like that. I think it’s really cute. I also feel like there’s just a bunch of different spaces. So my, like – I love to study where I’ll, like, be in one place and do one task and then I’ll just get up and move to an entirely different space, even if it’s in the same building, and then do like a different task there, because I feel like, something about that kickstarts my brain to be like, I am doing this task here because otherwise I get so distracted by everything else. And I feel like there’s a couple of different places in Avery that are very distinct from each other, so it really works for my brain. And there’s also a spooky little basement. I saw a rat there once but it was okay, because it was kind of a cute rat.
Erika: No.
Avery: Also, you know, there’s like fun architecture stuff there and it’s really pretty. Other than the rat.
Erika: You saw a rat?
Avery: The rat was not pretty. I – yeah.
Erika: Did it like run by you?
Avery: Well, okay, so in the basement of Avery, the basement of Avery, it’s like – I don’t know, it’s kind of unfinished. It’s not unfinished.
Erika: I don’t know where that is.
Avery: It’s also sort of near here.
Erika: Oh, great. So everything is kind of near here, but I don’t know where that is. (Avery/Julie laugh).
Avery: I’ll show you. Um, Avery Library, is near Uris, and also vaguely on the way to Mudd if you’re coming from Low Library. It’s kind of, like, next to Low Library. Like if you’re facing Low, it’s on the left [I meant right I do know my left from my right I promise].
Erika: I kind of know where this is. Okay.
Avery: Anyway, the basement is like, sort of unfinished a little bit, like it’s there’s not a lot of – the tables are kind of very – they’re not like fancy tables. They’re just sort of there. But there’s lots of architecture on the walls and stuff, like little – sketchy things and they’re very cool. So there were like these garbage cans and a rat was in them.
Erika: In the basement?
Avery: Yeah.
Erika: Oh my – I’m not going there.
Avery: I don’t think I’m selling this very well.
Erika: No, I’m not going there. There was a rat, you kidding me? Sorry. Anyway.
Avery: Um, anyway, okay.
Erika: So the people that maintain Avery, you’re doing a great job.
Avery: We love you!
Erika: Just the rat is not the greatest.
Avery: I do, actually, Once I was there, and I was – This is so embarrassing for me – I was dancing there. I wrote a Bwog article about this, actually.
Erika: Oh, yes. Yes, you did.
Avery: I did. I was dancing. I was practicing – bug piece. Oh, that is the MaMa Project of the Orchesis dance group. Shout out Orchesis.
Erika: Go bug piece.
Avery: Go bug piece. And I was practicing some of that – I don’t even really remember why. And there was a custodian there and we became friends because he was like, that’s cool. What are you doing? And I was telling him about it.
Erika: I wonder if he’s friends with the rat, too.
Avery: Anyway, okay, so one of my other favorite study spots on campus that doesn’t have rats in it, for those who don’t like those things, I recently discovered this, but the Lehman Social Sciences Library.
Erika: Oh, yes!
Avery: In IAB! Yeah, I like, okay, I don’t – because I had a class there and then I dropped it because of scheduling. So I saw it like the first week of campus classes, and then I just never went again.
Erika: It’s so nice.
Avery: So I went back and it’s gorgeous. It’s so stunning. And like, there are lots of little spaces also, which I love, like, I need my little nooks, you know?
Erika: No, it’s so nice. The first time I went there was like, after, whatever, that little two-day break was, the beginning of the November month –
Avery: Like the Election Day break?
Erika: Yes, that one. And it was so nice, it was so pretty. It was quiet, the chairs were nice, but yeah, that’s my opinion. Um, okay. So do we want to get into some study tips?
Avery: (in a silly tone) What do we do to study, everybody? (normal tone) That was really bad, I didn’t like that.
Erika: What do you do to study?
Avery: What do I do to study? I am – okay. I feel like I’m not – this is not my favorite question. I’m bad at studying, I’m still learning. I used to do the Pomodoro method, which is where you do like 25 minutes of studying, and then you take a five-minute break or, like, you could do longer and then take longer breaks. But I feel like I sometimes will get into a groove. And so I need to not take a break sometimes, which is probably bad, like I probably should take a break, but if I’m, like, writing an essay, I need to just write that until I lose creative energy. So my new study tip has been to steal – it’s not stealing – to take some mints from the dining hall, and have them with me when I study. And that’s like a thing. It helps your brain. I don’t really know. The science is – science majors help me out here.
Erika: Is it like, if you finish something, then you get a mint?
Avery: It’s not that direct, but yeah, it’s just sort of like I have a little jar of mints on my desk and sometimes I’ll bring them with me and then I’ll just have them while I’m studying. I think it just makes it more fun, because I have my silly little treat.
Erika: Aww!
Avery: I just – I think my study tip in general is have a silly little treat, because it makes it way more fun. Like, I’ll go to Pret – you’ve seen me at Pret –
Erika: Oh, yes.
Avery: And I’ll study there. And I’ll have a silly drink or I’ll have my mints or I’ll have, like, random candy. You know?
Erika: What’s your favorite candy other than mints? Like to study?
Avery: Mints are not my favorite candy. To study, I don’t know, that’s such a hard question. Maybe. Maybe, like, M&Ms, because they’re tiny, and I like chocolate. But I also love, like –
Erika: I feel like a Jolly Rancher would be good.
Avery: Yeah, I was going to say, those like little Lifesaver hard – which are like, I mean, basically Jolly Ranchers.
Erika: Ooh, yeah.
Avery: Just a different shape. I used to have, I used to have a giant bag of those in my dorm, like the mint hard ones. But I – I love them. I don’t have them now because I haven’t, I just take the mints from the dining hall.
Erika: You don’t need to buy them because you just steal them.
Avery: I have them in my bag right now. That’s my study tip. That’s really not a tip at all.
Erika: But it is, it’s a little method, you know?
Avery: Sure. Hope that helps. Shoutout Pomodoro method and mints.
Erika: So my study tips are – I’m not the greatest studier. That’s why all my classes are writing assignments, because I just like, I just. I can’t review the same thing over and over and over again because my brain is not with it. But when I’m writing something, I don’t listen to music because then it’s just like, too distracting. But if I am – on the off chance that I will listen to music, it’s the piano instrumentals of all the Taylor Swift albums and the Barbie movie albums. They’re so good.
Avery: This is so you.
Erika: So they are so good – the 12 Dancing Princesses part.
Avery: Yes! Yes!
Erika: The instrumentals for that – something in my brain clicks and I’m like, “You are going to finish this and you’re not leaving until you do” and it works. Or, or, or I listen to the Harry Potter, the scene when they’re like battling over Hogwarts and stuff. I listen to that over and over and over again, or I listen to the intro to the Bridgerton Queen Charlotte spin-off over and over and over again.
Avery: That’s so specific and I love it.
Erika: Yeah, that one really helps. But usually I listen to music and I just kind of, like, I usually set a time, so it’s like, okay, I’ll stay till this half-hour. And then once I get to the half-hour then I usually get into a groove and I’m like, okay, now go to the hour. And then if I get to the hour, then I’ll like, go to coffee or go get like a treat or something like that. But yeah, so I guess just – this isn’t really a study tip for me, because I don’t study, because I don’t take classes that I have tests. But yeah, just listen to Hogwarts over and over and over again, and it will help you.
Avery: Great tip, Erika, I’ll be trying it.
Erika: Thank you, yes, it’s very effective.
Julie: Okay. Mine can be exclusive to people who have like – similar traits. I usually – my productivity it for one subject usually peaks when I’m like in class for something else. So like I go to like whatever lecture and then sneak in and just sit there and then just do whatever because everybody’s studying and you feel like you’re also like, in this class as well, but you’re not.
Avery: Wait, this is so brilliant.
Erika: Wait, that – ooh.
Avery: Wait, so did you just, like, go to random ones? Or are they like ones that your friends are in?
Julie: Yeah, just maybe, like, because I’m an English major, maybe, like, Shakespeare. I like to just hear people talking about it and I just go there and then, you know, when you like, like just, like, lift up your head. And then you hear people talking about, like, I don’t know, King Lear. And then you feel like, okay, that’s like, I’m in the environment already.
Erika: Wait, this is so good.
Avery: I love this, this is like, the best study tip I’ve ever heard. This is amazing.
Erika: I’m going to use this.
Avery: Also, I love King Lear. Shoutout King Lear.
Erika: I could go off about King Lear.
Julie: I mean, like, for the past like two years or so I’m here, like what I’ve initially been doing before I declare a major is just to like, audit, like whatever class, without people knowing who I am.
Avery: Oh, that’s so awesome.
Julie: And people would be there and then there would be like discussion groups and I would be there pretending I’m part of it. And if people ask me “When is the midterm?” I’m like, “I have no idea.”
Avery: That’s so great.
Erika: Wait! I’m gonna use that.
Avery: Erika’s trying to write it down. Yeah, but that’s so good and fun.
Julie: Yeah. And then my second tip would be just, because, like, I feel like. Like psychologically speaking, there’s this idea of, like, self-efficacy where you just look at your past achievements, you, like you’ve been through finals again and again. You will get there. So it’s from like a very Hinduism sort of idea, like everybody – everybody at this school, you’re already there. You’re like, you know, you’re not that far away from your desire.
Erika: Oh, I need that right now.
Avery: Yeah, everyone listening. You got this. You’re going to kill finals. And we love you.
Erika: Yeah. Like Julie said, you’ve gotten through it before. You’ll get there before.
Julie: Yeah, so –
Avery: And if you haven’t gotten through it before, you’ll still get through it.
Erika: Yeah. Yeah, that’s true.
Julie: So this is effective when you’re, like, super mentally, like, preparing for, like, something or even though, like, you feel like you’re procrastinating, so, like, you will get there and then, as you get into the mindset of, like, things will be easier.
Avery: That’s so awesome. I feel like we need some STEM study tips.
Erika: You could give a TED talk on that. That was good.
Avery: Yeah, that was so good, I loved that… I’m going to give another study tip because I feel like we’re all little Humanities kids. So if you actually have to study, like actually study for things, I love flashcards and I feel like I forgot about flashcards for a couple years there and then I rediscovered them like last year and it was really awesome for me. And so I am like a polisci girlie, but I also do like some of the polisci research courses that are very like logic or like – right now I’m doing one that’s symbolic logic. So lots of math sort of. It’s not really math.
Erika: It’s math-adjacent, though.
Avery: It’s math adjacent. And I take it – I like math, too. And so I’ll do flashcards and I’ll do like the Quizlet Learn, like so over and over which I know it’s not like super fun, but it’s kind of fun. It’s like a little game. And then I also will do Anki, which is like spaced repetition flashcards, which is a crazy thing, but it’s awesome because it, like, gives you different cards every day in a way that works for your brain. So like, if you know a card really well, it won’t give it to you again for a couple days. But like if you don’t know a card it’ll like, repeat it over and over again more than like other cards. I don’t know how it works, but it’s awesome. So yeah, those are my little STEM tips for our STEM friends.
Erika: That’s great.
Avery: We love you too.
Erika: Yeah. You guys are welcome here, also.
Avery: It’s a safe space.
Avery: Okay, so, um, we wanted to finish out the last section of this podcast by talking about ways to procrastinate because we’re good at that.
Erika: Yeah. And, you know, sometimes you find little elements of happiness in your procrastination ways, and that’s good too, because it’s important to find the joy when you’re studying, because if you don’t, then you’re not going to study anymore. And there you go.
Avery: That’s pretty awesome. Also, procrastination. I feel like we have a really negative word, like it’s kind of negative when you talk about it.
Erika: Yeah – but – and I feel like, though, wait, what, no?
Julie: I don’t think so.
Avery: You don’t – wait – okay, if somebody’s like “I procrastinate a lot.”
Julie: I feel like that’s how we connect to each other.
Erika: Oh, that is good. That is good.
Avery: No – I think it is how we connect to each other. I mean more like when I say, like if you say, “Oh, I’m procrastinating for this final.” Like, like, people see that and like, it’s a negative thing about yourself, yourself, or like about your practices. It’s like, it’s like, Oh, I know I should be doing better, but I’m procrastinating this. And like, obviously you shouldn’t put off something until the day before. Like, that’s not what I’m saying. But I feel like it’s also important to space things out and take breaks.
Erika: Yes. Breaks are really important.
Avery: Like, I know I’ll be like, “Oh, I’m procrastinating for this” when I really just mean like, I’m not doing it every 5 seconds of my life, you know what I mean?
Erika: Yeah.
Julie: Exactly.
Erika: You know, it’s also important to let the stuff marinate, let the information, because if you read something or you like – see, yeah, that’s all I know. If you read something and then you have to write something about it, you can’t just do it like right after reading it, you have to think about it. You have to take some time, go on a walk, go read some Bwog articles.
Avery: We love Bwog articles!
Erika: We love Bwog articles!
Avery: Shoutout Bwog articles.
Julie: Go Bwog!
Erika: Bweekly Roast! Go Chauncey!
Avery: We love the Bweekly Roast. We wrote that down because we wanted to shout it out because we love it so much. I went to one of them the other day and it was very good as the article wrote about it, but I forgot what it was called and I’m so sad, but it was on like I think 103rd. So.
Erika: Was it the picky… peaky… barista?
Avery: No, but I know what you’re talking about. No. And I want to go there though.
Erika: Is it picky or peaky?
Avery: Oh, it wasn’t 103rd. It was the one that’s near Hungarian, that’s like on the way to Hungarian.
Erika: On the way?
Avery: Yes. It’s really new. It’s like it starts with – I feel like it’s Vika’s or something. But it was really good anyway, so that that one’s really good. We love the Bweekly Roast. What other articles have I read? I read Erika’s Late Nite review with a couple other people and that was so awesome. I was there at Late Nite and that was also awesome.
Erika: Late Nite was, like, was very, very, very good. So if you are listening to this and you’re part of Late Nite, good job and we’re proud of you.
Avery: Shoutout that. Also, I would say for me, like going to events on campus or not on campus is my favorite way of like, procrastinating or taking care of my mental health.
Erika: Yeah, it like gives you something to look forward to, so, or that you want to enjoy. So you try to get the thing done and like try to plan things around study time so that you’ll actually study because then you won’t be able to later. What I mean, like when you have an abundance of time, you just don’t do what you’re supposed to.
Avery: And I also feel like, like I went to a Broadway show the other day because of Urban New York, which also – shoutout Urban New York. And so I won that lottery and I went to that show. And then I, like, came home and I feel like I’m so much more able to study this week because I had that moment of like literally getting off campus and seeing something fun and cool and not thinking about school at all for that long. But then when I came back, I don’t know, it’s just like a little mini break, which is awesome. So I don’t know I’m a huge fan of events on campus and off campus. What’s happening? Do we know anything coming up that we should plug?
Erika: If you were in Inspired by French Cinema, also really good job because my sound design class got to kind of sit in on when they were making the set. And the squares, they have to paint a square – like, they have to paint like 20,000 squares on the stage, but they have to repaint the stage every single time there’s a production. So there’s just layers of paint.
Avery: Is this – wait, is it in the GMT? The Glicker-Milstein Theater.
Erika: Oh, yes, yes. I didn’t know there was an abbreviation for it.
Avery: The GMT, if you’re very cool like me.
Erika: Isn’t that also a time zone?
Avery: Yeah… Anyway, um…
Erika: We were talking about procrastination.
Avery: Procrastination, events on campus. I will also say that I’ve been seeing a lot of student dancing lately and it’s so cool to be at a college where there’s so much dance and everyone is so amazing. So by the time this airs, the COLAB show will also have happened. So I hope that goes amazing to everyone involved. I want to go see it, I don’t know if I’m going to be able to, but.
Erika: All the events that are happening when this comes out. Good job in advance, because we know you absolutely will do an amazing job.
Avery: And check out Bwog because there will definitely be events coverage of –
Erika: Oh, yes. Go check out Bwog to see the events.
Avery: Many of them. Um – what else. Oh, okay, I also, I’ve been thinking about this. Can we talk about Spotify Wrapped?
Erika: Yeah. Okay. So my phone is being used for other purposes right now, so I cannot access my Spotify Wrapped. But I know that Taylor was my number one.
Avery: Me too.
Erika: I also know that my number five was the person that makes the instrumentals of all the Taylor Swift versions and the Barbie playlists, because I listen to that so much while writing. So I know that was my number one and my number five. And then probably it was like Noah Kahan, because I got Burlington as my place.
Avery: Okay, I got Burlington too. Julie – what did you, where was your place?
Julie: My first should be Lana Del Rey.
Avery: Love!
Erika: Oh, did you listen to the Take Me Home Country Roads cover?
Julie: Like, everything, everything.
Avery: I haven’t listened to it yet, I have to say it. I told you I was going to listen to it and I never did.
Erika: No, you have to. It’s so good. It feels like a warm hug.
Avery: Aww, wait, that’s cute.
Julie: Aww, right.
Erika: Like –
Avery: I’ll listen to it right after this.
Erika: Please do, please actually do.
Avery: No, I actually will.
Erika: It’s so good. Oh, yes. I love Lana and then –
Avery: Yeah, shoutout Lana.
Erika: We love you, Lana, if you’re listening.
Avery: We love you, Taylor, too. Shoutout Lana and Taylor, sponsors of this podcast.
Erika: Yeah. Oh my gosh, they are sponsors of this – oh my gosh. Taylor and Lana, if you’re listening, please come sing “Snow On The Beach.”
Avery: For us, specifically.
Erika: Yeah. Just for us. Um, I don’t know what else my Spotify was.
Avery: Should I go? Mine was – I have it right here. Oh, Taylor Swift. Maisie Peters. MUNA. Haim. Boygenius. Which I feel like is really representative of my personality, but I also listen to weird things, so, um, those just aren’t featured.
Erika: Wait, what is your favorite HAIM song?
Avery: Oh, gosh, um, I love “Leaning On You.”
Erika: Ooh!
Avery: I’m a big fan of “Leaning On You.” I’m also a big fan of – what’s it called? Okay. I’m – I have to say I’m bad with song names, so I just have sounds in my head.
Erika: That’s okay. Do you like their earlier stuff better?
Avery: Yeah. Well, I like all their stuff. “Leaning On You” is like, one of my top songs – yeah, it’s like my seventh song or something. But I’m trying to find – because there’s one that I like discovered, I feel like a week ago, and I don’t remember what it’s called and I feel like it – I like, I like “Summer Girl,” but I’m not – it’s –
Erika: “Summer Girl” is not my favorite off that album, though.
Avery: I feel like – no, it’s not my favorite off that album. It’s just a good song. Oh, “The Steps,” that’s the one that I was –
Erika: Ooh!
Avery: I got like, the reason it’s very high up in my top songs of 2023, and it’s because I was listening to it on a loop, like right before –
Erika: “Gasoline” is a good one, too.
Avery: “Gasoline” is, I –
Erika: You don’t like “Gasoline?”
Avery: I – well – I think it’s just – the vibe is not what I normally listen to. I don’t know, I like it, but it’s (Erika and Avery vaguely hum the chorus) I like it, but it’s just not my favorite. I have a fun Spotify Wrapped moment for me which is that I was top 1% of a podcast (laughing).
Erika: Do you want to give us details?
Julie: Yeah.
Avery: Do I want to share? The podcast is a legal podcast because –
Erika: Because you love legal stuff?
Avery: Because I am such –
Julie: You want to go law school?
Avery: a legal nerd. Um, it’s Strict Scrutiny and it’s very fun. And they love Taylor Swift too, so this is also another Taylor Swift shoutout.
Erika: Yay.
Avery: I maybe want to go to law school. That’s a separate –
Erika: That’s a separate podcast.
Avery: So what do you want to do with your life, Erika?
Erika: No, we don’t need to talk about that right now.
Avery: But I also maybe don’t, But it is a fun little podcast. And so right now it’s how I stay updated on all of that without getting stressed out, because they’re fun and cute.
Erika: That’s also a procrastination tip.
Avery: It is. Consuming media in general. Great – great form of procrastination. What else is my Wrapped? I feel like that was the – the notable – the notable.
Erika: What did you get as your little person? Like I got vampire.
Avery: Oh, I don’t remember what it was, but it was like, you listen to albums all the way through, which is true, like I do. But it was – that’s – wait, I’m like clicking through it. Julie, do you remember yours?
Julie: I will check it out.
Avery: I also feel like for me, one of the biggest ways that I preserve my mental health is like, consuming media that has absolutely nothing to do with what I’m studying, you know? Like, I feel like there’s…
Erika: Escapism.
Avery: Escapism, and I feel like music, because I study to it, it doesn’t have that for me, that I can’t just like, sit down and listen to music because there’s, like, either I’m thinking about the actual music or I’m like, “ah, I should be studying.” So I feel like for me it’s TV shows, like get me out of that. So I’m a huge TV show fan. I did not discover the art of watching TV.
Erika: The art?
Avery: The art.
Julie: The art.
Avery: Until like last year, I will say, that was a new addition to my life.
Erika: And what’s your most recent show?
Avery: Glee right now. And this is because of the last Bwogcast. Shoutout Rory and Jess. But they were talking about Glee a lot. And I was like, that’s so true, Glee is an amazing show. So I started rewatching it. I’m also watching – Well, I’m like trying to finish Suits again this is the legal in me. But, um, that’s – I don’t know. Suits, I liked and I’m on, like, the eighth season and it’s just not as good as it was. So I like, I kind of have leaned off watching it and I’ve been very much binging Glee. But it’s been great and I love it and it’s super fun.
Erika: Glee is a good one to like rewatch over and over again.
Avery: Yeah, yeah.
Erika: I am watch – re – ah. I rewatch Friends a lot. I don’t know, it’s just comforting to watch over and over and over again and it just, I don’t know, it’s nice. But also I do rewatch Gilmore Girls a lot.
Avery: Me too.
Erika: But, like, something happens, where –
Avery: I get sad.
Erika: Yeah. And I get to a certain place where I like, ugh, I just can’t do it anymore. Like, I can’t root for Lorelai and be frustrated at Rory anymore. So then I have to take a break. Right now, though, I’m watching Lessons in Chemistry on Apple TV. It’s very, very good.
Avery: I read the book. But I haven’t seen the show yet. But I’m going to, I promise.
Erika: I did not read the book. Which is bad. Yeah, What is that? But also, I don’t know. It’s so good. And so, my mom recommended it to me and something happened which I won’t say, but I couldn’t believe it. And I was like, The show is going to keep going on after this, even though this happened? So, lessons in chemistry. Very good. Brie Larson did not deserve the hate that she got.
Avery: Brie Larson’s amazing.
Erika: Yeah. We love her in this house, and Uris.
Avery: This house being Uris.
Erika: This house being Uris. Um, and, yeah, everyone should go watch it. But I also tried to watch Suits, and then I watched, like, six episodes and I couldn’t do it.
Avery: Okay, the weird thing with Suits is that you have to get past, like basically the whole first season. Then it gets good.
Erika: That’s what I’ve heard.
Avery: And then it gets bad again. Like, it’s a little dark in it.
Erika: There’s a little – there’s a couple good seasons.
Avery: Yeah, I – I – I don’t know if I’d recommend it, you know.
Erika: Yeah, but then I’m rewatching all the Bridget Jones movies.
Avery: Wait, that’s cute.
Erika: Yeah. Holidays! And also, I love those movies. I just – I love them so much. And like –
Avery: Any recommendations? for the masses!
Erika: For the masses, recommendations, other than Bridget Jones, Friends, obviously. But I feel like everybody’s kind of well-versed in Friends, a little bit.
Avery: I’m not. Wait, okay, confession, deep dark confession. I have not seen it.
Erika: No.
Avery: Well, again, I didn’t watch a lot of TV before last year. I watched a couple of episodes and I couldn’t get past the, like, laugh track because I feel like not a lot of modern shows have that. It wasn’t – it wasn’t like it was like it was actually – actively bad. But it was just throwing me off.
Erika: Yeah, it does get a little bit like, what is going on.
Avery: Yeah.
Erika: So, but other recommendations that I have – Grey’s Anatomy, I’ve been rewatching a lot. Yeah, Grey’s is good, but, but then I skip around to say that episode where there are Mark and Lexie, comes a little like, bleh. You know.
Avery: Okay, Julie, you’re up.
Julie: I’m up. I’ve been watching season seven of Rick and Morty.
Erika: Oh.
Avery: Oh, I love that.
Erika: I have not seen that.
Avery: I haven’t seen all of it. I’ve seen some of it.
Julie: I mean, like, the good thing about it is that, yeah, it is away from whatever we are doing and yeah, sometimes if there brings out cases, there might be a good idea for season seven. I mean like,, it’s like, you know, they signed a contract to do, like, seasons nine and ten but then, some staffers are going away, and then, yeah, things get bad. But, like, I think they’re hanging in there.
Avery: It’s also, like I feel like it’s funny, you know, which is helpful. Like, I feel like some shows think they’re funny but they’re not.
Julie: It is, yeah. And they changed a voice actor because some previous one got like legal somewhere.
Avery: Oh, I didn’t know that, that’s crazy.
Julie: And then, but like, they, they keep it, like, as good as possible, as original as possible. So yeah.
Erika: I have not watched Rick and Morty. So maybe I should.
Avery: So many watch recommendations for you all. Get back to us with your thoughts and tips.
Erika: Yeah.
*Transition Sound*
Avery: I feel like finals are very stressful, so we just wanted to, end this with a note, again, echoing back that you can do this!
Erika: Yeah, everybody go back to earlier in the podcast and listen to Julie’s motivational speech because it was so nice, and it just makes me feel like I can do anything.
Avery: Which you can.
Erika: Which you can. That is what we’re saying, people.
Avery: And also like if you can’t, that’s also so cool. Like, you’re living life, you know?
Julie: Yeah.
Erika: If you think you can’t, though, but, like, that’s not true. You can – it’s not – you can’t can’t! You can! So! So!
Avery: Right.
Julie: Double negation is like – yeah.
Erika: Yeah, you got it, and we love you, and thank you so much for tuning in, and good luck with your finals, and it’s all gonna be fine. And go read Bwog if you need to de-stress because there’s always fun stuff on there. And also go look at our Twitter, just saying, Twitter has been kind of popping off.
Avery: Erika’s in charge of Twitter.
Erika: I am in charge of Twitter.
Avery: So also hype yourself up. That’s also the lesson of this podcast.
Erika: Yeah, don’t be afraid to hype yourself up, people, because if you don’t, who else is? You’re welcome.
Avery: And with that, this has been Avery,
Erika: and Erika,
Julie: and Julie,
Erika: and thank you so much for tuning in to for Bwog! Good night!
*Fun interlude music*
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