Since my blog theme has always been lists, I thought, “What is the next list I could make?”. After taking a nice 1-hour nap and then scrolling through Tiktok, I had an epiphany. Staring at me was a tiktoker’s video about her Coachella experience, so I thought “Why don’t I rate the concerts I have attended!”. Thus, here were are with another random list this week: best to worst concert experiences (although none of them were really “bad” per see).

1. BTS – Circa 2019

Rating: 1000000/10

Obviously, in first place …the GOAT … the one and the only … BTS. If you do not already know, I have been a fan of the K-pop band BTS for the past five years (I blame Gloria Baek for introducing me in 2017). Unfortunately, I have only been able to go to one BTS concert, yet, it was the best concert of my life. I remember the day my friends Gloria, Jessica, Ria, and I got tickets while on Facetime, and Jessica literally started crying (not Jessica from NNHS). 

Fast forward to the day of the concert, we reach the venue at 11 am and start standing in the merchandise line. After a cool 2 hours, we finally get to buy overpriced shirts and head into the Soldier Field stadium. The concert was a rollercoaster of emotions. With BTS’s diverse discography, I did not know if I was going to be screaming or crying next. It was not just the singing that took my breath away, it was the fact that they were so stable WHILE DANCING. Haters will say they lipsync, but it was clear as day that they were performing live. Their show was so jam-packed I was afraid to blink. One second their singing sad ballads, the next they are jumping on a bouncy castle that appeared on stage. Ultimately, all four of us left sobbing that the concert was over and could not wait to buy tickets for next year.

P.S. We did buy tickets, and floor seats in fact, but the tour got canceled due to COVID ;(. 

2. The Weeknd, Circa 2022

Rating: 9.5/10

The Weeknd – quite literally a living legend. I received The Weeknd concert tickets as a birthday gift from my best friends Ameera and Rubiah. They actually told me they were going together as a prank explaining that the seats sold out so fast they could not get me one. Then TWO MONTHS LATER they gave me the ticket as my birthday present. I just cannot believe they kept it a secret for so long. 

As for the actual concert – fantastic. Honestly, the only reason he gets 0.5 points off is that his show was supposed to start at 8 pm but he did not come on stage till 9:30 pm. Other than that little hiccup, his set was a masterpiece. He sang every single hit song in a medley which got the crowd so hyped. One second we were screaming to “Starboy” and then he transitioned to “Gasoline”. I also distinctly remember piercing red, satanic almost, backup dancers during the entirety of his concert. At first, I was creeped out, but they moved so fluidly as one unit that I could not keep my eyes off of them. Overall, The Weeknd made my weekend!

3. Once Direction – Circa 2013

Rating: 9/10 

Now I cannot write a blog about every single concert I have been to because then this blog would be 10000 words, but I have to pay ode to the first one I ever attended, One Direction. I was a mere 8-year-old just trying to live out my dreams. Unfortunately (fortunately), I do not have any actual photos of me there since they were on my old phone. 

 However, I can set the scene:

It is 2013 and in walks 4 of the most beautiful people you will ever see – a group of pre-pubescent Pakistani girls with Zayn Malik adorning their t-shirts and binoculars around their necks. I honestly remember very little from the actual concert, except that our seats were really far away and the binoculars actually came in handy. I have to give the concert a 9/10 anyways, simply because of the nostalgia. I owe my concert obsession to One Direction and will always be waiting for them to re-assemble some day in the future. I do not care if they are 80 years old, I will be attending their reunion concert. 

Honorable mentions: 

Ariana Grande – We sat all the way in the back of the stadium in 25$ seats my brother and I bought impulsively the day of. 

Shawn Mendes – Alessia Cara opened for his concert and she was actually better than him.

Lollapalooza – I do not know if this counts as a concert but it was really fun because Jhope headlined (he is a member of BTS). 

I hope you enjoyed this hodge-podge of concert experiences I’ve had over the years, and let me know if you want to go to a cocert together!

Over this past spring break I *finally* was able to go to Pakistan after five years! The past couple of years my mother and I have been trying to go, however, due to COVID and other factors we were not able to. To sum up the trip: it was the best vacation ever. At last, I was able to see my extended family (especially my grandfather) and explore Pakistan more since I am older now. In this week’s blog post, I will be explaining the highs and the lows of my spring break travels!

Low #1: Food Poisoning 

One of the best parts of visiting Pakistan is the delicious food, although I did not have the immunity to eat all of it. Every time I go to Pakistan I get terrible food poisoning. Back in 2018 I literally threw up everything I ate. This time around I had an upset stomach (you can imagine the rest). For three days I couldn’t enjoy the sizzling samosas at dinner or the spicy omelet at breakfast. However, I did not let this setback stop me from making the most Pakistan has to offer. There is one, specific Lays chips that is only available in Pakistan – masala chips. Every time a family member or friend goes to visit my brother and I request a whole suitcase of masala chips. So, although I could not eat any of the homecooked meals or street food, I could eat masala chips all night! Depicted on the right is an amazing haul reserved for me and my dietary restrictions. 

In addition to masala chips, my diet consisted of McDonald’s for three days. However, it was not ordinary, America McDonald’s. In Pakistan, they have a wrap called the McArabia which is basically a gyro wrap. I am proud to say I consumed about 5 over the course of my 10-day trip.

Low #2: United States Customs

Cannot have an Anwar Vacation without a fun airport security story! My family has come to expect the “random security checks”, especially when traveling with my brothers. This time it was just me and my mom traveling so I was hoping to sneak by without any trouble. Unfortunately, on our way back we got ULTRA random security checked. It was not just going through our bags or taking off our shoes, it was a thorough investigation. My mother and I were taken into a separate room and were told to sit there for an entire hour. When looking around I spotted maybe one white family out of the fifteen families waiting. While we were waiting to be called up, there was a police officer with a sniffer-dog walking around checking clothes and bags. Unfortunately, there was an Iranian family who brought spices in their bag and they all got confiscated. I foresaw this issue arising and made sure the bag filled with masala chips was sent directly to our house instead of us picking it up from baggage claim. After a fun-filled hour of sitting in a plastic chair, it was finally our turn. While swabbing our hands and bags for any explosive residue we received multiple, full body pat downs. We waited one hour for the process to only take about 20 minutes. In the end, although the process was annoying, it was definitely worth seeing my family.

High (worth 1000 highs): Spending Ramadan with Family

Speaking of family, this was the entire reason my mom and I went! Finally, after five years I was able to spend quality time with my grandfather. My grandfather has severe Parkinson’s so he’s no longer able to come and visit us in the United States. Although he spends most of his time in his bed nowadays, I finally dragged him outside to have dinner with us. 

Seeing him get up and come outside actually made my mom and aunt cry, so it was a very special dinner. Because it was Ramadan there were really only two meals in the day: breakfast at 4:00 am and dinner at 7:30 pm. At first, I thought going to Pakistan during Ramadan would make it less fun, yet it actually made the experience better. My cousins and I would get up at 3 pm and stay up till 7 am hanging out. It was like the entirety of Pakistan was also on this schedule, so coffee shops were open till 3 am and the malls were open till 1 am. It was such an eye-opening experience to spend Ramadan in a Muslim country. Everyone was out, walking around the city at 2 am and no one questioned it.

As soon as I came back from Pakistan I immediately wanted to go back. Just being surrounded by family and like-minded people was kind of life-changing. I never realized how much I changed myself to fit into the culture around me. When I was in Pakistan I did not have to do any of that, in fact, I feel as though I learned a bit more about myself.  

Recently, my friend Louisa and I both got into UIUC (yay!). So the topic of our conversations has been if we should room together if we both end up attending. As we discuss, it is imperative to weigh all the pros and cons. What if she is a slob? What if I hate her one week in? What if she embraces the computer science stereotype and does not shower? All of these concerns are important and need to be addressed. Thus, for this week’s blog, I will be weighing the pros and cons of having Louisa Zhang as my maybe, potential, possible, prospective roommate. 

Con #1: We are Both Indecisive

Louisa making deicisons

Unfortunately, Louisa and I have one, singular flaw… we cannot make decisions. Let me set the scene: it is 8 pm and Louisa and I have been “studying” in the library for the past 3 hours. Finally, our stomachs start making more noise than us and I ask the daunting question “where do you want to eat?” I am met with silence. I repeat my question, “Louisa, where do you want to eat?”. 

But this time I am not met with quiet, instead, I receive the dreaded answer – ”up to you.” This exchange goes on for about fifteen more minutes until Louisa finally puts down her trump card and states “I am driving so you have to pick where to eat.” Ultimately, by roughly 8:40 I come to the decision that Chipotle will be mutually loved and we leave the Nichols before the librarian can boot us. 

This is just one example of us trying to make a minor decision. What happens when we have to decide where to live at University? Or when we want to go out to eat together in college? Will we just miss our classes discussing options for forty minutes? For us to be compatible in the near future, one of us has to evolve and become decisive. Hopefully, by the time college rolls around this issue will be resolved (I will force Louisa to make any and all decisions 🙂 ). 

Con #2: She Takes Bad Pictures of Me

For the past seven years of our friendship, I am positive Louisa has not taken one bearable photo of me where I do not look like a melting witch. As someone who is highly un-photogenic, I want a roommate with Adobe Photoshop Premium for hands. To my dismay, Louisa’s photo-taking skills (specifically photos of me) lie between a Blackberry Pearl and the Chromebook built-in camera. To add to my predicament, she also loves taking atrocious pictures of me AND POSTING THEM. 

This is a serious problem. I cannot be having hideous photos of me saturating Louisa’s social media in college. What if she has a cute friend? My chance will be gone before I even know they exist. To be fair, I am equally malicious when it comes to posting photos of her, but only as revenge, I never take the first shot. 

Louisa eating alone lol

Pro #1: She Can Drive

Apart from those two major concerns, being roommates with Louisa may have its perks. If you are unaware, I do not have my driver’s license. Yes, I realize this is extremely embarrassing for a seventeen-year-old who turns eighteen this month to not have their license. In my defense, Ivy Chen is a whole adult who turned eighteen last month and does not have her license. I also have an excuse: I hate driving. As soon as my palms touch the steering wheel I start profusely sweating and become hyper-aware of every car within a two-hundred-mile radius. It is like I was born to be a passenger princess. The upside of Louisa is she loves driving and has been willing to drive me around for the past few years. Although I probably will get my license by graduation, it is nice to know my roommate will not go into a full-blown panic attack when heading to the grocery store.   

Pro #2: Both Have the Same Complaints

At Chipotle!

Whining, complaining, and grumbling are Louisa and I’s favorite past-time. It could be a minor inconvenience like a long red light or a major inconvenience like multi-variable calculus, you name it and we complain about it. For instance, yesterday (in between trying to decide where to eat) we mutually agreed that physics is a nuisance for computer science majors and grumbled about being required to take it. I know that I will be complaining throughout college about every annoyance and I am happy to know that I will have someone to do it with. Honestly, having someone who shares the same worries and burdens as you is comforting. Also knowing that I have support right next door will be reassuring and help me struggle through the wild ride of college. 

At the end of the day, neither Louisa nor I know where we are going to end up. Many college decisions are still coming out and having one of my closest friends as a roommate definitely is enticing. Am I a little scared I might end up hating her guts? Yes. But I doubt that will happen. 

During my first reading of Agha Shahid Ali’s “Ghazal”, I was perplexed about who the audience is and who is the speaker. This issue was primarily caused by the use of pronouns and nouns throughout the poem. When I first saw the title of the poem, “Ghazal”, I got excited thinking I would understand who the audience is – Allah (God). In Islamic school and traditional religious songs, ghazals are often poems or songs made up of couplets about one’s journey to finding love for Allah. Thus I assumed the speaker was someone who has found their love for God, and the audience was God himself. However, my assumption quickly fell apart. 

Firstly, the initial two lines are from another poem and the subject is a “patient” (Ali line 1). This totally caught me off-guard. Thoughts like “why put this at the beginning?” started swarming my mind. As if I was not already confused, the next couplet introduces a refugee as the subject. Specifically, the line “A refugee I’ll be paroled in real time” disoriented me (4). Due to the use of the personal pronoun “I” after refugee, I started to question if the speaker was the refugee being referenced. Additionally, I wondered where the refugee was displaced from and why. Already by the second stanza, I was doubting my theory about the poem being about Allah. 

As the poem continues, some clarity is given while more questions arise. Simultaneously, the poem discusses land & country while having religious connotations. One sentence will state “It’s hell in the city of gold in real time” whilst another states “God’s angels again are-for Satan!-forlorn” (10, 11). After every line, I ask myself again: who is the speaker? 

About halfway through the poem, I had an aha moment. When the speaker asks, “And who is the terrorist, who the victim?”, I am almost 100% sure the poem is not about a religious journey (15). In no way in my mind could the relationship between a follower and God be synonymous with a victim and a terrorist – at least I believe it is unusual to phrase it in such a manner. Yet, the relationship between a citizen and their government or a refugee and their community can be compared to this analogy. From this point onward, I read the poem strictly from a refugee’s point of view; although I came back to the religious theory near the end for a moment.

Imagery started to fill my mind, with countries crumbling and people mourning. One specific line that truly sold me on the refugee perspective was “‘Behind a door marked DANGER’ are being unwound / the prayers my friend had enscrolled in real time” (19, 20). Although there is a mention of the religious action of praying, the image that came to my mind immediately convinced me that this poem is about refugees. The image was of a few Palestinian men praying inside a destroyed mosque. The “DANGER” in the poem is the mosque in shambles and the men are literally praying within its broken walls. It only makes sense for the speaker to be a kind of refugee/displaced person. 

Now that I had decided who the speaker of the poem was, my question next was: who is the audience? I restarted reading from the top of the poem and conducted another deep dive, this time through the lens of a refugee. Unanswered questions started to have explanations as holes filled in my understanding. 

The lines from the James Merrill poem almost seemed taunting now, as if the speaker was giving the audience false hope, or at least showing that hope was present. But who was the speaker giving hope to? 

As the speaker’s voice starts to shine through, lines like “The one you would choose: Were you led then by him?” start to make sense. It is as if the speaker (who I now believe is a refugee) is trying to show the audience mistakes that should not be repeated. This line is particular, the speaker is displaying the importance of a leader and questioning the audience about their decision. The next line also gives insight into who the audience is. Ali chooses to use the Persian/Arabic/Hindi term “O Yaar” instead of the English word “friend”. By using another language, Ali narrows the possibilities of his audience’s identity. It almost seems like the speaker is directing his message to the Arab/South Asian community, or anyone who understands the language. 

The next and last time the speaker addresses his audience is in the final couplet of the poem. Ali writes, “Now Friend, the Beloved has stolen your words– Read slowly: The plot will unfold in real time.” (27, 28). When I read this couplet out loud, it sounded ominous. Like a warning. This final couplet during my second deep dive was my second epiphany-like realization. The speaker is a refugee, as I have established, and the audience is citizens of other countries (mainly concentrated in the Arabic/South Asian region). The speaker is trying to warn them not to make the same mistake that his people did, not to allow their country to perish before their eyes. The last line in particular is an “ I told you so” equivalent. 

Ultimately, there are still a few sentences throughout the poem I do not totally understand, however, I am able to grasp the underlying message of the poem. Breaking down the pronouns and understanding who the speaker is versus who the audience is enabled me to receive the meaning Agha Shahid Ali was trying to get at. The speaker is urging the audience to heed their warning about the destruction of their homes, or else the audience will see their prediction unfold in real time.  

Before we get into all the new stationary and psychology blog posts, I want to share what I did over break. This past winter break has been a time for me to reconnect with a lot of family members and do some domestic traveling.

(I apologize for some of the formatting, pictures are difficult to place on this site. )

First Stop: Rochester, Minnesota 

Abid being a nerd

Since the beginning of the summer 2022 my brother, Abid, has been working in a lab in Minnesota. I remember when he got the job he claimed that we would never visit him and that he would always have to come to Naperville to see us. His prediction stood true up until this winter break. Finally, we flew up to Rochester to see him. We only stayed for a few days so we did not necessarily get to explore Minnesota (not that there is much to see) but I was happy to spend time with my brother. Additionally, Abid gave us a tour of Mayo Clinic on Christmas, so it was practically a ghost town. It was fun to see where he has been these past 7 months, however, it was FREEZING cold the entire time we stayed. Literally the whole trip we were trapped inside because it was in the negatives. 

Grandpa dressed up for the cold

The only “fun” activity we did while in Rochester was going to see the new Avatar movie. This outing quickly turned into a disaster in itself. We went to see the movie at around 6:30 pm, so naturally, my brothers and I were hungry. We ordered an assortment of junk food to replace dinner, I specifically wanted the curly fries. Mind you – movie theaters are overpriced. We ended up paying 6 dollars for the curly fries alone. After waiting for a cool 15 minutes just for them to arrive, there was NOTHING in the plate. I am talking about literally 8 fries. That is 0.75$ per fry. Absolutely outrageous. I was disappointed but was not going to cause a scene at the theater, it is only fries after all. However, my mom was enraged and went full Karen mode on the workers. At first, she just complained obnoxiously to my brothers and me, making sure the workers were in earshot. Then, she asserted that there was some sort of mistake with our order. Eventually, we got some free popcorn out of it after missing the first 15 minutes of the movie. Although the whole situation was extremely embarrassing and I got an earful about standing up for myself on the way back, it does give my family a good laugh when looking back. 

Stop 2: San Antonio, Texas

After a quick five-day pit stop in Naperville to celebrate New Year’s with friends, my family went to San Antonio for the latter half of winter break. My aunt lives in San Antonio but I didn’t go to see her, I went to see her two out-of-this-world-adorable kids. Although I have an unnecessarily large extended family, Zach and Zayaan are actually the only first cousins I have in the US. We try to see them at least once a year and this time it was our turn to come over. The weather in San Antonio was the total opposite than Rochester. Every day it was in the high seventies and low eighties. Unfortunately, all I had packed was light sweaters and those were too warm, so I ended up wearing my aunt’s clothes for most of the trip. I took an unnecessary amount of pictures during this trip so here is a small dump: 

Zayaan <3

This is my younger cousin, Zayaan, and I about to brush our teeth in the morning. Due to the space in my aunt’s house, I was sleeping in the kid’s room and every morning at 7 AM sharp Zayaan would come and wake me up. He is so cute I cannot even be mad at him. 

Fun fact – he knows when someone is taking a picture so he purposefully scrunches his nose in every time. 

Zach <3

 More Zayaan <3

The Highlight of my trip might have been seeing my two cousins, but the highlight for them was definitely the Chik-fil-A playpen. I think they spent almost an hour just either going down theslide or yelling through it so they could hear the echo. 

I was feeling a bit left out so I also crawled up and went on the slide a few times. Unfortunately, an employee caught me and said I had to be under 3 years old to play.

This week-long trip had a few funny incidents but I definitely loved reconnecting with my family and having zero responsibilities. I plan to come back in two weeks with something a bit more educational, hope you all had a great return to school!

My first-semester senior year of high school has honestly been the semester I feel I have grown the most. Personally, I struggled heavily during my junior year trying to balance my academic and home life. When I was picking out my schedule end of junior year, I decided that I was not going to overexert myself and gave myself an early dismissal. This was probably the best decision I have made in my high school career and something I highly recommend future seniors do, especially for the first semester. I underestimated how much time college applications would take and having an early dismissal really saved me. Additionally, having an early dismissal allowed me to manage my time better. Having more time to plan out the rest of my day made me more efficient and got rid of being stressed every minute of the day. 

Another big decision I made was actually more recently. I decided to not take my next semester’s math class, Linear Algebra. As I am on this journey of learning my limits (live laugh love calculus jokes), I also have been prioritizing my mental health and happiness more. I had a great time my first semester, but my math class consumed seventy percent of my time inside and outside of school. Realistically, I could take Linear Algebra and just power through the class, this is probably what junior year Celina would have done. However, I have now come to terms with the fact that I simply do not like math enough to put myself through that for another entire semester. Further, it would be an unnecessary stressor in my home life since everyone was on edge about my MVC grade (don’t worry I pulled through on the final).  

Throughout my first-semester senior year experience, I also learned that I really enjoy the field of psychology. Before taking AP Psychology I never had exposure to the ideologies involved with the subject and always saw myself as a more math and computer science-oriented person. Yet, when Mr. Scott did his first psychological trick on us in the first week of class, I became fascinated with the subject. So much so that I think AP Psychology has been my favorite class this semester (sorry Mr. Williams).  My parents were just as shocked as I was when I randomly started pointing out the Freudian defense mechanisms they demonstrate at the dinner table. As the class continues, I find myself more and more enthralled by the modern applications of what I have learned. Maybe I’ll end up being a #WomenInPsych instead of a #WomenInCS. 

Mr. Scott’s enlightening class had also made me a more open-minded person in general. I thought I found my niche in middle school and never really allowed myself to continue exploring other interests. I always thought that I should know what my future career is as soon as possible so I could prepare in high school and college. Yet, as I have gone through high school and specifically my senior year, I finally gained an understanding that one does not have to be ahead of the curve or know their star factor in sixth grade to be successful. 

As I am re-reading what I have written so far I realize that I have basically been rambling about calculus and my climb up Maslow’s Hierarchy Needs for the past five hundred words. So I am going to end this blog with a total change of topic and some advice that I wish someone had told me before entering my senior year: college is a shot in the dark, don’t take it to heart. No, I am not just saying this because I got deferred from the one school in the state of Illinois that I actually like and wanted to go to 😥. But honestly, I have transformed into an optimist this semester. After crying for two hours after the fact, I realized that I still have the entire college process left and needed to suck it up and finish writing the rest of my regular decision applications. Which in turn made me feel better because as I researched more schools I realized how much I had put my early school on a pedestal and that other schools also offer amazing programs and courses. 

I now want to go and eat Cheez-Its, so that is the end of my first semester blogs! I hope to come back with a more stationary blog post next semester, see you then!

If you have been reading my blogs or have ever had a conversation with me, you know that stationary to me is like legos to a toddler. I discussed my collection of pens, however, that is not the only office supply I fascinate over. In this blog post I will discuss the different types of notebooks, but with a twist. Given my extensive knowledge of this topic, I will also speculate the characteristics of the person who uses each type of notebook. 

1. Walmart Final Sale Enthusiast

Let’s set the scene – it’s August sixteenth, ten pm and you just realized that you had not gone back to school shopping. Your mom is livid and the two of you go on a silent, tension-filled car ride. The only store open is Walmart, so you buy the last three 95¢ notebooks and a pack of Ticonderoga pencils.

I typically associate this notebook with “one-folder students”. As you can infer, a “one-folder student” is someone who cannot categorize for the life of them and dumps all miscellaneous papers into a singular folder. Two weeks into the semester, their folder is practically begging for a break or it is torn down the spine. 

The poor pen+Gear notebook is also in shambles. I picture the weak cardboard cover being bent and torn with the spiral wire jutting out both ends. Nonetheless, these students have a method to their madness. They know exactly where each sheet of paper is in their folder (roughly) and each question answered in their dilapidated notebook is correct. Personally, I have reverence for these individuals, if I cannot find one important worksheet I freak out. 

2. Five Star Multi-Subject Snob

Any student who owns a Five Star multi-subject notebook used to carry around a trapper keeper in middle school, no one can change my mind. These students believe it is revolutionary that the orange dividers also act as folders!!!

I expect the inside of this notebook to emulate unicorn throw-up with unnecessary and obnoxious color coding. Each line is emphasized with a different blinding highlighter and atop each page is a failed attempt at making their heading aesthetically pleasing. To be honest, I physically cringe even thinking about it. 

Additionally, these students swear by the Pomodoro Study Technique and incessantly make sure you know that they love it. As for their folder of choice – accordion style obviously. If all their notes are going to be in one place, you bet their worksheets are going to be too. As for me, my homeostasis is threatened when I see these students. For some reason, the sound of them sifting through each and every section in their portable filing cabinet triggers me. 

In the end, they split their repulsive trapper keeper into two. 

3. Adult iPad Kids

The latest and greatest trend is the Instagram study community – online notes. Apple Inc. released the Apple Pencil & iPad Pro combo and the world nearly stopped spinning. I will not lie, I see the appeal. Only carrying around a one-pound infinite notebook versus five pounds of five hundred sheets of paper? Seems like an obvious choice to me. 

I admit these students have their lives together. The strategic folder organization in the GoodNotes app trumps any folder system in the physical world. It is also impossible for them to not make their notes aesthetic. I mainly see this type of “notebook” in STEM majors. From math to medicine, the charm of being able to airdrop your notes to a friend is simply too enticing. Even both my brothers participate in this new study technique. As soon as the impracticality of the paper notebook in university became apparent, they invested in an iPad. They also invested in a costly protective case and paper-like screen protector (not to mention the supplementary money spent on the Apple Pencil). That is the main downside for these students, their notes are now worth a thousand dollars instead of ninety-five cents. No longer can they stuff their homework at the bottom of their backpack or let their backpacks get trampled in the classroom walkways. 

Although there are many more types of notebooks and students, these are the three most prevalent ones I have noticed. Hopefully, you now realize that I scrutinize every office supply I see you use 🙂 and if you were offended by this post, you have officially exposed yourself as a trapper keeper kid. 

Throughout my academic journey I have tried everything to stay organized: google calendar, reminders, bullet journaling, sticky notes on my computer, etc. More recently I have taken up a simple, physical to-do list. My brother bought me a cute Koya notebook, and each half-page is dedicated to all the tasks I want to complete before my necessary beauty sleep. Some days I finish all my tasks, other days I do not. I am curious as to the effectiveness and psychology behind the well-loved to-do lists. In today’s blog, I will share my findings about the benefits of having a to-do list…and maybe some drawbacks.

1. Prioritization 

When writing down a list of tasks that must be done, it is easy to get caught up in the small tasks like “eat lunch” or “brush teeth before dinner”, however, prioritizing is a vital step. Only write down imminent and uncommon tasks on your to-do list. Such as the homework you have to do rather than noting that you have to attend school. It is more straightforward to recognize which undertakings are most important when they are written down. 

For instance, I have homework for both gym class and calculus, but when written down I put down a star next to the calculus homework for emphasis. Having my focus drawn to the more difficult assignment forces me not to give in to the temptation to do other, low-priority tasks. Another strategy I have noticed is writing the most significant or difficult tasks first and as the list goes down, the complexity of the tasks does as well. My brother, Zain, utilizes this technique in medical school so that the workload lightens as he goes down his list, making time go by faster. With either method, your simple to-do list becomes more than just a grocery list, it turns into a strategic game plan!

2. Accountability

It is hard to slack off in gym class if your coach is staring right at you, isn’t it? It is the same ideology when having a to-do list, it’s hard to deny that you have work to be done when the work is staring back at you as a reminder. Personally, as someone prone to the wrath of forgetting, having a to-do list recently has helped me greatly. I cannot forget about the AP Statistics Test when “STUDY FOR STATS” is shouting at me through the pages. It also allows one to forget what they have to do, instead of subconsciously racking their brain all day you only have to remember to check your to-do list. 

3. Stress

What happens when one task is left undone? Sometimes, having an incomplete task staring back at you can cause more anxiety than motivation. I have experienced the displeasure of having homework piling up on my shoulders, in fact, it causes me to lose sleep. Even though I swear that I will wake up early the next morning to get it done, I still end up waking up every hour frantically checking the time for it only to be 2 am. Having an overwhelmingly long list can end up making one feel like they have a never-ending amount of work to get done. That is why it is extremely important to prioritize your workload. It is not realistic to write down “Do the entire UC school application” for one day. Split it up into multiple, smaller tasks. Such as, finishing the activities section one day and writing an outline for an essay the next. 

The Psychology Behind the To-Do List

The real reason I wanted to write this blog about to-do lists is that I am fascinated by the science and psychology behind their effectiveness. Thanks to Mr. Scott, I recently learned about short-term memory and reinforced memorization. Did you know that an average human’s short-term memory can hold 7 pieces of information for about half a minute. So if you have more than 7 important things to get done in one day….I have some bad news for you. Thankfully, I have a solution that I may have been discussing this entire blog – a to-do list! 

Another interesting fact about your brain is how you unconsciously remember information. Most likely every time you look at your list, your brain reinforces the information that you have read and it transcends past just short-term memory. This also relates to Ebbinghaus’s Forgetting Curve, essentially the more time spent between reviews the less information retained. So if you have a to-do list that you often refer back to, then it is more likely you will not forget the tasks you have to do when you are not looking at it. 

I encourage everyone who took the time to read this blog to write down the next homework assignment you have to complete, maybe you’ll even have a notebook full of finished tasks by the end of this year!

The Apple Ecosystem. We have all seen students with the full network of Apple products, claiming they are the secret to academic success. Whipping out their $1000 iPad and $150 Apple pencil just to take the same notes as their peer next to them armed with a simple pen and paper. I am not doubting these students’ academic success, I am sure many of them are well, but questioning the justification for these purchases. Through this blog, I will analyze Apple’s top 3 expensive student products and decide: overpriced or justified. 

1. MacBook Pro 14-inch

I remember the frenzy that erupted when Apple announced the new MacBook Pro. It truly was a game changer, with the M1 Pro and M1 max processor along with the return of the SD card slot – it all seemed perfect. Too good to be true in fact. This premium piece of technology did not come without a price, a price that started at a cool $1999.

During the rise of this new Macbook, I was sitting at my HP Spectre x360 (the laptop I still use in fact) wondering if I should beg my parents for the costly purchase. I then took out a sticky note and created a list of pros and cons. My computer was touchscreen, turned into a tablet, came with a tablet pen (yes, you did not have to buy it separately), and was a whopping 1000$ less than the new Macbook. The new Macbook at the time was….fast? After comparing the important specs for my needs, the Macbook was not worth the price, given my computer works as a Mac and iPad combined. The Macbook Pro no longer seemed as “pro” as it claimed. In the end, I will classify the Macbook Pro as OVERPRICED. 

2. AirPods Max 

The regular AirPods took hold of generation Z. Everyone at school used and continues to use the wireless orbs. However, over-ears were creeping into style with the Sony WH-1000XM4s becoming increasingly popular (the headphones I received as a birthday present from my brother). Apple had to take action. This is when they introduced the infamous Airpods Max. I use the term “infamous” because they initially went viral for the wild price –  549$! Up until the release of this lavish item, the most expensive headphones I had heard of were around $300. After the shock that went through the headphone-user community, people actually started to buy the item. Not to discredit the product, in fact, when I tried them in the Apple store I was satisfied with the pristine sound quality and the immaculate noise-canceling ability, but my Sony headphones have the same attributes for half the price tag. Although the product is cute and luxurious, it is just not a logical purchase compared to other competitors. It seems that the general population has come to this conclusion as well. I do see people adorning the Maxs, yet never quite as many who stuck with the regular AirPods. I believe the steep tag deters many buyers because they realize that this product is OVERPRICED. 

3. Apple Pencil

The most obvious exorbitant Apple product has to be the one and only Apple pencil. Literally, a glorified stylus. Why pay for a 99¢ pen with a little rubber grip at the end when you can purchase a $129 version, right? Apple markets this technological stick as a must-have to transform your iPad from a simple video display to a productive powerhouse. Although it does have some impressive qualities such as pressure sensitivity and palm rejection, is that all worth the extra $128.01? Once again, I personally succumbed to the grand marketing scheme when the first generation came out in 2015. Equipped with the little cap at the end and the extra tip, I thought I was the coolest iPad kid on every airplane ride. In fact, when my father lost my Apple pencil on vacation, I guilt-tripped him into buying a replacement. In retrospect, I only used the pen for lousy procreate drawings and incessant tapping on the screen. Unless you are a pro artist, the apple pencil is overrated and OVERPRICED.

I know I am unable to persuade die-hard Apple users that Apple is overcharging their customers in a single blog post, but I do hope that you all have my little voice in the back of your head the next time you enter the Apple store. 

The rise of TikTok in 2019 has given companies an additional marketing tactic to steal the funds of young teens and their parents. They pay influencers to advertise their supposedly life-changing product and suddenly thousands of dollars come rolling in. I personally have also succumbed to the deception of these businesses. In this list, I will describe each hoax and why they do not live up to their reputation. 

1. The Dior Lip Oil   

Starting at a whopping $38.00 for a small 0.2 oz vessel of lip gloss. When looking at the hashtag on TikTok #diorlipglow there are 115 million views overall. Of course, this does not account for the views other, related hashtags received. But how did this fad start? When “dior lip oil” is searched on TikTok the most liked video belongs to Olivia Dejarnett. Posted back in December of 2021, the video has now amassed over 2.6 million likes. The short clip is simply her unboxing the luxurious beauty product with the caption “this is your sign to get the dior lip oil”. After the video took off at the beginning of 2022, the oil is constantly out of stock online and at most Sephora stores. In fact, I myself visited Sephora almost weekly during my junior year just to check if they had restocked. After finally getting my hands on the mahogany colorway during the summer – I was thoroughly disappointed. The applicator was nice and large, which was a refreshing contrast to other lip glosses. However, the claim that TikTokers made about the formula being “long-lasting” and “ultra-hydrating” were false. After fifteen minutes I felt the need to reapply and before I knew it I was applying the last, thirty-eight-dollar swipe on my lips. With the same money, I could have bought 8 Burt’s Bees tinted lip balms and slapped a clear gloss over it to have the same effect. Not to mention the moisture would last significantly longer. Overall, the dior lip oil is a bust – just another cash grab.

2. Caudalie Instant Detox Clay Mask

Immediately, the term “instant” should be a red flag for all consumers. Any beauty product that claims to be instantaneous is a marketing stunt. Historically, no beauty product has been able to make long-term effects in such a short period of time. The company claims that one only needs to “Leave [it] on for 10 minutes” to see results in their advertisements (Caudalie.com). However, when reading the fine print on their Amazon and Sephora descriptions, one needs to apply the mask twice a week over a long period of time to see results. On top of the deceitful advertising, the product is $39.00! This translates to roughly $14.82 per fluid ounce. Just to remind you, a fluid ounce is equivalent to about 0.0078 gallons of fluid. The trending hashtags, #caudaliedetox and #cadaliedetoxmask, have a combined viewing of roughly 43.5 million views on TikTok. Going viral on TikTok is the goal for many businesses since it gets them immediate hype across the country and fast income. Clearly, Caudalie succeeded in their swindling.

3. The Rare Success: Revlon Oil-Absorbing Roller

I do not want to paint with a broad brush and claim that all trending beauty products on TikTok are flops. In fact, one of the products I found through this platform I use almost daily. This product has about 22 million views on TikTok, and rightfully so. The Revlon oil-absorbing roller is a one-of-a-kind product. The product is made up of volcanic stone which has the unique characteristic of small porous holes that trap oil from the skin. This product is replacing the famous blotting papers from companies like Clean and Clear. Blotting papers are one-time use and are not environmentally friendly. The oil-absorbing roller, on the other hand, can be is reusable and Revlon recommends replacing the stone every 6 months. Six months of daily use for $12.00 sounds like a good deal to me. That is only 7 cents a day! 

TikTok has been popular since 2019 and it does not seem to be going away anytime soon. Companies are taking advantage of this lighthearted and fun-filled app to make a profit on overpriced products. Although many of the products on TikTok are not worth their price, there are some hidden gems. Next time you are persuaded by an influencer to buy a product, do your research and search for the red flags.