The Ocean Has No Edge

nadinenihongo:

Guide to Self-Studying Japanese

A large proportion of Japanese learners self-study. Finding places to learn Japanese in a classroom environment can be difficult and expensive. Here’s a guide on how you can learn Japanese for free and from the comfort of your sofa.

When learning Japanese, the most important step is to learn Hiragana and Katakana, the writing alphabets of Japanese.

The best way I’ve found to do that is to make flashcards. Make sure you practice writing as well as recognizing them, this will not only be a great skill to have but will also reinforce the shapes in your mind.

Resources:

[Hiragana 42], the best guide I’ve found to learn the Hiragana (in a day!)
[Hiranana and Katakana Quiz Site]
[Kana Invaders Game]
[Anki] An amazing program that will make sure you never forget any Kana….

The next step is to start learning vocabulary. Where can you find what to learn? Use a site like Memrise to find word lists (for example, there is a word list for all the vocabulary in starter textbooks like Genki), and use the amazing interface to learn them and keep them in your long term memory.

Resources:

[Memrise] as mentioned above to find and learn vocabulary lists.
[Most Common Words List]
[Anki] An amazing program that will make sure you never forget any Vocabulary….

While encountering vocabulary, you’re likely to be coming across super-complicated-looking Kanji. You can learn Kanji through Memrise as above, but there are some other websites that may be of interest.

Resources:

[Kanji Damage] A great site where you can learn Kanji through mnemonics.
[WaniKani] by the same people who make TextFugu can help you learn Kanji from scratch.
[Anki] An amazing program that will make sure you never forget any Kanji….

The next step is to apply that new vocabulary to grammar points and start making sentences.

If you can’t get your hands on textbooks like Genki, don’t fear! There are a lot of great online grammar resources.

Resources:

[TextFugu] a highly rated ‘online textbook’ which will guide you right from the beginning of learning Japanese.
[Guide to Japanese] another online textbook with a lot of grammar points and excellent explanations.

So you probably started to learn Japanese because you have some interest in Japanese media. Time to start using it to your advantage!

Aside from the obvious watching Anime, J-dramas and films, why not try Reading Japanese News? Watching Japanese TV? Just make sure you are making these activities productive - note down new vocabulary, add them to Anki, and keep learning! It’s much easier to learn things you’re interested in.

The most important but difficult part of self-studying Japanese is getting your own compositions checked. Utilize all that grammar and vocabulary and write a short piece, it could be a diary entry or a short essay. Get it recorded for you by a native on RhinoSpike, and checked for grammar and consistencies on Lang-8.These sites also give you the chance to connect with Japanese natives, and perhaps start up some language exchanges!

For more resources, take a look at my Ultimate Resources List

Any more tips? Please submit them here!

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thatmouseyblog:

anatomicalart:

digitalarcadia:

thegreenpaperclip:

maryaniloo:

kimmcheee:

ATTENTION ALL GIRLS: We ALL know that the lower stomach is one of the very hardest places to burn fat and tone.

These are some terrific exercises to do in the morning and at night to burn those hard to tone areas!

Do this every morning when you wake up, and every night before you sleep. I guarantee you’ll see results in a week flat!

Liking and reblogging for future reference!

Oh man, my old soccer coach used to make us do the top left one

Used to do these in ballet class.

Great way for us art vampires to stay in shape!
Or if you just want reference for drawing characters exercising. 

these are pretty good for anyone to do really 8D

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aumonique:

Can we appreciate how cute Google is today?! 

(Source: aumonique, via twisted-persona)

Anonymous asked: what are some tips/advice u would give to an incoming college freshman?

obsidianstudy:

tips for incoming college freshman

hello, anon! i’m so sorry about this extremely late post but if you see this, i hope this helps or at least lets you know i didn’t forget about this post :’) (also im sorry about the rambling i do in this post rip)

so you’re starting college, what are some things you can get ready for?

• go to orientation
  
• i can’t stress enough how much you should go to orientation!!! the key thing about orientation, other than getting to know that resources are around campus / the campus, is getting to know everyone else. 
• college is made so much better with friends, and orientation is a great way to get to know people and make friends right off the bat. i know a lot of people can get antsy or nervous because it’s an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people, but it only takes one sentence to start a conversation that might lead to a lifelong friendship! 
• a quick tip for how to start a conversation if you’re shy:
• make eye contact with someone 
• immediately smile (or wave if ur feelin adventurous)
• if they’re somewhere close, like less than 3-5 steps away, try and walk over to them and introduce yourself!
• ways to start the convo:
• “hi, my name is ____, how are you?”
  
• “hey, my name is ______. i’m majoring in _______, what about you?”
  
• “so how’s everything going for you so far?”
  
• ya idk where i was going with this point, just go to orientation, get to know your way around and get to know people!!!
• get to know your residence hall + people in your major
• i cannot stress this enough omg
• the quickest and more surefire way to make friends is to get to know your hall / your floor / people in your class. 
• there will be activities that you can attend (esp as a freshie, maybe even as a hall). definitely go, even if you’re not that hype about large groups of people. 
• you definitely should go to the first couple of events, at least, because that’s how you’ll get to know people, and it’s also how people will know you. 
• from personal experience, i went out of my way at the beginning of the year to get to know every single person in my res hall, no matter who they were, regardless of anything. that was the best thing i could’ve done, like, ever. 
• so definitely get to know peeps (esp in ur hall / people you’ll see often bc that’ll help you in the long run too!!)
• get on that study / time management!
• you can set up a schedule if you like but time management is absolutely key. you’re going to need to manage your time well, because your workload is going to be more than back in high school, but you will spend less time in class than you did before, and i know that that can very serious mess up your schedule.
• find a quiet place on campus to study, you don’t have to go there all the time, but it’ll be a good place to retreat if you need a place to study / if you need quiet time. 
• go to class!!!!!
• just, idk. you’ve heard this a million times. go to class. you can skip a couple, but overall, go to class, even if it feels like it’s too hard to get up, etc etc. 
• go to class.
• stay healthy
• eat stuff, thee meals if possible, two if not. just make sure you take care of yourself, okay!
• campus
• get to know where the important places are on campus!
• health services
• cafeteria
• library
• office of financial aid / business office
• career services
• anywhere else you think might be important
• extracurriculars
• you should definitely get involved in stuff on campus!
• you don’t need to get involved with too much, because that can definitely lead to burnout, but see what clubs or organizations there are, look at greek life maybe, see if there are any service clubs to join, and just try things out and see what you like!

um idk what else there is, really, but if you have any other questions, please feel free to leave me an ask (i promise i’ll answer asap) or message me! hope this was helpful (a lot of this was me rambling on and on, haha), love!

yours,
jo

bunny-butch:

aggressionbread:

Just heard someone on the radio say “if you’re having trouble sleeping, just join the military, they teach you how to sleep anywhere” and it really has similar vibes to that post that’s like “just get pregnant and you’ll see who your real friends are”

“If you’re curious about an afterlife, die”

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chloejuneart:

confessions

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accurate-incorrect-marvel-quotes:

tanclybowen:

Superheroes being 197% done with wii music playing

This is a gift to humankind

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daciafu:

daciafu:

https://www.gofundme.com/get-doug-on-disability

Hey internet, it’s ya girl, Dacia. My dad is sick, there’s no cure, and the only thing we can really do is get him on disability so he can take care of himself and not literally work himself to death sooner. Any little bit will help. Right now it seems so far away but I’ve seen the magic that you all can bring to the table in times of need. Please donate if you can, and share where you feel comfortable. We’ve got a long road ahead and can use all the help we can get.

I’ve got my hands tied at my day job and can only take so many commissions right now. I am opening my queue as of now, although it will take me a while to get anything big done. 

Any $100.00 or higher donations will get some sort of art from me too!! Message me if you do want something but I can’t promise quality or timeliness… I’m only one smoll bean and there’s a LOT going on right now.

Love u guys. Take care of yourselves and tell your dad you love him.

I need to officially update the page but I have convinced my dad to forget about the debts and to let my mom and I worry about them if things don’t work out how he wants. In the grand scheme of things $5000.00 isn’t a LOT, but paired with everything else… it’s really not a priority. We really need to focus on treating him and getting him on disability. We are collecting all the necessary documentation to take to the social security office and get this started. My grandparents are planning to fly me home to help with this stuff (both my parents are technologically illiterate). Thank you to everyone who has already contributed; both money and kind words. It’s an emotional journey for sure and I appreciate every bit of support. Please share and consider donating.

My commissions are still open, and anyone who donates $100.00 or more can get a drawing request from me. A friend has also offered to write drabbles to help out so if that’s more intriguing, please let me know!

(via daciafu)

prideprejudce:

guys i am in TEARS

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