“Dear Natalie,
I'm having such a hard time with the long classes in summer school. I'm so unbelievably bored in three-hour lectures and zone out, not retaining any info. Any tips for avoiding this slump and actually learning something?”
Ahh, the joy of summer courses. There's a reason I don't take them and that reason is because it's a three-hour lecture. They may be the bane of your summer, but maybe they will cut a year off your degree or make your education slightly more affordable.
Hopefully your professor offers mid-lecture breaks in order to make the classes not completely horrific. If not, consider giving yourself a quick break in the middle of the lecture — five minutes or less. Not a huge one as you're still paying for the class and you don't want to miss anything important, but it's important to actually retain the information you're trying to learn.
Try different types of note taking to see if one works for you better during the summer. Pen and paper? Laptop? Printing off the slides in advance? Try to find the method that works best for you.
Another important thing is to make sure you're getting enough sleep. Last summer when I was taking summer courses, I would be coming off of a six-hour shift and was often running on less than six hours of sleep. I'm someone who needs their sleep. Inevitably, I would doze off in the middle of class, regrettably multiple times. Get enough sleep.
Also try to find someone to be your class buddy and make each other accountable for the class. Not only will it make you more likely to actually go to class, but you'll feel enough peer pressure to at least try to look like you're paying attention. Yay peer pressure!
Finally — and this probably won't be helpful at this point but — try to pick a class you'll find interesting. The best way to stay awake is to actually care.
Good luck for your summer courses and remember to enjoy the sun every once and awhile!
“Dear Natalie,
How do you ask a guy out? And how can you tell if they're interested??”
I've said it before and I'll say it again — guys are just humans too, which means they are all different. What could be signals of romantic interest from one person may be just friendly banter from another. But I'm not saying you won't ever know how they feel because you've (hopefully) been talking to them and you know a little bit about who they are.
Tell-tale signs of romantic interest from anyone include them saying, “I like you romantically,” “Let's go on a date,” or responding to the iconic Spice Girls lyric, “If you want to be my lover,” with, “Why yes I do.”
But you know this guy. If he makes time for you, texts you more often than not, is at least a little flirty, is not in a relationship and has a sexual preference that includes you, then there's a pretty good chance he might be interested.
As for how to ask him out, be honest, be upfront and be pumped about the whole thing. Nothing's worse than getting asked out by someone who sounds like they don't even know if they want you to say yes. “Hey guy, do you want to get some sushi sometime?” is always a sure-fire way to get across that you are interested. You like sushi and this is a date — you said it all without sounding awkward.
Pretty impressive. Now go get ‘em tiger!
Need advice? Contact Natalie anonymously at asknatalie@ubyssey.ca or at ubyssey.ca/advice and have your questions answered!