By Astrid Ortega
It is now October and that means midterms are approaching us. It feels like we just started school, but the months mush together, the weeks fly by fast and now we’re halfway done with the semester. Next thing we know we’ll be approaching that inbetween from late October to December where our motivation will be truly tested. For now, we’ll deal with just getting through midterms season.
Different people have different ways of studying. For me, I like listening to music while I study for a test or do work. Silence is deadly to me, it lets me wander into my thoughts that don’t relate to what I'm working on which makes doing anything longer than it should be.
Due to COVID-19, the usual spots people would study in aren’t open for seating.This leaves us to surrender to studying at home, which could be hard if you live in a noisy home or if you’ve just gotten used to doing work on campus or somewhere else. For students like Jazmin Arroyo, a sophomore at CSULB majoring in Sociology, she really enjoys noise in the background. “I like listening to more mellow music when I study, it reminds me of coffee shop studying,” she says.
Mellow music is usually what people tend to listen to when studying. It’s not too much noise but just enough for it to be comforting to help you concentrate. Whether it be classical music, jazz, or even ambient music like Aphex Twin or Brian Eno.
Then there are people who despise having background noise or music. That’s what the second and fourth floor of the library are for. Ruben Oliva, a sophomore at CSULB majoring in Accounting, doesn’t like to listen to music while studying something serious or important but if it’s a simple assignment the music helps his flow. “If it's a serious test or a hard class, I don’t want to get too distracted but with other things it helps me feel less stressed,” he says.
But if you do need some new tunes to add to your studying playlist or just some songs to help you get into a studying mood or help your stress, here are some recommendations:
- Iam POD (0%) by Ichiko Aoba
- Fantasy Theme by Kevin Krauter
- Gold Dust by Duster
- Rainzow by STRFKR
- Innerspace by The Apples in Stereo
- Mustang by Starman Jr.
- Poison Tree by Black Marble
- Melatonin Nightmarezzz by Dream, Ivory
- Avril 14th by Aphex Twin
- Clouds by Alex G
- Hong Kong 2046 by Hong Kong Express
- The Flight Of The Moon Man by Kid Cudi
- Midnight, The Stars and You by Deerhoof
Regardless of whether music helps you study or not, you are going to kill it with these midterms. Whatever tactic you use to help you focus and succeed is enough and we’ll be going into the second half of the semester with excitement to finish off well.
