Things I’m Bad At: Memorization

So. First things first, I am absolutely horrible at memorization. I’m not sure exactly why, but I know I can’t do it.

Recently, I had to memorize two lengthy poems for Poetry Out Loud, which was mandatory for my Poetry class. I kind of put it off for a while until maybe the week before Thanksgiving break. Not because I didn’t want to do it or anything, but because I really just didn’t have time. It was on the very bottom of my priority list and let me tell you, that was a long list.

When the time came where I did sit down and start reading over my poems and attempting to memorize them, I found it very hard.

Alright, look, I’ve got super bad ADD, so it’s pretty challenging for me to SIT down and READ one poem over and over again until it gets nailed in my brain. So, yes, I did slack off a bit. I didn’t spend the entirety of those three weeks memorizing the poems, but I tried. I really did.

I had my first poem mostly down at the end of the second week, but the second poem I found, was way too long for me to be able to memorize in time. So, I did what anyone in my predicament would do: I changed my second poem. I decided to choose a way shorter one because let’s face it, there was no chance of me learning any long ones.

But.

I forgot about my online class that was due in a week. Yikes.

So, I did again, what anyone would have done in my situation. I bumped Poetry Out Loud down to second on my priority list and focused in on my online class. I mean, if I didn’t finish my online class I would fail the entire class and have to retake it. Not an option AT ALL.

Yeah, I read over the second poem a bit, but not nearly as much as I needed to to be able to memorize it.

The day came where I had to get up in front of three judges and recite two poems that I only half-heartedly know. Oh, wait, just kidding. I learned suddenly that it was going to be in front of not only three judges, but a whole class, not including my class.

Great.

I decided to turn around and make my way towards the bathroom to keep myself from having a mini panic attack before I went up and recited my poems.

Well, I got up there and pretty much gave up. Yep, I looked pretty stupid compared to my other peers who did an amazing job.

I wasn’t really worried about that part. I was more worried about the fact that I made a really bad grade because of it, and if there is one thing I stress over the most, it’s my grades.

So yeah, I may or may not have had a mental breakdown after that, but I’m fine now. I don’t have that stress on my shoulders anymore, and I’m almost done with my little priority list.

Pretty much the point of this blog is to tell you that if you know you’re bad at memorization and you have to memorize something, do your research to find trick and tips to help you.

Here are a few links I found when I did my research.

https://www.collegexpress.com/articles-and-advice/majors-and-academics/articles/study-smarter/memorization-tips-and-tricks/

https://www.dal.ca/news/2013/11/20/study-tips–top-5-memorization-techniques.html

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2017/07/07/eight-simple-memorization-tricks-to-help-you-remember-anything/#124fc56b7f25

Good luck.

Author: Victoria Jerde

Victoria Jerde is a writer who enjoys long walks through forgotten mine fields, cutting her hair spontaneously, and reading books that make her cry for no reason. She likes to spend all her money on face masks that probably don't make a recognizable difference, and she is also the type of person to lose everything that she owns. Her favorite hobbies include waking up at two in the morning because she thought of something to write about, sewing clothes when she gets stressed out, and being a fake IG model because hey, why not?

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