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How to sync your canvas calendar to your phone calendar

So a new semester is starting and you want to prepare. Typically it’s best to start prepping for a new term the moment classes are open. If you are an online student, you may become a little overwhelmed by the amount of assignments being thrown at you. It is hard to keep up.

As someone who likes to keep things structured to mitigate that, I found a great system for staying organized. Here I will show you probably the most important step you should do when beginning a new class online. Writing down deadlines.

Sure, writing things down manually works. However, one way to do this more efficiently is taking a look at your canvas calendar.

Step 1: Open the Canvas Calendar

On the right side bar, you will select the classes you want to sync in the Calendars section. Once selected your calendar will show you the assignment deadlines for only those courses. Next, you will look at the bottom right corner, under “Undated” you will find the words Calendar Feed. Click on that.

Step 2: Click Calendar Feed & Download

After clicking on Calendar Feed you will get this small window. Click on the “Click to view Calendar Feed” link.

This will download the calendar to your computer as an ICS file. You will go into your downloads window and click on the downloaded file. It should look something like this or be the most recent downloaded file.

Step 3: Sync to Calendar

Clicking on the file should automatically open up your calendar app. It will prompt you on which “destination” you would like to send the calendar. (This is where having a designated place to put certain events would be most useful. For me, I like to color code different events. For school events my color is green, and labeled “school”. Yours may look a little different. You can toggle the settings of your calendar in the calendar app to customize it in the way that works for you.)

After choosing a destination and clicking “OK” you now have your assignments for the term synced to your computer. One useful thing to do is to sync your calendar on your computer to the calendar on your phone. For me, I use iCloud to sync most of my files across my Macbook Pro, iPad, and iPhone.

I also like to place a widget of my calendar app to somewhere I can see it every day. For me, I like having it on my home screen. This may not be ideal for some people, but this is just what works for me. Having the calendar front and center means I will always know what deadlines are coming up next.

Hopefully this may be helpful to some students who are in similar positions. This method may not work for everyone, but it’s always great to learn different ways of planning and prepping so that we may achieve the results we want. Good luck to you all and have a great and successful semester!


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Productivity

Why you should celebrate your birthday every year

Birthdays have always been a really special day in my perspective. It is the one day of the year dedicated exclusively to celebrating you and the fact that you exist. I have always cherished my birthdays especially because the years seem to fly by so quickly.

It’s a good time to reflect on how far you have come. It’s also a time to set forth intentions for a new year of living. What can you work on? How do you want to spend your time? What mistakes can you learn from? It’s a time to reassess and realize the things you know, now that you are a little bit older and (hopefully) wiser.

Is it another day?

Some people treat their birthdays like it’s just another day. I have had coworkers and friends tell me they either worked or did absolutely nothing on their birthday. Sometimes I found it heartbreaking, You exist. I want to say, You’re here, and you’re alive, and we get to be involved in this great miracle called life and it’s just another day?

It deeply puzzled me. However, sometimes they truly seemed happy with the way they spent their day. To them, they celebrate the fact that they exist by being present and doing the things they would normally do anyways.

From my little sister Marissa’s 15th birthday party

But why not treat yourself in some way? Your birthday only comes once a year. It is the only time where you can truly feel special and no one can say anything about it. You don’t have to feel guilty over allowing yourself to give and receive (to yourself).

The memories that you will share are reason enough to go out and do something. Whether it is going to a place you have wanted to visit for the longest time, trying something new, or watching that movie you’ve been meaning to watch. The ideas are endless.

Life isn’t short, our time is

Who knows how long our time here is. It’s important to find joy in the fact that we made it another day. We got to wake up in the morning and experience life all over again. These are mini blessings that we take for granted.

Our birthdays are a time to practice reflection, to practice gratitude, to celebrate another year come and gone and the wish to experience many more after. It is also a time for the people around you to appreciate you and spend time with you. As someone who is big on giving hand written cards for birthdays, I find it the perfect opportunity to go into detail about how much the person is appreciated and loved.

My sister Angie celebrating her dog’s 1st birthday with a dog edible cake

As an aside, my birthday is coming up (the reason for this week’s topic), and I have been feeling really reflective about my life so far. I find myself happy about certain milestones. I find motivation to continue to make more progress to my own personal goals.

I am happy to get to reach another year. For some people my age (especially women), turning older seems like a scary thing. I can understand why to some extent. However, getting older is the natural course of the world and there should be nothing scary about it!

Each year is a new stage

There will be moments as you get older where your priorities will shift. A lot of ego deaths as well. The things that seemed to matter to you so much when you were younger don’t seem to be that important any more.

You find interesting new desires and things you would rather accomplish and your purpose becomes sharper. Getting older isn’t scary. It is enlightening. You get to experience for the first time adulthood. Something that was so mysterious to you as a child becomes fun and exciting as you age.

Balloons from my 29th birthday

It also helps when you are surrounded by older women in your life who seem to age so gracefully. You realize you can only get better from here on out, and that’s the secret to birthdays. Birthdays are a signifier of accomplishing and completely another stage of life.

So for those thinking of not doing anything this year or the next, I implore you to at least try doing something for yourself. At least once. You are too important and your presence matters to everyone around you. Walk with pride in being part of this amazing experience of living and changing.


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Life, Self Care

Explaining “The Winter Arc” and why people do it

You may have seen this phrase across social media. I myself have only seen it a couple times. The Winter Arc. What is it? And why is everyone talking about it?

In truth, this phrase was not something I would expect to discuss. However, after talking about it with a friend, I found it an interesting topic to delve into. What is it? You may have guessed that it has something to do with the coming winter season and that an arc has to do with a portion of a story that may be coming to an end.

At least that is what I have come to insinuate. It may be something altogether more, depending on who is interpreting it. For my friend, for example, he has come to understand the phrase as a time to regain focus on ending the year (or the winter season/last couple months of the year) on goals and finishing the year strong.

So why is everyone doing it?

Much like those who take the new year to define a “new them”, this case of The Winter Arc is about challenging yourself to finish doing the things you set out to do in the beginning of the year. Kind of like finishing a marathon with a final push. It’s a very motivating message to those who may have been struggling throughout the year.

The Winter Arc in a sense, is an underdog tale or part of a finale to the redemption story. For those who feel like the main character of their lives, their story will come full circle by the end. No matter how the year began, or how it went, there is still time for those who would like to achieve what they thought impossible.

Even if you did accomplish so much, it’s good to look back and try to challenge yourself to do more. A lot can happen in a month, imagine where you will be in three. So to those hoping to look for inspiration on breaking bad habits, achieving new ones, or hitting their goals. Use “The Winter Arc” to help propel yourself forward.

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Life, Productivity

Quietness is not a bad thing

As an introvert I have found that a lot of people will often times equate silence for something “wrong” or worrying. Being quiet is not a bad thing. It doesn’t mean that someone is upset or feeling downcast in some way.

This is just how some people function. Much like an extrovert cannot help but fill the silence, introverts cannot help being quiet. It is something we do to regulate ourselves when our social battery is low.

Quietness is tranquil, it is not a signifier of something awry.

Sometimes we may still end up overthinking someone’s quietness. Especially when it is sudden or uncharacteristic of them. Being able to communicate that to people can help overcome those anxieties surrounding quietness.

Before asking, always make sure to practice discernment. Is this person usually quiet in the mornings? Rather than overthinking about the less than energetic vibes they give off after a party or work, ask yourself if it is usual for them. They may need a moment to recharge and will return to conversate when they are ready.

Voice your concerns to them if you feel it is something serious.

Of course there are instances where the quietness is not usual for that particular person. It is then encouraged to communicate how you feel towards them. Hey, I noticed you have been so quiet lately, do you want to talk about anything? This can help the person confide in you if something is wrong.

At the end of the day, quietness is not something that should be assumed as a bad thing. Everyone has their quiet moments, and we all have our more noisy moments as well. Being able to understand the difference between peace and noise can bring strength to our relationships. Knowing when to ask and knowing when to let people be and enjoy the quietness with them.


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Relationships

What good can come from a white lie?

Do you ever think of yourself as an honest person? Someone who always tells the truth regardless of what may happen? Just by asking yourself that question alone, you may have thought of instances where you may have told a white lie.

What is a white lie?

A white lie is a lie about something small or unimportant to avoid hurting another person.* For those who try their best to be as honest as possible, this may seem unthinkable. However, you may not even notice you create white lies all the time.

One example I noticed is when a friend and I went to try out a new restaurant. After sitting down to order some food, my friend told me he did not find it very good. The owner of the restaurant came to our table to ask us how we liked the food. Without missing a beat, my friend told him it was very good!

Confused by this lie, I listened to them conversate and then afterwards asked why he lied. He told me that he wanted to make that man’s day. The owner had come to our table happily asking us what we thought and instead of giving blunt feedback, he was given reassurance in that moment.

When is it necessary to lie?

You would likely answer never. It is never okay to lie. What about a white lie? As we defined above, these lies are used to avoid hurting someone else. For my friend, he chose to do this to avoid hurting the restaurant owner’s feelings. Instead, he chose to make a negative food experience into a positive one by offering words of encouragement to someone else.

Maybe it wasn’t true but it was kind. Spreading kindness whenever you can, is what may constitute a reason to let a white lie slip. Even though we may not be truthful in that moment, would it really be so terrible to spare someone’s feelings and make their day a little brighter?

If the lie creates more good than bad, wouldn’t that be reason enough to tell it? So what good can from a white lie? The goodness comes from making someone happy, by spreading kindness, and by being good to those who are out there at least trying.


*White lie definition

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/white%20lie

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Life, Relationships
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