Studyspo is another Tumblr community that is virtually underground, and yet its user base is gaining more and more traction as time passes. The idea of 'study' and 'inspiration', or shorter, widely used, inspo, put together is not common for the majority of high school and college students. In fact, it's almost strange how one can see 'studying' as a form of beauty, and the beauty in which the studying invokes can motivate others. Studyspo, and study blogs are just the little positivities a community online could create for the young students. The trend allows us to like studying, note-taking, while maintaining a positive outlook on our education. Tumblr is one of the conduits for the studyspo community, and it is also where I discovered such a group existed.

Pastel highlighters, gorgeous pen colors, minimalist notebooks, and beautiful study spaces — these are all examples you see when you go into the studyspo tag, Google images, and Pinterest. You would also find people giving tips and advice on how to stay motivated, prepare for tests, exams, quizes, how to relax after studying, or what to eat or drink during studying. Sometimes, people will make a list of study supplies such as pens, pencil, highlighters, notebooks, journals, etc. There is a plethora of posts that may make someone new to the whole studyspo thing overwhelmed. But, I think that one good thing about being in studyspo is that you don't need to follow all of them. They are just that, advices and resources, two things that are optional as long as you can follow the outline. The outline of course, is to want to learn and succeed in school. That is it, you can start your own study blog and call yourself part of the studyspo community.

You ought to expect to meet countless other types of students, from the youngest being 13, to the oldest being in their mid-20's. You get high school students and college students from all over the country, and their aspirations, dreams, and future plans. Still, you often wonder just how much time they put into their studying. Do they do it all the time, with barely any time for free days? Or are they just very versatile in their note-taking and studying that they can manage free time? This is what I thought when I started following study blogs on Tumblr. However, as time passed, I realized that people manage things in their own unique ways. Not everyone needs a colorful and pretty notebook that looks like they slaved away at it for hours. Still, seeing these notes, journals, etc,. are what spurred me on to re-think my note taking skills, and whatnot.

Here are some common things you can see in a studyspo/studyblr post. They are not just 'popular', but also the ideal types of photographs because they are exactly what studyspo should be centered around:

Notes are the most common form of pictures you will see. The thing about a good majority of them is that they are seldom simple with just black pen on white paper. People tend to make fancy titles, subtitles, use drawings, and diagrams that doesn't just make their notes pretty, but also make the notes more informative and useful to their studies. Lined notebooks are popular, but some bloggers like using graph-ruled notebooks as well. I prefer the latter, as there is something more well put together about graph pages than lined pages. If you are feeling bold, go with blank piece of papers and see how neat your sentences could be without lines to guide you.

Bullet journaling is a popular form of mixed topics journal that is personalized according to each person's needs. Typically, it has an index, a calendar, and a planner type spread for each month. The bullet journal is meant to be used to keep track of the things due, a place to keep up with general life, a diary, and a fun canvas for people who likes to decorate. Since it is your personalized journal, you can make it however you want. People sometimes put fancy headers, such as for months or which day they are keeping track of. Doodles, stickers, photographs, and other decorative items could be put there to make the journal pop. Journal brands such as Moleskine are popular among the studyspo community, but regular journals can do just as well.

A lot of people, including myself, use pens and highlighters that are a bit more expensive on the budget. However, these pens and highlighters come out in a slightly better quality than the average ones you buy in Wal-Mart or Target. My favorite go-to for pens are the Muji Gel Ink 0.38mm and the Zebra Mildliners. Muji pens are kind of all the rage, as the 0.38mm ones are really fine, and they have ink that could last at least a year, so long as you don't use them for coloring in stuff everyday. Zebra Midliners are highlighters on one end, and markers on another end. Their colors, as highlighters, are rather bright, but smooth. Also, I like the types of color they are available in, such as seafoam green, pink, peach, and the standard yellow.

People like their study spaces, because that is essentially where they live academically, if they are out of class. Usually, you see people post pictures of their desk area, or some other space such as a public library. However, desk spaces in their homes are the most popular, and also the most aesthetically pleasing. The inspiration for people like me when I see these desk areas is that I should make my space clean and minimal as well. Or, they could even help with ideas such as what you need on your desk, and what you would like to make it really pop.