When I was 16 back in 2001, I memorized 700 vocabulary flashcards for my SAT over the course of my sophomore summer. 

The cards were great: they raised my score to a 1520 and helped get me into Harvard for undergrad and Peking University and the London School of Economics for Master's degrees. Meanwhile,  words like "assuage," "magnanimous," and "partisan" became a part of my natural vocabulary ever since, benefitting my writing and conversation.

I can't say I remember a single thing about the example sentences on those 700 flashcards, though! 

Perhaps that was a wasted opportunity.

 

I say that because I spent my teens, college years, and even 20s and early 30s struggling with numerous parts of my life, from social anxiety and insecurity to poor study habits, a lack of clarity about what to do in my life, and an inability to do it very well yet! 

So over the years, I geeked out on the most inspiring books I could find, and bit by bit, I found success in these different arenas of my life.

These insights have since formed the basis of my well-known online Zoom course for high school and university students "Social Skills for Life," which teaches kids how to connect with others and how to empower themselves to live their best lives.

These SAT vocabulary flashcards, meanwhile, are the marriage of the top-level words and top-level lessons that have gotten me to the success and fulfillment I've been so blessed to have at this point in life.

Absolute best of luck with them, and do reach out to me with any feedback or down-the-line success stories that emerged as a result of them!