Studying maps like they are stories

When a map feels like a hundred facts shouting at once, I pick one color and follow only that. Coastlines first. Then rivers. Then borders, because borders are often the messiest part and they make more sense if the land already has a shape in my head.

I also write tiny captions in the margins, not for the teacher, for me. “Fog here.” “Mountains like a spine.” It makes the page feel less like a test and more like a notebook.