By Raven Bautista, staff writer
As this stressful quarantine continues, it is starting to become difficult to maintain motivation. Luckily, certain items in my household have changed my way of life to give me a little boost of inspiration and helped keep me going.
Cat light: For 2 years I have kept this lamp for the memories it has given me, especially reminding me of my favorite teacher. I would bring this to her classroom and have it sitting next to me while she taught; she would always be excited to see it, making it the mascot of the class. The thought of her teaching and high spirits keeps my motivation high during homework time.
Treadmill: Ever since my 7 day challenge, I have been running more often but the pandemic has made it hard to be out. Because of that, I bought a treadmill to exercise more safely in my house. It made running more convenient and came at a good price. Now I can run my mile in peace and it allows me to do this anytime.
Computer Setup: This was my first huge purchase that I am really proud of. All the equipment for this was with my own money. I am also able to multitask with my work and it makes online learning easier. Plus, the closest human interaction I had throughout this year was through talking online and playing games. Having this makes it more enjoyable during online learning and allows me to get up in the morning knowing that I am at least getting some interaction.
Monkey Bank: Because of this monkey bank always sitting in my room, I have gained a new way of saving money through the form of depositing money every time I enter through my computer room, and I walk there a lot. Since it’s next to my door, I just walk in a drop either a dollar or coins. Ever since October, he has been collecting all my money and I have loved him sitting there since he is basically my savings account teaching me to save more and spend less.
Milk tea: After the end of each week, I would reward myself with a nice cup of milk tea to celebrate another week of completing a school week. I use milk tea as a for completing the stressful week of working at home and allows me to expect something by the end of the week. It’s a great way of saying that all the hard work I have done will pay off in the future.
Bed: The idea of this neat bed is that it helps me throughout the day to do things such as chores. This tiny task of fixing my bed as neat as possible in the morning gives me a sense of pride, and inspires me to want to do another task, then another. From there, that one task completed became multiple tasks finished. And doing my bed speaks out to me that doing the little things do matter because that little thing will then become something bigger.
Tablet and mouse: The tablet I use here allows me to play a challenging rhythm game. Because of its frustrating songs and multiple difficulties, it always gives me chances to improve myself at it. This game inspires me greatly to try harder and I apply that to school work and always have the mindset of “I could always do better.” That way, I can put in more effort than I am supposed to.
