Lately, I feel like I have been losing motivation for almost everything. Even just getting up out of my bed and getting a glass of water. I don’t know if it’s because winter is creeping up, or if it’s because I work myself out of energy. But I think about when I was little and how much more energy I had. Clearly, kids have a lot of energy, but it feels different now that I’m older. I miss being a kid so much, but growing up has just been dreadful lately. I remember when school used to be fun. It would just be a place where I would see my friends. But now the only thing that motivates me to get out of bed in the morning is if I have a free block that day. I usually don’t, but sometimes I wait until the last minute to do my homework or anything else I need to do before bed. I’ll be lying down on my phone, and when the clock hits 9, I say 5 more minutes. Next thing I know, it’s 11. Hopefully, I will get my motivation to do things back soon.
Tag: motivation
Losing Myself in Social Media
I find procrastination to be my greatest weakness. I am easily susceptible to distractions that provide a sense of comfort and escape from my responsibilities. Thus, over the last couple of months, I have been actively working to diminish the effects of procrastination on my ability to be productive: I would listen to white noise, go to cafes, and distance myself from people who I thought would hinder my focus.
However, upon checking my screen time hours, I was dumbfounded to see that I spend 2-3 hours on social media applications daily. I initially didn’t know how this could be true, as I didn’t feel as though I had been spending so much time on social media. But that is how social media tricks you.
Short scrolls of videos feel so quick and condensed that it is hard to imagine they take up a significant amount of time. But the number of times I would pick up my phone for short scrolling sessions throughout the day would add up to the point where I would be spending more time on platforms with short scrolling videos, such as Instagram or TikTok, than on platforms with longer content, such as YouTube or Netflix.
In the 2-3 daily hours spent scrolling, I could watch a full movie or complete my homework. Yet, I find myself mindlessly consuming insignificant content that I end up quickly forgetting anyway.
Moving forward, I will aim to reduce my time on social media platforms significantly, as I fear that with this current trajectory, I will waste so much time I could be spending in the real world working towards my goals in hobbies or academics. Specifically, I will implement time limits or remove social media applications from my devices entirely. Because a platform designed to bring people together shouldn’t be keeping me isolated from the rest of the world.
Picture Credit: Google
Itaewon Class
Recently I’ve finished a Netflix show called Itaewon Class, I will say it is one of my favorite tv shows. It was so popular in 2020, but I never get a chance to watch it. It’s a k-drama, but it’s not the same as the other k-drama that only talk about love or are so exaggerated. This show talks a lot about the issue in this society, and also relationships, of course. However, I don’t know how the director did this. Every time when I finished an episode, I just wanted to work harder every other day. I told myself that I don’t care how long it takes, I’m still going to study hard and work harder, so I can be happy in the future. I don’t want to expose too many details, but I highly recommend you to watch it. It’s really good!
My Daily Motivation
Every day when I woke up I look at those quotes and tell myself that I will get stronger and better than yesterday. I must keep going because I almost achieved my dream. If you are lost, and the quotes below that motivate you; I recommend you to write them down, and look at them every day. Tell yourself you are not weak or stupid. You are good enough, but enough is not enough; become someone you wanted to be.
- I know you’re tired, I know you’ve been hurt, I know you’re alone, but You’re making it, keep working on yourself.
2. Aye it’s all good bro. You just forgot who you were for a second. No worries. Welcome back, focus up and stay locked in. We got dreams to achieve.
3. Your next chapter is going to cause people to wish they treated you better.
4. Thanks for taking that extra rest day bro, I thought you were catching up for a second.
5. It doesn’t get easier bro. Growth is painful, but nothing is as painful as staying in the same place
6. Maybe right now your journey isn’t about love, maybe right now your journey is about you.
7. I know you’re tired but get up. We got people to prove wrong.
Levitate
Sometimes I just contemplate random stuff.
It is hard to explain it in words, but it is like reflection time, thinking about
how unplanned and pathetic my life is.
I pretend unconsciously that I’m doing well, but in fact, I know something’s not right.
I need to get my life together. I need to be more organized and planned.
I’m in a rush.
I will levitate from bottom to top again.
I need strong motivation.
I will try my best.
I will be the most successful one in my family.
Runs Like This
School was hard today; long homework assignments on top of essays on top of tests on top of projects and, to make my day more stressful, I spent hours anxious and worried about fears in my head. To top it off, I skipped lunch to try and end a relationship with a boy without hurting his feelings, but it made the situation worse. By my last class period, my brain was throbbing wanting to explode and my anxiety was through the roof.
I wanted to lay in bed and cry, but I thought of a semicolon and put on my running clothes.
This is where my day started to change.
I asked an amazing girl if she wanted to run with me, I knew she had to run today anyway because she is training for a half marathon, so I thought we could run together.
She said yes and we set off for a five mile run.
After about two hundred feet, a sharp pain in my calf that I get often when I run started to scream inside my leg. My negative mind set began to kick in. I’m going to slow her down… This run is going to suck. You’re not going to be able to do this. You’re such a slow runner. This is why your coach isn’t proud of you. This is why you won’t make it to CIF.
Luckily, I made an amazing decision: I took a deep breath, cast out the negative voices, and just kept running.
My running parter and I talked about school and life and running. We talked until we both fell silent as we slipped under the spell of running: our movements connected directly to our breath, the pain became a faint feeling instead of an all-encompassing sensation, our foot steps made a clip-clop clip-clop rhythm. Our breathing was all our mind focused on and we became encompassed in the aura of running.
Breath in, step step, breath out, step step, breath in, step step, breath out, step step…
My breathing was like a conductor and my footsteps were the orchestra.
I usually run alone and it’s crazy how much running with other people can change your running experience. Even when we weren’t talking, I felt like my running partner was there for me. If I fell, she would catch me. If I needed to slow down, she would stay with me. If I wanted to run ten more miles, she would run with me and I hope she knows that I would do the exact same for her. If you are reading this right now, I hope you know how grateful I am to run with you.
When you’re in the zen of running, you go with the flow, you are supportive of your peers, and you are supportive of yourself. This is how I was today.
My legs felt strong, my mind felt clear. I was next to an amazing girl, surrounded by beautiful scenery. I was happy.
Once we got to our destination, we bought drinks, smiled, laughed, talked, and stretched out our aching muscles.
Running is an unpredictable sport. Somedays you’ll run a mile and your legs will feel like lead. You’ll be miserable, in pain, and want to stop. Other days, you’ll run ten miles and feel amazing, like you could keep going forever.
On bad running days, your brain will say “stop running,” your body will say “stop running,” but you need to find it in your heart to say “keep running.”
Runs like today are the reason my heart says “keep running.”
After bad workouts, bad races, and times where I want to quit, I will think back to the run I did today and think: “Runs like that are why I love running.”
Ready, Set, Action!
Most people go through life at a normal rate, but some people are simply born ready to go.
Annabelle Ridgeway, a Philadelphian who, at age four is already a master in determination, fits this category.
With nothing on her mind but her strong desire for a slushie, Annabelle slipped out her back door at three in the morning and boarded the bus to the nearest 7-Eleven. The girl wanted something, and she took action.
Although the girl’s actions could have been dangerous, she truly exemplifies the motivation that even some adults lack. At such a young age she already knows how to take initiative, plan and take action. And she stopped at nothing to reach her goal.
The determination that Annabelle possesses is admirable, especially for a four-year old. Many adults would do well to take after this little girl – not necessarily in a slushie escapade, but in the values she encompasses.
Senioritis
SENIORITIS!!!!
It’s here. And it’s kicking in BIG TIME.
I was extremely motivated to do well in school in the beginning of the year. Don’t get me wrong, I still want to do well, and I haven’t completely given up. But ever since college applications have all been turned in, I have noticed a shift within me and my friends that I thought I would be able to resist.
It also could be more apparent in me than in my peers, considering the fact that I have been in high school for 5 years rather than the average 4. I have had an extra year of wanting to be out of here, and it is eating away at me little by little.
Some people might not agree, but for me, I actually like going to school for the most part. But the fact that it’s the SAME THING every single day, and the fact that I feel like there’s more and more homework each week.
SO. MUCH. HOMEWORK.
I hope that this upcoming break will help dissipate some of these feelings, at least a little bit, but I’m pretty sure it will not be solved until the day that I graduate. The more I keep thinking about it, the worse it gets. I guess I just need to try harder than ever to keep myself motivated and not slack off!
Just about 4 months and 3 days until graduation, it’ll all be over. At least, for a little bit.
The Last Blog
This is my last blog of the year-the last blog as a junior.
So should I write about?
Well, I can write about almost anything. About how my friends are leaving in a eight days, or how maybe I found out that I became president. I could write about how I will be going to Chicago this summer for a medicine forum. Or I could talk about unicorns and how much I ABHOR butterflies. Ick.
But, I feel like my last blog should be more substantial than my usual potpourri. My final blog should be more.
This blog (my last blog) is a tribute to a very special person. A teacher to be more specific.
I have had him teach me in a subject every single year that I have been here at Ojai Valley School Upper Campus.
The greatest thing about this man is that he knows when and how to push me to my greatest potential. I don’t think I have learned more about my own limits than I have when I was learning from this teacher.
He has an interesting way of teaching. History, which is the subject he teaches, happens to be the subject I hate the most. But, when I learned it from him, it was my favorite subject. It was because of his humorous way of teaching that engaged all of his students and made everybody love taking his class. But this teacher is not just jokes but he knows when to be serious and knows motivate his students to do their best.
Mr. Alvarez, you are not only my favorite teacher, but you are my coach and one of the people I look up to. You are great and I am happy that I was fortunate enough to take your classes every year. Thank you for being such an excellent teacher and for motivating me to always do my best. I can’t wait for journalism next year, during my senior year. Haha hopefully, you will be able to put up with my major college stress and senioritis.
OVS Journalism Blog 