Recently, I’ve noticed something about myself that’s quite alarming. No, it’s not my senioritis. Or my German 4 grade. If you know me, it’s something on the psychological side: I lose interest in things really fast.

Here’s what I mean. I still remember the first month of AP Chemistry—happy, enthusiastic, doing well, and interested. Three months later? I could hardly care less—I’m playing Zynga Poker during the lectures.

Okay. Maybe that’s not the best example (after all, senioritis, am I right?).

I’ll be real honest here. To all of my closer friends reading this right now, then you know I’ve always been an avid gamer. I’m talking about the stay-up-until-3am-on-a-weekday-with-2-tests-the-next-morning type. But now? I lie in bed on Reddit as I grudgingly watch the hours slowly roll by, too lethargic to put on my headset and jump into a game of League of Legends. To be honest, I would’ve never thought it’d turn out like this: one of my greatest pastimes turned to the ultimate boredom.

I’ll be even honest-er here. When I first got my Subaru WRX, I was ecstatic. Sure, it was used, but it was something I’d been saving up for years. I loved its sleek look, its swishing turbo, the black rims—everything. Nowadays, I occasionally opt for my mom’s Honda CRV when I’m too lazy to push in the clutch and manually shift gears.

Ouch. That one hurt. 

On the bright side, I’ve made my first strides in fixing the issue; that is, actually realizing the issue. And, I’m here to make sure you guys don’t experience the same thing.

Now, before I continue onto the facts and stuff, I want to clarify what we’re talking about here (you know, just in case you guys don’t relate with the video game and racecar talk). I’m talking about that horrible, mind-fogging feeling of having nothing to do and no motivation to try anything new. I just want to sleep. I don’t want to go outside. I don’t want to hang out. I don’t want to read a book. There’s literally nothing to do. That kind of stuff.

And if that doesn’t do the trick, then here’s the best example I can give: senior assassins. The first week? Amazing. Everyone is speeding in their cars, developing elaborate plans, forging alliances and breaking bonds. Two months later? The word assassins becomes a lost name in the wind. The hype is over, and nobody could care less about the game.

With that said, it’s time to get to the “fixing-the-problem” part of the blog. 

So, we have to consider—why do we lose interest so fast in the first place?

Well, according to focusingresources.com, it comes down to discipline and sustainability; that there is “something hard about the switchover from early enthusiasm to the kind of steadiness it takes to sustain intention.” An article from medium.com also compliments this point nicely, stating that a lack of motivation to continue the hobby/activity spirals into a deadly cycle until you eventually stop doing it.

And if we really think about these concepts, it makes sense. This brand new video game is pretty fun… until months later, the mental focus and time commitment is no longer worth the mediocre enjoyment. Or maybe you just got into journaling. But you soon find out you’d rather watch rom-coms on Netflix rather than doodle in a notebook. That’s right—you’ve lost interest.

Come on, doesn’t journaling look soooo appealing? 

Now take that concept and apply it to the hobbies in your life that you’ve ditched. What happens? Nothing is worth the effort anymore. 

Fortunately, I have compiled some of the best advice from professional psychologists to help you combat this issue (of course, if you want to read into it a little more, here and here are the articles).

Their advice is simple, sure, but pretty darn effective. From successconsciousness.com, it’s important to remain persistent, and to develop willpower and self-discipline. And from medium.com, a “self-empowering talk” is a simple, yet effective motivator.

Simple yet effective infographic

Let me explain. I’m sure you’ve heard this first part a million times before—persistence, hard-work, yadda yadda yadda. It’s your everyday, generic pep-talk. But if you actually pick up that pencil, close your laptop, and continue journaling, even when you really don’t want to, you might actually find some new inspiration. As I mentioned in my previous blog, the greatest ideas can come from the most unexpected moments. And you definitely need to persist if you want to experience that. That’s right—slap yourself in the face, give yourself a good ol’ talk in the shower, and get back to it.

(This is a great video—not necessarily the most on topic, but great insight overall. Short and concise, a must-watch!)

Oh, and guess what? I’m about to play some video games and drive around with my friends. And it’s going to be a great time. 

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Sources

https://medium.com/@benkissam/4-reasons-you-lose-motivation-quickly-b75b43f3678b

https://www.successconsciousness.com/enthusiasm.html

Why do I lose interest in so many things?

Alright. I’ll get straight to the point. Senioritis is hitting me right now. Hard. 

And I’m sure that’s the case for many of you guys as well. After all, our lack of motivation and productivity can be justified to an extent—we’re done with college apps, our senior grades hardly matter, all of that good stuff.

I’m sure that senioritis is consuming many, if not all, of us right now. I’ll be honest, I haven’t done Calculus homework in six days. Sometimes I dread the thought of jazz rehearsal and opt for a nice nap after school. And, as all of you know, I’m practically late to class every day (sorry Mrs. Trowbridge!).

But amidst my ever-growing spiral towards complete sloth-ism, there’s one thing that I’ve actually been doing a lot more—something that I’d never have guessed I’d be doing almost every day: reading.

Before most of you grill me for procrastinating my Beloved reading assignment, I’ve actually been reading books that really focus on the mind. Philosophy, economics, problem-solving, math, puzzles—all of these topics have recently captured my ever shortened attention span. And I encourage all of you guys to do the same.

Okay, hear me out. The truth is, probably over half of you haven’t touched a book (outside of required reading) since your days of Harry Potter and Percy Jackson. That’s understandable. I was in your position about a month ago. But, when my mom replaced my typical Christmas present consisting of money and bags of junk food with Thinking, Fast and Slow, I’ve been hooked on reading ever since. 

One of my favorite books of all time, I strongly recommend it to each and every one of you.

Now, I’ll delve into the benefits of reading in just a second here, but I want to explain the actual reasoning behind my recent inspiration to read. The truth is, I had no intention of ever touching the book my mom gave me for Christmas. However, as I began to seriously reconsider my mentality as a second semester senior—constantly tired, barely using 5% of my brain, and severely lacking productivity—I realized that reading might be a half-decent option to return my brain to its prime without actually studying intermolecular forces and integrals.

After all, we all love our brains (at least, I hope), right? And second semester senior year is a prime time for us to begin letting go of our schoolwork and revert to the cognitively untaxing activities. But let’s look at the bigger picture here. We’re all going to college in a couple of months, we all want to get good grades and secure that high-paying job, yadda yadda yadda. So my reasoning in encouraging you all to read is as simple as this: let’s keep our brains well-functioning and prepared as we embark on one of the greatest journeys of our lives. 

Reading is probably the only thing keeping me as a fully functional human being right now. As I flip through the pages of The 125 Best Brain Teasers of all Time, I envision myself in my math class, rigorously searching through the nooks and crannies of my mind and searching for an answer. Or when I read One Up on Wall Street, I realize I’ve gaining important yet interesting knowledge that directly relates to my dream job. Heck, I even go back to fictional novels from time to time. 

Regardless of what you choose to read, its unequivocal effects should remain more or less the same—to keep your attention deeply fixated on one topic, fulfill your interests, and ultimately improve brain function.

According to Big Think, “the regions of your brain involved in spatial navigation and learning new information increase in size. It makes you more intelligent and empathetic.” Not that any of us are surprised, but reading has scientifically proven benefits to brain function. Now, I could sit here all day and bore you with psychology jargon regarding the positives of reading, but I’m well aware that we, as angsty teenagers, hate hearing this kind of stuff. So take it from your fellow senioritis-consumed classmate, and go pick up a book.  

Infographic detailing the effects of reading on the brain, for all of you science buffs out there. 

And if you won’t take it from me, then take it from Carol Fitzgerald from Psychology Today. As a researcher and a blogger herself, I think her opinion is the best of both worlds; she says “people are interested in escape. You’ve got this encapsulated escape that you can enjoy.” 

I couldn’t agree more. As I immerse myself in mathematical theory and Greg Heffely’s pathetic middle school life, I forget about the college-related anxiety and Coronavirus that’s currently plaguing the world. And when I flip over the last page and place the book back onto my bookshelf, I can’t help but feel fulfilled and a tad more intelligent. 

So sure, my reason to read isn’t exactly the most elegant. I mean, it’s quite literally “we’re all lazy and unmotivated as hell right now, we should revive our intellectual vitality by reading words on a page.” So what? Regardless of how dumb the reasoning may be, it’s the actual benefits you gain from reading that really matters here. Who knows, maybe you’ll even continue reading as you continue your undergraduate studies at XYZ college. And if you do, you’ll thank me for writing this blog. 

If all of what you’ve just read still isn’t enough to convince you, then think of it this way. If you’ve taken the time to read this blog thoroughly, then I can’t see why you wouldn’t give reading a shot. The authors are more knowledgeable, interesting to read, and just overall better writers than I am. So what are you waiting for? 

Go read. 

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Works Cited

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-athletes-way/201401/reading-fiction-improves-brain-connectivity-and-function

https://www.cambridgebrainsciences.com/more/articles/book-smarts-the-brain-benefits-of-reading

https://bigthink.com/21st-century-spirituality/reading-rewires-your-brain-for-more-intelligence-and-empathy

I’m so sleepy right now. In fact, I’m so sleepy that I can barely keep my eyes open as I write this blog.

It’s 9:33pm, I took three tests today, and had an ear-piercing music rehearsal for two hours. Oh, and not to mention the ubiquitous stress that eats away at my soul every passing second.

Funny enough, these thoughts are nothing new. As your stereotypical stressed-out high schooler, sleep is on my mind from the moment I wake up to brushing my teeth. 

It looks like I’m not alone when I say I’m always stressed. In our generation, students are more anxious and sleep-deprived than ever.

The thing is, though, I hardly manage my time in a way that maximizes my sleep time. Ironic, I know, but I still waste hours on social media and video games despite my constant craving for rest. 

I know for a fact that it’s not just me, however. While there is no doubt in my mind that many of you reading this have superior time management skills, there’s that impulsive side of us that sacrifices our sleep time for something else. 

Maybe it’s that one friend who’s always begging to hang out, or that episode of The Office that you can’t wait to rewatch for 8th time. Regardless of the scenario, we’re always finding ways to replace a chunk of sleep to do something else—that’s the mentality that plagues us all as students.

We’ve all been here, at one point or another

Let me explain. We undeniably love sleep. We understand its importance. We know it’s critical to our health and cognitive prowess. And yet, we’re so ready to sacrifice it for something far less important. In a sense, it’s quite paradoxical: we hold sleep so dear to us and yet we’ll sacrifice it in a heartbeat.

Okay, maybe you’re not convinced at how ridiculous this situation is. Perhaps a couple analogies will help.

I gotta look good in public. I need to take care of my skin, brush my teeth, and work out… Wait. What’s this? The new season of Stranger Things? I’ll skip the gym and eat a bag of cheetos so I can binge this all night!

I love my dog. It’s so fluffy and cute, and an integral part of my happiness. Let me just throw it out the window so I can text my friends instead of walking it in this weather.

I’ve been friends with this guy for over 10 years. He just called me three minutes ago saying how he was burning in a wildfire and needed my help, but I hung up so I could go play Xbox!

Maybe some of these were over the top, but you get the point. Appearance, pets, close friends—all of these are things that we strongly value and would never throw away for the sake of something insignificant. 

So why should we neglect our sleep so willingly? A couple days ago, I came across this popular reddit post analyzing the long term effects of sleep deprivation, and that was enough to knock me awake at 1am.

I’ll let you take a closer read of the article here, but I’ll still cover the main takeaways from this crucial post. 

For all you biology buffs out there, we know how important telomeres are. They’re extensions off the tips of our chromosomes, and regulate how fast we age. Over time, these telomeres shorten, resulting in the typical effects we experience as we grow older. You know—wrinkles, aching bones, all of that good stuff.

Visual representation of telomere shortening

For people that sleep 7 hours or more on a daily basis, their telomeres shorten as a natural, healthy pace. For people that sleep 5 or less? Unsurprisingly, their telomeres shorten at a much faster rate. According to a publication from PubMed, “telomeres were on average 6% shorter in men sleeping 5 hours or fewer compared with those sleeping more than 7 hours per night.” 

Now, I know what you’re thinking. 6%? That’s practically nothing! Well, percentage off a test? Yes—it’s whatever. Percentage off your lifespan? That’s quite a bit.

As the sleepless nights rack up gradually, our biological age increases at a pace that’s in complete discord from our actual age. We may look fine now, but we could end up looking like we’re 45 by the time we’re 30. 

Let’s look at the bigger picture. If we continue our habit of sleep neglection and all-nighters, we could be suffering some serious problems down the road. The appearance we tried so hard to maintain will be inevitably ruined by wrinkles and creases. Our hyperactive dogs will be too much for our constant back pain. 

What I’m trying to say is: the things we value so strongly could suffer serious collateral damage from our sleep neglection. You probably chuckled at the ridiculousness of my previous analogies, but the message remains clear. Treat your sleep the same way you treat your friends or your appearance, because our current mentalities are pretty ridiculous themselves.

And to those who still don’t believe me, perhaps a TED video explaining of effects of sleep deprivation is enough to make you reconsider.

Would you look at that—11:20pm already. It’s about time I get to bed myself.

Works Cited

https://www.inverse.com/article/60883-fitbit-sleeplessness-aging-telomeres

Marta Jackowska, Mark Hamer, Livia A. Carvalho, Jorge D. Erusalimsky, Lee Butcher and Andrew Steptoe

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3483149/

Unless you live under a rock, you’re well aware that Homecoming is tomorrow.

Actually, you’re probably more than just aware. You’re probably so excited that you can’t wait to fall asleep and wake up to October 5th displayed on your phone screen. Or maybe you’re so excited that you can’t seem to fall asleep at all.

And me? Well, I honestly couldn’t care less. In fact, I try not to think about it as much as possible. Every time I say it, I get almost the same exact response.

What? Homecoming is one of the best experiences of your high school career! It’s once a year and you get to eat a nice dinner, take cool pictures, and jam out to the mus—

Yeah, yeah. I get it. If that’s what you think, I don’t blame you. After all, Homecoming has always had that perfect-night-esque element to it—like a scene shot straight from a movie. The bar is set high, and you want to pole vault right over it.

But that bar is what ruins Homecoming. Seriously. We show up at pictures looking forward to those perfect pictures, expecting a model to be staring back at you after they’re taken. Chances are, you’re going to have a bunch of pictures you’re dissatisfied with. That’s right—you won’t be able to post them to Instagram.

Okay, maybe the pictures weren’t the greatest. But that’s fine, it’s time for dinner. There’s nothing that can go wrong, right? Whether it’s at a fine-dining steakhouse or a fast-food favorite, it’s just going to be a nice meal with friends.

1 hour later, and you’re in the bathroom trying to clean Chick-fil-A sauce off your dress. Or maybe you got marinara sauce on your tie. Regardless, your outfit is ruined, and you’re in a bad mood.

If this has never happened to you, great! You know how to eat! But if it has, then you know how frustrating it is.

Whatever. Dinner’s over. Now it’s time for the main event—the actual dance. Now this is going to fun—blasting music, hype atmosphere, and friends all around you. At this point, you know where this is going, right?

Yup. Your feet are red and bruised from being stepped on. Someone accidentally ripped your dress. You’re thirsty and can’t seem to get out of the crowd. You lost your tie. The music sucks. The entire night? That sucks too.

I know what you’re thinking: Minhao, you’ve just never had a great Homecoming experience! You’re just a hater because you’re an unlucky person.

That’s true—I’ve never found homecoming to be the “amazing” experience everyone makes it out to be. However, you might be different. If none of what I’ve described has ever happened to you, I applaud you. You have an open mind, ignore the negatives, and have an extreme amount of luck.

But let’s face it. We’re seniors now—some of us have been to 3 (soon to be 4) of these things. You’re even more aware of how different a typical homecoming night actually is. It’s nothing like the movies. You try to exceed that bar but end up clipping your leg and falling on your face.

And me? Well, I don’t have a bar at all. I just see where the night goes and I’m happy with wherever I land. I don’t force myself to replicate a scene from The Kissing Booth, and I certainly don’t beat myself over the fact it didn’t happen the next morning.

(Lee and his girls at prom, from one of my all time favorite movies, The Kissing Booth)

I mean, just think about how fun Homecoming could be if you didn’t hold it to such high standards. Who cares if your pictures suck? At least you got to dress up and make some memories. Bad music? Whatever. You got to dance with your friends. Chick-fil-A sauce on your dress? Well… sorry for your loss.

You know what I mean. Life is just more fun when you don’t have any high expectations. You don’t look back on what could’ve gone better or what didn’t happen; you appreciate the fact it happened. After all, there had to have been some good parts from the night.

This is picture of Homecoming from my Sophomore year. They’re all bad, but this is better than the rest.

That’s why Homecoming is no different for me than a regular Saturday. I’ll play video games all day, or I’ll spend an entire night with hundreds of other people in a high school gym. I’ll still go to big events, I just don’t expect to have exponentially more fun than a simple day at home. That way, I can enjoy Homecoming (or really any event) for what they actually turn out to be without feeling like I did something wrong.

Just as great as a Homecoming night

Before you stop caring about everything, let me make this clear: do not apply this to your studies or passions. Keep your head high and set big goals, because your standards will carry you to success. I’m a good friend; I just don’t want this blog post to ruin the lives of all my peers.

But that’s a different story for a different time. It’s 10:32pm right now, I just spent 40 minutes writing this, and I’m freaking out right now. I need to meticulously select a tie, brush my hair, sample all of colognes, and try on my suit five times.

Haha. Just kidding.