“Mom, what is all this?” I ask, laughing, pointing to the whiteboard and school supplies scattered around my bedroom. My sister runs in, snickering, telling me that my bedroom has been turned into my mom’s remote “classroom.”
As a freshman living on campus, I had the choice of staying on campus between Thanksgiving and Winter Break or living at home. I chose to stay at home until the spring semester to save money and spend some time with my family. I don’t regret my decision to continue school from home, but it is definitely difficult to focus on my schoolwork and classes.
The main problem with working from home is that I don’t have my own space to do schoolwork. I have a huge desk in my bedroom, but now it’s my mom’s teaching space.
My mom is a teaching assistant, so she needed an office space and my room was her best option. From 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Friday, I am not allowed to be in my bedroom because she has virtual classes. Every morning at 7:45 a.m. I grab everything I need for the day and watch from afar as my room is turned into Mrs. Speir’s third grade classroom.
As a result, for the past week I have been wandering the house trying to find a new study spot.
The other options I have are the basement and the living room. Going to the library or Starbucks is out of the question because of COVID-19 closures in my city.
The living room didn’t work out, because my dad likes to watch his YouTube videos on the TV there. He watches a guy named Scotty who loves listing boring facts about cars. It’s not the easiest to write a paper while Scotty blabs about why Jeeps are the worst cars ever made.
Next I tried the basement. It’s absolutely freezing down there, and it’s impossible to focus on my lectures when I’m searching up “curing frostbite for dummies.”
My sister also does her schoolwork in the basement and she’s a pro at distracting me. I don’t have the willpower to resist her distractions because watching “90 Day Fiancé” reaction videos with her is way more fun than doing my homework.
Yesterday I was listening to a lecture for my ethics class, and it was important that I paid attention because the topics we learn are very complicated. My sister was sitting right next to me crunching on Takis and blasting Ariana Grande’s music. Naturally, I can’t remember a thing my teacher said about the ethics of torture.
I finally decided to lock myself in the bathroom and do my work there. I thought I was a genius for coming up with this study spot, until ten minutes into reading my textbook, my sister is banging on the door saying she has to pee.
Needless to say, the holidays are coming up, and I’m for sure adding noise canceling headphones to my wish list.
