Collected Item: “A Shed of Inspiration”
Give your story a title.
A Shed of Inspiration
What sort of object is this: text story, photograph, video, audio interview, screenshot, drawing, meme, etc.?
Keiji Akaashi plushie from an anime called Haikyu
Tell us a story; share your experience. Describe what the object or story you've uploaded says about the pandemic, and/or why what you've submitted is important to you.
The object that I have presented is my Akaashi plushie from one of my favorite anime shows called Haikyu. During quarantine, I have retaken an interest back into anime. I used to watch anime when I was in middle school, but my obsession ended because I was prioritizing school more. Until my friend convinced me to watch a show called Haikyu, which was about high school volleyball and made me get hooked back into watching anime again. Although my Akasshi plushie is just a stuffed animal, it has helped me through my journey as a junior in high school because it reminds me to continue working hard. In the show, Haikyu, the team Karasuno's goal is to get to nationals and become the top school in Japan. Although they struggle to achieve their goal to reaching nationals in their first attempt, that does not stop them from continuing. They all persevere through their downfalls and eventually, they finally achieve their dream. This show has given me a shed of inspiration, reminding me to continue working hard because eventually, I too, can achieve my ambitions with the efforts I put in. It also represents the difficulties that our country is currently struggling in right now because the number of COVID cases continues to rise and the vaccine for COVID is still in preparation. However, we continue to persevere trying to find a vaccine to cure this sickness and for our country to finally be at peace once again.
To sum up my 2020 experience, I would have to say it was quite a crazy, adventurous, yet boring time. It was crazy because I have never expected I would experience a pandemic in my life time. To think I have read about all sorts of plagues in history class, only to discover I would actually experience it myself and one day, be able to retell my journey through this difficult time to future generations. Despite it being crazy, I thought it was also quite an adventure going through this pandemic. I have taken interests in hobbies that I never thought I would such as baking, painting, and embroidering. I even began taking an interest back into anime, which I never thought I would because I always believed it was silly, only to find out I was completely wrong. These animated shows have helped me become the person I am today and I am really grateful for that. Sure, discovering new hobbies was an adventure, there were some moments during quarantine that were boring. I could not go outside and interact with my friends as much, which made my quarantine experience even more boring. Holidays such as 4th of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years, was quite tragic. Normally I would go on vacation with my family, but because flights were cancelled and going around increased the risk of catching COVID, my family and I stayed home trying to make the most of the holidays. We followed all of the stay at home regulations for the holidays by wearing masks and standing 6 feet apart from our family members just in case they ever caught it. The holidays did not feel as special anymore since we could not interact with people as close, making it seem like it was a normal weekday. My quarantine workspace is my white wooden desk with light blue draws and a light blue chair to match the draws. On my desk, there is a white lamp, an essential oil diffuser, a candle, and a tiny Buddha statue. Around my desk, there are a couple of photos of my family, anime characters as well as BTS members too. Three things that I would include in my quarantine survival kit would be my phone, food, and water. I would bring my phone because it would be my only source of entertainment since I have the ability to communicate with my friends, watch shows, online shop, and listen to music. I would also definitely bring food and water because I need it for survival and I love to binge watch shows while eating some food.
I wanted to upload a photo of the anime paintings I have painted during quarantine, but unfortunately I can only upload one photo :(. Instead I will describe it :). My first painting that I have painted was a picture of one of my favorite characters named Killua and he is from the show Hunter x Hunter. I painted a close up photo of him smiling and made my background a little blue color. As for my second painting, I painted Hinata and Kageyama from Haikyu because they are known as the best duos when it comes to their play tactics. I painted Hinata and Kageyama who are both smiling from joy because they were able to get a good shot from one of their plays and I painted the background yellow to symbolize the happiness in the painting.
To sum up my 2020 experience, I would have to say it was quite a crazy, adventurous, yet boring time. It was crazy because I have never expected I would experience a pandemic in my life time. To think I have read about all sorts of plagues in history class, only to discover I would actually experience it myself and one day, be able to retell my journey through this difficult time to future generations. Despite it being crazy, I thought it was also quite an adventure going through this pandemic. I have taken interests in hobbies that I never thought I would such as baking, painting, and embroidering. I even began taking an interest back into anime, which I never thought I would because I always believed it was silly, only to find out I was completely wrong. These animated shows have helped me become the person I am today and I am really grateful for that. Sure, discovering new hobbies was an adventure, there were some moments during quarantine that were boring. I could not go outside and interact with my friends as much, which made my quarantine experience even more boring. Holidays such as 4th of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years, was quite tragic. Normally I would go on vacation with my family, but because flights were cancelled and going around increased the risk of catching COVID, my family and I stayed home trying to make the most of the holidays. We followed all of the stay at home regulations for the holidays by wearing masks and standing 6 feet apart from our family members just in case they ever caught it. The holidays did not feel as special anymore since we could not interact with people as close, making it seem like it was a normal weekday. My quarantine workspace is my white wooden desk with light blue draws and a light blue chair to match the draws. On my desk, there is a white lamp, an essential oil diffuser, a candle, and a tiny Buddha statue. Around my desk, there are a couple of photos of my family, anime characters as well as BTS members too. Three things that I would include in my quarantine survival kit would be my phone, food, and water. I would bring my phone because it would be my only source of entertainment since I have the ability to communicate with my friends, watch shows, online shop, and listen to music. I would also definitely bring food and water because I need it for survival and I love to binge watch shows while eating some food.
I wanted to upload a photo of the anime paintings I have painted during quarantine, but unfortunately I can only upload one photo :(. Instead I will describe it :). My first painting that I have painted was a picture of one of my favorite characters named Killua and he is from the show Hunter x Hunter. I painted a close up photo of him smiling and made my background a little blue color. As for my second painting, I painted Hinata and Kageyama from Haikyu because they are known as the best duos when it comes to their play tactics. I painted Hinata and Kageyama who are both smiling from joy because they were able to get a good shot from one of their plays and I painted the background yellow to symbolize the happiness in the painting.
Use one-word hashtags (separated by commas) to describe your story. For example: Where did it originate? How does this object make you feel? How does this object relate to the pandemic?
#APUSH, #GardenGroveHighSchool, #baking, #anime, #painting
Who originally created this object? (If you created this object, such as photo, then put "self" here.)
Emily Vo
Give this story a date.
2021-01-21