"OTAKU" is a Japanese term to describe people who are obsessed with computers or other electronic devices and addicted to anime, manga or games. These people stay at home all the time. This is what I have experienced since the University officially closed. This is the first time in my life that I have stayed at home for this length of timeļ¼As the proverb goes: "There are two sides to every coin", staying at home is not a totally bad thing, but it did take me a while to get going.
The first struggle came with my research proposal. At 9 pm on the day that the library closed, I realised that I had not downloaded the literature readings for my research proposal writing! The 24/7 library has spoiled me in the past few years, I can get access to the library at any time and get the resources I need all the time, which left me unprepared when it closed! I used library chat to ask for help, and the library staff patiently guided me to the e-journal platforms such as Emerald Insights and ResearchGate through the University Library resource search. The staff told me that they can help me to order the papers that are not included in the library search, which was really helpful and saves my proposal! I am very grateful for their help and hard work at such a difficult time!
In the past few years, I was used to studying at the library, the environment there helped me to focus on studying and isolated me from any kind of entertainment. However, recently, I have become keenly aware of the difficulties of studying at home. My self-discipline and timetable have collapsed in the past several weeks. And this also happened to my friends. Fortunately, after much thought, we came up with a good solution. That is, using platforms like Zoom to study together. This mutual supervision has helped us to concentrate on study and reduce distractions.
The advantage of home study is that I have more spare time to do what I want to do. For example, I have more time to cook for myself, and my cooking has really progressed! Moreover, thanks to modern technology, although I live alone, I do not feel lonely. In the past few weeks, my friends and I played PUBG and UNO online, sang Karaoke online and watched films together. Staying at home allows us to have more chance to communicate and have fun together!
Be that as it may, I still hope the outbreak ends as soon as possible, and everyone worldwide can go back to their normal life...
