What a ? Desk!

 

    In the New York Times article, What a Messy Desk Say About You, the author Gretchen Reynolds writes that both a messy and a neat desk have an advantage to the people sitting there. Researchers at University of Minnesota found that a messy desk could boost the imagination, and generate better ideas, and as Dr. Vohs, a behavioral scientist, says “inspire breaking free of tradition.” But if you have a neat desk, then you are most likely going to eat healthier and have more efficiency in your work.

    I really think that my work space is on the neat side. Actually,this marble table top was not originally bought for the house it is in now. It was first bought as a dining table for our condo. When we rented the condo out a couple years back, our tennants had decided to keep the table for their use. But just several months ago, they left, so we took the table and put it in our house instead. The left side of the table is the more cluttered side. Closest to me on the left is a black stapler, with a sticky note filled with random phone numbers. Next to that is a grayish-yellow tape dispenser with a small roll of clear tape. In front of the stapler is my black pencil box, filled with dozens of pens and pencils, and including even more eraser pieces and shavings. There is even a pink Eos lip balm hidden in the depths of the box. Behind the pencil box and slightly farther away  from me sits a small, gray, plastic box filled with junky bookmarks, stickers, tape, and clips that I can cover with a white piece of paper if I want to make the desk look neat in a short time. Beside that stands two pen cups, one glass the other metal painted red. Each holds more than ten pens, two letter openers and a pair of scissors. In front of these cups is a minute bottle of medicine to apply to the skin for bug bites. On the far left corner of my desk is a small upright calendar given to us by our insurance company. In front of the calendar lies a thin pile of bills and a magazine under a remote control, iPhone and phone book. Smack in the middle of this desk is a Dell laptop. To the left of that is a small lamp that I purposely twisted around.

    I think that my work space really slows down my imagination and creativity. But still, it was really surprising in the article to learn that a messy desk even has any advantages at all. I think that my desk should be a little bit messier, because that could be the solution to coping with creative school assignments. I will just try something new.

    In all, I think that my work space is just a bit to clean. So, I think I will take some advice from Dr. Vohs, and “let the clutter rise and unfetter your imagination.”

Jacket or No Jacket

 

    In my short yet interesting twelve years on Earth, there have been many situations where I was stubborn and stood my ground, unbudging. Not many of these situations have ended with me getting applause, but rather more like me getting yelled at by my mom or dad. But in one particular Boy Scout situation I was congratulated for my stubbornness and living up to the Scout motto, “Be Prepared.”

    In May, our Boy Scout troop had been working on the Cycling, or Biking Merit Badge. Some of the requirements were riding 5-mile, 10-mile, 25-mile, and 50-mile trips. The Scouts and I had finished most of these requirements, and I had been preparing to go on the 50 miler, from the Azusa mountains above Freeway 605, to Seal Beach.

    In the previous troop meeting, our Scoutmaster had told us to bring the full Ten Essentials of pocketknife, first aid kit, flashlight, compass, sunscreen, trail food, rain gear, water, fire starters, and extra clothing. I had gathered all my essentials except for the extra clothing. I was wondering aloud which jacket I should bring for the trip. My mom walked in my room and told me to not bring everything listed, and that I could exclude the jacket. But I knew the jacket was one of the most important items in the Ten Essentials, so I argued  back. My mom tried reasoning with me, and said, “It’s May, the weather isn’t that cold!” I told her that there was a real possibility the temperature could suddenly drop, and I could very likely become an “ice statue.” After all, I need to live up to the Scout Motto, “Be Prepared.” Now I had triggered my mom’s incredibly famous and short temper. Her Shanghai dialect started streaming out, rising in volume as she went. Soon her voice was echoing around my room, towering above me like a sinister fortress, with an invisible white hot fire surrounding her as the words shot out at me. Anyone foolish to disagree with her would have a nasty ending (all this description is exaggeration, of course), but I did. After she finished yelling, I calmly went over to the closet, pulled out a jacket and stuffed it in the pack. My mom looked like she was about to burst, but she said nothing.

Around 7am, my mom dropped me off with the rest of the troop. The moment I stepped out of the car , I knew that I had made the correct decision to take the jacket along. Then I saw my mom change her mind as she stepped out of the car as well. As she shivered in her shorts and short sleeve shirt, I walked up to her and said, “I told you it was going to be cold.” She admitted defeat and started to walk in circles to keep herself warm. When all the Scouts had arrived, we started the trip. I was even more grateful for bringing the jacket because the first leg of the journey was downhill, and the cold wind would have whipped at me if I had not brought protection. But the others weren’t so lucky. Most of them didn’t have jackets or sweaters and were shivering uncontrollably. Finally, one of them couldn’t handle the cold anymore, and had to stop. He was right in front of me, so I also stopped to check if everything was all right. Well not everything was OK. This guy’s shivering looked like spasms, so I rummaged in my pack only to find that “one jacket” turned out to be two. Just as I handed my fellow Scout the extra sweater, our Scoutmaster stopped next to us. He congratulated me for “Being Prepared” and for being able “To Help Other People At All times.” My fellow Scout’s spasms died down, so we continued our trip. Apart from exhausting us, the trip was uneventful.

Well, it was worth the risk to stand up to my near-lunatic mom. I learned that sometimes you just have to stand your ground and be stubborn for a successful life. It was quite lucky that I was stubborn, or else my fellow Scout and I could have  both ended up as “ice statues."