Welcome to the first edition of Ask the Register, the advice column for Central students, by Central students. You can submit a question at https://forms.office.com/r/rRVVWvxGiS. Let’s get started! 

How do I get my motivation back? 

Motivation is difficult to hold on to in the best of times, but for students still feeling the effects of the pandemic, it becomes a herculean challenge to get and stay motivated. 

If you’re feeling unmotivated around school, it’s helpful to create a list of the most important assignments to get done. If you have a long list of missing assignments, try to get one or two done each night. Paper checklists are your best friend. It’s rewarding to get to cross out an item. That satisfaction, for me, makes a tedious task worth it. I also recommend finding a friend to study with. You can both be working on different assignments, but it’s helpful to not be alone when school is especially frustrating. Having a friend by you also holds you accountable for staying on task. 

It’s important to remember that academia is important, but it’s not the most important thing in your life. If you’re struggling with frustration at a loss of academic motivation, remember to give yourself patience and grace. The past two years have been challenging for students, and it’s okay to be struggling. While getting back on track, remember to take care of yourself and rest. You are more important than your grades. 

What to do if I’m too hot for the rest of Omaha and it makes it hard to find love ?? 

There are two distinct parts to your question: how to cope with being too hot for Omaha, and difficulties in finding love when your objective hotness is not appreciated. 

Hotness is not defined in relation to other people. Your hotness is not something you dress in for other people, it is an intrinsic value and a power you hold within yourself. Wherever you go, your hotness will follow, and there will always be people everywhere who just don’t get it. It is not just Omaha that cannot always appreciate individuality and hotness, it is an unfortunate fact of the human condition that no matter where we live, many of the people around us do not understand us or our hotness. 

So, where are the people here that will get it and appreciate your hotness wholeheartedly? Where are the spaces where you feel appreciated for how hot you are? Lean into those spaces- spaces with your close friends, spaces where people are creating art or music or poetry, spaces where people are acting for change. Spaces in which people feel free to be 100 percent themselves. These spaces tend to be accepting and free, and while you’re in an environment where you feel comfortable and brave, you open yourself up to making connections in friendships or even something more. 

Which brings us to the second part of your question- when you are so hot and it’s hard to find love, what do you do? Step one would be acknowledging that you do not need to be romantically loved to be whole. Get to know yourself deeply- your quirks, your oddities, your joys. Dress up and take yourself on cute picnic dates. Make yourself beautiful gifts. Get comfortable sitting with yourself inside your head. And don’t let the search for romantic love make you discount or forget any essential parts of yourself. 

When you do have a crush, let them know! Treat them with respect and remember to communicate your feelings. Most of all, have fun. 

How can I stop getting imposter syndrome about my accomplishments and goals while trying to make them seem like marketable qualities for scholarships? 

One particularly cruel element of the scholarship/college application process is the pressure to make yourself look marketable on paper. Students are socialized to think that these things determine their worth- that some admissions agent or scholarship organization intern’s decision will be the deciding factor on whether they will have a good future. It’s no surprise that imposter syndrome is common. You are not alone in your struggle. 

In an ideal world, students would not have to neatly market themselves to achieve a post-high-school education. It’s important to remember that your accomplishments and goals are worthy and valuable apart from what anyone else thinks. You are a brilliant person regardless of how you are viewed on applications, and you deserve wonderful opportunities in your future.