Allison Tanksley

At the start of quarantine, I was transported to a digital deserted island and introduced to the character Tom Nook. He gave me a tent and a phone to settle down, but now I owe him 50,000 bells. After Tom Nook coerced me into debt, I found myself in charge of everything on this island. I am responsible for getting the island to a 5-star rating; and fostering a community for my villagers. I was grinding day and night to terraform and decorate the island to fit my aesthetic.

After dedicating more than a year to animal crossing, things were slowly turning around for my island. My hard work and dedication to my residents resulted in a 5-star rating and millions paid off in loans. Conveniently at this time, the world was returning to how it was before the pandemic. Since my villagers were thriving, I was too. Taking care of them made me feel proud of myself and place value on taking care of myself. The process of logging in every day helped me develop a schedule to improve myself emotionally and academically.

Although I do not play Animal Crossing as much as I used to, the hours I spent playing were valuable and taught me to just enjoy the simple things in life again and dedicate my time to achieving goals. Putting in the time and effort for my villagers and further exploring my mental health has made me into the person I am today.