One thing the past two years of a global pandemic has taught me is that the little joys matter just as much as the big ones. In December, I was in the midst of an exhausting mental-health low and talking to my therapist about finding ways to make myself feel joy again. In fact, I was desperate for something that made me feel less despair and more, dare I say, hope. On December 14, I found it in the form of a new wireless keyboard.
This wasn’t my first foray into the wireless-keyboard game. There were others, but they didn’t make the key noises I craved nor were they aesthetically pleasing. However, on a cold December day, a pastel-pink Perixx mini wireless keyboard with keys the same colors as Smarties saw fit to change that. Pink and blue have always been my favorite colors, so when I saw it, scrolling through Amazon for the “keyboards that make noise” (my actual search), I knew it was fate. With a click of a button, I slid right past the “add to cart” option and over to “buy now.”
Once the keyboard arrived, I unboxed and installed it immediately. I had a little trouble at first because the instructions were in picture form only, and it took me a few minutes to realize that the batteries I was putting into the back of the keyboard were in fact the wrong size. But soon I got to typing. A few months prior, I had decided I needed to take the month of December off from work in support of my mental health. So after setting up, I did not start typing articles and essays as I normally would; instead, after a quick picture of my new glorious find, I typed up my social-media caption to share with the internet the excitement I was feeling. On Twitter, I quipped, “Did buying this keyboard cure my depression? Time will tell.”
The response to my serotonin keyboard was surprising. So many people shared my tweet, commenting how they needed one of their own or how they wanted to eat the keys because they looked like candy. There were a few questions about the rounded keys that I could not answer because this is my first time using them. Instagram was much of the same, but because the internet is the internet, some people made it weird and called me shallow. I paid them no mind because nothing could or can stop my excitement or joy surrounding this keyboard.
I traveled toward the end of the year and into the start of the New Year, so I have not completed any longform projects on my new keyboard yet, but I found that even looking at it and running my fingers gently across the keys once a day has actually cheered me up. Now that we have entered the New Year, I have big plans for my candy-colored serotonin-inducing keyboard. I will be finishing one book and starting another, writing essays and articles (like this one!), working through plot shifts and scene changes on a musical and a movie, using it to transfer notes from interviews and acting classes, and staring at it lovingly when I catch sight of it while looking down during Zoom meetings. The possibilities feel endless because of a keyboard I decided I could not live without. And, yes, the keys do make the most satisfying clack I have ever heard.
The Strategist is designed to surface the most useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Some of our latest conquests include the best acne treatments, rolling luggage, pillows for side sleepers, natural anxiety remedies, and bath towels. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
