Kaitlyn Hart
Life Editor
If I’m being completely honest, this is never a topic I saw myself writing about. I never imagined that I would live through a pandemic, let alone one so bad that I was encouraged never to leave my house.
Personally, I’m a bit of a busy body. I like to keep moving and doing tasks throughout the day just to keep myself sane. If I sit in one place without doing something productive for a while, I start to go a little crazy.
You can imagine what this means for me in quarantine. Thankfully I have my schoolwork to keep me busy, but online classes tend to go a lot quicker than in-person. Not to mention, I don’t feel as productive during them since I’m not physically going to class and interacting with my classmates and professors.
But one positive thing that this pandemic has given me is the opportunity to get creative. I have time to find new hobbies and step out of my comfort zone a bit to find new passions and things I enjoy doing in my free time. In case you happen to be in the same boat as me or maybe you’re just mind numbingly bored, take a gander down at some of my suggestions on how to keep your mind sane through quarantine. It’s gonna be a long journey, folks.
Start gaming.
I have never been a gamer. In the past, I much preferred to play candy crush on my phone or play a card game every once in a while when I’m visiting my parents when I’m back home from school. But thanks to the scum that is coronavirus, I have learned that there are only so many times you can play Uno with your parents before it starts getting a little monotonous. Thankfully, I’ve learned that actual gaming isn’t really as nerdy as I once thought. Or maybe quarantine has just made me a nerd, it’s really up to interpretation.
Now, gaming is expensive. Luckily for me, my younger sibling owns a PS4 and a bunch of games already, so I was able to convince them to move it to a common room of the house for everyone to play when we get too in our heads about our impending doom and the destruction of society as we know it. If you’re lucky enough to already have a gaming console in your house, see if you can convince the owner to move it to a common area. If not, candy crush will do just fine, or maybe even take some time to download some more fun games on your phone like Sims 4 or Fortnite.
Get back to coloring.
Some of you might think this one is a little childish, but you’re wrong. Adult coloring books exist and they are without a doubt my new favorite hobby. They’re relaxing, comforting and bring you back to a sense of childhood nostalgia, a time when there wasn’t a deadly virus taking the world captive. You can get explicit ones if you find that kind of thing amusing, or you can get ones with inspirational quotes to get yourself through these dark and scary days we’re living in.
Get back in touch with someone.
Have you ever had a falling out with a friend? Why haven’t you reached back out to them to try to mend fences? Now is a great time to try to see the water under the bridge and make up for lost time. It is so important to have a good support system right now and to remember to be there for each other throughout the next couple of months. Reach out to your old highschool best friend, that person from work that you never really got along with or maybe even a family member if you feel that it is safe to do so. Reach out to them over the phone, send them a message on facebook or maybe even send them a handwritten letter. Maybe send them some spare hand sanitizer too. And if it doesn’t work out, at least you probably don’t have to worry about them coming over to fight you, right?
Send a care box to your local hospital.
We tend to think of medical professionals as the people who are supposed to take care of us, and often forget that they are people too. Especially now, it is up to us to do everything we can to help them out. Send them treats, send them candy, send them lunch or dinner from a local restaurant if you can! Anything you can give will help not only help the healthcare workers, but it will help the people suffering in the hospital as well. Hospital workers are working exceptionally long hours these days and it is up to us to do our part in the fight against COVID-19. Make sure everything in your care package is clean and call your local hospital for any restrictions and instructions on how to help.
It’s a really scary time in the world right now. But it’s also a really great opportunity to make ourselves better. Try and improve someone’s day and don’t forget to take care of yourself. But most importantly, STAY HOME.
