Day #12: Saturday, March 28, 2020

As I’m writing this it is currently 4:08 PM, and I’m ashamed to say that my day has just started. I woke up at around 10 but didn’t get out of bed until 3 … Let’s just say this period of self-quarantine for me has been a never-ending fever dream. I no longer understand the concept of time and by that I mean my sleeping schedule has turned into sporadic naps, and I have to continuously ask my mom what day it is. 

About day six of social distancing I genuinely ran out of methods to entertain myself. Going into this break I thought, “Yes, this will be a perfect time to catch up on some shows and get some rest.” However, and I thought I’d never say this in my life, I’m sick of watching TV, and sleeping all day is boring and draining. Wake up, spend an hour on Instagram, switch over to Snapchat, watch some Netflix, add some Disney Plus in there, open Twitter, which leads me to TikTok, suddenly remember that I have to put food into my body, so on and so on. Consequently, I’ve been forced to be creative with how I keep busy. 

One night I thought it would be fun to whip something up in the kitchen just to switch things up. Well, every night since then I’ve been making dinner for my family of 6, and I am in no way complaining. It’s a nice way to occupy myself for an hour instead of staring at a screen. Even better, I’ve actually started to clean … for fun. Yes, I’ve hit rock bottom. 

An advantage of all this free time is that I’m getting to spend so much time with my family. I know that is my only option due to the shelter-in-place order, but it’s proven to be very rewarding. Neither of my parents have left the house very often. My mom, a Registered Nurse, is working from home and has only physically gone to work a couple of days for a few hours in the past two weeks when it was absolutely necessary. My dad owns a barbershop and has had to temporarily shut down for obvious health reasons. My siblings get bored easily just like me so we often gravitate towards each other in search of sources of entertainment. We’ve had more family game nights this week than we had all of last year. B.C. (before corona), all of our daily schedules kept us busy and didn’t allow us to spend much quality time together. 

Not to mention, each day is so chaotic and random. This morning I woke up to a pinball machine in our living room (gifted to us by our lovely neighbor), yesterday we rode bikes in the house, last week we had a funeral for our fish, and earlier this week I impulsively bought an electric guitar. I mean, I’ll be at home for a while, what better time to learn how to play?

Honestly, I haven’t done much homework at all. I’m no longer in “school mode”, and I physically can’t sit down or focus on anything school-related right now. The least I could be doing is studying for my AP tests … we’ll see if I feel up to it next week. I have been working on scholarships though. I’ve also already started online dorm shopping (I’m so over senior year at this point). 

On a more serious note, I’ve often found myself saying aloud, “I can’t believe we’re actually in a global pandemic right now. It doesn’t feel real.” Every day I wake up and attempt to stay updated with any news related to COVID-19. As much as I read about it, it all feels like a dream (or rather a really bad nightmare) but unfortunately those affected by the coronavirus, and the number of overwhelming cases the U.S. has is definitely real. It’s so weird to think about us being a part of a moment that will go down in history, one that will change/influence critical parts of our society like educational institutions, healthcare, and the economy in the future. 

Seeing as no one knows how long this virus will last the best we can do is continue to practice social distancing. While it’s devastating that huge milestones such as prom have been canceled, and we’re all bored out of our minds, I’d happily accept more time of self-isolation if it means that we’ll flatten the curve. We have to take the threat of COVID-19 seriously, and we have to be concerned about not only our own health but also the health of those around us. 

On a personal level, I think this crisis has highlighted how much I take for granted on a daily basis: simple things like health, being able to afford not working for weeks on end unlike some other families in the working class, being outside, having supportive friends and family, school, etc. Remember to stay inside, wash your hands, and check up on your loved ones!