I’m doing ok. At first, quarantine was easy for me. I would sleep, rearrange my room, maybe paint my nails. But then I started running out of things to do. The days started blending into compilations of me doing absolutely nothing. Which was fine with me for a while, until I started getting anxious that there was something I could be doing. I would put this imaginary pressure on myself that I needed to be productive with my time, and time spent lounging was valuable time wasted. I would kind of freak out for a little, wondering what I should be doing to make quarantine valuable. Thankfully, soon school started and it gave me something to do, which was a very welcome change.
However, after some time I realized that in order to stay sane during this craziness, I need to focus on taking care of myself. It is okay for me to do nothing at certain times, as long as I got everything I needed to do. Putting the unnecessary pressure of making use of the time in quarantine to become fluent in some language or “create” (I swear if I hear one more celebrity tell me to create in quarantine) is just going to make me go crazy. So, I need to appreciate all the good parts. None of my family is ill, and luckily everyone in my immediate family has held on to their jobs, even if they have to do it from home.
I need to realize that staying home for days is the best thing I can do for my country and my family. I can help a pandemic by literally doing nothing, which when I think about it is pretty sweet. So, whatever I do in quarantine is fine, as long as I stay in it. This is an insane time to be alive, and my heart breaks for anyone affected by this disease.
And however I cope with this is up to me, not some random Instagram picture that told me to learn Spanish during a national pandemic.
ENGL110 Spring 2020 11:15-12:05 
I’m happy to hear everyone in your family is doing okay. I really liked your last sentence. I too feel like a lot of people especially celebrities are trying to tell people to be creative during this time. The word cope stood out to me, that is the exact word I would use to describe what I’m also doing in quarantine.
– Vienna Iacona
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I complete relate to your anxiety related to doing nothing for so long. It just makes me feel like I’m wasting time. However, I love how you found a way to cope with that feeling by being mindful of what a unique and crazy time this is right now. If everyone else starts getting to grips with the importance of staying home and “doing nothing” like you realized, this pandemic should end soon enough.
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You last two paragraphs made me smile because I have definitely seen those messages from celebrities as well. And I thought it was funny because I sort of talked about the opposite for my post. I feel like I should be doing something but I am having a hard time making myself do something productive. But maybe you’re right and that doing nothing and staying home is still helping so many people.
-Maddy Mengel
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I went through a similar period at the beginning of this all, having been content with lazing around for a few days before the intense need to do SOMETHING struck me. It reminds me of what we talked about in class, how often people our age become stressed out when we are not stressing simply because it is unusual to not have expectations upon us. I’m not often one to admit it but a structured day is integral to my ability to function as my best self, and that’s something that’s so much harder to enforce with everything going on. It’s good that you’re able to look on the bright side, so to speak, and realize that it is not only okay but beneficial to not constantly be productive or out and about. This quarantine may present as a much-needed opportunity for everyone to reset and focus on themselves and their own well-being
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Hey Shannon! I remember like it was yesterday you were in my first group activity for this class lol. I’m glad to hear you’re doing ok. I really relate to the sentence: “the days started blending into compilations of me doing absolutely nothing.” I also enjoyed how you recognized that you should appreciate the good parts and you must do what’s best for today’s circumstances.
-Emily Pellegrino
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