Quarantine life has been an interesting one so far. I’ve been sitting in my house in Charlotte, NC for 14 days now and I’ve realized a lot of things about myself and my family. First of all, my younger brother Coleson (14) has the most severe video game addiction I have ever seen. The hours he spends not playing video games there is a 100% chance he is on his phone. On day 9 we had a conversation that lasted for maybe five minutes, haven’t seen him since. My sweet mom who might be more bored than any of us has taken up new hobbies such as singing (terribly), puzzles, self-taught guitar lessons, and even cooking! Long story short, I hate all of her new hobbies but time flies when you’re having fun so I hope this is fun for her (it certainly isn’t for her children). Lastly, I’ve realized how much food I eat when I’m trapped in a house full of fruit roll-ups, cosmic brownies, pizza rolls, and chocolate ice cream. I’ve also never been so tempted to try self-dying my hair since my hairdresser will be closed for weeks. My family got a puppy about three weeks ago so I am super thankful that I get to watch my little buddy grow up.
A quick list of things that help to calm my insanity:
- My new puppy Blue and my 2 year old puppy Easton
- The On Demand feature of Spectrum (I’ve never watched so many movies in my life)
- Frozen dinners (until mom has a breakthrough cooking lesson)
- My really loud speaker (to drown out the sound of moms singing)
- Reading romance/mystery books
- Spending time outside
- Planning for the future (UNC courses to take, GRE practice, PA school research)
- Zoom calls with my roommates who are dispersed all over North and South Carolina
As we know, COVID-19 has caused the cancellation/postponing of many important events. I understand why March Madness had to be cancelled but I’m also slightly convinced the NCAA knew that March wouldn’t be the same without UNC in the tournament so they wanted us to try again next year. The only things open around my house are fast food/takeout restaurants, Harris Teeter’s, pharmacies, and golf courses. I’m worried about those who are out of work and without pay. I’m worried about how long we will have to isolate ourselves. I’m worried about healthcare and emergency service providers. I’m worried about the undeniable further spread of this virus. Though this is out of our control, I just hope people around the world start taking social distancing seriously. Staying positive in times like this is very difficult but feeling supported helps ease the anxiousness.
With regards to online schooling, I haven’t felt this overwhelmed in a long time. I really like operating on a set schedule and since being at home, my schedule is completely thrown off. Each week brings new/different assignment for each of my classes and there is always this feeling that I’ve forgotten to do something. I know every student in North Carolina is in the same boat so hopefully as the weeks go on we are able to better adapt to this new way of learning. Unfortunately, yesterday evening my grandfather was admitted to the hospital following what they believe was a stroke. He has a brain bleed in two areas so he has been undergoing constant scans hoping that there isn’t a brain tumor. I am especially worried about the things that he is being exposed to in the hospital so we’ve been praying for a speedy recovery. The timing of this event couldn’t be worse but with thoughts and prayers from our friends and families we know that we can fight any battle.
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