What I’ve learned from being in quarantine is quite a bit actually.
What I’ve learned from being in Quarantine
We aren’t even close to the end of this pandemic and I already feel like I’ve learned so much.
Like any other person stuck in the house for the whole day, everyday, I find myself with much more time than I used to have to not only spend it with my sister and my cat, but also to think.
Sometimes I find that thinking can be triggering for me.
I don’t mean the superficial thinking, like what am I going to do tomorrow, or what’s for lunch; I mean the real thinking. The kind that you try to keep as far away from your mind as possible.
The kind that creeps up with existential questions, that makes you doubt all of the choices you’ve made so far in your life and that makes you think that maybe, just maybe, you should have taken a different route.
I was asked a question: “Do you have any regrets?”
Being in my 20s and still young I quickly answered: “Of course not!”
But then it hit me.
No. It came crushing on top of me while I had one of those ‘off days.
‘ Do I actually have regrets?
Yes, yes I do and I can’t help but think about all of the things that could have gone differently in my life if I had made different choices.
I know I’m still in time, and if I really want I can change my life if I work hard.
But I also can’t stop thinking that now, like everyone else, I’m stuck.
I can’t move, can’t make physical changes, but I can do some things that will help me for the near future.
With so many colleges closed, and so many of us out of a job at least for the time being, why not take an online course? Learning a new skill will benefit us and taking a course that will help with the career we want to pursue will get us closer to our end goal.
This Quarantine is a time to learn, think about the future, spend time with yourself or the people you live with and to stay positive.
What have I learned from being in Quarantine?
- I’m slowly clearing my head of doubts. Before the Quarantine all I did was live day by day focusing on work, the plans I had for the next couple of days and worrying that one day I would wake up and 20 or 30 years would have passed by without me realizing it. This Quarantine is giving me the time I need to really focus on myself and to think of what I really want my future to look like.
- I’m learning to slow down. I am known to be a little anxious and nervous at times, ok, often. Being stuck in the house with not many places to visit, I’ve found myself trying to let go of negative thoughts about the future and instead focusing on productive and positive ones.
- I’m finding a new kind of daily routine that works. Routine is a weird word to use at this time when all we can do is stay in and wait for the sign to come out again, but a ‘somewhat routine’ is what’s keeping me sane at the moment. I do some work, spend some time with my sister, cook and workout and go for short walks to the grocery store. My daily routine might change a little depending on the day and in what mood I wake up, but I try to stick to it as much as possible. It’s my way of staying attached to ‘normal life’ and to keep myself busy.
- I realized how much I miss people and going out. The smell of other people’s perfumes, their laughter and voices, long walks on the beach, drinking coffee and talking to friends face to face, seeing my parents and traveling to new countries. These are all things that I was taking for granted. And now? Now we wait and when we will be able to leave our houses again we won’t be taking for granted our freedom like we used to.
- I’m learning new skills. I’m taking this time to take various courses and to learn new skills that could help me understand what I really want. As time seems to be sitting still for now, this is the perfect time to engage in some old hobbies and passions.
These are the things I’ve been focusing on these days, what have you been up to? These are difficult times, full of ups-and-downs, but we will find a way out of it.
