Diary_Excerpt_Week#2_Maher

March 28th 

12:30 pm: Waking up rather late, eating breakfast in the afternoon, refreshing mail inboxes every few hours, strolling in the backyard, only to return to a Netflix series— that has been my Quarantine routine.“How are you?” they ask me and although I want to say “Locked inside,” I respond with a “I’m good” anyway. This pandemic has its flaws as everything does, which doesn’t come as a surprise. The daily news blares aloud the number of cases that are drastically increasing with people losing their lives along with their loved ones. During times like these, it’s difficult to appreciate what we have and overlook the negativity surrounding us. More time with family is being spent, with there being several reports of less pollution in the air. As I carry on with my day, I think it’s important to acknowledge these things as well. 

3:00 pm: My friend Yousef called me a little while ago to keep me up to date on how he’s been doing in the time we haven’t seen each other. Remaining in touch with my friends has been difficult despite the many times we share connections through social media. It seems like this time has taken a toll on everyone and we are coping in different ways. I miss hanging out with him and afterall, he gifted me his Air Pod Pros not too long ago. He has never used them before and they came with a really cool case too! Now, as I use them in my time off, I remember him the most. 

March 29th

11:00am : I once again woke up late, I think it’s starting to become a pattern now. Today is Sunday. It’s supposed to be my game day, yet I’m just now waking up and left with nothing to look forward to. Normally at this time, my team and I would be at the field up and running with our warmup drills. Today, I took this free time to help cook with my sister as she’s always doing the household chores on her own. 

6:00 pm: I find it hard to focus on studying for my statics exam, mainly due to the liveliness of my household that often entails loud, abrupt noises. Around this time, I usually have dinner but today nothing sounds appetizing. After a few thoughts here and there, I decided to order food from KFC and returned my attention towards my notes. This is going to be a long night. I can feel it.

March 30:

10:00 am : As usual, I woke up around the same time to check my emails for any assignments to complete for my classes. However, this week turned out to be “recabellation week”, where the college canceled classes for the week. For me, it was equivalent to a spring break. I was more than excited to hear that, mainly because learning through a bright screen had begun affecting my vision.I  went downstairs, made an egg and cheese sandwich and poured myself a glass of orange juice. I had a feeling it’d be a good day. 

3:00pm:  With  no assignments to do, my sister and I spent the afternoon watching a movie called “The Freedom Writers”. It revolved around students who went on and became storytellers in their own right—working against gang violence and racial injustice, promoting education as a vehicle for personal and social transformation. It’s a coincidence that these characters were inspired by Anne Frank, as we recently finished reading her diary entailing her experience of the Holocaust. It was an amazing movie and inspired me to not only write these daily diary assignments for English 1121 but also to be a part of this global pandemic history by recording my experiences. It’d be amazing to look back at these journals and think to ourselves how well we coped during difficult times such as this. 

March 31:

 8:00 am: Surprisingly, I woke up very early today despite having little motivation to do anything. I suppose I’m not the only one who feels that way, as many of my friends and family have expressed the same emotions I’ve been struggling with. At this time, all four of my siblings are still fast asleep and so are my parents. I choose to wait for them to wake up before starting on breakfast.  

11:30 am: Finally, everyone is up and ready to have breakfast. At this point I don’t care what we have as long as it’s edible—I’m that hungry. My sister, our favorite chef after my mother, made some pancakes for my little brother and I while she prepared her own breakfast. Seeing the avocado and chia seeds lining her plate was enough for me to shake my head. Could not relate whatsoever

10:00 pm : Another day with no classes, which surprisingly went by quickly. I turn on the Netflix series that I’ve been watching lately called “Money Heist” as I prepare to go to bed. As part of my skincare routine, I use a night serum from“Estee Lauder ”.  Although it serves more as a moisturizer than treatment, I’ve been using it for two weeks now and assure that it doesn’t disappoint. 

April 1st: 

 10:00 am: Today is April Fools day and despite the gloominess due to this global pandemic, i decided to prank my little brother. I told him that all New York City students are being required to repeat their current grade next year and to my surprise, he was actually excited. After all, being in fifth grade, he didn’t want to lose his friends once they moved to middle school. In a way, I understood why he felt that way—that’s how I felt during my senior year of high school. 

4:00pm : I realized that my brother turns 11 on the 30th of this month and decided to order him a Playstation 4 as a birthday present. With difficult times, he’s been understanding and I think he deserves at least that much (especially on his special day). It’d be beneficial for us both, as we both like to game together. 

5:00pm : I went to go buy some groceries from the supermarket once again, just for simple necessities such as water, milk and bread. The lines there were hectic and with social distancing measures, it took nearly two times longer that it’d take on any other day. However, I believe the shoppers were all cautious and respectful to each other as each person was a few feet apart from each other. For that, I’m beyond thankful.