Author: Maher Sharhan

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. 

The Diary of Anne Frank was a classic book that I first saw in my freshman year of high school. Anne Frank was a little youngster who had experienced enough distress from the holocust, yet by one way or another she wouldn’t allow the Nazis to win. I believe it’s astounding she figured out how to compose so well with all the things going on around her. I think the diary of Anne frank inspired many journalists to pursue their career due to the pain she went through and the ability to overcome them. She also inspired movie directors, an example would be a movie called “The Freedom Writers” it is based on a true story about these kids who were involved in gang violence that did not do well in school, however once the teacher showed them the diary of Anne Frank the students were inspired to write and publish their own writings.

I really do not know how she learned to write so well, she had amazing talent. Her descriptions were so in depth and her way of expressing herself was excellent. One example is when she describes a building that she sees “I will describe the building: there is a large warehouse on the ground floor which is used as a store. The front door to the house is next to the warehouse door, and inside the front door is a second doorway which leads to a staircase. There is another door at the top of the stairs with a frosted glass window in it, which has ‘office’ written in black across it.” This shows how she successfully creates an image in a reader’s head when reading her diary.

All in all, i really liked her diary and i would recommend this to people who love to write journeys.

March 23rd

7:30 AM: As another week begins, the time at which I wake up is one of the few things that’s remained consistent since the beginning of the semester. Like usual, I find myself checking my phone for the first few minutes before I begin preparing for my English class and awaiting this week’s assignment to be posted. After all, English is the only class of mine that doesn’t involve online streaming through blackboard or Zoom. For me, this means additional time to shower and as per my mom’s advice, to drink hot water with lemon as a detox. Feeling refreshed, I’m now ready for the day’s tasks.

10 AM: My math class began with a rather rough start, with my microphone not working for attendance and later ended off just as smoothly with our professor informing us of a quiz next Monday after our lengthy lecture on polynomials binomials. Needless to say, I was excited at that news.

6 PM: In the time in between and until dinner, I started on my homework assignments for math and later left to purchase groceries (milk, eggs, lettuce and the such) for my family. Due to barber shops being closed, I gave myself a haircut and surprisingly, it looks decent if I say so myself. However, that doesn’t mean that I’d prefer the current circumstances over the normal. I suppose very few would. 

March 24th

7:30 AM: Once again, I woke up fairly early although this time with a different motive in mind. While I still checked my phone, I exchanged a portion of that time in favor of cleaning my car with my younger brother. Honestly, he was there for encouragement rather than assistance and to me that was more than enough. 

12 PM: After a late breakfast with my family, I was looking forward for my lab class being live streamed by one of my professors today and as expected, it didn’t disappoint. Surely, it’s different than performing them myself but it remains just as fascinating to observe and later analyze the results in our lab reports. There’s usually never a concrete conclusion and with various possible outcomes, it only grows more interesting. 

5 PM: Today my sister took the responsibility of making the family’s meals and I couldn’t complain when she set the dinner table for cheeseburgers and homemade fries. As if it couldn’t get any better, she brought out a delicious strawberry cake, it really helped me push through writing a lab report and my other homework assignments with.

March 25th

8 AM: Although I woke up at 7:30 AM, I decided to rest for an additional half an hour before I began the day. I slept late last night and although I initially considered it as time lost, I knew that it was essential to function well throughout the day.  Contrary to most days, I exchanged my bowl of oatmeal in favor of cereal and poured myself a serving of Honey Bunches of Oats with almond milk. For some reason, I can’t get used to the milk’s cardboard-like taste. I suppose the unfamiliarity is something that’s in common with the concept of online classes. It’s difficult for me to overcome both barriers. 

10AM: Math class, as usual, went by quickly due to our professor’s light-hearted nature despite his somewhat boring lectures. I’ve noticed his efforts in creating a welcoming environment for the students on livestream and knowing it’s a new situation for him too, I appreciate his inclusiveness and attention to detail. Despite online learning creating a greater pressure on students to self-teach, he is consistently available for any clarifying questions. That is also something I’ve found to be beneficial through this transition to online learning. 

10 PM: The remainder of the day was spent with my family, with a big portion of it dedicated to entertaining my niece Reham as she rested. Although I’ve been working to create a better sleep schedule for myself, sleeping late has been a consistent issue for me. Usually, I try to counter this by engaging in skincare, which serves as a stress reliever, or taking melatonin before bed. Sometimes however, it seems that neither are enough. Either way, being halfway through the school week remains a reassurance to which I can eventually rest on. 

March 26th

7:30 AM: With the sun beaming brightly, I had a feeling it was going to be a good day as I forced myself out of bed and downstairs to have breakfast. Today, I found oatmeal more appealing as I mixed in strawberries and some tiny blueberries  and planned out my day. It’s been a while since I’ve been outside, and the weather only served as a greater reason to do so. It seems that many others felt the same as I spotted a family walking along the block (all six feet apart). 

12 PM: After my math class’ livestreamed lesson, I drove to grab coffee via the Dunkin Donut since all starbucks are closed and grabbed an ice latte before heading to a local park. I sat down on a nearby bench and observed things I’d never noticed before despite having been there numerous times. It’s surprising how much we miss when we’re invested in our busy lives even when it’s right in front of us. It was its tranquility that rooted me in place, long after I finished my coffee and started on my way back home. 

6 PM: The week’s work is now weighing down on me as Friday feels closer than ever and I want nothing more than the weekend to come. With being limited in social interactions, it’s been difficult to remain in touch with many of my friends. Despite it being the era of communication, social media doesn’t compare to in-person interactions and their importance in our character development. It seems that at this rate, all that’s increasing is my screen time (and exponentially too). I know that this alternative interaction will eventually become second nature and seem nothing out of the ordinary to me. Until then, each day brings new challenges.

I’m the type of person who’s always outside doing something, I never liked staying home with nothing to do.This is my second day staying home on fully lockdown without going out and I am going crazy already. I have been going up and down the stairs, opening the fridge every five minutes and being lazy. I truly miss playing soccer and practicing with the boys. It was one of the things that always kept me busy and now our season might get canceled. We are all safe and my family members are too. As for the online classes, I am looking forward for them and trying not to fall asleep during them. I would’ve preferred going to class physically because I like seeing my friends and professors but it is what it is and I hope this ends soon.