I’ve only left my house five times in the past two months. The way time is moving it feels like it’s moving fast and slow at the same time. Before we were put in quarantine I was out of my house every day of the week. This whole situation feels like it put life in slow motion sometimes and then in fast forward during others. During my free time in the week I feel like life is on fast forward. Due to the quarantine classes have been online. At first the transition to online learning was rocky in some classes, but the adjustment happened quick. Lucky for me none of my classes had zoom meetings, so I’d simply do my assignments and then get back to quarantine life. While I got assignments done time would slow down, and then once they’re complete time would speed up all over again.

Days blend together with how messed up my sleeping schedule has become. At first I’d only stay up until 2am, and wake up at a reasonable time around 10am. Then with time it just started to push back more and more. It went from 2am to 4am, and now I’m staying up until 6am on a regular basis waking up whenever. I stay up binging TV shows and movies, doing assignments, and talking to friends on the phone through Facetime. Not leaving the house, I do the same thing over and over. Thankfully I have my two best friends and my family members who bring variety into my days. Besides the different assignments that my professors give, my family and friends fill my days with joy and laughter during these difficult times.

I’ve lost a couple of friends to Covid-19 which made it difficult to focus some days on assignments, but not being alone helped me to deal with their passing. Having people surrounding me and making me laugh on a daily basis makes this quarantine bearable. Simply watching tv shows and movies to pass the time would probably drive me insane. The company is necessary. My sister Tristan has been really great during this time because she’d force the family to do activities together. One morning she told everyone to write poems about everything that’s going on since she wanted to have a “Slam Poetry Night”. That night we had a poetry reading, and we were all extra dramatic during our readings. We were all snapping instead of clapping, and really getting into character for the readings. It was a memorable night. Every now and then Tristan would come up with another idea. Those days have become special during this time where we are constantly being bombarded by sad news on tv, social media, or by family members from all over.

Quarantine has actually brought everyone closer together even though it’s meant to separate us for our safety. Within my household activities like the one I described above is bringing us closer, and cooking is as well. As a family we’ve been cooking together. One night we made personal pies and watched Coco. Another we made chopped cheeses where everyone had a different twist to theirs. Outside of my household we’ve been having zoom meetings with family and friends across the country and across the world. Yes Covid-19 has brought a lot of heartbreak with the constant loss in everyone’s lives, but it has also brought positives. I think it’s important to reflect on them from time to time even if it may be a bit difficult.