The dreariness of staying indoors all the time can deeply affect someone. However, people have a tendency to bounce back from this isolation, coming up with ways to fill their time and perceiving a bad situation in a new light. Some like to use their time to exercise, pick up a new hobby, or just relax without having to think about the current stressful circumstances.

   Mrs. Lange, an art teacher at West, shared some activities she did to pass her time: “I’m lucky because I’m a pianist, so I practice piano for a couple of hours a day, and an artist, so I draw and paint, and I exercise… so really, I never have enough time in the day.” She looked forward to finding the time in her day to pursue these pastimes. She also pointed out that her “exercise outlet really helps to keep [her] mind fresh,” and that “sometimes when we aren’t restricted, we go places and do things that we don’t need to do, so this kind of crystallizes that for you and you just do what’s really essential.” Time management is a skill that can be learned during quarantine, and dropping the unnecessary parts of one’s routine is something that quarantine can facilitate.

   Mari Padi (10), remarked that they spent a lot of their extra time relaxing, like “watching a lot of new anime and K-drama series, and playing Genshin Impact.” They, too, spent time honing some skills, however, explaining that they’re “getting a lot better at digital art.” Mari is also a part of the drill team, so to make up for the loss in face-to-face drill, they “started to take online ballet classes from the studio [they] used to go to, and [they] like to practice a couple of K-pop dances that [they] learned.” Even though quarantine can be a discouraging time for physical activity, some people are still finding the energy to get moving and getting their blood pumping. Mari added that quarantine has helped them “become more confident in [their] identity.” They expressed how it was helpful for them in discovering their fashion style and who they truly identify as.

   Although quarantine has become such a sensitive topic for many, there are still people looking for the light in these hard times. It’s tough to find ways to look at our situation positively, but there lies a variety of endeavors and experiences waiting to be explored.