Article by Leah Ash, Reporter
Photo courtesy Leah Ash

During this time, life has gone absolutely crazy. People are forced to stay home and even the most dependable of schedules have disappeared. With the increase in personal pressure, there have been many blog posts about various ways to cope with the quarantine meltdown. During my stay at home, I have tried a couple strategies out and am sharing my feelings about them, so that you may possibly try them. 

As college students, we have the additional stress of having classes suddenly going online, making the majority of the lessons more confusing for us all. A common strategy suggested to help handle this strain involves creating a daily schedule to follow. Speaking for myself, I was unable to hold myself to a schedule and had to go about in a different way. Instead of a stricter schedule, I set goals for myself each day. It’s not always about schoolwork, but I set general expectations for the day that I can do at any time. For example, I say I need to get these assignments done, workout, and clean my room by the end of the day. It’s all about what works for you, so I suggest experimenting with different things.

I  also highly recommend doing something physical every day. It gives your body a chance to get up and get blood flowing which makes me feel  so much better. It doesn’t have to be anything major. When the weather is actually above forty degrees, I will go outside and take a walk or go for a bike ride. When it’s snowing outside I do a quick workout from an app or a youtube video. If I want to have a little more fun with it, I pull out my old Nintendo Wii and play some Just Dance. 

Another tip that I love is setting aside the time to do something that you love, or to try something new. During this quarantine I have gotten back into painting, which relaxes my mind from my schoolwork. I also have done lots of baking, and I plan on making chocolate chip cookies next. However, I feel best chatting with my friends. We live in a digital age, which makes it super easy to hang out while at home. Our Zoom calls are the highlight of my week, even if a lot of time is complaining about the stress of upcoming exams (a good-hearted rant can also be therapeutic). A new thing that I would like to try is gardening. 

While this time is extremely stressful, it does mean that we can’t approach it with a positive spin to help cope with the present fears. Now is the time to do things that you haven’t had time for in the past. It is the time to try new things, or to spend more time with family with games or just talking. We are all trying to get through this trying time, and it will eventually pass. We will come out of quarantine with a greater appreciation for the little things that we have taken for granted and miss dearly.