“Wow, you’ve really got a whole quarantine routine down, huh?”
My friend brought this to my attention during one of the many FaceTime calls I’ve been having these days. She had asked me what I had done for the day, and I mindlessly broke down a very regimented schedule. In that moment, I realized that during these past 3 weeks (since I’ve been kicked out of my beloved campus) I’ve subconsciously started following a brand new routine centered around my new isolated life at home.
Having a routine has always been important to me. They’re important to everyone, really. Whether we’re aware of it or not, there are actions we perform every single day that keep us sane. I remember how difficult it was for me to adjust to a new regime when I moved to Boston just 7 months ago. For 18 years I had been sacredly honoring a schedule that I had engraved into habit. With an acceptance letter into college in hand I was shipped off to Boston to start a brand new life. It took me some time, but come the new year, I had my college life down to a science. I loved my new routine even more than my old one. March rolled along, and I found myself packing up my dorm way too soon to return home and ultimately alter my everyday pattern for the second time since August.
It’s crazy how quick we can adapt during times of chaos. I didn’t even realize that while I have been living in quarantine, I’ve been following repetitive procedures with each passing day.
Wake up
Make coffee & eat breakfast
Get ready for the day (i.e. pick out a new pair of sweatpants)
Log on to canvas and mindlessly complete virtual assignments that in no way reflect the proper education I’m still paying for
Go for a drive/walk/run/ SOMETHING to keep myself occupied & content.
Workout, shower, sleep, repeat.
I was doing fine living by this boring yet structured routine. Well, I was doing fine living by said routine in a subliminal fashion. Once I was made aware of these tedious patterns… life in quarantine got a bit more difficult. I’m now conscious of the future, in a way. I know tomorrow I will wake up and do the same exact things that I did today. This mundane way of living is indefinite, and the awareness of this uncertainty can make a girl go crazy.
I, like every other person in the world right now, long for the days of spontaneity. I’m choosing to honor the necessity of social distancing and self quarantining, but GOD do I hope it comes to an end sometime soon. I’ve been attempting to use this time to “self reflect” and “clear my head of troubles.” At this point I know myself way too well and my head has never been emptier. Society as we’ve always known it can’t come back soon enough, and when it does, I’ll gladly readjust my routine yet another time this year.
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