Opinion: A Life on Pause
The following article was featured in the May 2020 edition of The Campus.
By Sayra Ilyas
The COVID-19 pandemic has certainly caused life to temporarily pause. Now, if you are most people, you are probably wondering what meager lifestyle we are forced to succumb to without the joys of eating out at restaurants, buying tickets to see the latest Marvel movie, or watching the Houston Astros get belted with 90 mph fastballs. But the choice to live as a pessimist during this entire situation is entirely up to you. With all this free time on your hands, you can finally clean out that drawer you said you would “when you got the chance.” Rather than sulk over missing some of life’s many milestones, take this time to rebuild yourself and focus on the parts of your life you normally would not because of school, work, etc. Without further ado, here are two ideas to make the most of your time in quarantine!
Number One: Working Out
How many times are you going to postpone your New Year’s resolution to get into shape? The hardest part of going to the gym is not the actual workout (well depending on if you are asking the wannabe Instagram model or the jacked bodybuilder), but getting yourself to go to the gym. Now that all fitness centers are closed to adhere to the new social distancing norms, there is no excuse not to work out. It is as easy as pulling up a video on YouTube and simply following the workout! You can even go for a run outside, just remember to keep your distance. If you are worried about losing muscle gains, just get creative! You can use a case of water bottles as makeshift weights. All jokes aside, take advantage of this free time to get yourself in the habit of working out, and once quarantine is over, you can take that new-found motivation to the gym and show off your post-quarantine bod.
Number Two: Educate Yourself
Another item on your agenda should be to push yourself to learn new information. Just because classes are online, that should not mean you should start slacking. One great way to learn new information is through podcasts. If you are tired of hearing the same drab daily coverings over COVID-19, that is understandable. The key to getting into podcasts is finding one based on your interests. If you are someone who likes crime stories, Serial is an award-winning investigative journalism podcast that will have you binge-listen the entire series. For those of you who enjoy taking part in social-activism, Pod Save the People is an excellent political podcast that unveils the everyday social injustices that never make it to the front pages of newspapers. For sports fans, The Bill Simmons Podcast is the most downloaded sports podcast of all time. And, of course, Barstool Sports has its collection of podcasts. Finally, a personal favorite of mine is Stuff You Should Know, a series that releases content on a wide variety of topics. From epilepsy to break-ups, you can pick up knowledge on just about anything from this series.
During your time in quarantine, it is important to remember that you should not feel obligated to occupy every minute of your day. The constant need to be productive can be mentally exhausting. Sometimes you need to just sleep and lounge in your bed all day, play video games, or gawk over Jordan Baker from All American. As important as it is to have hobbies, it is just as important to take a breather. Running back and forth between school and work, you rarely have the time to just sit back and take a moment for yourself. Without much running around outside these days, now is the perfect time to master that skincare routine, get back to playing some piano, or even making TikToks for the fun of it. There is no “to-do” list anymore. Time is finally not of the essence, and how many times in your life will you get the chance to say that? Make the most of your time in quarantine, or do not. The choice is yours, but remember to be mindful of others and practice social distancing to the best of your ability.
