A guide on how to not go insane during this quarantine:by Isha Wagle

A guide on how to not go insane during this quarantine:

                Right off the bat I’ve lied to you. The title is extremely misleading. This will not serve as a cure for insanity during this period of isolation. Insanity is unfortunately inevitable. But, it will help to lessen it. So let’s get right into it. It’s going to be a list because who doesn’t like lists?

1.       Play cards. I know. That sounds super lame. I get it. But, if you go to a website called playingcards.io, there are a lot of games available, including cards against humanity. You can create a room and let the fun begin. Now I’ll warn you, the beginning of the game is filled with a lot of shouting and trying to figure out what is going wrong. Trying to make everyone get their cards can be difficult at first so you have to do it in an orderly fashion. But, after everyone has their cards, it is smooth sailing.

2.       Netflix Party. This is honestly here as an honorary spot. Everyone knows about this and no one needs to be told but it’s still cool. I Netflix party once a week at least. I also facetime people while doing it but that is optional. Anyway good job Netflix party. You’re doing amazing sweetie.

3.       Cook something. Bring out all of those daring Tasty videos that you’re too afraid to try. This might be a little hard because you don’t have all access to a lot of groceries at this point. But think of it as a chopped episode. You have 3 bottles of Gatorade, 4 packets of ramen and some old spaghetti and your challenge is to make an omelet. It makes things interesting. Embrace the challenge.

4.       Do something nice for someone in your family. You have a lot of time on hand anyway, so why not spend it for the greater good. Yeah that sounded dramatic but I don’t regret it. Anyway, you can help out on a chore for your parents. You can also do something nice for a sibling. It has the added bonus of making them extremely suspicious of your unexpected kindness.

5.       Learn a new language. Okay, we’ve all made fun of Duolingo but it is completely free education and we have to appreciate that. There’s probably some language that you thought “hey that’s pretty neat and I don’t take it already”. Have some fun with it. I mean Duo will of course demand you practicing every day but you can also just chill and learn what you want to learn. There are also plenty of other YouTube videos online. Don’t forget, you aren’t limited to languages like Chinese, Spanish and French. You can learn American Sign Language as well.

6.       Donate. A lot of people are going through some really hard times. Also, hospitals are not getting the supplies they need to. Some people’s worst troubles aren’t being bored at home. They have much bigger problems to face. Donate to them. Give them a helping hand. Just search up “coronavirus donation”, find a reputable organization like WHO, and then give them some money. It will make you feel better in the end. If you can’t donate yourself, pester a friend or someone in your family.

7.       Learn something you’re interested in. Schedules are hard and you can’t always fit in the subjects that you’re interested in. With all the math and science and history filling your schedule, sometimes you don’t have any space to take a class on medicine, psychology, astronomy, culinary arts, painting, anything! This is your chance. There are so many resources out there. You can go on crash course or master class. You don’t even have to take notes or do homework or take tests. It will be learning at its purest. You can also educate yourself on current events topics or things that are alluded to often that you don’t know very much about. This might be cool information to know which will allow you to have better conversations and create more informed ideas.

8.       Google Earth. This one won’t be as long of an activity but it is still something you can do if you’re really bored. Just look through and find towns with weird names. Try to spot people that got caught on the google earth camera. Go to famous landmarks and sites and see what all the fuss is about. Chill out with the penguins and polar bears. Okay I’m not completely sure if that last part is something you can actually do.

9.       Study for stuff. Yeah I know it’s a bore and leave this as your last option but there’s probably some big test coming up for you. I mean if you really have nothing else to do, why not? Plus as an added bonus, it’ll probably make your parents happy with you. Being trapped in with your family can be frustrating at times no matter how much you love them, so anything is worth getting spirits up.

10.   Find something to do. Okay this seems obvious but there is a bit more nuance to it. Go around your house and figure out something you have kept off for a bit. It doesn’t even have to be work related. Look at your bedroom wall and think “Oh I’ve been meaning to decorate this”. You can go to the kitchen and realize that you’ve been putting off a cool recipe you wanted to make. You can do a full transformation on your room. There are also the chores you’ve been putting off but hey lets be real if you haven’t done them yet chances are you’re not going to do them now.

11.   Play a game with your family. Pull out the dusty game of Scrabble or Headbandz and give it a go. They might be slightly reluctant at first but who knows? You might make some pretty fun memories. Plus, depending on the game, it can light up everyone’s moods.

12.   Do a self-care routine. Pull out all the stops. I’m talking face masks and bubble baths. Chill out with your favorite drink, sit under the blankets and watch a movie. Look outside your window and enjoy a sunset. Admire the stars at night while listening to your favorite tracks. They’re things that always seem really nice and peaceful, but you never have the time for them. This is your chance.

13.   Be a kid. This is a time to pull out those games you haven’t even thought about in ages. Papa’s Pizzaria, Poptropica, Minecraft, Lavaboy and Watergirl, Nitrotype, the list is endless. These are games you probably grew up with and I bet that you will have a good time with at least one of these games. Watch the TV shows you used to watch when you were younger like Victorious, Austin and Ally, Wizards of Waverly Place, Shake it Up or anything else you used to watch when you were younger. Another thing to make you feel like a kid again is pulling out all of those blankets and pillows and making a fort. All of these things might seem weird at first but hey, no one is there to judge you anyway.

14.   Photos. There are so many possibilities of things you can do with photos. You can take out your phone or a camera and take some cool and artistic shots. You could also make a scrapbook of your life. Another fun thing you could do with photos is make a video of old photos and videos for a best friend or family. Everyone could use a little bit of pure joy and happiness right now.

15.   Turn over a new leaf. There’s probably that thing that you do that annoys you. Maybe it’s that you don’t eat as healthy as you want to, or you spend too much time on your phone, or you’re too negative. Change up your life and give yourself something to smile about at the end of the day.

And that’s your list of fifteen. I hope I helped and even if I didn’t I still gave you something to do for however long you were reading this. On a more serious note, this is a hard time for everyone and the disease should not be taken as a joke. Exercise caution and don’t do anything stupid. Some people are going through some really tough times and we should respect that. That said, it’s okay to enjoy yourself and not get caught up in all the sadness and uncertainty.

So as a final note, good luck and stay safe!