Written By: Nicole Chedraoui 

Hey you! Yeah you, reading this article right now! Are you bored? Are you tired of lying on the floor contemplating everything you would be doing if this virus didn’t ruin your social life? Well fret no more, because The Herald is here to give you some sure-fire ways to survive quarantine, while attempting to keep your sanity. 

The first step is acceptance 

Now this may seem cheesy because obviously everybody is aware of what is going on in the world right now, but knowing and accepting are two very different mindsets.  Accepting this weird and scary situation is the first step to staying sane in quarantine, and as much as you may want to, try your hardest not to complain about our current situation. Instead, educate yourself on everything that’s happening, understand why we have to be quarantined, and take time to accept this new reality.  Accept that you may not get to go to the concert or that competition, and be grateful for your health instead. 

It’s called social distancing, not social isolation. 

Rule number two to staying sane during the quarantine–and I can not stress this enough–STOP SOCIALLY ISOLATING YOURSELF.  While it may seem like you are benefitting your mental health by staying off technology in the moment, constant social isolation is detrimental for your mental health.  Don’t get me wrong, you SHOULD be social distancing (yeah I’m looking at y’all who are partying it up together on snapchat, STAY HOME), but that doesn’t mean you can’t keep in touch with friends and family multiple times a day. Download the Netflix Party app to watch your favorite Netflix movies and shows with your friends, even just watching a movie together and chatting through the chat box is a great way to keep your brain socially stimulated and happy. Even the occasional facetime or Zoom call you share with your friends is a great way to stay connected. Maybe even try to reach out to a friend who you haven’t seen in a while, there is no better time than the present. 

Minimize your surroundings 

They say that how you feel can very well be directly correlated to the environment you surround yourself in. So if you’re anything like me and live in a world full of clutter, quarantine is the perfect blessing to spend your time minimizing and cleaning out any unnecessary stressors in your environment.  It can be as small as making your bed in the morning, to cleaning out your closet and getting rid of all your old clothes, or maybe rearranging your makeup or accessory collection, or even giving your car a makeover. The goal of this step is to clear away everything you don’t want, use, need, or love, to only surround yourself in an environment of things that bring you only joy. You may not even know your messy surroundings are causing you stress until you try minimizing, and you would be surprised about how much better you feel when the atmosphere around you is organized and divided into only things you love. After all, you may as well love the place you’re stuck in indefinitely. 

Stay busy! Find a new hobby! 

I know that the words “busy” and “quarantine” don’t really go together, but let’s face it, your phone’s screen time needs a break from social media, and your own sanity needs something tangible to do. Lucky for you, we have some ideas that are not only easy to do at home, but serve as a great cure to boredom. 

1) Download DuoLingo and kickstart learning a new beautiful language you’ve always wanted to know. 

2)  Take up learning the art of cooking and baking, not only is it a great time consuming activity, it’s very rewarding at the end when you can eat all of your delicious creations. 

3) I know I said to give your phone’s screen time a break, but TikTok is the only exception. Shoot your shot at becoming Tik Tok famous, make original and fun content that could land you as the next member of the Hype House. 

4) Get Musical! You have time now to finally learn that instrument you’ve been putting off. Order that instrument off Amazon and finally commit to learning it. If you have it at home, you can immediately get started with online youtube lessons. 

5) Get into reading! Read those books you have sitting around in your house that you haven’t got to yet. Immerse yourself in a totally alternate reality to distract yourself of what’s going on in ours. 

Achieve your quarantine glow up!

There is no better time than the present to really self-reflect on your lifestyle and unhealthy habits. Possibly one of the best ways to spend your time locked away is to really start self-improving. Quarantine is a great time to start those healthy habits that aren’t as easy to accomplish in our normal everyday lives. This includes staying on a schedule, eating healthy, establishing a new workout routine, and practicing self care.  Trust me when I say that the internet is FLOODED with new quarantine workout routines and various healthy recipes to make while stuck inside your house. Not only will eating better and exercising release all of those endorphins to make you feel better, it will also serve as a great way to keep you busy and distract you from how BORING everything is right now. As far as self-care goes, now is the time to really bring out your multi-step skin care routine, those boujee baths with the bath salts and bath bombs, and all of the beauty care treatments you can. Because not only will they provide relaxation, they will make you look and feel better than you did before. 

Make a change in your appearance! 

I’m sure you all have noticed the abundance of people on the internet who are either dying their hair, shaving their head, cutting their own hair/bangs, or just changing up their style during this quarantine–and there is a reason for that. During this time while things are changing and people are feeling out of control, they turn to the one thing that they do have control in changing and that’s themselves! While many people may call this a “mental breakdown” or some sort of “crisis,” it’s really just a way of coping–a very harmless coping strategy. So if that’s where you are at in quarantine, I encourage you to shoot your shot and do what makes you happy. Maybe buying some temporary hair dye, or giving your hair a trim, or even just experimenting with new clothes or makeup,  just make sure that’s really what you want before doing it. I mean after all, if all goes wrong, nobody is really going to see you for a while anyway. 

I hope some of these suggestions are helpful for any of you fellow Huskies who are bored out there in quarantine. The Heritage Herald is sending positive vibes your way, and to the world right now, and remember as Troy Bolton once said, “We’re all in this together.”