On any normal day, having no responsibilities and time off from class sounds fantastic, but when it comes to days of staying inside, Netflix and doing absolutely nothing gets old real fast.

Having to stay inside has led to doing some interesting activities. “I’ve playing Animal Crossing for the past three days straight,” Junior Martha Scherschligt said. It’s also led to outside the box thinking.
Staying inside has made some of us more productive. Spring cleaning found a whole new meaning for me. I have organized my closet twice, helped my parents clean out 20 years of items collecting in the basement and held a photo shoot of my 40 Webkinz as well as my college dorm items to sell online since I won’t be using either anymore ever again (too soon?). “I’ve been trying to stay active by going on long walks, runs, a bike ride and doing exercise videos in front of my TV,” Junior Emma Lohman said. Now is a great time to do what you’ve been avoiding for weeks, and find healthy ways to stay busy. I’m at the point where doing three hours of research for my senior psych paper, and counting all the change I’ve accumulated since I was four is more fun than sitting around. That says a lot considering I counted 1,462 pennies.
My creativity has skyrocketed through all of this, as well as others. “I started a Baby Yoda embroidery project since I’ve been home,” Sophomore Riley Wentink said. Having no gym has led to some new workouts and weight substitutes. Honorable mentions are laundry detergent, using textbooks in giant boxes for sled pushes rather than reading them, squatting my dog, and finding new running routes outsides (I got chased down the street by a goose so I’m not going on that route anymore.) It takes creativity to find loopholes in social distancing. No one ever said walking the lake with a friend 6 feet apart was off limits. No one ever said you couldn’t have dinner with someone by driving to the restaurant parking lot and eating a meal parked side by side while talking through the window or on FaceTime. Lastly, using Zoom to have a happy hour with “quarantinis” with friends has become a new thing. Anything goes at this point.
I’ve found a renewed joy for activities I never had time to do.

Reading for fun has become fun again, walks outside are the highlight of my day, going on a drive, FaceTiming, sipping coffee while the sun comes up, going to the store is like a field trip and it’s amazing how much better family time is when no one is in a rush anymore.

Taking time to do the little things to keep you calm and relaxed is so important in a time like this. “I’ve done lots of pleasure reading, played guitar a bit, played games with my family, did some major house chores, took care of my dog and yoga,” Senior Nate Williamson said. Being isolated and having time to yourself isn’t a bad thing, and I’ve learned a lot about myself with using time to just think and sort through the file cabinets in my brain. Find the silver linings, take it one day at a time and shine on, Gusties.