Since quarantine first began almost a full year ago, I have struggled with finding ways to stay physically and mentally engaged. Sometimes it seems far too easy to coast through an entire day without truly being interested in what I'm doing. Routines are great, but only if you enjoy what you are doing. At a certain point, I realized that I needed to integrate more "things" into my routine.
When life was "normal" it was easy to go to classes, see friends, grab a bite to eat from anywhere on campus or in town, and feel accomplished by the end of the night. Now, however, it's much more complicated. Days seem to be much more uniform than before. Gyms need reservations, sitting with friends is only tolerated in certain rooms, and drinking water is a privilege in public. It's hard to find ways to get out of a funk once you fall into one because, honestly, this type of environment can get old fast.
In order to stay sane both mentally and physically, we must develop new ways to have fun. Here are a few things that I've come up with.
1. Working Out
Gym reservations are the worst. You either lose sleep by setting your alarm for 4am or you miss the opportunity altogether. Besides, sometimes the urge to workout comes much later in the day. When we were all stuck at home, I found a few great videos that kept me feeling in-shape and productive even when I never left the house. Check out a few here:
2. Online Shopping
Okay okay, my dad would hate this one. However, it's called retail therapy for a reason. Sometimes the next best thing to going out is buying something to wear when you can finally go out. Luckily, as students, we are eligible for a few great discounts from popular stores. Click the picture to find their offers:
photo taken from adidas.com
photo taken from asos.com
photo taken from maccosmetics.com
3. Making clothes
This might be a throwback idea to when our Tiktok pages were full of tye dye and iron-on teeshirts, but it's still relevant. Gamedays, greek life, and just genuine boredom are great reasons to break out the rubber bands and gloves and get creative with clothing. Amazon is great for quick deliveries on the essentials such as tie-dye kits.
4. Painting
Again, this involves some creativity. I like painting because it involves no technology. I can sit for an hour with so much focus on what I'm creating that I barely notice the time passing by. It's a great way to let your mind relax, sort of like coloring but in a more mature way. Find pictures on pinterest and recreate them on a canvas! Again, most of my supplies come from Amazon or the occasional craft store like Michael's.
5. Finding new music
Do you remember when you first discovered the "Create a Playlist" function on Apple Music or Spotify? Do you remember the thrill of creating such a cohesive mix of music, or maybe the best hits of your senior year? Let me tell you a secret: it hasn't gotten any less exciting. Every so often I realize that my car ride playlist has become redundant, and it's always a calming activity to sort through my Spotify and make a new one.
6. Internship/ career search
One thing I realized during quarantine is that I cannot wait to start my professional career. I love college and everything that comes with it. However, I find myself dreaming about working or interning in the city more and more. Unfortunately, jobs and internships don't typically fall into our laps. They're earned through networking, marketing oneself, and staying active on platforms such as Linkedin. If you ever feel bored at home, there's countless ways to start looking into opportunties. My personal favorite is checking the "jobs" opportunity on Linkedin. Use this link and start your search easily with just a keyword or location.
7. On-campus organizations
I had already been involved with on-campus organizations before covid-19 hit. However, I thank myself everyday for starting early. As the VP of Events for PRSSA, I keep myself busy fulfilling my role and staying active with our chapter. Our events and meetings are a way to see familiar faces after a long day of online classes. Beyond the social aspect though, it's a great way to spend time doing something productive that will help one's career in the long run. Whether it's a sport, academic club, or charity, getting involved only benefits your experience on campus. Click here to learn about the organizations at Syracuse!
8. Cooking
This one is my favorite. We all need food right? It's fuel. With that being said, literally anybody can cook. It's truly a life skill, though many don't begin learning to cook until it is absolutely necessary. Well, it's never too early to start! If we ever get sent into quarantine again, at least you'll be able to fend for yourself. If you don't have a parent that lectures you on how to properly cook dishes or crack eggs, have no fear. Youtube and Tiktok are here! Click each meal to find a recipe/how-to video!
9. Find a podcast
Podcasts are fairly new in terms of being "trendy". However, now it's all the rage. Some of the most popular celebrities of our generation have a podcast. It might take some time getting used to listening to another person talk at you for an hour, but eventually it seems normal (I swear). In fact, the best podcasters make their listener feel as if they're with them in the recording studio. Spotify and Apple music both offer podcasts on their platforms. I'll link a few of the most popular Spotify podcasts below:
10. Study
This is lame. I know. The last thing most teens/young adults want to do in their spare time is study. Still, hear me out. I went into this fall semester feeling thankful we were back on campus. I was happy that classes were finally starting, since I felt that my summer consisted of doing absolutely minimal brain work. Furthermore, I knew that the semester would lack much of the excitment that surrounded past semesters at Syracuse. One thing was certain though, which was that classes would go on. In the grand scheme of things, I want to look back and say that I did well in school despite the terrible plot twists and turns that took place along the way. Now, I realize this isn't necessarily possible for others. Even I have slipped occasionally when outside matters required my attention more than my studies. However, I still stand by my thought process. Covid happened. However, life will still go on. These years, though they might feel like a fever dream, won't be erased from our timelines. Our academic year is still happening, so when there's nothing else to do, or no one to spend time with, sometimes getting ahead in work or on a paper is a valid option.
Enjoy Your Time
The most important takeaway of this post is that there are so many things you can do to help make your days enjoyable. This list is just a mere fraction of our capabilities. What starts as an average day always has the potential to become the best day of your life. More importantly, what starts as an average day can become the day you discover what you want your life to be! Keep trying new things, make yourself happy, and get into it!