With the closing of the school, I had to ask myself the hardest question I’ve faced in a long time. What am I going to do with myself in quarantine at home for months? Like many people, I could’ve easily named multiple pastimes to occupy my time such as running and hiking, reading, playing video games, watching movies, learning how to cook, and others. Also like many people, I soon found out that all of those pastimes run dry within the first week of quarantine, and that the gift of six weeks off of school soon turned into a nightmare.

Thus entered the second week of quarantine and following it, a wave of crippling boredom, complacency, and a general feeling of repetition. With school now being canceled for the rest of the year, the only thing I have to look forward to is leaving for the new frontier of college, which is the only thing that COVID-19 has not affected as of yet.

Now entering the third week of quarantine, online school assignments have been sent and I have found myself in a renaissance of productivity. Working has proven good at keeping my mind sharp and staving off boredom, but I can only hope that it lasts because the pandemic doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon.

I’m sad that I won’t be able to attend prom for my last year in high school, yet I’m also interested in how I will view this event in the long run. We are all living history in the moment, and it will be interesting to tell my kids about my high school experience with the now infamous coronavirus. Many years from now this period will be retold to younger generations, and to be a part of the people living through this crisis is almost a gift in the way we may be able to teach others as we age.

For now, I am continuing to improve myself in ways that I wouldn’t have if I didn’t have the time to do so. I’m running every day to stay healthy and active, reading every day to learn new lessons and narratives on life, learning new life skills like cooking to better prepare for my life away from home, and spending time with my loved ones while I can. In the end, the virus may end up as a wake-up call to improve the way I live my life and how my actions impact others.

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