Quarantine is honestly such a bore. There’s not much to do, nowhere fun or safe to go, no one to look cute for (unless you’re lucky enough to be quarantining with your significant other or crush…just so you know, we ALL envy you). But just because we’re in quarantine doesn’t mean we can’t do something useful with our time. Here are 5 skills that you can learn to keep yourself occupied:
1. Learn to Braid
I began learning last year, originally as a way to keep my hair out of my face at work, but then I realized how fun it was. I was also inspired by Daenerys, Cersei, and Sansa from Game of Thrones (the last season may have been disappointing, but the hair styles weren’t!). I knew how to do the regular 3-strand braid, but nothing very fun, so I looked up some YouTube tutorials and that kept me very entertained for a long time. I highly recommend Kayley Melissa on Youtube and this article. See how many kinds of braid you can master by the time we’re out of quarantine!
2. Knit or Crochet
This is a great way to pass the time during online lectures, but it’s also a fun, creative outlet in general. You can knit scarves for your friends, or crochet a cute crop top to wear when summer comes. Spare the health of the people who have to make and ship clothing by making it yourself! It’s cheap, environmentally friendly, and guaranteed to fit the way you want it to.
3. Increase Your Flexibility
You literally have no excuses now! We’re spending most of our days sitting or lying down, which is really bad for your health. Why not mitigate those risks by dedicating 20 minutes every day to stretching? See if you can touch your toes, do a split, or do a backbend. Pull up a yoga lesson video and follow along. By the time we’re all back outside, you won’t feel so out of shape.
4. Learn to Drive (or Improve Your Skills)
There’s basically no one on the streets right now. What safer time to learn how to drive? If you have a car and a licensed quarantine buddy, there is no better time than now. And if you’re licensed and still can’t parallel park (because let’s be honest, you probably only passed that part of the test by a scratch), there are plenty of parked cars around to practice.
5. Master an Instrument
A lot of people or their parents have instruments lying around the house that never get played. Why not pick it up and see what you can do? The internet is your best friend, as usual—there are tons of free online resources you can use to learn how to play an instrument. If you already play one, get better. If you don’t own one, you can buy a Harmonica for cheap online and impress your friends with Billy Joel’s “Piano Man” when we get out of quarantine.