The year is 2020 and COVID-19 is having a bigger impact on our lives than we imagined. In a matter of days, our lives drastically changed from good hand washing routines to social distancing.
Every single media platform has made the message loud and clear: we are supposed to stay inside and limit our contact with others. But instead of only keeping us safe from COVID-19, this idea of social distancing is making life so much harder and somehow still boring us to death.
The biggest change for us at Laurier Brantford is that classes are now online, and I haven’t yet decided if I hate waking up for an online lecture more or less than waking up to go onto campus. With a majority of our exams and assignments being put online, we have the added stress of adjusting calendars and worrying that our finals went from being worth 30% to 50%. Also don’t get me started about online classes, because the pain I feel when I am trying to listen to an online lecture and my classmate doesn’t know how to mute their mic is like no other.
Our generation is known to be “lazy” and, for lack of better words, “couch potatoes” so you’d think we would enjoy the idea of quarantine. It turns out to be the complete opposite. I have suffered being stuck in my room for hours switching between naps and different shows on Netflix. I also never understood how much I would miss just having the option to go out and eat until every single restaurant closed and I craved the spin dip from Boston Pizza. To add on, my friends decided to distance themselves so much that they all went back to their hometowns, so now when I want them around to cure my boredom, Facetime has to suffice.
Like everyone, I have my own coping methods. Some are part of my regular routine: watching tik toks forever, online shopping, Facetiming friends and family, binge-watching Netflix, constantly playing candy crush and playing around with makeup. Some ways to keep myself busy are new: teaching myself how to cook new recipes, exploring different hiking trails for some fresh air, and – this one surprised me – getting ahead on upcoming assignments and readings. The best advice to cure anyone’s boredom is to try anything that comes to mind because now is the time to try new things.
During this quarantine, we have had a lot of free time and it is spent doing all different kinds of research on COVID-19. One thing that I have noticed is the impact the media is having on this virus. It has now become as casual a topic of conversation as the weather and as common of a meme as Peppa Pig. The media is making sure to feed off of people’s fears to make their headlines, but the biggest thing to remember is that COVID-19 is a real virus; it is a real problem and regardless of all the jokes and your own personal boredom, remember to stay safe, happy and healthy!