A couple of weeks ago, Pitt had a huge blizzard that caused two days of classes to be cancelled. To some people, the snow meant a perfect day to go sledding with friends or have some hot chocolate. But others might not be comfortable trying to trudge through the heavy snow and might prefer to stay at home to be warm. It’s fine to be the active one or the careful one when a huge blizzard arrives, although as college students, there’s an urge to spend your time scrolling on your phone or doing nothing, since we get stressed by the amount of schoolwork we do. As a result, those who choose to stay home could be at risk of boredom, which could decrease productivity and affect overall mental health. I myself had also struggled with productivity since my school work is usually a lot for me. Nevertheless, the moment when the blizzards hits and classes have to be cancelled felt like it was a perfect opportunity for me to re-explore my hobbies, thus increasing my productivity. Doing some activities at home can help increase engagement and productivity, allowing the brain to be at ease and causing a boost to your mental health. Below is a list of activities college students could do in case a winter storm temporarily cancels classes and they decide to stay home:
- Arts & Crafts
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What I mean by arts and crafts is any form of artistic handworks. This includes drawing, painting, knitting, building your favorite LEGO set, etc. Not only does it keep your hands busy, but it also helps relax your mind by staying focused on a more relaxing hobby. For best results, you should complete at your own pace.
I myself loved to draw when I was in high school, so my first few years of being a college student took a lot of time away from me to spend time making art. Eventually, during winter break of my senior year, I decided to open my mini sketch book given to me by a friend to try drawing again, and I found myself feeling more relaxed as I got to draw whatever I liked. Besides drawing, I also like to make origami and embroider. Like drawing, I found it hard to recover my hobby of doing these ever since my first year of college due to the stress of classes and activities. However, if a heavy storm forces classes to be cancelled, perhaps it is a great opportunity to rediscover at least one of your art hobbies and open up more of your hobbies.
- Exercising at A Nearby Indoor Gym
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It could be hard to stay warm in the cold, so why not warm up by heading to your nearest indoor gym for some exercise?
Given the fact that most of us probably live in a dorm, I can assume a lot of the dorms have an indoor gym that is free for resident students to use. If that’s the case, going there for a 30 minute jog on the treadmill or calisthenics not only can keep you away from boredom, but can also help you exercise your health. I remembered once liking to exercise, but stress caused by the amount of work I had to do led me to exercise less often, except for the numerous walks I take whenever I go to my next class.
- At-Home Manicures
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If you felt like you want to do something a little more relaxing, perhaps pampering yourself can help. Something I found myself liking to do is to paint my nails with nail polish and perhaps embellish them. An at-home manicure can take many forms (I’m talking about whether it would be using gel polishes, press-on nails, etc.), and they all can take hours to finish and can even last from noon to evening, depending on how long it takes for the nail polish to dry.
If classes get cancelled due to a heavy winter storm, it would be worth it if you can take that opportunity to do an at-home manicure if you’re going to be inside throughout the entire day. It’s even a great opportunity to be creative if you thought about doing nail designs!
- Write a Story
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Last but not least, if you’re choosing to stay home but don’t know what you can do to stay away from boredom, you can do something creative by writing a story for fun! Professional writers might have a lot to do, but if you’re writing a story for fun, it wouldn’t hurt to give a try on that. Also, don’t worry about whether or not your story will be bad because, according to a header in Craft in the Real World: Rethinking Fiction Writing and Workshopping by Matthew Salesses, โ’pure craft’ is a lie.โ What that header means is that no perfect work exists, and everyone can have differing opinions on a piece of work because we all hold different beliefs that come from different backgrounds, norms, etc. So don’t worry about making a perfect story, do what’s the most comfortable for you!