Anyone who knows me well knows that I am an extrovert. That’s not to say I’m the party type, but most of the time I prefer the company of others over being alone. Obviously, I enjoy the occasional downtime, but when possible I spend most of my time hanging out with my friends or talking to them, or just somehow keeping myself busy. So you can imagine how scared I got when quarantine news hit. However, in order to flatten the curve and do my part as a member of society, I am staying home. I cannot stress the importance of social distancing enough. Stay home!
Much like most other college students, being sent home caught me off guard and I did not take it well. I was mentally preparing myself to say good-bye to my friends for the summer, five weeks in advance. Suddenly I had two days instead of five weeks. My excitement to go home turned into dread. The first few days of quarantine I felt sad and incredibly bored as my screen time drastically increased (thanks TikTok). I FaceTimed my friends from school every day, and not being able to see my hometown friends made the whole thing even worse. It wasn’t until my sister started embroidering that I finally found something to do.
I’ve wanted to embroider for a while after scrolling through TikTok and Pinterest, and thinking that looks like something I want to try when I have the time, and suddenly I have all the time in the world. For the next week or so all I did was embroider. From a tiny skateboard to the cover of “Fine Line” by Harry Styles, I managed to keep myself busy and it greatly improved my quarantine. It’s been a few weeks and trust me, I don’t embroider every single day. But having something to do in times where I feel like I’m doing nothing productive saved me from falling into a depressive spell. I found something to fill the gaps where I felt like I was just sitting around and doing nothing, and I didn’t feel like I needed the company of others.
Obviously I can’t speak for everyone as we all deal with this differently, but if you’re anything like me, try something new! Art is such a good way to both keep busy and make something you’re proud of. Let’s face it, we might be here for a while, so it’s important to find something to keep you motivated and moving. For me, it’s embroidering. Next week I might find something new. Whatever it is, treat every day as an opportunity to try something new and we’ll get through this together.
All images courtesy of the Her Campus Media Library.