When the news that spring quarter was going to be online was emailed to everyone at UCLA, my heart dropped. My family members’ hearts dropped as well. We used to be the type of family that could only spend three weeks together before everyone got on each other’s nerves. So, the thought of being forced to stay at home together until the fall was worrisome. At first, I did everything possible to not annoy everyone. I helped around the house wherever I could, never complained about the food, stayed out of everyone’s way by spending time in my room, etc.
However, one day, my older sister suggested we do a puzzle as a family. That was the beginning of our daily family time. After we finished one puzzle, we would start another one. We would talk about our days and sit down to eat dinner together, which we normally only did on Thanksgiving. On days when we do not want to do a puzzle, we watch a documentary or TV show together. We dedicated a whole week to watching Tiger King. We would watch one episode a day and discuss the madness we had just watched. We can now take walks to a coffee shop or go to the market without thinking about how we will irritate each other. We work out together and dedicate more time to talking. All it took was one month of being stuck together.
I spent my 20th birthday in quarantine, and it was one of the best birthdays I have had in a long time because I got to spend it with my family. All my other plans were canceled, but the simplicity and love that came from being at home was actually really great. The close quarters we are confined to helped us be more patient and understanding of each other’s behaviors, so that we would not immediately react in a manner that would anger one another.
Although this pandemic has ruined a lot of plans for the year and taken so much from us, it did bring us back together as a family. We are not immune to an argument here and there, but I am happy to say that we can spend more than three weeks together now.