Quarantine Reflection

What I’ve Gained, Lost, and Learned Through Isolation.

Like most people, the corona virus pandemic and living in quarantine greatly affected how I lived. I went from getting up early in the morning to go to school to involuntarily sleeping in. Gladly, I have access to the internet, zoom and other platforms where I talk to my friends through a screen. Of course the problems that I faced during the peak of COVID-19 were nothing compared to how they may had affected other people. I should be grateful for the minor inconveniences I’ve faced throughout these months because if my life went any differently, I could’ve been one of the hundreds of thousands of people who have lost their lives to this dreadful disease. Let’s not be sad because this is not why I made this blog! Let’s focus on the positive things that have come out through these bad times.

Virtual Learning

My school district was one of the last to close down so I thought we would have less time off of school. Most schools in my state decided on 1-3 weeks off from school so we assumed that we would be getting the same amount of time off. More days passed and school was still in session for my district. Students from my school district had to watch from their phones how other students from other districts in the State were at home living their best lives while we were stuck at school. Now I look back and regret taking those few extra days for granted. When my school district announced school would be closing for 6 weeks, many of us were extremely excited to have time to take a brief break and catch up on some sleep. Little did we know, our “brief” break would turn into the whole school year being canceled. Yay??

Soon after the closure of my school was announced, virtual learning plans were put into place. On one hand, this meant that I wouldn’t be able to see my friends until the next school year, but on the other hand, this meant that school work would be more manageable and I would have more time to focus on myself. As much as I love a little personal time and getting my beauty sleep, the perks of quarantine started to become old. For the first time since 5th grade, I actually wanted to go back to school. Sure I could talk to my friends 24/7 and see their faces over Face Time, but it just wasn’t the same.

Slowly Getting Being Re-Introduced to the Outside World.

Of course being stuck inside your homes for awhile gets boring sometimes, but that doesn’t mean that you should disobey the quarantine rules and hang out with multiple people. Things like that gets me frustrated sometimes. I saw people hanging out with their friends and family without wearing a face mask or social distancing while I was stuck in my house for 3 months. I made sure that the people that lived with me were also quarantined for a long time so there was no chance that we would be infected with the virus.

Seeing people in real life for the first time in months (other than my immediate family members who lived in my house) felt so surreal to me. It was definitely weird talking to other people besides my parents and my siblings. At first, I felt kind of guilty. What made me feel even worse was that about 2 days after I went to hang out with my sister and cousins, I developed a runny nose. I would say to my sister “You know the first symptom of the corona virus is a runny nose right?” and “If I end up in the hospital, you’re paying my bills.” Of course this started as a joke at first, but slowly I became more and more convinced that I actually caught the virus. I know, just Janelle being dramatic as usual, but I actually was a little scared alright!! Just kidding, I wasn’t just a little scared. I was writing out my farewell texts that I would send to my family on my death bed in my mind. I guess planning ahead is always a good though, right?

I felt selfish for going out to have fun while people were dying all over the world. I wanted to go back inside because I thought that I shouldn’t enjoy the outside world if others could not. But quarantine and this pandemic has taught me a lot of lessons throughout these past months. It taught me to be creative, not take things for granted, but most of all, celebrate life. I’ve realized that I need to live my life to the fullest because I’ll really never know when my last day will come. Thankfully, the peak of COVID-19 is over in my State and things are gradually coming back to normal. I spend my days out in the sun, reading books, talking to my friends from a safe distance, and living my life the best way I possibly can.

Thank you so much for stopping by! Be sure to subscribe for updates on when I post and follow me on social media @heyjnelle . I’ll be posting on my lifestyle and fashion blog twice a month so be sure to be on the lookout for more posts. Leave blog post suggestions down below and tell me what you thought about this one! I love interacting with you guys!