By Ariana Molkara, Staff Writer
MIND-BLOWING: March 13, 2021 marks one year since we first went into quarantine, but this is one anniversary that will be left uncelebrated.
Rewind: It’s March 13, 2020. I’m in my last class period of the day. The class can hardly concentrate. Every student’s device is open to the RUSD board meeting, during which the board is discussing the possibility of temporary school closure. If only we knew how long “temporary” actually meant. “Coronavirus” had recently been added to my vocabulary, but the world was still having trouble defining it. I had just learned that the Coronavirus does not in fact have anything to do with the city of Corona, California. I think I can speak for all of my peers when I say we thought quarantine would last a week, two weeks, a month at most. Yet, here we are, almost a year after our last day physically in school, our last somewhat normal day.
There isn’t much to be said about the last year that hasn’t been said already, yet somehow, new — or rather, bottled up — feelings are rising to the surface. The near end of the school year is particularly sparking an influx of emotions for the class of 2021. Spending the entirety or near-entirety of senior year in quarantine was always a possibility, yet as graduation approaches, seniors actually have to face the reality of that once-distant concept. I remember when I attended my first pep rally as a freshman, and ASB would measure how loud each class could say the school chant. Our freshman class’s chant sounded like the bark of a dog in comparison to the senior class’s roar. As always, the seniors won. I couldn’t wait to be that senior one day. I couldn’t wait to go on senior trips and do senior activities and go to prom and graduate with my peers at a large ceremony. Knowing the truth and facing the truth are two different things, and many of my classmates and I are currently having trouble with the latter.
So, I know you are probably asking yourself if this article is motivating or simply depressing. Well, if you know me, then you know that I try to make the best out of everything. One year in quarantine has certainly been, and continues to be, a test of mental stability. I know that everyone’s experience has been unique, and what has worked for me may not work for you, but I have compiled a list of things you can try to stay sane after one year in quarantine…if you still have some sanity left that is. Disclaimer: That is not to say that I am coping perfectly. I try to stay optimistic, but I, too, am human after all. Before I share my list with you, I think it’s important to mention that it’s okay not to be okay. That took me a while to realize, but once I did, it allowed me to release my emotions in a healthy way.
Without further ado, I present to you what I call Ariana Molkara’s Quarantine Survival Handbook.
Music and Art: Hold on — before you skip over this tip because you think you don’t have artistic talents, remember that this is for emotional healing, not for competing in America’s Got Talent. You don’t need to be Beyonce or Bach or Picasso to feed your soul through art. No matter what level of art expertise you have, doing something creative can help you find a forum of emotional expression and release. If you ever find yourself struggling to figure out what to do with all of your pent-up emotions, a simple sketch, a DIY project, a round of karaoke, or some interpretive dancing in your room when no one’s watching just might do the trick.
Movement: I named this tip movement because I personally don’t think fitness is the right word to encapsulate its meaning. I don’t just mean pushups, squats, weight lifting, running, and activities of the like. I do believe in the importance of physical exercise, but any amount of movement helps. One helpful tip is setting a timer for one hour or two hours and taking a break from whatever you’re doing to get your body moving. Take a stretch, move your arms around, go check the mail, walk around your house, do some cleaning, just anything to relax your muscles and get them working. I notice that if I sit for extended periods of time, my body becomes stiff, and if left unchecked, that tension in my body evokes tension in my mind. If you’re already an exercise junkie, I applaud you. For the rest of us who are simply searching for the motivation to get out of bed, it’s time to get up and do some moving.
The Great Outdoors: When human life gets complicated and messy, the best thing for us can be to escape to the serene world of nature. Studies have shown that just five minutes outdoors increases the levels of serotonin and dopamine in your brain. These neurotransmitters are involved in boosting our mood. Again, this doesn’t mean you have to necessarily travel anywhere; even sitting in your yard will do. We’ve all probably adapted to being indoors people by now, which makes it even more important that we get out of our homes, breath in some fresh O2 and spend some time with mother nature.
Writing Tasks: Writing, like art, is an outlet for emotional expression, and it doesn’t have to be “your thing” for you to try this next tip. We’re not talking Pulitzer Prize-winning novels here; this should be something simple and manageable. Cataloguing the events of each day, no matter how uneventful they may be, always helps me stay in real time, keep myself on track, and pour my feelings onto a page. It even motivates me to do something more exciting during the day so that I can write it down in my journal. Besides journaling, I’ve also tried “one line a night” challenges. For example, before you go to bed every night, you can write about one good thing that happened and one bad thing that happened that day, or one thing that you’re thankful for, or one thing you accomplished. The possibilities are endless! Another challenge could be to write down one word that describes your day. Use a new word every day and see how long you can go without running out of words. These tasks help break you from the monotony of quarantine and give every day meaning.
Random Acts of Kindness: Fulfilling a purpose helps us to find meaning and motivation in our lives, and one way that purpose can be fulfilled is through random acts of kindness. When quarantine began, I wondered how this could possibly be done from the confines of home, but it can. Something as simple as sending an encouraging text to a friend, sending a thank you note to a teacher or mentor, or donating to a cause online offers you an invaluable emotional reward. This tip is special in that it doesn’t just benefit you, but it benefits others as well. When so much else is out of our hands, good works, however big or small, place power back into our own hands and remind us that we can still make a positive difference. Coming to this truth is both empowering and self-fulfilling.
Meditation, Breathing Techniques, and Podcasts: Meditation and breathing techniques are great strategies to try, and the best part is that they are easy to do at home. My advice is to look up videos on YouTube that walk you through simple meditation routines. You can also look up other techniques on YouTube including box breathing, butterfly tapping, acupressure tapping, and other emotional freedom techniques (EFTs). As for podcasts, I recommend listening to “The Happiness Lab With Dr. Laurie Santos,” “Happier with Gretchen Rubin,” and “The Science of Happiness.” There are hundreds of more podcasts out there for you to explore.
That concludes my quarantine survival handbook. Keep in mind, though, that caring for your mental health extends past the pandemic’s end — perhaps a more apt title for this guide would have been “Survival Handbook.” I hope that these tips are helpful and that you find at least one that works for you, because remember, one is better than none.
I want to congratulate you for surviving almost one year of quarantine. You should be proud of yourself. Look how much you’ve endured and how much you’ve grown. The truth is that life will never be easy, even without the threat of a global pandemic. What’s important is to know how to manage your emotions at all times so that they never manage you.