Unique Ways to Keep Busy in Quarantine (without Direct Electronics)

Lillie Abramowicz, Reporter

The COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States like a tidal wave in the past few months. Luckily, Connecticut has taken necessary precautions to ensure all of the residents are safe and secure during this time. As online curriculums are starting, many students still have downtime to fill. Many have cycled through Netflix’s selections, so below includes ideas to kill time without filling your screen time.

Learn a new Instrument or Practice an Instrument

Have an old guitar collecting dust in the attic? Or a piano that rarely gets love? Learning and practicing an instrument is a skill that many aspire to have throughout their lifetime, why not start now? Senior David Sugrue and the Jazz Band have created many

ways to stay connected while apart. In regards to using quarantine to practice, Sugrue states, “I have SO much more time now,” he says, “quarantine has been great as far as practicing my instrument goes. I’ve had time every day for at least an hour to sit down and practice, which I never had before.” The WHS Jazz Band ensemble created an Instagram page (@without.thought.jazz) where students can showcase their talents together (while apart)! Junior Cooper Alloway has always treasured music and the things you can create with instruments. In Alloway’s free time, he says “I play as if there were no quarantine, it just gives me more time to set aside for developing my own music and learning about it”. Youtube offers many instrumental lessons for free, which is a great feature to learn from. Anyone can learn a new instrument with time, practice, and patience. Come back from quarantine being able to perform songs and melodies to impress your friends with!

Writing/Journaling

Has your handwriting been described as ‘chicken scratch?’ Have teachers instructed you to re-do your work because of how messy your handwriting is? Let’s fix that! I managed to improve my handwriting in just a few weeks by rewriting sentences until I was aesthetically satisfied. Even if you’re content with your handwriting, discover the different forms of journaling and writing! Junior Tallah Ryan has utilized her time by doodling and writing. When asked why she likes to write, she says she “picked it up because I was able to see something and replicate it very easily… It’s something that I used for a creative outlet” she says. Bullet journal your goals and aspirations for your future; write out a goal-plan for the rest of high school; bullet your favorite foods… The options are endless. 

Cooking/Baking

This isn’t about cooking a box of Kraft Mac and Cheese… learn how to create real food! Compare different culinary cultures, balance your meals, eat healthier, whatever you can! You can even start by helping mom, dad, grandma, (whoever) with preparing meals for the family. Familiarize yourself

with essential ingredients in foods and create something amazing. Junior, Murphy Ryan, has used her free-time in quarantine to learn new recipes to recreate. When asked why she enjoys cooking, she says,

“I like to cook because it’s nice to serve my family breakfasts and dinners. I can work on something and I try to get better at it every day” she states. Ryan believes that practicing her cooking skills has made her quarantine less boring and she’s picking up more essential skills that can benefit her in the future. I even learned how to make fresh pasta from scratch, which was fairly easy and the product wasn’t perfect, but that’s perfectly okay. You can create food from basic ingredients. Even mastering basic cooking skills like frying an egg or grilling chicken is an essential skill for life.

Discover new languages

Language is how humans communicate around the globe. Many students focus on English, maybe a secondary language at home, and possibly another to study in school. But how cool would it be to return to school while speaking with hand movements? Or an ancient language that only ancestors in foreign lands speak? I decided to study ASL. I learned the ASL alphabet in 20 minutes through a single Youtube video. Although staying away from electronics would be ideal, using it for educational purposes like this one is priceless.

Spending Time with Family

Of course it’s inevitable to not see your family during this time… so now is a perfect chance to treasure that time together. Junior Kendra Gregg and her family have used their time in quarantine to build stronger relationships with each other. When asked how this time has affected her relationships with her family, she says “I’ve honestly learned more about them and talked to them more than I ever would before… I’ve grown closer with my family,” she states. You can watch your dad’s favorite movie with him, help your mom with a fun project, play a game with a sibling… the options are endless. No matter if the quarantine lasts a few months or even more, it’s important to not take your family for granted. Make more memories with members of your household before you’re able to go out again… you might not have the chance to treasure the same moments again.