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"I'm alone but I'm not lonely. Comfortably indulging and trying to get to know me."
When I first heard Sabrina Claudio's song "Comfortably Lost", these lines struck a chord with me. As someone who's naturally more introverted and frequently needs alone time after a long day with friends, the idea of quarantine didn't sound so terrible at first. Personally, I love using my alone time to indulge in my own creative interests while finding out more about myself. Now at a time where staying at home is pretty much mandated, it's important to utilize this time to not dwell on the fact that we feel lonely, but take advantage of all the opportunities of personal growth that can be accomplished. I know it's hard to be alone for long periods of time —trust me, as someone who enjoys much needed alone time, I'm also starting to go crazy being at home 24/7. Feeling lonely is normal, especially now more than ever, though there are ways to combat those hard feelings and find ways to improve your life at home. Here are just a few things that I've been doing to help me not feel so helpless:
Pick up a new hobby
I'm sure you've seen a ton of your friends picking up an old or new hobby and posting it all over social media. If you haven't already, I highly recommend joining the band wagon and finding something you're interested in even if you don't think you'll initially be good at it. This may be the only time you'll actually be free enough to try out new things and hone your skills, so why wait? If you've always been wanting to improve on your art abilities, go and get a piece of paper and start drawing! Been binge watching cooking shows and want to try out a new dish? Put on an apron and try it even if you think it'll turn out garbage, because at least you tried! During most my quarantine, I've been expanding my cooking skills outside of boxed pasta, cup noodles, and eggs. I admit I'm pretty bad at cooking (once I lit my toast on fire in the toaster), but cooking is something I've always wanted to improve on. As cliche as it sounds, practice makes perfect! And now I can make some bomb kimchi fried rice. So if you're ever finding yourself bored at home during quarantine, write down a list of things you want to accomplish and start checking off those boxes.
Give yourself a schedule
Even if you don't follow it every single day, having a general schedule written down somewhere can really help you not feel so directionless while at home. Depending on your personality, a schedule can range from a rigid day-to-night list of what to do everyday to a very loose, general set of notes of things you would like to get done every week. Either way, they both help you develop some sort of habit. Something that I've vowed to do everyday is get ready in the morning and at night. I force myself to complete my (way too complicated) skin care routine, take a shower, brush my teeth, floss, get dressed, and basically do all the things I would've done everyday before and after classes. I'm not going to lie, making myself do all these things when I knew I had nowhere to go was painful at first, but now I minimally have to drag myself to the bathroom every morning!
Start journaling
Journaling has become one of the biggest creative trends, and for very good reason. I started journaling this year as one of my new year's resolutions and it's honestly changed my life for the better. Before I began journaling, I would shut off my emotions until they would build up and I would have a huge, once-every-few-months existential crisis. It's no secret that emotions are hard to deal with, so having a journal helps you write down every single thing you're feeling, no matter how ridiculous you think it may sound in your head. Also, journals don't have to be "aesthetic" or trendy bullet journals! I repeat, your journal doesn't have to be a beautiful Pinterest masterpiece filled with colorful tape and amazing handwriting. A journal is what you want it to be, whether it's simply full of notes or adorned in decorations. The main purpose of having one is to provide an outlet for your feelings without the fear of being judged. You don't even need an actual journal to start journaling. Use a piece of paper or type them out in a blog post like this one!
Check up on your friends (old and new)
Ever miss an old friend that you haven't spoke to in months or even years? Well, this is the perfect opportunity to get out your phone and text that person you've been disconnected from! With so much time on our hands while at home, catching up with old and new friends is an easy way to not feel lonely and physically disconnected. The great thing about technology is that we're able to form emotional connections anywhere and at any time, whether it's through text message, FaceTime, and even playing video games together. However, I do not recommend hitting up an old ex during quarantine because 9 out of 10 times it's a horrible idea and you're probably just bored. A little advice from me: don't do it.
Discover new music
I'm a huge music nerd, so one of the many things I've been doing during quarantine is finding new music to vibe to. Spotify is my go-to app for discovering new bands and artists (sorry to ya'll Apple Music enthusiasts), especially since they have cool recommendation playlists that update every week. If you've been wanting to refine your music taste or just need some new sounds in your life, I highly recommend taking some time to listen to different playlists and curating your own. I usually check out my Discover Weekly playlist on Spotify or look up different playlists based on a variety of genres and moods. Not gonna lie, I have at least 15 different playlists for every possible mood or occasion, ranging from super angsty to pre-gaming the pregame. Follow my Spotify for more playlist ideas :-)
Stop being so hard on yourself
For me, this is the key to feeling happier while at home, although it's definitely the hardest pill to swallow. Nowadays, the idea of being productive all day everyday is ingrained into the heads of young adults, but often times our mental health takes a hit. Realistically, everyone has their lazy days, and this is something you should never be ashamed of, especially during such an emotionally and physically draining time. It's okay to have a day where all you want to do is stay in bed, watch some Netflix, take a nap, and stuff your face with some junk food — all in that order. As long as you don't make these days into an everyday habit, indulging in yourself is an important step to not only love being alone, but also to love yourself. People are way too hard on themselves most times, and in return, a lot of people don't acknowledge their accomplishments and how far they've come. It's completely okay to reward yourself when you've completed a task. Remember to always be kind to yourself first!
What have you been doing to keep busy during quarantine? Feel free to shoot me a message on my social media or leave a comment. I would love to hear some new ideas! :)
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