Ella's blog

How was the recent holiday? I celebrate Easter, and this past one felt very strange. In my family, we don’t usually do a lot or see tons of family, just me, my parents, my siblings, and my grandparents. We eat at the big fancy table that we only set and sit at three times a year, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. I actually live with my grandparents, but they have been understandably very hesitant to spend time around us. This year they didn’t come down to eat with us and I realized it was the first time we had sat at that table without them. It was a sad realization, but we’re still grateful that we get to still be near them, even if we don’t have much interaction.

What changes do you personally think you should make? What have you learned about yourself from the quarantine? It can be hard to maintain friendships with people who you used to see everyday at school and now can’t see at all. This is also true with closer friends that I used to see every weekend, and not can’t at all. I have learned that a lot of the time I can wait for other people to reach out to me and don’t usually do it myself. During this I realized it's important to start conversations with people and I need to do more of this.

How have your thoughts toward school changed? My attitude towards school has become much different since it has become remote. Although it’s much harder like this and I really want to go back to being in the building and seeing people and moving around all day, this way does have its benefits. Grades have become a much less stressful thing now that they can only improve. It can be easy to get into the mindset that you can slack off and not do the work but I noticed that I haven't been doing that. I don’t need to complete my work with 100% effort, but I do more because I want to learn. I don't dread doing work as much as I have in the past. I think because of the situation school has become more about learning and less about grades and I really appreciate that.

What was the best thing you ate today? Are you and your family eating different kinds of food? Are you purposely eating “old favorites”? The best thing I ate today by far was definitely Barnaby's pizza. I have been going to Barnaby's since I was a little kid and it has been my favorite restaurant for as long as I can remember. Eating it always makes me happy and it is very comforting having it. When i was little I would always go with my grandparents, and even though I live with them, I haven’t talked to them or seen them for more than a few seconds in a while. Barnaby's has always been my favorite and it will always make me happy eating it.

Name one thing you make sure to do that makes you happy, hopeful, more relaxed.  One thing I have been trying to do while this is going on is to keep moving. It can be very easy with online classes one after the other to stay in the same position for hours on end. Because of this, I try to get up and stretch or do small workouts between all of my classes, and I always feel much better on days where I do this, and not so great on days that I don’t. Staying active, even if it’s not as much as I usually am, has been very helpful in keeping my mood up and keeping my body feeling good.

What impact is technology having on your daily life? Is this different than usual? Technology was already a pretty big part of my life, but after having to do all of school online it has become an every bigger part. When I wake up in the morning I immediately go on my phone onto canvas and check into advisory. I spend the rest of my morning checking canvas and then spend the rest of the day doing online activities or on zoom for classes. Outside of school, I also spend a lot of time talking to my friends online. For my friend's birthday, we are all getting on a zoom to celebrate. Technology has always been a big part of my daily life, but now, it has become extremely essential.

What are you reading? Watching? Listening to? Since this all started, my parents very excitedly decided to get Hulu. I was very happy about this because it has How I Met Your Mother, a show that I used to love and watch all the time until it was taken off of Netflix. I have been watching it nonstop, and it's been very comforting during this time. I got one of my friends to watch it and it has been a really nice way of bonding with them during this time. Since no one can go out and do things it can be hard to find things to talk about because nothing is happening in our lives. Watching this show together has both given us something to talk about, and been very comforting.

Are you spending your time differently? What are you doing more/less of? I have been spending my time much differently then I would usually if I could leave my house. A typical weekend for me doesn’t include a lot of time at my house, especially alone. I usually spend most of my time out, going to restaurants, driving around, and exploring new places with my friends. But in the past couple of weeks I have mostly been going through my things and organizing drawers I didn’t know I had. I spent my entire day yesterday sanding then painting an old dresser of mine, which I’m pretty proud of now. After that I have been noticing more imperfections within my room and different things I could get rid of or move or paint. All this cleaning and somehow some part of my room is always messy.

What does your neighborhood look like? Are people walking around? I am actually somewhat surprised with the sumner of people outside right now. I read this prompt and rolled my chair over to my window and looked through your blinds. Right outside was my next door neighbor outside with her two small kids and dog. On days where it is warmer, there are quite a few people outside in their front yards or walking around the block. My family has been acting the same way, me and my sister going out to the front yard to play volleyball on nice days, and many dog walks when given the chance.