Things Getting Me Through Quarantine

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Unpopular opinion: I kind of love quarantine.

Please proceed with your shocked expressions, gasps, and questions of how I could possibly be enjoying this shutdown…… I’ll wait.

….Okay, you done?

Good! I feel like life is constantly fast paced and busy that we never have the chance to stop and breathe and relax for a minute. Quarantine is literally forcing us to do that!

Now of course, I would love to still be chasing my dream of backpacking Europe, but once I came to peace with that coming to an end, I have refocused my attention on being present in the moment and being grateful for the things that I do have.

I want to share with yall some of the things that I have been doing to stay occupied during this time of staying home. Ever heard of Amazon? Well just in case ya haven’t, it’s this online company that sells almost anything you can imagine and it’s delivered right to your doorstep. Like, whaaaattt?? How amazing is that?!

I know many of us are stuck at home and bored out of our minds, but thankfully, we have the amazing gift of Amazon that will help to rescue you from the endless pit of boredom (in 7-10 business days)! (or longer since essential items take priority)

Puzzles!

Puzzles were one thing my grandma and I did together growing up. We would spend literally hours a day rejoining a picture that was ripped up into 500-1000 different pieces. My favorite ones to do are the Disney Thomas Kinkade ones! The great thing about Amazon is that you can search for nature puzzles, colorful puzzles, or even outer space puzzles and you’re bound to find one you love!

This could be a fun roommate/family bonding activity, everyone building a puzzle together. Or just turn on some music or Netflix and let yourself get lost in it (my preferred puzzle Netflix show is Jane the Virgin!).

Working Out

We’ve all heard of the infamous Freshman 15. I think this year, that Freshman 15 is turning into the Quarantine 15. I mean, what else do you have to do besides sitting on your couch watching Netflix, eating ice cream and frozen pizza all day? Trust me, you’re not alone in this. However, in order to keep yourself from putting on a few pounds during this lock down and staying healthy, why not try working out every day? Even if it’s just for a few minutes a day, it’s a great way to keep your body active, keep your mind sane, and keep those pizza calories from settling somewhere where you would rather them not be! There are definitely lots of exercises you can do without any equipment.

Mom and I (socially distant) pumping some iron!

However, if having physical equipment will help hold you accountable and keep you motivated, great thing you have lots of options! You can get dumbbells, kettlebells, resistance bands, yoga mats, aerobic step platforms, and even over the door pull up bars, delivered right to your doorstep! Use this time to really treat your body well and get in shape (so you can keep eating those Reese’s eggs and homemade triple chocolate cookies you baked last night!).

Just Dance!

This is one of my all-time favorite games ever. If you know me at all, you know that you can find me almost any time of the day jamming to my own beat….or the beat of the song that’s playing….or both….at the same time. Point is, I looooooovvvveee to dance. I know not everyone has a gaming system, so no way to truly bust out those Just Dance moves. However, one day, when the Wii wasn’t working, I made one of the greatest discoveries of my life….YouTube has almost every Just Dance dance available to stream!! How a-freaking-mazing is that?! This is one of my favorite games ever and it’s a great way to avoid gaining the Quarantine 15. Have a family game night or challenge yourself to play at least 10 minutes a day just to stay active! And to get your grooooove on!

Guitar/Ukulele

If you enjoy music even a small bit (which I’m pretty sure all of you do!), I may be biased in saying this, but learning an instrument can be one of the greatest things you can do for yourself. Music speaks to me in ways other things can’t. Certain melodies, lyrics, and guitar solos literally Speak. To. My. Soul.

I mean how cool is it if you can play all your favorite songs yourself?! Playing an instrument gives music a whole new meaning. I have been playing guitar for about 7 years, and ukulele for around 4. I do not embark on any of my adventures without one or both of my instruments and I couldn’t even begin to describe all of the beautiful and amazing stories that have come from being able to share music with other travelers. I’ve even used my ukulele to help fund my European trip by earning money from playing on the streets! Learning an instrument can open you up to a whole new world!

I know some instruments can reach into the thousands of dollars, but if you’re just looking for something fun to do during all this, not needing the best quality, you can find many different instruments for under $30! And as long as you have access to the internet, you have access to thousands of tutorials online to teach you how to start jammin!

Editing

I do lots of photo and video editing for my blog and all my social media platforms. Before starting my blog, I knew zero about editing anything. I now know maybe 20% more than I did a year ago, but it is a constant learning curve. I use Adobe for all my video editing and it occupies me for hours just learning how to use all the different buttons, tools, and features.

Editing is a skill that has exploded over the past few years with basically everything becoming digital. This is a skill that is incredibly useful if you’re trying to make an income online or if you’re just wanting to learn something new and occupy a bit of your time.

Blogging

This is one thing that keeps me crazy occupied and also something that I genuinely love doing. I use my blog to share my travels, adventure, life, give travel tips, travel guides, and hopefully provide some inspiration to yall to live the most fulfilling lives possible. I don’t think I have any special talents or think I am particularly great at writing, or photo editing, or web design…..but I use my blog to share my story. It’s a way for me to express myself and share experiences with people I may have never had the chance to.

I think every single person has some sort of gift or talent or skill. Everyone has something they are passionate about. If you have some thing that you are good at and love to do, have you ever thought about blogging about it? There is a blog for literally everything you could ever think of…cats, video games, traveling, baking, Latin DIY projects, climbing, glass blowing, linguistics, sharks, farming…. Literally, you name it, you can probably find a blog for it. Blogging is something that has changed my life for the better (you can read more about that here) and it’s something that I think everyone can be good at if they have an interest in it. Like I said, I really don’t think I’m a particularly great writer (which is why it sometimes takes months before I post a new entry because I’m just so caught up in trying to make it sound perfect, which it never does), but anyone can do it. If blogging is something you’ve even had a teeny tiny desire to do, I want to encourage you to go for it! I mean, if not now, when?? We have so much free time right now that you could dedicate to making a really rad website and sharing your passion with the world. I promise you, you are interesting enough! Believe in yourself and go buy that domain!

If you use this link, you can sign up for BlueHost to purchase your domain for only $3 a month! Literally the amount you spend on one coffee, you can have your own website and share your interests with the world! How cool is that?! You can sign up for BlueHost here.

Being Outside!

I could honestly say that if I was never allowed to go inside again, I would be completely content. I love being outside, soaking up the vitamin D or just enjoying a breath of fresh air. One of my favorite things to do outside is just lay out in the shade of the trees and write in my hammock. I know we all don’t have the luxury of trees, so maybe invest in some indoor wall hooks or an indoor hammock stand!

My other favorite thing to do while outside is spending the night under the stars in my tent. Don’t have a backyard? How about a living room or even your bedroom? Why not have a living room campout?! This is a great way to bond with your roommates/family. Shut off all technology for the night and just enjoy some quality time with each other. Live by yourself? Use this time for some self-care! Grab a journal and write about your plans for when things get back to normal. Or read a book while drinking some tea. Or remember those instruments we talked about earlier? Use this campout time to learn a few chords or songs!

Yes, tents can get really expensive if you want the fancy ones. But if you’re okay with something simple, you can find some on Amazon for only $25! Investing in a tent now might spark a desire to get outside more for when we are allowed to go to state and national parks again and you might be glad to have that tent!

Meditation/Reflection

I don’t know about anyone else, but my self-care game has been on point recently! Each morning, I have some sort of meditation, reflection, or journal time, which has been great for my overall mindset and well-being. If you’ve never done meditation before, there are hundreds of podcasts and YouTube videos on guided meditations. If you’re less of an auditory learner and more of a visual learner, check out these guided meditation books to help you practice mindfulness. More into yoga? Check out these yoga mats and guided yoga meditations to get you in the right mindset for the days.

Projects!

I know we’re probably all getting to the end of our “need to watch” list on Netflix, soooo……….what now? How about find a new hobby? Ever tried crafting or construction? One crafting project that I love is embroidery! It’s so relaxing and helps me to turn my brain off and not focus on the 4 million things constantly racing through my mind.

Another project I’m working on is building out my car into a camper! This has been a dream of mine for years and I’m so glad I’ve finally found the time to be able to do it. It’s proving a little challenging since we are ordered to stay home except for necessities, and I don’t think going to Home Depot for wood to build my car into a sustainable living space counts as “essential”.

Maybe do some research on different hobbies or DIY projects to do at home and see if anything sparks your interest! Netflix and Instagram can only occupy us for so long. At some point, the screens need to be turned off and we’ll need to find something else to do. How cool would it be to create something yourself and maybe find a new hobby/skill that you love?!

Positivity

The only thing that will get all of us through this is waking up each day, counting our blessings, and creating a peaceful and positive mindset. I know this whole situation is taking many of us far out of our comfort zones, but we just need to reflect and use this time to put our time and effort into the things that are meaningful and important to us. Let’s keep working on our self-care, keep reaching out to our neighbors, friends, and loved ones, and keep working on finding the joy and peace in the midst of all this chaos.

Struggling to find things to do or stay positive during all of this? Please reach out! I would love to chat. As always, make every day an adventure, and happy quarantine everyone!

If you enjoy reading about all my adventures and travels and want to support my blog financially, I would greatly appreciate that!! To do this, you can scroll down a bit and visit my Patreon page (just click that little orange button!) to decide how you want to support me. Thanks so much and remember to make every day an adventure!

Check out Episode 1 of my Quarantine Chronicles! More episodes to come soon!