With the pandemic coming to a hopeful end in the near future, we are still spending a lot of time at home. I know that for a while I was running out of ideas about what to do with my friends and when home alone. During winter break I had to quarantine, and for quite some time, I didn’t know what to do when alone. Luckily, I came up with a few ideas to keep me busy.  I enjoy spending time with myself, but for that handful of people who might be quarantining right now or in the future, this article is for you!

You might remember my article about yin and yang from earlier in the year. From that article, I got inspired to paint koi fish on my door. Although I’m not in love with how it turned out, this is one of the things that kept me occupied during my time quarantining. While on the topic of decorating things in my room, I also created other projects to put on my wall! I created a cut-out painting of the sun with a face, a rock, some mushrooms, and another picture of a face. Not only did this help me fill up an empty wall in my room, but it also helped me get the creative juices flowing for my future AP artwork. I created three concepts for some future pieces, which now two are completed thanks to the ideas I came up with during quarantine.  

I’ve had a lot of things I’ve wanted to pick up in my life whether it’s exercising, reading a book, learning a new language, or figuring out how to do a split or a handstand. My talents are limited, so during the two weeks the universe blessed me with quarantine I dedicated my time to exactly that. I’ve wanted to learn Japanese for quite some time. I used the Duolingo app and learned a couple of words including ‘good morning’, ‘goodnight’, numbers 1-10, as well as ‘red white, and blue’. Unfortunately, once I got to the second unit I gave up. Japanese is very hard and I could hardly learn Spanish in school.

I also started exercising a bit. I started with just 10 minutes a day of whatever I could do. I made up my own workout and followed ones on YouTube. To make it more challenging, my mom bought me a resistance band. At the end of the workout, although I may have been in pain, I was proud of myself for doing something rather than watching Netflix all day. Lastly, I recommend reading books. It doesn’t have to be any storybook type. I actually got into a book discussing spirituality. I originally saw it on someone’s Snapchat story and felt inspired to read it myself. It’s called Be Here Now by Ram Dass and I highly recommend it to everyone!!! 

But if you want some down time watching Netflix, here are some shows I recommend watching. I know everyone is obsessed with The Office, Vampire Diaries, Grey’s Anatomy, etc.  Although I’ve indulged in two of those shows myself, and yes, they were good, there are so many other shows worth watching. All of the ones I recommend are pretty short, so they are definitely worth watching. Check out these shows: 

• The OA– A friend recommended this to me. It’s about a girl who was blind, went missing for a bunch of years, and came back not blind. The show explores the topic of parallel universes and traveling through them, near-death experiences, and angels. Out of all of the shows I recommend, this is one I really think you should watch!
• The Rain- A post-apocalyptic world where many people have died due to the rain carrying a virus killing everyone. Six years after this, two siblings emerge from a bunker and look for the rest of civilization.
• The Midnight Gospel– An animated version of Duncan Trussel’s podcast which discusses death, spirituality, magic, forgiveness, and more. 
• Daybreak– A world where only teens are left because a virus has turned all of the adults into zombies. One boy tries to find the girl he has a crush on. 
• Black Mirror– This one is more popular, but for those who haven’t seen it, each episode is really amazing. Each episode is different from the last: different actors, different plots, etc. The episodes are about a more futuristic world where people may have the ability to put you inside games and to create technology that lets you record every moment of your life and go back to those moments. All of these technologies end up with a corrupt society and Black Mirror exposes how advanced technology may be the end of us. 

I swear that the shows I described are definitely the best there are on Netflix. They may be better alternatives to popular shows like Outer Banks and Riverdale. All of these activities kept me extra happy and extra comfy spending time with myself and hopefully it gives all of you some ideas on what to do or watch by yourself too!!