{"id":3682,"date":"2020-04-05T09:04:09","date_gmt":"2020-04-05T14:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gracegazette.org\/wordpress1\/?p=3682"},"modified":"2020-04-05T09:04:09","modified_gmt":"2020-04-05T14:04:09","slug":"life-in-isolation-a-love-letter-to-our-past-and-present","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gracegazette.org\/wordpress1\/life-in-isolation-a-love-letter-to-our-past-and-present\/","title":{"rendered":"Life in Isolation: A Love Letter to Our Past and Present"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the third week of social distancing comes to a close, we take the time to reflect on the changes this pandemic has forced us to make. We remisense the good times of frolicking in the sun, holding hands and sitting down at our favorite cafe. Yet, within all this madness, we have also been given the time to grow as people and experience new ways of life (and entertainment) that we would have never tried without the recent threat. Below are just a few aspects of life that we both miss and have grown to love from the quarters of our own home, and bed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Standing less than 6 feet apart<\/b><\/p>\n

So, you’ve decided to take a dangerous step outside of your home in order to get a few, vital rays of sun. Looking down the block you see someone coming your way. Panic sets in as you prepare yourself for what’s ahead. You hold your breath, close your eyes and say a little prayer that the person doesn’t involuntarily sneeze or cough as they pass you. That’s what it’s come to. I miss standing close enough to people that I can actually make out their facial features. I miss accidentally bumping into someone, apologizing, and then going about my day. Now, I look both ways when walking down the street, I keep my hands in my pockets as they clutch hand sanitizer, and I under NO circumstance help the old lady cross the street; if you think about it, I’m actually helping her by not helping her (if you know what I mean). Basically, I’m taking every precaution.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Having a sleep schedule<\/b><\/p>\n

Let’s be real. Sleeping is for the weak. It is a right of passage to go weeks without sleeping in order to barely pass your math final while drinking so much coffee your hands are twitching and your heart is beating 100 BPM. Now, I roll out of bed at 8:57, and turn on zoom. Last night, I burned through all seven episodes of Tiger King (if you haven’t watched it, you literally don\u2019t exist), and happened to fall asleep before my third shower of the day. Homework no longer makes me break out in hives and nervous acne, since when school is done I turn around and BAM there’s my bed and it’s only 3:21. Although the majority of my time is spent in bed, recently my lack of sleep has become unsettling. As it turns out, we didn\u2019t nip insomnia in the bud when we were eight years old. It seems that insomnia is something that resurfaces during a pandemic, and we are now faced with a new reality in which time is merely a suggestion. Sorry teachers; my groggy, death like appearance is not due to cramming all night for your online test, nor was it due to lying to my parents and going out. No, I look like I got hit by a bus because when I could have slept, I didn’t\u2026 and I don’t think I will any time soon.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Having shows to watch on Netflix that you haven’t seen\u2026<\/b><\/p>\n

The other day, I woke up feeling refreshed, ready to begin a new and productive day. By productive, I mean I woke up at 1:30, opened up my computer and began searching for something to entertain me; the bar has gotten pretty low as of late. Having already watched Tiger King, re-watched Parks and Rec, New Girl, Gilmore Girls, You, Sex Education, Kim\u2019s Convience <\/span>and<\/span><\/i> The Office (multiple times), I finally did it. I finally did the unthinkable… I watched everything on Netflix. I felt both a sense of achievement and disgust. On one hand, I was like \u201cwow, I just watched everything on Netflix,\u201d and on the other I was like \u2018what have I done, that’s not an achievement, that’s just sad.\u2019 It dawned on me that, for the first time, was completely and utterly out of things to do. Granted I could have gotten some breakfast, said good morning to my dog, maybe painted, but instead I just sat on my bed contemplating how I went through 165 shows on Netflix. Yeah\u2026 165.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The feeling of missing your bed<\/b><\/p>\n

You don\u2019t miss things you\u2019re laying in right now.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Taking a shower, NOT out of necessity but because your bored<\/b><\/p>\n

True story. It\u2019s 1:00 and I\u2019ve taken three showers today. Maybe that\u2019s just a me thing, but when there\u2019s literally NOTHING else to do, taking a shower seems like a welcomed waste of life. I\u2019ve started to feel guilty about doing nothing, but it\u2019s not my fault that access to entertainment is limited when you are completely confined to your house (I mean how many times can I aimlessly stand in front of my refrigerator searching for something to eat). The shower is the one place where just standing and staring blankly at the wall is acceptable.. Don\u2019t judge me. You\u2019re doing it too.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Not having to say a little prayer before leaving the house<\/b><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t pray for miracles or for good grades, I pray that I don’t get corona. PERIOD.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Your dog sneezing and not thinking anything of it.<\/b><\/p>\n

Everytime my dog sneezes I go into full panic mode. <\/span>What if she has Corona?! <\/span><\/i>It’s an irrational concern, but times are FUNKY. Rationality is a second-hand thought when the world doesn\u2019t seem to make sense.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Time away from family<\/b><\/p>\n

Sorry mom. I love you, but the wooden floors don\u2019t need to be washed by hand three times a week. First of all, we have a mop. Second of all, it\u2019s just excessive given that we haven\u2019t even left the house since mid March. If you need something to keep you busy, solve a jig-saw puzzle.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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SUN<\/b><\/p>\n

Out of all of my best friends, I think the sun and I have the best relationship. She and I love to go to the beach together, the pool, the park, on dog walks and to the grocery store. Occasionally, she even wakes me up. When we fight, it’s never for long, and I can always count on her to brighten my day. Recently though, there’s been trouble in paradise, as my favorite season, summer, might be canceled. I don’t know about you, but if I’m not sufficiently tan by mid-July, I begin to doubt myself: emotionally, physically and spiritually. Summer is not only the sun\u2019s time to shine, but mine as well, and I\u2019ll be damned if I have to buy self-tanner this summer instead of experiencing the real thing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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My dog being excited to see me when I get home from school<\/b><\/p>\n

I used to count down the hours until I could go home to see my dog. Now she counts down the hours until I leave her alone.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Being spontaneous!!!<\/b><\/p>\n

I miss showing up at my friend’s house, unannounced, with no former plans to speak of and demanding I get to sleep over, don\u2019t you?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Seeing my dog for more than an hour<\/b><\/p>\n

Although I know she is sick of me, I would like to think that the recent rise in our time together has brought her some joy and comfort in these trying times. Then again, maybe it’s the other way around.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Laying horizontally for most of the day<\/b><\/p>\n

Never thought I would be able to accomplish so much while laying in bed. Today alone, I have eaten breakfast, lunch and dinner surrounded by the plush of my blankets and pillows and the soothing background chatter of The Great British Baking Show.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Not putting pants on for school<\/b><\/p>\n

Sorry Mr. Mahabir, this one\u2019s out of your control.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Getting yourselves some Hobbies<\/b><\/p>\n

Let’s be honest, when Netflix asks you \u2018Are you still watching?\u201d What it’s really saying is \u201cHow many more times can you watch the same episode over and over again?\u201d It’s time for a change. Make one.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Realizing that we took things for granted before<\/b><\/p>\n

When (if) this ends, I’m gonna start appreciating the little things I can\u2019t do from the leisure of my bed. I’m talking about having actual conversations with my neighbors, being with friends and wishing I wasn’t, eating food I didn’t cook, sneezing and thinking I’m not infected. The list goes on and on, bottom line, I\u2019m thankful.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Hopefully after reading this, you have found some solace in the fact that you are not alone, whether it be showering out of boredom or finding it impossible to sleep. If you find that there is an aspect of your social distancing that you find to be universal, please write about it down below in the comments section! We would love to laugh along with you over the drastic measures we are all taking in order to find some sort of escape from the, more often than not, boredom we are all facing. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As the third week of social distancing comes to a close, we take the time to reflect on the changes this pandemic has forced us to make. We remisense the… Continue reading “Life in Isolation: A Love Letter to Our Past and Present”<\/span> <\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":3685,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[200,16,7],"tags":[256,671,670,669,672],"appful":[],"class_list":["post-3682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-recent","category-special-sections","category-school","tag-grace","tag-hang-in-there","tag-six-feet-apart","tag-social-distancing","tag-youre-not-alone"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9uEnr-Xo","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/gracegazette.org\/wordpress1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Blog_thumb-108-19.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracegazette.org\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracegazette.org\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracegazette.org\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracegazette.org\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracegazette.org\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3682"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gracegazette.org\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3682\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3684,"href":"https:\/\/gracegazette.org\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3682\/revisions\/3684"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracegazette.org\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3685"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracegazette.org\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracegazette.org\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracegazette.org\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3682"},{"taxonomy":"appful","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracegazette.org\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/appful?post=3682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}