What I Actually Learnt From Being in Quarantine...

Note: Audio recording of the post is attached to the bottom. You’re welcome to listen to it if you would prefer!

Hey There!

It seems as if 'quarantine' is coming to an end, at least for us in Australia. I'm now leaving the house almost everyday and most things appear to be returning slightly closer to normal, or as normal as they can be. I can say that these last few months have really thrown me back to those six week summer holidays when both my parents were working and wouldn't let me get the bus on my own so I was stuck in the house by myself, watching an entire season of pretty little liars in one day, waking up at 2pm and living off pasta and toasties. I'm almost grateful in some way that I've been stuck alone with my thoughts for a while because I've learnt a LOT of things that I'm otherwise not sure I would have. 

Firstly I have learnt that yes, I am definitely an introvert... It worries me a little bit how much I did not hate being at home all day and night ESPECIALLY since everyone else seemed to be going mad. I had the chance to create a Harry Styles light switch, buy myself a pink beanbag, write a lot, catch up on my reading (a lot) and watch those shows that my friends have been ranting about for ages. What could be better? That being said I missed the absolute fuck out of my friends. I was reminded immensely of how much I value them. Whats better than a Harry Styles light switch? A Harry Styles light switch that you've got to justify as normal to your friend who has come to visit and doesn't understand your obsession with One Direction. What's better than a beanbag? Two beanbags. 

I think all of my fellow students will agree with me when I say that ONLINE SCHOOL IS HORRIBLE! All this going to bed at 3am isn't fun when you only finished writing your law essay at 2am and have to get up at 9am for a live ZOOM tutorial. Especially as a first year student at university... Honestly, I think I speak for us all when I say that I don't even know how I got through it. 

Not that I didn't know it before, but my brain (whom I have named Brian) is an infinite bloody minefield. From the insane dreams I've been having (many regarding Harry Styles the light switch) to my heightened creativity (inevitably fuelled by a lack of motivation to do uni work), I did not realise how Lizzy McGuire Brian (the brain) truly was. I may be unfit physically, but I sure as hell am a body builder of the mind. These many occasions of fruitful poetry writing and lemon painting were equally matched by life crisis` and existential impositions. Just for your pleasure a schedule would go something like this: 

• 9am-1pm Get up, don't wash your face or get out of your pyjamas, do uni work
• 1pm-3pm Procrastinate, TikTok, eat a lot of leftovers or make pesto pasta 
• 3pm-6pm CREATIVE TIME
• 7pm-9pm Life crisis time
• 9pm-1am Freak out about how unproductive you've been and do some assignment work
• 1am-3am TikTok/ journal about your crisis that occurred between 7pm and 9pm
• REPEAT

Those many 7pm-9pm sessions of existential implosion, though likely catastrophic to my mental well being provoked many important discussions with myself about the direction of my life. Stop, slow down and visualise what you actually want and not what you've been told is good for you. Turns out, I was on the wrong track all along. That discussion isn't always better saved for another time. In this case, I think I'll share it with you later. 

Some other small things I learnt which are less valuable but still quite important include:

1. I like being outdoors. Walking my dog is the best part of my day. 
2. Music makes me SO happy. 
3. Making art is therapeutic and when pared with some Carole King played on vinyl I am practically floating atop cloud nine (Photo at the top is my painting!)
4. Meditation works even better when you do it everyday. 
5. The ancient Greeks were right about leisure over work.
6. Hinge is better than Tinder. 

Wonder Amongst the Stars
All the love xx