How To Enjoy Right Now, Today: Coping With The Constant Changes Of COVID-19

The first week of the 2022 school year at Central has been a great representation of how quickly life can change during a pandemic. Our first day back from winter break turned into an all-virtual school day due to a spike of COVID-19 cases caused by holiday traveling. Our second day of school introduced us to our new lunch block and seating arrangements; a dramatic shift away from how we were used to eating lunch. Our third day of school had icy roads, making most of the students late and affecting class time. On our fourth day, we were told that we’d be returning to half-days for the foreseeable future. The fifth day became a sudden snow day.

All of this, especially under the constant knowledge that COVID-19 could change our schedule at any moment, even in the middle of school, leads to our schedules feeling half-baked at best and non-existent at worst. Mr. Brandt keeps thanking us for our resilience, but we all still struggle with the constant change. It’s scary not knowing when we will reach our “new normal,” so our only option is to learn how to live with the change. It’s not as easy as just “going with the flow,” but it’s possible.

On an individual level, we each had our own routines before COVID-19. Whether that’s with sports, hanging out with friends, school, working, clubs, or any other activity, we used those routines to keep us grounded. If we had to deal with a new routine every day, it would get exhausting. And before COVID-19, there wasn’t anything that majorly upended our routine. It reached a point where our routines were accepted as stable things that would rarely change. But, with us existing in an ever-adapting world, we have now reached that exhausted place. We no longer have a world that gives us our routines, leading us to live each day without comfort in the known activities of our days.

This instability leads to a strange opportunity for each and every one of us. We don’t have a world to give us a schedule or a routine, so we have the power to apply our own routines. If we have some sort of routine to help us get through the day, it’ll become easier for us to cope with the things we can’t change, since we can take comfort in what we know won’t change. And if we apply our own routines to ourselves, we now have the choice to use this as an opportunity for growth.

For me personally, I started running during the beginning of quarantine, and it became a daily thing for me. It has led me to become a healthier person than I was before the pandemic started. I also started playing the ukulele every day only a month into the pandemic, and now I can play several instruments, produce music and write lyrics. Running and music turned into the core of my life that I was able to hang on to while trying to manage my new schedule. On an individual level, no one person has the ability to change the situation that affects all of us. We can get vaccinated and stop the spread of COVID, but that doesn’t mean our overall situation will end from one person’s actions alone. However, we all have the control to change what we do day-to-day. If there’s something you always wanted to try, or if there’s something you have a talent for or even something that you just enjoy doing, then make that your new routine. Do not cope by just waiting for something to happen, make your own things happen.

Truth is, no one knows what tomorrow will bring, and that’s a scary thought. But instead of giving into that fear, make your own plans for what will happen tomorrow. Make your tomorrow come today. And even if your routine isn’t anything considered “productive,” it’s still something to keep your life in check. Even taking a nap or playing video games count as a routine, and it is still better than floating around in uncertainty. Will it be the same as before the pandemic? Of course, it won’t be. But it’s up to you to decide what you do with your time.