Honestly I was not worried about being in quarantine. I figured because I have three different streaming services, three social media accounts, FaceTime and text messaging I would make it through. All of the above however, rely on this thing called internet. With the majority of people staying home, getting a solid connection to Cellular Data or WiFi is unheard of. That being said I have had to find new ways to entertain myself, more specifically ways that do not use WiFi.

My first go-to was books, I am already an avid reader so this was not abnormal for me. However, that option quickly showed some flaws. I only have so many books, and I can only reread the same books so many times before it gets boring. I also read quickly, which makes it hard for a book to last longer than a couple days. This was not a total fail however, so I purchased some books online and are having them shipped to my house.

I went diving into something else I could do, and decided on some painting. I am not an artist by any means but I will say I have an imagination and a pretty steady hand. I made a total of two paintings on small canvas. Apparently, everyone had the same idea because I ran to the store to get more painting supplies and, I kid you not, the aisle was bare. I have gone back a couple times since then and the state of the area has not been any better. The painting option was a bust.

Finally, we have the option that has kept me pretty occupied since I started, puzzling. I purchased a 1,000 piece puzzle that was an image from the movie “Coco.” I worked on it for a few hours over the course of four days before it was complete. I never really tried puzzling before but I enjoyed completing the first puzzle so I purchased another, this one being 2,000 pieces. I am still working on it, as I only started yesterday but I am not bored of this pastime and I think it will keep me busy for at least the next week.

There are a lot of things that could fill the time we have off like cleaning and sleeping. However, I need to find a ways to be somewhat productive. Quarantine has had an unhealthy affect on me as a person, I am someone who needs routine and social interaction. I cannot be in one place for too long, these projects and new hobbies have allowed for me to be distracted so I am not focusing on the impending doom everyone else is super worried about. I have learned new ways to handle boredom that do not include going straight to my phone. These will help me during quarantine, but also in life after this whole ordeal ends.