This might be the one time I’ll genuinely say I’m glad I procrastinated doing my homework, as I sit here typing this blog the day before it’s due. If I would’ve been a proactive student and attempted this assignment about a week ago, you would have heard the voice of a rather uninspired, pessimistic, prisoner of quarantine. 

I drove back to Maryland with the idea that I’d just be staying for spring break, and in seven short days I’d be cozied-up, back in my little 7’6” by 12’3” home in Russell E. There wasn’t a hint of doubt in my mind that I wouldn’t spend the rest of my semester in Delaware, even if classes were online. So as the following days unfolded at the beginning of spring break, you can imagine my shock as I was hit with the reality that: A) I would not in fact be returning to school for the rest of the semester, B) it wouldn’t just be friends from school that I was going to be missing, but also friends that live just down the street from me, due to social distancing, and C) any aspect of face-to-face social interaction, as simple as dining in a restaurant, would be cancelled across the globe until…well, God knows when.

Every plan I had for the upcoming several months had been buried in the dust. I grieved the loss of the rest of my freshman year experience, the festivals this summer I had been anticipating all year, and most of all just the basic freedoms of daily life that had been revoked from us. All of us were forced to face a very dramatic lifestyle change all at once, and that is not an easy idea to conceptualize. I had no idea how I was going to brave the next three months, which presented themselves to me as being a series of clockwork events: wake up, sit at the same desk all day completing online assignments, which upon completion, maybe I’ll find something to do with my sister at home, or maybe I’ll find something to keep me busy outside (but only until 8:00 PM enforced curfew), go to bed. In this new Covid-19 universe, how the heck are we supposed to find value in our daily lives, when it feels like we’re wasting away as the cast of some twisted, real-life episode of Black Mirror trying to teach us to get off our god-damn screens and revert back to the in-person social interaction human-beings so desperately need? 

That, my friends, was my exact mindset during the first couple days of quarantine which all seemed to run together in a timeless loop…or maybe not quite a timeless loop, because I suddenly felt like I was wasting all the time in the world, doing the same mundane activities on repeat. This feeling that my own life was getting away from me is what inspired me to, you know, actually get inspired. The world might look a lot different right now, but among the regret and fear and panic which have inevitably become the headliners, there’s a lot to be thankful for if you just take the time to read between the lines and look for a touch of beauty within the chaos. 

How many of you have spent more quality time with your direct family this past month than the previous? How many of you have found yourself appreciating the escape that exploring the outdoors can bring, which you’ve never realized before? How many of you have picked up a new hobby, like photography or going for a trail run in the morning? For me, this quarantine, in a strange way, has made me feel more connected to who I really am. Yes, I’ve been binge-watching what is probably an unhealthy amount of  The Handmaid’s Tale, but I’ve also started painting, reading a new book, going on a daily run/hike, cooking meals for my family, and writing in a journal again. All of these aforementioned activities being ones I barely made time for, if at all, while away at school. I honestly think I forgot how much I loved doing some of these things, that are solely for the purpose of enjoying myself. I would have never thought to pick up a paintbrush until the epitome of my boredom a couple days ago, when I thought to myself, I might as well, I have absolutely nothing else to do. 

While I might not be anything more than a strictly average artist, I can’t explain how great it feels to fill my days with tasks such as that, which nobody assigned to me, that truly allow me to be creative and myself. 

Suddenly it matters so much less what people think about you. I’m seeing people post more casual things on Instagram, because that’s what daily life is now, casual. I don’t have to worry what anyone is thinking about me or the things I choose to pursue. With the publicity of our lives reduced, and our days’ to-do lists minimized, we’ve suddenly been gifted the ability to create our schedules. With no one telling you where to be and when, you can finally prioritize your own endeavors. This is no easy task, and of course daunting, as any change is, but I think that once you start getting excited about the possibilities to be created by conquering this challenge, instead of just seeing it at the obstacle that interrupted your routine, your quality of  experience will take a quick 180º.  

It might be a stretch, but I think we might have needed this quarantine. And while this was in no way planned to be the affect of a quarantine, I think it’s humbled us. It’s taken us back to our roots. We have found more value in relationships and the power of a simple of a heart-felt conversation in a time where loneliness is always lurking. We have begun to value the beauty of our environment and all of the wonders which the outdoors hold, that we never stopped long enough before to truly admire. We now recognize the strength which comes from being independent and finding yourself in trying times. And lastly we’ve discovered that change isn’t so impossible, which is something future generations need to hold close to heart. This is a time to grow. Be the sprout that defies the concrete. Be somebody who creates hope amongst all of the confusion and panic. Be the one who stares this epidemic in the face and declares that this unforeseen event has not deterred us, but given us a newfound strength—a will to take life into our own hands and hand-stroke an explosion of color into the world where it may appear bleak.   

Emma Charles