Lessons from Quarantine

We certainly live in a strange time. In the past couple of months, I was supposed to finish my last semester in college, go on a memorable graduation trip, move to New York City, and start to face the reality of a young professional in a vibrant metropolitan area trying to make it on her own. Instead, I have been living in the Florida suburbs since March when my classes were moved online, and the highlight of my day has been seeing neighbor walking a little cheerful black Pomeranian on a pink leash, at least 6 times a day.

Lesson 1: the hobbies that we had as kids will get us through adulthood

My mom always said that when I was little, I didn't need anything, just a pen and a piece of paper. I could get lost in my imagination, and doodle quietly for hours and hours while adults are busy with their adult things. My parents were busy with their business when I was growing up, so their friend's art studio was like a weekend daycare for me. They dropped me off on Saturday mornings, and I would proudly show them the paintings I made when they picked me up around dinnertime when all the other kids were already gone.

Naturally, then first thing I did when I realized that we might be in quarantine for a while was buying a set of brushes, a box of gouache paint and a sketchbook from Amazon. Since then, I have been spending entire afternoons painting, rediscovering the joy of art. It is an understatement to say that art is keeping me sane in quarantine.

In particular, I have been painting scenes from my previous trips, as a coping mechanism for the fact that I might not be able to travel in a while. So far, I have painted the Pink City in Jaipur, the lighthouse on the cliff in Iceland, rooftop view of Marrakesh, lavender greenhouse in Hokkaido, nurse sharks in Belize, seaside road to Stanley Island (see picture), and my grandmother's backyard where her orange tree is growing nicely, yielding large but very bitter fruits.

This pandemic has reminded me of how much I enjoyed painting, but it should not take a global pandemic for us to revisit our old hobbies.

Lesson 2: always leave room for spontaneity

The most interesting things that have happened in my life occurred spontaneously and randomly. Wherever I was, I always liked spending my free time roaming around the city streets, checking out farmer's markets and stores, sitting down in random coffee shops, and visiting small museums and galleries. The process of discovering through spontaneous and unplanned itineraries helps me learn about a place and about myself.

One reason quarantine has been so difficult for so many people is that it takes out the spontaneous magic in life. We can still go out, but we need to plan ahead: grocery store or pharmacy?

So, when it is safe to go back into the world again, let's try to have an unplanned day designated for spontaneous exploration.

Lesson 3: we are stronger and more adaptive than we thought

If you told me last year that we are going to spend a few months of 2020 in the house, I wouldn't have believed you. When it actually happened, we went through stages of denial, sadness, anger and eventually acceptance. In fact, we accepted this new normal so well by establishing a different routine that some technology companies are going to shift more of their workforce to work from home permanently.

We didn't think we could do it, but guess what? We did it.

Lesson 4: we need to stop equating self-worth with productivity

I had a little crying session early in quarantine. The reason? I felt bad that I was not doing anything productive while everyone else seems to be learning 3 foreign languages, founding an impactful charity, and getting professional certificates that will accelerate their careers. As I was ugly crying, my boyfriend pointed out that this "everyone" I'm talking about does not exist. And in fact, it was a privilege that my biggest worry during COVID-19 was being unproductive, when majority of the country is worrying about unemployment, late mortgage or rent payment, or putting family in danger as essential workers.

This is a particularly valuable lesson to me, as I learn that self care is actually productive, even though it consists of doing things that are seemingly unproductive.