Hi everyone!
I hope everyone is doing well and is keeping safe during this time. Although sometimes is can seem long and times can be tough, we will get through this together! Continue to practice social distancing and wash your hands lots! Lets flatten the curve together.
1.) What is something you did for your body?
During this time is can be easy to want to stay around the house and not do anything, but it important for us to also get outside and get some fresh air. Even if you are stuck at home, continue to do exercises and stay motivated. Our bodies need to stay healthy, especially during times like these.
Personally I have taken this time to be able to get outside and go for 30 minute – 1 hour long walks each day. I live near the school, so sometimes I will just walk around the block if I am feeling tired, and then sometimes if I am feeling motivated I will walk up to Mundy Park and go for a walk around the perimeter and then walk home. Either way, I make sure that I am getting outside and getting fresh air instead of staying cooped up inside the house all day. In fact, my healthy walking decisions have now motivated my family, and last week my mom actually came for a walk with me around Mundy Park. It was very nice and peaceful and also offered me time to bond with my mom as we walked. It was a great experience.
Another thing that I have done for my body is continuing to practice dance. As for my dance studio, classes and the future of competitions is all very up in the air, but my dance studio has offered online classes for us to take each week so we can practice dancing for at least 30 minutes for each class. Personally I take two classes a week, dancing 2 hours every week. It is very different having to exercise from home, moving around furniture so that I have the space, but I am adjusting and I know that it will have good outcomes on my body and health. For dance classes we use zoom, so it is also nice to be able to see all of my friends from dance on the screen and dance “together” again. Although it is very different it is still nice to see.
2.) What is something you did for your mind?
Something that I have done for my mind is work with board games and puzzles with my family. When I am not working on homework, doing these activities keep my brain active and it also gives me time to bond with my family. Just last week I played a game of scrabble with my family. It was a nice, long game and was very fun and also very healthy for my brain to stay active, yet not stressed. It also gives us the chance to all talk together as a family and learn more about each other. Being able to stay home gives me the opportunity to see my parents more often than I regularly do, seeing as how my parents are divorced and I already see them for only a limited time each. I am cherishing the opportunity to bond with them, as well as stay healthy at the same time.
Another thing that I have done for my mind is paint and draw. I really enjoy painting and drawing but I hardly ever have the time to do it because of schoolwork. Drawing and painting help me to stay creative and also calm my mind while I do it. Although, I still have schoolwork, so they aren’t huge art projects, but even the little things matter. Recently I have been very interested in drawing flowers and sketching them out, it provides me with a sense of peace somehow. I am enjoying being able to pick up this old habit and continue with it, because I do enjoy drawing and painting.
3.) What is something you did for your happiness?
Other than family, friends are the people in my life that bring me the most happiness! It is so difficult to not be able to leave the house and go see them. At this time I am so happy to have access to the internet! I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have a way of communicating with them. I will spend time Face-timing and calling friends so we can all see each other or hear each other’s voices. It is fine to text, but it’s nice to see and hear them, too. My friends and I will play online multiplayer games together, and join Netflix Parties to watch movies together. It is nice and brings me happiness to have some form of communication with them.
Another thing that I have been doing for my happiness is reading books. This is good for my mind, too! I really enjoy reading but again, I haven’t had much time to really invest and enjoy a book without a deadline due to school. Recently I have been rereading the Harry Potter Series, and I reread The Fault in Our Stars, one of my favourite books of all time. (If you haven’t read it, I strongly suggest it to any who are interested!). It has been nice to be able to read at home and not fret over having to finish it by a certain date, but rather just read when I please. It makes the experience a lot more enjoyable.
4.) What is something you did for someone else
Something that I have done for someone else is that seeing how we are all stuck at home, I have been helping my mom rearrange all of her old boxes of items so that we can refurnish our downstairs suite! It has been a project that has been going on for a long time, but has never been finished. Staying at home gives me the chance to help my mom declutter and paint the downstairs basement suite with her. She has really appreciated the help and hopefully it will be finished soon!
Another thing that I have done for someone else is I have been helping my dad with our backyard. My dad lives in Mission on an 8 acre property, and there is a lot of land that needs to be tended to so it doesn’t overgrow and the walkways don’t get blocked. At the beginning of Spring Break the weather was quite strong and there were many windstorms – our power went out a lot! Some huge trees in our acreage had fallen over (60ft+) and had to be cleared and cut for firewood. I took it upon myself to help my dad with clearing everything out, and it made it go by a lot faster. It really feels good to be able to help others during this time as much as I can.
So far this experience has been really bizarre, but I am adjusting to the change and am trying to find ways to benefit from staying home. This time can seem very long and scary, but it will eventually pass, and we will get through this as long as we all work together and do our part in flattening the curve!
Continue to stay safe and I hope to see you all soon!
Jessica O’Brien-Visbisky