8 Things I Miss Most About Quarantine
By Mary Gaffney
Picture this: It’s April 2020. Day #??? of quarantine. You haven’t left your house in who knows how long. You ask yourself: “What day is it again? Is it too soon to bake another loaf of bread? How many more episodes of *insert series title* do I have left? What time is the family zoom?” Ah, the good ole’ days.
COVID-19 hit us like a brick wall, and having to stay at home for the first few months of the year turned out to not be the most enjoyable. Sure, the initial few days were fun, but that turned into weeks and months, and it felt like it was never going to end. And now here we are, back at Cornell, and back to the workload. As the assignments pile up, however, I find myself reminiscing over those weeks in the Q. The more I think about it, the more I realize what I miss about being stuck at home:
1. Quality time with my pet and my family (but mostly my pets).
Spending more time with our family members is something I’m sure many of us, or at least a lot of our parents, have always wanted. Well, thanks to COVID-19, I’ve had enough. Just kidding. I’m not sure we would’ve made it through without the support we gave each other during this uncertain time.
And as far as my dog goes, I’m pretty sure she hates me now. For a 12-year-old, she really endured a lot going on two to three walks a day, plus a game of catch, plus me trying to groom her myself. Yikes. But now that I’m back at school, I really wish I had nothing better to do than give her my full and undivided affection!
2. Cooking and baking new foods all day. Every day.
Literally, my dream. How I wish I was back in my home kitchen with any and all ingredients at my disposal! Instead, I’m in my apartment with barely enough room for one person to get around and spending my own money on food #rude. During my time in the Q, I discovered how exciting and relaxing it was to try new recipes, from homemade goldfish, to fun and fresh pasta dishes, to intricate cakes. Were you even stuck at home if you didn’t try to bake some sourdough? Probably not. And if you weren’t baking, you probably wish you were based on how tasty everyone’s Instagram banana bread looked.
3. Reconnecting with high school friends in creative ways!
Although I had to leave my Cornell friends, I will admit it was nice to have some extra time with my home friends. It was pretty tricky at first to get everyone together. Still, once the initial fear of COVID died down, we perfected the socially distanced parking lot meet-up. I looked forward to having an excuse to get out of the house!
While I never got the chance to experience any birthday drive-bys or parades, I was able to stay entertained, seeing other people do so. I recall driving through my town towards the end of June and seeing elementary school teachers visiting their students...if you saw me crying, no you didn’t.
4. Going outside and not being on my computer constantly (pre-Zoom University).
Daily “sanity walks” with my dog were a big part of my quarantine experience (see #1). When the Zoom classes became too much, or I felt like a useless bum after finishing my third TV series in two weeks, it felt refreshing to get outside. Of course, I live in Upstate New York, so it was actually snowing until the middle of May. Nonetheless, it was good to have a change of scenery.
This semester remember to take a break! Getting outside, listening to some good music, and giving yourself a mental break can really do wonders for productivity.
5. Watching TV shows and movies I’ve never gotten around (or dared) to watch.
Two words: Tiger King.
Five more words: Carole Baskin killed her husband.
Now that we’re back to doing school work, I hardly have any time to watch crappy television that rots my brain cells, and that’s just not right.
6. Puzzling, unironically.
Personally, I did not get caught up in the puzzling mania. However, several of my roommates recall spending upwards of $40 on Amazon buying new puzzles to feed their obsession. While this may seem ridiculous, when else would you have a valid excuse to spend your free time (which is all the time) solving puzzles besides during a global pandemic? Case dismissed.
7. Feeding my online shopping obsession for good reasons! Stay home!
On a similar note as #6, when else would it be socially acceptable to drain your entire bank account during online shopping? Ok, probably never, but since stores were closed, I really had no other safe option! When school is in session, of course, I still take part, but my guilt complex hinders any actual purchases. During quarantine, I was able to buy clothes, makeup, shoes, decorations, and anything else I deemed necessary, shame-free. Did I need any of it? Absolutely not - I had nowhere to go and no one to impress, besides my dog, I suppose.
8. The S/U grading option was acceptable.
This one is pretty self-explanatory - what a time to be alive. Thanks, Martha!
While I would never want to relive my 2020 stay-at-home experience, I feel as though I made the best of it and am lucky to have stayed healthy during that time. Wear your masks!