BY BROGAN HENNESY
The past few weeks have been a new and surreal experience for me, and probably any other kids. It is the month of April, and I haven’t been back to school for over a month. I am not allowed to see my friends. And most of all, I haven’t had a schedule for a few weeks!
I, of course, am referring to the quarantine we are all in. As a kid, when I first heard that our spring break was being extended a few more weeks, I had the reaction you would expect: jumping up and down, high-fiving my brother.
But my brother and I soon realized that this occasion was far different from spring break. The thing that hit us the hardest was hearing from our parents that we couldn’t play outside with the other neighbor kids.
A big part of our quarantined life is movies. We like to watch one at night, and it has become almost a part of the schedule. We also watched the BBC “Sherlock” on Netflix. I enjoyed watching an episode, then making predictions about the next one and comparing it with my brother.
We also play board games. Our go-to is the classic Clue, where whoever wins is obviously the intellectual superior to the rest. Along with that, Acquire determines who is the best businessman, and Catan reveals who would be the best medieval noble.
And of course, my brother and I play video games. We play Fortnite a lot, and we actually get to play with friends, which is nice to talk to them virtually.
I liked that we didn’t have anything to do all day. The first week was smooth sailing filled with Netflix, throwing darts, and crudely “social distancing”. I thought this was going to be fun and games.
Until my brother got sick, and had to have a Q-Tip shoved four inches into his brain. Not literally, but that is the story from him.
From then on I knew that this was to be handled with caution.
I felt that the atmosphere of my house changed. My dad was the only one going out, since his job as a doctor is essential. He couldn’t have the house contacting people outside as it could be a compromise to the people working. I thought that we were like an island, cut off from neighboring coasts, and our business was completely our own.
Keeping in touch with family has become important because we have doctors, plumbers, and people in the risk age. My grandparents are who we talk to the most, and we get to talk like we normally do. My grandpa Larry figured out how to work a video-calling app on his phone, so we call him often. Sometimes he forgets the picture is included, so we open our conversation seeing his ear!
I still do the things that make me happy, but I do it with no contact from people. While I really don’t want to, I know that the only way for this to stop is to stay away. And yet I still see people hanging out with friends. I understand groceries, but breaking quarantine for enjoyment is not the right idea. In fact, I think it is delaying the end, so we are really only making this longer.
The refusal to follow this process is a choice, and I feel that it is the wrong one in this moment. The universe is giving me the dream I want to lay around for a while. How hard can that be?
They aren’t lying when they say we are all in this together, so it will take a group effort to keep everyone safe. We owe it to ourselves and to others to do our part.
I am positive you have heard it a hundred times, maybe more, but it doesn’t hurt to say it one more time: Remember to wash your hands like they are covered in mud; keep your distance from others like it’s a game; and know that this is what you make of it, so try to have the fun you can! Happy quarantining, stay safe, and treat thyself.
