Enlight21

Author: Jake Kim | Category: Lifestyle | Date: 04-22-2020

Before the coronavirus outbreak - before all of this remote learning craziness all took place - going home actually meant something. The 20-minute walk from Mills High School to my home was actually a very meaningful time for me, despite the fact that there’s just so much I could do for 20 minutes while walking.

But there actually was a lot to do. It gave me time to think, breathe, and get some mild physical activity done, as opposed to wasting my life trying to get homework and extracurriculars done. I was able to organize my day by thinking of the things that I need to do for the day and prioritizing my work. I was able to listen to music or podcasts to calm myself down from the 7 hours of school that I’d just gone through. Not too many of my friends walk home at the same time as I do, but I’d still walk into a few friends once in a while and talk and mess around with them. When I reached home, my parents would greet me. I’d grab a snack and relax, catching up with everything online and then getting to work. My brother was at a university all the way in New York, so I had a room all to myself. It was quite a nice time for me, though I may be slightly exaggerating some of the nice qualities just because of how much I miss being able to actually go to school or just leave the house in general.

After the coronavirus outbreak, all of this changed, of course. There’s no way any public gathering would proceed when there is a global pandemic going on. So I have no excuse to leave the house anymore. I can’t even meet up with friends, meaning the only time I could leave was for a quick run or walk outside. Going home basically means nothing now, since I’m already in the house 24/7. There’s no more time to think or keep myself distracted, because I’m most likely already doing something or killing time on my phone. There’s no more warm greeting from my parents after I come home, since there’s just no opportunity to do so. I don’t even have my own room anymore, because my brother came back and took back his half of the room. Being able to walk home was mundane, but in a good way. My lifestyle right now is mundane as well, but there’s no rhythm to it. I had a set schedule for everything during school, but there’s basically no order to my lifestyle anymore. The lockdown has allowed me to understand that everything that I have is a privilege. While there are benefits to the lockdown, most of them are like double-edged swords. For example, I can finally spend more time with family, but now my family is the only people I spend time with.

Anyway, this lockdown has allowed to me understand how much of a privilege my pre-coronavirus outbreak lifestyle was. While this lifestyle is most definitely bearable, I would definitely choose my pre-outbreak lifestyle if I were given a choice between the two.

About: Jake Kim