QUARANTINE

ROUTINE
ESCAPING ISOLATION BLUES
BY KRISTINE GOPEZ
Hello World,
If you are like me, I
am going crazy over this
quarantine period. I miss
paying for overpriced
coffee and studying at
the most aesthetic coffee
shop. I miss interacting
with people and having
conversations about what
is going on in with their
life. Heck, I actually miss
working and having to do
nasty cleaning chores at
my job. But most im-
portantly, I miss having
a routine. These types of
things surprisingly kept
me afloat. It kept my
hands busy and my ass
out of trouble. I say that
jokingly, because my ass is
too innocent to ever want
to get into trouble. BUT, I
digress.
I am writing because I
know that people are suf-
fering in various ways. I
read posts that share sim-
ilar experiences because
these are unprecedented
waters. No one knew this is going to play out. So…I
pandemic was going to wake up. Usually the first
happen. Within the first thing I think about is
weeks of lockdown, I Animal Crossing. Why? I
had no idea what to do. I think maybe it has to do
was bored, I was scared, with the idea of feeling
I broke down, I laughed, like a kid again and want-
I cried, I cried again. My ing to be ~happy~, oh
emotions were definitely and also another excuse
unstable. I hated not do- to stay in bed. I usually
ing anything. It made me play for 30 minutes trying
feel…useless. to catch up by talking to
Tom the scammer Nook,
After a couple of weeks catching bugs, and assess-
of being assimilated with ing fossils, but I get bored.
this new way of living, I
eventually made a routine I move on to my next
again. My circumstances task which is check my
allowed me to partake in phone. A lot of people say
such routine. However, I
do know that some people
don’t have the privilege
to follow this routine. I
just hope that this can
help those who may feel
like they are in a rut and
that checking your phone
early in the morning is
trying to rise back to who unhealthy, BUT I CAN’T
they were before the quar- HELP IT. What if people
antine hit. need me? Which is not the
7:30AM
case majority of the time,
but WHAT IF?
Mornings are crucial
for me. They hold the I eventually get up and
standard of how my day stretch. Let me tell you,
stretching HITS DIFFER-
ENT in the morning. It is
probably normal for every-
one, but I love stretching
in the morning. The way
my body cracks is similar
to a glowstick. Once you
crack it, it actually works.
I then make my way to the
bathroom to do the normal
things like pee and brush
my teeth but of course, I
get HUNGRY.
Onto the kitchen. Gener-
ally, my go to breakfast is a
peanut butter smoothie.
Here’s the ingredients
to my peanut butter
smoothie:
• Oats
• Peanut Butter
• Almond Milk
• Honey
• Apples
• Banana
• Chia Seeds
This is the best smooth-
ie to start the morning off
with because it is jam-
packed with nutrients and
it has the ability to make
me full and satisfied with-
out really doing much
work. I am also a peanut
butter fanatic.
8:00AM
Now onto the actual
morning tasks -
I usually do all the mind-
less tasks in the morning.
I believe I set myself
up for success if I handle
all my cleaning tasks first
thing in the morning.
When I do I work (from
home now), I can have a
peaceful and clean envi-
ronment.
Here’s my daily cleaning
list:
• Wash dishes
• Put away dishes
• Dust off windows
• Santize handles
• Make the bed
• Water my plants
• Put away misc.
9:00AM
I am still a college
student working my way
to get that college degree.
Now that everything is
transitioning to online/
zoom, it is hard for me
to find the motivation
to get out of my phone
and actually do work. I
know people who have
a hard time separating
work from home - and
I am definitely one of
those people. Being able
to physically separate
those two helped me
focus, but now that the
quarantine had placed
this new transition, I am
now assimilating to work
from home. What I found
helpful for myself was:
1. Check my emails
2. Find due dates on
real: I’M NOT BUILT
LIKE THAT. I work for 2
hours, take a 30-minute
ally the same. I usually
add veggies or cook some
marinated meat I bought
of my friends on zoom to
see if they are doing okay.
Although we are isolated,
break and repeat. During at a local Korean store. it does not have to mean
those breaks I like to do Dinner is where I get to that we have be alone.
relax and catch up on In times like these, it’s
YouTube segments like important to check up on
• Yoga/Stretch “Hot Ones”. Knowing that your friends and family.
• Eat snacks However, do not feel the
need to do this. This time
causes a lot of uncertainty
and anxiety and healing
takes time.
9:00PM
Concluding my day
with a nice warm show-
er. I am always making
sure I am clean before
sleeping. I usually slip
into bed around this time
I have done everything and FaceTime my boy-
that I could within those
• Make myself some tea friend, Stefano, until we
•Watch YouTube videos hours, puts my mind at fall asleep. (Sometimes
•Social Media ease and I know I deserve I tell him I’m sleepy so I
to relax.
•Animal Crossing can play Animal Crossing

12:00PM 7:00PM
college portal though).
3. Write those due
dates on my planner If I have the mental Love,
Lunch time! I always Kristine
4. Finish assignments want to make something capacity, I try to call one
prioritized by due quick because I find my-
date self getting in the groove
Although I feel that of work. So here’s usually
it is ideal to work for 7 my quick lunch ideas. It’s THE CHERRY
straight hours, let’s be not luxury, but it fills me
LUNCH/DINNER MENU

APPETIZER
up and gets me going. WATER
E xc l u s i ve l y f r o m t he B r i t a f i l t e r

1:00PM
I usually work for a
FIRST COURSE
WHATEVER IS IN THE PANTRY
w h i l e y o u w a i t f o r t h e f o o d t o co o k , s n a ck o n s o m e ch i ps

really long time to keep

up with my homework. MAIN COURSE
And of course, I take those CUP OF NOODLES W/ EGG
m a y b e o r ga n i c , m a y b e n o t

much-needed breaks in
between. Once it hits 6, I’m
cooking dinner. Dinner DESSERT

is almost the extension of ICE CREAM

m a gn o l i a u b e i c e c r e a m

lunch, in which it is usu-