By Melissa Castillo

Although the coronavirus is very negative and being quarantined at home might seem very boring and depressing, there are actually many ways in which you can make things better and not feel like every day that passes by is an entire year. In the beginning, At the start of this quarantine, many thought this would be fun, but then all too soon, the reality of being locked inside all day seemed horrible. What could anyone do? How could one possibly survive being stuck in the house for so long, but after a lot of researching and brainstorming, I have come up with multiple amazing ways to pass time during the quarantine.

If you wanted to change your room, but never found the time to do it, well now you have the time. You can even work through some of the stress of online classes by moving the furniture around your room. If more room is needed in your room, maybe it is time to get rid of those toys from your kindergarten years. If you’re looking to do something productive but don’t know what to do, there are actually many options in store for you. Cleaning, cooking and organizing are three things that are in fact productive things that will help your to-do list become smaller. You can clean areas of your room or house that never get as much attention as other spots do because of the fact that before this, you were always busy.

You can bring out the chef in yourself. Surprise everyone, including yourself, and prepare breakfast, lunch, dinner, or even all three for your family and impress them with your amazing cooking skills. If you don’t have good cooking skills, now that you have so much free time, you can practice them and improve by making different meals.

Check out YouTube. Everything is on there. You can become a master chef by watching YouTube videos and practicing in the kitchen. You can organize your room by changing it up or moving furniture around. You can also organize your wardrobe or anything else that your heart desires.

Another great way to pass time during quarantine is to watch new shows or movies that interest you on Netflix. This one is one of my personal favorites because watching Netflix and being cuddled up in my bed is one of my favorite things to do on weekends and now I can do that way more often because of all my free times. You can branch out and explore different genres of TV shows or movies that you’ve never watched before, or re-watch some of your favorite shows. I suggest the Office, The 100, Black Summer, The Society, Dark and The OA. These are all amazing shows that make you think like crazy and they have multiple seasons as well.

So in your nice clean room, all organized and neat, you can prepare yourself a treat in the kitchen and then catch up on some shows. That activity can go a long way to helping your mental health during this difficult time.

In addition to those activities, something else you could do is catch up on some self-care, if you were too busy before to treat your hair or skin or body the way it should be treated. It is insane how many people I know who are coloring or changing their hair or their look, now that they have the time and if you do something that is horrendous, well no one needs to know. There will be enough time for any mistake in personal care to go away and be fixed before we see each other again. Now is the time to catch up and even experiment with all of that!

You can take an entire day and decide on your skin and do an in-depth skin care routine and test out new products or put a face mask on and watch Netflix while eating your favorite snacks. You could put on a hair mask or try some new hair products while also watching Netflix or doing something else that’s productive. You could also treat your body by trying out some new forms of exercise or different diets in your own home since the gyms are closed. You could detox your body by drinking different types of teas or trying out other methods. There are so many different ways that you could practice self-care during your free time, these are only a few. Okay, I am coining the term right here, you can totally home spa.

In conclusion, there are many different things that you could do to pass your time during this quarantine. You don’t have to just sit in your bed and sleep yourself away every day or become depressed because you can’t go outside. You can do something productive like cook or clean which would help motivate you and also impress your parents. You could catch up on some Netflix shows which is always fun and interesting. You could also practice some self-care on yourself which is also always a good choice.

These are only a few suggestions. Do what makes you happy and whatever satisfies you during this quarantine and I can assure you that in the end you will be happy and feel much better than before!