Hope

It's Not All Bad by Pastel Rabbit

Day 10 of self-isolation and I am slowly losing it. I am in a constant battle with myself to resist going out into the outside world. It feels like an eternity to wait for the next day to come, and I miss those days when time flies fast but it is enjoyed among friends and family. Here is a log of my struggle and how I maintain my sanity within this prison of a home.

Usually, I would have no problems spending the days at home. It's the place where I can relish a great comfort and freedom, and the best part: no need to suffer from the horrendous public toilets. Besides, no need to waste money on foods that you might regret- which happened countless times whenever I'm on campus- and an abundant supply of foods that I can munch on, whenever and however I want to, without people judging.

Yes, living the good life. Or so I thought.

You see, this self-isolation was not voluntary. It was more of an order from our supervisors. They were concerned for our well-being; with the increasing cases of COVID-19 infections and imminent dangers from the outside world, I and my colleagues were given strict orders to stay home and continue our work from there. Everyone was ecstatic at first. No more waking up early in the damn morning and rushing to go to the office before 8 am, no more sufferings from the disgusting public toilets, and no more spending unnecessary amounts of money on foods and other random junks that we might find when we go out for lunch at malls.

It was kind of a win-win situation for us. Oh, but how wrong we were.

For the first few days, it was fine and for me, personally, I enjoyed sleeping in and catching up to my beauty sleep. Streaming without care and doing my work in the comfort of my room. It was the best. That was only until the fifth day before it all went haywire. Repetitive routines of waking up, showering, eating, working, eating again, and more eating; sleep, eat, more sleep and more work. The only source of entertainment I had at that time was playing video games and chatting with my friends online. Now that I think about it, it was a sad condition.

Online conferences are a thing now since everyone was missing each other. I missed them too actually, and we bonded in just a span of 3 months. These past few days, it made me reflect on the times that I once took for granted. I had the opportunity to explore anything freely back then and now, I can't do it without having to risk my health and others' safety. I cancelled too many hangouts back then and now, I have the urge to go out and spend time doing random things. Heck, I didn't even go to my cousin's birthday party to which I'm still pissed at myself about. It was his last day before he had to dedicate his life to help with the COVID-19 cases. He is risking his life and sacrificing his time to help others, while I'm here at my home, being a potato this entire time.

My point here is, I am this close to becoming insane in my own home, but I know that one day, I will finally be able to go out knowing it was all worth it. I'm constantly reminding myself that: I am doing myself, and the country, a favor by social distancing to minimize the rate of cases. Truth to be told, my brain is rotting inside these walls that I call home, but it is for a cause. I'm still baffled by those people who are still ignorant of the situation and it has become a source of entertainment for my friends and I. Though not the very good kind, mind you.

Although being self-isolated and practicing social distancing isn't so bad, I learned to do things that I never would have expected to do, like editing videos, and I managed to knit an entire baby blanket during the whole 10 days of quarantine. Heck, I even added in some physical exercises to keep myself in shape. It also made me interact with my family more and we have become closer than ever. It made me value my family more and I do not want to risk them catching the virus because of me.

So take this time to bond closer with your family and to try new things at home. You might surprise yourself with what you can do because I know I did. I never did have a knack for media-related stuff until before I was self-isolated. Now, I am obsessed with it and well, it helped me to stay sane.

Until the day when the entire world is pandemic-free and it is safe to go out, I will endure this pain. I will continue to do my part and hope for swift recoveries to those who are infected. Freedom comes at a cost, and if it requires us to stay at home, then so be it.

That's all for my story. I hope you all will feel better after reading it. Don't forget to sanitize yourselves, you nasty buggers. And don't panic shop either. We need our groceries too, you know. I still don't get why the toilet papers are always out of stock. Why do you need that much toilet paper anyway? Remember, we are all in this together and stay home. Go out only when it is absolutely necessary. Don't even dare to wear those cloth masks; they're useless. Go for the surgical masks, please.

That is all. Thank you, once again, for attending my pep talk. Stay home or else a magical frying pan will appear flying out of nowhere to smack some sense into you and it won't be pretty.