An Ambivert Coping with Quarantine

Since we’re in quarantine, you would think it would be a young person’s dream day. Staying at home, watching TV, reading, doing everything you’ve always wanted to do. I’m an ambivert so I don’t mind staying at home but it does mess with my mental health. 

It’s terrible that people are dying from the corona virus so it would make sense the government orders us to stay home. With advanced technology, we are able to do online classes, learn a new hobby, communicate with friends, and some of us have the benefit of working from home. 

Sleep Schedule 

With no work, most people are sleeping in. It’s great in theory but that also means most people are staying up late to sleep in. Our beds are so comfortable that we don’t want to get up. That can contribute to our lack of motivation to do anything else. It messes up my sleep schedule so much that even if I wanted to sleep earlier, it would take me a couple days to get used to it. What you can do is to turn off your phone after 9 PM and read a book or do something that doesn’t require a screen.

 I turn off my Wifi once 9 PM hits and when I’m about to sleep, I set a timer in Tide. Naturally, I wake up everyday at 7 AM even if I slept late the night before. I love using Tide because it creates sounds we can fall asleep to such as rain, crickets, soothing instrumental music and a TV static. For a much more effective sleep, I turn the volume up just a little bit instead of full volume. That way, I can concentrate on sleeping while it can play in the background. 

Emotions 

This has gotten me mixed with so many emotions. I’m glad I get to stay at home with my parents and we are bonding even more. It also makes me feel blessed that I still have my health and friends to chat with. Thank goodness for technology so I can Facetime my relatives in different countries. It’s great to be able to communicate with people but the way strangers are treating each other seems a bit different. 

Ever since the Corona Virus hit the U.S, people are giving each other the side eye, or will stare at me just because I’m an Asian American. There are some times where people will be nice but to other people. When I asked an employee from Costco where their toilet paper was, he looked at me, kept walking and said it’s gone. Like, where are your manners? I was so close to saying something but I just kept it in and walked away. 

Of course, there are other people who have gotten it way worse but it seems like the way people are treating each other has changed. Now, when you walk around your house or you’d go to a grocery store, in my experience, no one even smiles and says, “Hello,” anymore. We just walk on by. It’s obvious no one wants the virus but it seems like the way people are being treated has changed or perhaps it shows people’s true colors.

I am a homebody but I miss being able to go outside other than my house. I have tried to improve my resume and cover letters to find a full-time job. Then when you get rejected over and over, you feel like you haven’t done enough or you’re not really qualified so it messes with your head and thinks you’re not good enough. Then you’ll feel really sad and worthless. I have three side jobs now and I’m so grateful for it but because of my lack of creativity these days, or so it feels like, I keep overthinking and wondering, “Will this be good enough?” or “Why is this such trash?” I am a Virgo after all and we are perfectionists and analytical. 

My side jobs are all online so my eyes are glued to my computer screen for hours without breaks, which isn’t great because my eyes are being strained. That’s my own fault. Being quarantined really allows you to take care of yourself. Take it one step at a time. Sometimes I’ll use the pomodoro technique. It’s a technique where you use a time to break down work into intervals such as 15 minutes, 25 minutes, etc. There are a lot of apps that can help you! I use Forest, Flora, Tomato Timer, Plantie and Ameilia TImer! 

If you are a graduate or will graduate, this is the perfect time to go online and perfect your resume and cover letters. You have time on your hands, so go ahead and at least search a couple jobs and apply! Granted, not many places are hiring but it never hurts!

Skills

There are some skills I’m still learning to develop, some consists of photography, drawing, skateboarding, and writing. I use Skillshare to learn from so I’m still absorbing information to stimulate my brain. I watch YouTube videos as well, especially about makeup, fashion, photography, and marketing. Just because I’m staying at home, doesn’t mean I can’t pick out clothes and try to mix and match them. I’ll use makeup when I’m home too. I purchased a lot of it so I need to feel like I’m not wasting it. 

I’m using Pinterest and Google to learn how to draw as well. I would like to say I’m improving at least a little bit. I’m still learning more about skateboarding but I only skate in my driveway. I miss going to a park and/or a skatepark. Just have to remember it’s only temporary. 

Apps To Download While In Quarantine 

I have tried so many apps but I’ve also deleted many of them. There are very few apps that can keep my interest. Here are a few of them. 

If you’re looking for daily reminders and motivation then you can try Motivate. You can choose when you need motivation so if you need one for morning, before studying, before bed, lunch, etc, then you can pick when you need it and it’ll set a time or you can adjust the time for the app to send you reminders. The message in every video is inspiring and helps keep you focused. The motivating message is a video. You can do what you need to do while listening to it like a podcast or you can focus your attention on the video. The video is just as powerful as the message. 

This is a free app to download. Everyday you will receive 5 videos for free. There are inspiring quotes as well. You can favorite the quotes and videos so you can go back to them when you need it. There are other videos and playlist but you will have to purchase to unlock. Overall, it’s a nice app to start the day with. 

WTHRD is the one of the cutest weather apps I’ve ever encountered. Once you’ve entered your location, it’ll show the weather with an adorable graphic and you can customize your character! You can tap to see different scenarios such as seeing the weather right now, how it’ll be today in general, and what it’ll be like tomorrow! You can check it out in the app store and it is free. 

Ever heard of Tik Tok? It’s the new craze! So many people are now on this app. I’ve been on Tik Tok almost everyday. It’s entertaining and there are so many talented people! It’s a similar concept to vine, if not the same. You make a video for 60 seconds or 15 seconds, you use someone else’s sound or use your own audio, use filters and effects and then BAM. There is your masterpiece! 

I hope you’re all doing well during this time. We may be in quarantine but make use of this time to improve on yourself!