Currently we are on week 5 of social distancing, and we still have a ways to go before it's safe to go back to our normal routines. It's been hard for me to adjust from 12-14 hour days to having no schedule at all. My school has gone online, so I still have a few responsibilities to complete weekly, but I can pretty much complete those assignments at anytime. I'm trying to enjoy the free time and to stay busy, so here's what has been helping me through this difficult time.
1. Cooking
I found a love for cooking at the beginning of my sophomore year of college, when I moved off campus into an apartment with a tiny kitchen. I also decided to only purchase vegan groceries, so my first cooking experiences by myself were almost all plant-based meals. I still try to eat mostly plant-based, but I occasionally purchase a few things like eggs or chicken. Since I now have the time, I've been cooking all my meals and experimenting with new recipes. Food has always been very important to me, but during these confusing times making myself a good meal can make me feel a lot better. At the end of my days if I haven't done anything except make myself dinner, I feel better knowing I at least did something. I've made banana bread, eggs benedict, mini donuts, and even some tofu potstickers. I also have been raising some baby herbs and brewing my own kombucha, which I do normally. If y'all want some recipes or food content please comment down below!
2. Yoga/Meditation
I first learned about yoga and meditation through my dance training, and I didn't really use it much outside of the studio. In college I began to realize how these things could help me with my mental and physical health, so I picked up a few tips for when life got stressful. However, I never really had a consistent practice. Since my school and work shut down their in-person functions, I'm not exhausted at the end of my days so I've found it hard to sleep. On top of that, there's nothing forcing me to focus in on my mind and my body every day. To help me with this I've started to pick up yoga and meditation again, and I'm really trying to practice everyday. I'm not really one for doing class on my own, so I have downloaded a couple apps to help me. Insight Timer has tons of free guided meditations, as well as simple timers with bells and gong sounds if you don't want to be guided. Down Dog is a yoga app (free until May 1st) that has really cool customizable practices, so they can be as long or as difficult as you want. I also have been reaching out to friends to practice with them through FaceTime, which is great to keep each other on track. I find it's a lot easier to be productive if I start my days with a simple 5 minute meditation and a couple sun salutations. I also try to force myself to do a little movement everyday, whether that's going for a run, yoga, bodyweight workouts, practicing my headstands or some sort of online dance class. It can be hard to make myself get out of bed, but I always feel better after moving around a little.
3. Reading
A couple months ago I decided to really get back into reading, and this quarantine has certainly allowed me the time to do it! Back in January I randomly picked up The Girl Who Played With Fire by Steig Larson at a Goodwill as sort of a challenge to myself. I read the book without knowing anything about it, including that is was the second book in a series of three. This series is about crime, specifically crimes against women, and murder mysteries have never really been something I reached for. However, I found myself staying up late to finish the series, and now I genuinely miss reading about the adventures of these characters. I don't recommend starting in the middle of the series... but it definitely was a way to get me hooked. I have now just started Digging- the Africanist Presence in American Performance, Dance and Other Contexts by dance scholar Brenda Dixon-Gottschild. This is a book that is a bit more up my ally in terms of content, except the text is very dense and definitely more academic. I've chosen this one because I've read excerpts of this book and others by Dr. Dixon-Gottschild in my dance history class at school, and she gave a fabulous lecture about race in dance at my school this year. Recently I've been reading a diverse range of literature that has opened my eyes to be more critical of the world we live in, and I highly recommend that for everyone.
4. TV/Entertainment
I'm sure everyone's binged countless shows on Netflix since day 1 of quarantine, and I certainly have too. Here are my recommendations!
Looking for Alaska (Hulu): This is the long-awaited on screen adaptation of the beloved YA novel by John Green. This series brought me right back to how I felt reading the book in eight grade and reminded me of the big ideas we all grapple with in those formative years.
Money Heist (Netflix): Season 4 of this awesome Spanish crime series just came out and it did not disappoint! I love all these characters and this story.
Tiger King (Netflix): You must be living under a rock if you haven't seen this one yet... It's an interesting crime documentary about the exotic animal business in America, and specifically one gun-totting, mullet-wearing, homosexual, egotistical Joe Exotic.
The Good Place (Netflix and Hulu): This show somehow makes philosophy lessons funny and easy to digest, thanks to the quirky, relatable, leading lady played by Kristen Bell. If you want to question the purpose of life (and death) while laughing, this is it.
The Sims 4: Not a TV series but a computer game. Something about simulations of reality really get us going. It's only $5 right now and it's a great way to waste hours.
5. Duolingo
I took french language classes from grades K-12, and by the end I could probably hold a good conversation with a French kindergartener. I've been on and off Duolingo for french since college, but I've decided to commit to it during quarantine. I use the app for iPhone, and I have a twenty day streak, doing about 5 lessons every morning (after I meditate, before yoga). Since restarting my french journey, Duolingo has updated some things that I really like! There are now short stories which you read and are tested on, as well as a leaderboard of random users which really pushes me to do more lessons everyday (because I want to be on the top of the leaderboard because I am the best.)
6. Creating
As I'm sure many artists do, I'm feeling a bit of pressure to create new work during this time off. However nothing has quite struck me to create a dance video just yet, but I have been creating in lots of other ways. I've started painting more in my sketch book which I really enjoy. It's a nice way to be creative without putting a lot of pressure on myself to make something profound. I also edited together my dance and choreography reels, which are posted on the "About" page of this website. I had to create them for a class, but I had a good time reminiscing in my past work and editing the footage together. I also created this blog, which has been an awesome outlet for me and allows me to practice my writing. Writing has always been something that helped me in times of hardship, but I've never shared it with anyone until now.
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