Daily Journal Entry #3
05/29/2020
Adjusting to Circumstances
I think I am adjusting to this new quarantine lifestyle. For one, I have become very cautious about my health. I have washed my hands every hour or so, and I wear a mask whenever my family and I decide to go on a walk around the neighborhood. I keep a six-foot distance from people and I never touch my face. I have also learned to take this opportunity to spend some quality time with the ones that I love. With my older brother home from college and my parents working from home, we have a great amount of time to ourselves. We often have movie nights, game nights and family basketball games to prevent us from going insane due to social isolation; however, I think that the most important adjustment that I have made is to get fresh air as much as I can.
I explained in my last journal entry that I have taken up running as a hobby. But it isn’t just running that I spend my countless hours of free time doing. Sometimes, I just absorb the sunlight while I lounge on a beach chair in my front yard. I really focus on things until I notice something I hadn’t before. And when I close my eyes, I am not taking a nap. I am paying attention to the things around me. I am paying attention to the slight breeze that carries the fresh, new aroma of the spring flowers. I am watching squirrels as they nibble and peck at the fallen seeds that were once in the bird feeder. I am hearing the repeating loop of a bird’s tune, slightly getting I am trying to take advantage of the great outdoors while we still have it because, at this rate, we could lose that too.
A recent assignment for Mr. Cribb’s Science class was to do a nature journal entry by recording observations and drawings of either a house plant or something outside. I took this opportunity to get outside and get some fresh air. This assignment was extremely relaxing and it didn’t even feel like I was in a class. It felt like I was on a coastal island with cucumbers on my eyes and the tide rippling up to my toes. It felt like I was lounging in a beach chair on the side of a pool, sipping a pina colada. It felt like there was no stay at home order. It felt like there was no pandemic at all. It felt like everything was normal again. It felt great.
So as I sway back and forth on my front porch rocking chair on this fine Easter Sunday, I hope you will appreciate what you have at the moment. I hope that you go pick up a new hobby, or play a game of family basketball. I want you to sign up for an online workout class, or join Mr. Ryan’s (I did it and it is worth it). I know that we all are getting bored of this free time, but is only because we are spending it doing the same damn thing every day. While this virus is restricting us from being with each other, it isn’t restricting us from finding ourselves and finding new hobbies that we will do even after this stupid virus is gone.
I very much enjoyed the final sentence, it was a strong conclusion to an already very cohesive and interesting piece. Per usually, I enjoyed hearing your voice throughout the multiple paragraphs and the lightheartedness definitely gave it a positive feel. Great job!
Posted by: Will | 04/13/2020 at 08:26 AM
I loved the constant visually rhetoric you used along with parallel structure when describing how the science homework didn’t feel like school. This was a very positive writing piece and very well written.
Posted by: William O'Malley | 04/13/2020 at 09:46 PM