Hello! I hope that you are staying safe and healthy during this tough season. I know that it can be hard to stay positive in this dark time. Trust me, I'm still in this tough season, longer than when quarantine started to become the norm. I'm still recovering from the car accident months back and so my days are mostly at home. So you can say that I've been in quarantine for longer than most. haha.
Just wanted to preach for a moment and just say that this may be a difficult season for many people. My heart hurts knowing the risk front-liners are going through every time they come to work, knowing that many people have been laid off and don't have a job to come back to, knowing that financial insecurity is at an all time high, knowing I can't visit my dear friends, knowing uncertainties are coming our way... But I also want to let you know that if you focus your energy on just surviving this virus, you'll miss out on the opportunity to focus on your own growth and development.
To me, I think all this social distancing and quarantine provided a chance for us to reflect and be intentional with ourselves and with others (while maintaining social distance of course). I think it's a chance for us to figure out how to establish a new and better you. How to thrive/grow during this season. How to figure out what habits are needed to establish. How to understand what gives us life and what things to give up. How to be the light in the darkness. Now's the chance to learn a new skill, take a course you are interested in, call that friend, pick up a new hobby, learn how to be in stillness, the opportunities are endless!
So being in this season, has given me the chance to think deeply of what gives me life. To put forth the energy and time into projects and things that I've set aside. With that being said, I want to share a few lists of some things that I've watched, listened, read, and did to help me stay positive, help pass the time during this season, and to improve myself on. I hope it helps inspire you to invest in yourself and continue to be creative. This list is quite extensive, so let's get right to it!
I also want to recognize the privilege that I have a roof above my head, food to eat everyday, financial security, a job, etc. and so I had the resources and energy to do these things.
Things I did/am doing:
- puzzles
- journaling/making journal spreads
- blogging
- going on walks around the neighborhood
- cooking/baking
- meditation/yoga/stretching
- flossing more
- taking better care of my skin
- embroidery - making face masks for family
- painting/drawing
- play my ukulele
- writing letters to friends/being pen pals
- making TikTok videos
- yard work (pulling weeds is actually quite satisfying)
- videochat with family and friends
Jackbox games
Cooking/Baking together
- take a free class course online (here are ones that I'm taking right now:)
Things I've read/currently reading:
- “Patron Saints of Nothing” by Randy Ribay
- “Naked and Unafraid” by Kevin Gerald
- "Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear" by Elizabeth Gilbert
- "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Favorite music/playlists lately:
- BTS MAP OF THE SOUL: 7 album
- Ben Platt Sing To Me Instead album
- Thirdstory Cold Heart album
- Peter CottonTale Catch album
- "mellow out" playlist on Spotify
- "praises go up" playlist on Spotify
- "love coffee, love Jesus" playlist on Spotify
Podcasts I've listened to (Spotify):
- She podcast by Jordan Lee Dooley
- I Weigh with Jameela Jamil
- Ted Radio Hour
- The Thing About Pam
- Dissect
Movies I've watched lately:
- The Farewell (Amazon Prime)
- The Princess Diaries 1+2 (Disney+)
- The Cheetah Girls 1-3 (Disney+)
- Onward (Disney+)
- Booksmart (Hulu)
Shows I've watched lately:
- Bob’s Burgers (Hulu)
- Terrace House (Netflix)
- Itaewon Class (Netflix)
- Phineas & Ferb (Disney+)
- Lizzie McGuire (Disney+)
- Schitt's Creek (Netflix)
- Dollface (Hulu)
- Community (Netflix)
- 100 Humans (Netflix)
- The King's Avatar (Netflix)
- the goop lab (Netflix)
some quarantine snapshots! :
And that's it so far! If you have any recommendations, let me know in the comments below!
Reminder: take it day by day and be gentle with yourself friend. Everything that you decide to do has meaning and purpose. Keep it up, we got this!
Check out this blog post: