Coping
It’s easy to lose your peace of mind after spending so much time in the same place and with the same people without having an alternative. Due to the pandemic, I haven’t been allowed to leave my house, not even once, because my parents worry that my asthma can be easily targeted. Despite all the worries, I manage to keep myself sane in my room. My room is small, but it has some of my favorite things: my record player, my books, and my favorite art pieces. It’s practically my safe haven because it’s where I get to do my homework or read while also watching my vinyl dance to the music it produces. Every time I have a heavy reading assignment, I rush to my collection of vinyl and look for the Pulp Fiction soundtrack so that I can play it and read in peace. To me, this is enough to keep my mind content.
Maintaining mental health
My record player gives my room so much life. I’m a music lover and I love listening to music through my record player because it sounds so raw and a lot more personal. I’ve had this record player since high school.
Dealing with food and financial limitations
On the other side of the spectrum, quarantine has allowed me to bond with my mother and get a taste of some of her favorite hobbies. Her free time has been consumed by baking and sewing. She’s a bread lover and I’ve slowly been getting addicted to bread as well, particularly the ones that she bakes with patience and love. She always tries to make a whole batch of buns, but they manage to disappear within the span of three days. “Eating” has become one of our newly developed quarantine hobbies. My mother made sure to invest in a sewing machine that’s located in her bedroom. When she’s frustrated, she always finds something new to sew. Over quarantine, she has learned how to sew face masks. Constantly having to invest in a box of face masks became a financial issue for us, so she turned some of our winter clothes into face masks. Her friends became aware of this hobby and have been investing in her masks. This truly brings a lot of joy into my heart.
My mom has been baking a lot during the pandemic, particularly buns. She butters the buns up before putting them in the oven. They are so delicious.
Since my mom hasn’t been able to work due to the pandemic, she’s been making face masks as a form of income. She has a sewing machine in her room where she sits every day making piles of face masks. She was on the phone with a friend asking how they would like their face masks and their size.