The Upside of Quarantine
Let’s talk about the good stuff about this situation we are stuck in:
First of all, my skin looks and feels fabulous, I haven’t worn makeup in I don’t know how long. Not only is the earth pollution free, but my face is also pollution-free. Skip the spa, maybe not putting carcinogenic substances on your skin all day is the path to beauty. It’s amazing.
And no, in case you are wondering, I will not be throwing out my extensive collection of beauty products. Don’t be silly. I’m too vain. But it is a nice break for my complexion. But I am concerned that some of my makeup will expire by the time this is all over.
I was thinking of taking a selfie without makeup to show you all, but then again as I mentioned I’m very vain. My friend suggested using a filter, but that would defeat the purpose, would it not? So here I am, make-up and filter-free.
Second, not wearing a bra, for days, like ever. Not sure what’s happening to the buoyancy of the items in question, however, I’m happy.
Third, sleeping in. That’s all I have to say about that.
Fourth, not having to go to work. Come on, admit it. A part of you loves not having to go in. Getting up early, getting dressed, driving, talking to people you secretly dislike. Doing boring things, saying nothing to everyone in meetings we now know could have been emails. Asking how people are doing when you clearly could not care less.
Fifth, not shopping and going out to eat, saving money. All the clothes I bought in the last year after losing 100 pounds seem unnecessary, especially since I mostly just wear a t-shirt, sweatshirt and yoga pants. I suddenly have all this money to burn.
And that brings me to my sixth item: wearing comfortable clothing all the time and not caring what you look like. I don’t even look in the mirror anymore. That does not bode well for what I look like on a daily basis. I don’t style my hair, wear makeup, nice clothes, jewelry and I very seldom even look at myself. I literally could care less what I look like right now. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Let’s call it good for the time being, I’m less vain, less superficial. I’m tending to my real self.
Along those same lines, not doing my hair, I am not strengthening it or using any products. I’m kind of trying to tame the frizz mania that happens when I don’t straighten it, so it’s like this wave, but not exactly a good wave. You can probably tell by the picture, it’s not exactly hot. I don’t care if I look hot right now. A lot of pressure, gone. Just gone. I sit around looking like the slob I truly am.
Seventh, not having to commute. One word. Traffic. I drove three hours a day sometimes. We all know what kind of animals they give driver’s licenses to. It’s not cute.
Eighth, time to really engage with a TV show, give it your all. Really put yourself in it. Invest. Explore reality TV to discover that Love is Blind and that people who own tigers are not right in the head. To put it mildly. I found a new show on Netflix called Unorthodox about a woman escaping her Hasidic Jewish community in New York. There is just so much out there. So much drama.
Ninth, allegedly time to read, but nobody I know is doing that. But honestly, I finally have. There really is nothing like getting into a good novel. I’m reading a novel called The Circle by Dave Eggers about a futuristic dystopian place, because what else would I be reading about while I’m living in the worse dystopian novel ever written.
Stephen King Is Sorry You Feel Like You're Stuck In A Stephen King Novel
Tenth, there’s time to write emails to Wolf Blitzer. So much time. My mother literally had me send an email to Wolf, the CNN anchor, showing him how China created the Coronavirus as a biological weapon. That’s all I have to say about that.
There is also time to text that friend you lost touch with and call that relative you haven’t spoken to in forever. There is all this time to virtually connect with people that you forgot about, and time to go on Facebook and stalk ex-boyfriends since this is no time to date.
Eleventh, we have time to go outside in the fresh air and play, because there is nowhere else we can go. We can take a walk, ride a bike, or just sit by the dock of the bay.
And while you're outside, recognize that our carbon footprint has gone down significantly in the past few weeks. Mother Nature is healing.
Twelfth, having time to spend with the people in the world we love the most. When do we ever really take this time to be with the people we live with, whether they are our kids, spouses or parents? When have we ever had so much time to be with them. Just be with them. Good or bad, we will never have this time again.
We have nothing much to do except talk to these people we love. Really talk to them. Maybe get to know them. We don't always have the time to really understand them. There is finally time.
Thirteenth, but the real gift for me? I am living the life of a full-time writer. When will I ever be able to do this again? All I do is write. I’m so happy about that. I didn’t realize how happy writing makes me. Yes, I love teaching, but writing has my soul. If I could teach creative writing, that would be the sweet spot. And I will, one day.
But right now, I’m having the time of my life, in that area of my life. I am living a life very few writers and artists get to live. I have no idea why I am so inspired right now, but I suspect it is because my mind has nowhere else to go, nothing else to do, so it must create.
"This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal."--Toni Morrison.
We are creative beings. We are all creators. Made in the image and likeness of the Creator. We are at our best when we are being creative. But that does not mean you should feel bad as an artist if you are not creating right now. This is also an extremely trying time on our souls and we use our souls to create. So don’t expect too much from yourself, and if you can't do anything, be kind to yourself. It is only natural. But if you can get those juices flowing, do it.
Because having writing as my main work, is the greatest gift of this situation, I have to say. These words, they are my children. I don’t have children, but my stories will hopefully live on, they will be my descendants.
Listen I know this is hard. Much harder for the people who have lost loved ones and lost jobs. But for those of us just hanging out, it doesn’t hurt to look at the bright side. And perhaps the real upside is that we have been running around like chickens with our heads cut off most of our lives. All for what?
Perhaps this gives us a moment to look at what really matters to us in life. Our families, art, music, poetry, love, friendship. These are the things we live for. We have jobs in order to have these other things. We are not living for the job. Money makes us a living, but not a life.
This pause in our lives could make us think about what we want out of life, what life is really about and if we are living our best lives. I mean are we?
I don’t think I was.
This has made me want to change.
nina