Over the unexpected break we have experienced due to the Coronavirus pandemic, I have taken it upon myself to attempt good eating habits and exercise as much as possible. As a very active person, I have found it extremely hard to keep myself motivated and moving from home. 

This pandemic has made me try so many new things. Those food magazines my mom gets in the mail but never touches–well, I opened them and took it upon myself to read them. I found many unique recipes that are simple and gave me a run for my money. In addition to making new foods, I have made sure to document my food journey and hopefully encourage others to try new things. As we know, we have so much time on our hands, it is the perfect time to try new foods. My favorites dishes that I have come across are Italian Potato Wedge Nachos, Chipotle Chicken Fajitas, and Stripped Steak with Lemon Mashed Potatoes. For the time being, I will upload all of my experiences on an Instagram account that my cousin Rylie and I have decided to create.

Aside from tasty food dishes, believe it or not, I have actually thought about exercising and self-care. During my time off, I have thought a lot about small businesses who currently can’t make an income right now. With that being said, I have taken it upon myself to support in every way I can. My local yoga studio, although they cannot hold classes per usual, have offered online class passes to anyone everywhere. The owners have been very transparent during this time. They focus on self-awareness, meditation, and building strength. All of their classes are super helpful, and it’s great to still support them virtually. I am a dancer as well so I have been having online classes with all of my friends via Zoom. I have been making sure to give full participation in our team workouts. One of my favorite things we do is to turn on one of our favorite songs and do crunches to the entire song. I also thoroughly stretch before our workouts so I don’t hurt myself. 

The virtual class world is not for me. In fact, it causes me more stress than a normal school week would. I do find it important to find the silver lining in all aspects of quarantine, and it has made me explore a different normal. I hope that many people look for the silver lining that we usually forget is even there in these unfortunate times.  

This is just a glimpse, but everyone should take this quarantine as an opportunity to try new things! It has helped me so much in coping with the loss of time in school and with my peers.