The year 2020 has already been quite exciting for me, and thank goodness because it looks like I’m going to be stuck at home for a while. With the COVID19 outbreak, my parents wanted at home so we could wait and see how all of this would progress. Sure enough, the outbreak turned into an pandemic, and now I’m stuck at home for the foreseeable future.
Why I’ve been home for most of March
After spending the better part of two months interning for the Warren Campaign, I was glad to come home for Super Tuesday and cast my ballot for Elizabeth Warren. Besides voting for Senator Warren, I voted for myself as a delegate pledged to support her at the 2020 DNC. I was so thankful to have received 3,178 votes, but two days later Elizabeth Warren suspended her campaign-and that night I got very sick. For about week, I was stuck at home with a nasty cold. So, I have spent most of March at home. I finally got better, I wasn’t allowed to leave the house and it’s all because of COVID-19.
Why I’ve chosen to self-quarantine
I have EDS and two other chronic conditions that put me at a high-risk of getting very sick from COVID-19. And given all the information that is coming out from the CDC and WHO, I decided given I’ve just been sick, spent months interacting with lots of people, and my preexisting health issues I needed to stay home to protect myself. But I’m not totally out of the clear.
How to limit the spread of the virus
My family is doing everything we can to limit the spread of the virus. My dad is still going to work, but he’s getting things set up to work from home. My mom is at the least risk of getting the virus, but even she is doing things to protect herself. If she leaves the house, she makes a plan for what she has to do while she’s out and is trying to do things online if possible. When she gets in the car she wipes down her car seat and steering wheel. If she goes to grocery store, she wears disposable gloves. When either of my parents come home, they take their shoes off at the front door, goes straight into the bathroom to take a shower, and then changes into clean clothes. We are using new towels every time we shower, and really disinfecting everything in our house daily. I’ll admit that it’s a lot of laundry, but I also know that we won’t regret being cautious. Here are things you should be doing to limit the spread of the virus.
- Wash your hands-find a song to sing when you wash your hands, so you know that you’re scrubbing long enough to kill any nasty germs. My go to song is “Jolene,” by Dolly Parton.
- Practice Social Distancing-If you have to go anywhere keep a good 6-10 feet between you and other people, just think, you need a LeBron James distance between you and the closest person. Instead of handshaking, you can #elbump, wave, or do the “s’up” thing with your head. Limit gatherings to ten people or fewer.
- Order Takeout or Pick Up-Right now it’s especially important to support local businesses. Order things online, have them delivered or pick them up at the door. Make sure to wash your hands or use hand sanitizer after toughing anything that some one else has touched. Buy a gift card to use later, or have a friend pick it up if that’s what you need.
- Wipe down high contact purposes-If you hoarded Lysol wipes, now’s the time to use them. Doorknobs, cell phones, computers, and handles are all very dirty things.
- If you run errands take a shower and change clothes-If you get out of clothes that could be contaminated at the front door, you can limit the exposure for others in your household. But you have to put them in the washing machine or a laundry hamper and not let them mix in with other clean clothes.
- Get creative if you need to talk to people-Use FaceTime, Google Hangout, houseparty, Zoom, or other apps to talk to your friends and family. Which brings me to my next topic…
Things to do while you’re home
I need a schedule to follow, even if it’s only when to wake up, eat, and go to sleep. Since coming home from Charleston, not having a schedule to follow has really messed me up the past few weeks. So my goal this week is to make a schedule that includes time for me to create, to workout, and to be productive in one way or another. And here’s some of the things I plan on doing in the next few weeks.
- Take the dogs for walks around the neighborhood.
- Learn a new dance (this was actually my mom’s idea.)
- Work on the Everyday Watercolor book by Jenna Rainey.
- Clean up my room.
- Clean up my closet.
- Clean up my bathroom.
- Cook a recipe I’ve had pinned on Pinterest forever.
- Learn a new skill.
- Binge watch shows I’ve been waiting to watch.
- Apply to different colleges.
- Apply for different internships.
- Clean up my email inbox.
- Work on my resume and cover letter.
- Shop online.
- Try one of the many dinner kits I’ve wanted to try for a while.
- Tune into an Instagram live concert-John Legend did one today!
- Enter my giveaway to win a Whitening Kit from Smile Brilliant!
- Take a course online from this list.
- Read a book.
- Listen to podcasts, I love anything from the team at Crooked Media.
Don’t forget that we’re all in this together, and that you need to take care of your mental health as well as your physical health during this time. Also all of our communities are hurting right now, especially kids who depend on their school for their meals. Please consider donating to Feeding America or local food bank. Be kind and do good things for one another.
With Love from the East Coast,
Elaine
P.S. Wash your hands and don’t touch your face!