At a time when there seems to be nothing else to do other than sit around, Lizzy Bellovich ’21 and other members of the community are finding ways to keep themselves engaged and entertained.
Bellovich said she has been playing soccer, an old passion of hers that she is revisiting as a result of her newfound free time.
“I have always loved to play soccer, and I have all this time on my hands,” Bellovich said. “I also have been needing to go outside and get fresh air.”
In order to combat potential boredom during social distancing, Resident Michael Frederick said he has been passing the time by DJing on Facebook Live for his friends to enjoy.
“I started thinking about how we could use Facebook Live to connect to other people, because a lot of people are in the same boat that we all are,” Frederick said. “I know there are a lot of people like myself that live by themselves, and Facebook Live has been able to bring people together at a time where we have to be socially distant.”
According to Frederick, DJing has been something he has enjoyed doing for a while, but never had the time for it.
“A lot of [my interests]have been pushed back for a long time because I’ve had another job that didn’t allow me to DJ,” Frederick said. “I couldn’t get the time off from work to book events in the future as much, so I put that aside for maybe four to five years, maybe more.”
Jane Kuhnlein ’23 said she found herself with a lot of down time during quarantine and decided to pick up knitting.
“I have been trying to learn how to knit– so far, not very successfully– but it’s something to do with my time,” Kuhlein said. “I have been using YouTube videos to help me.”
According to Kuhlein, she had to move to alternative forms of entertainment besides her phone, because she felt she already spends so much time in front of a screen for online school.
“I noticed when I’m bored I go on my phone, which probably isn’t very healthy,” Kuhnlein said. “Also, sometimes, my phone didn’t have anything interesting on it, so that’s when I turned to something else to try and occupy myself.”
Charlie Rulison ’21 said he wanted to spend more time outside being active, so he began to pick up basketball over the past two weeks.
“(Basketball) gave us the ability to be outside and active without leaving the house,” Rulison said. “It definitely makes quarantine a lot better because it helps pass my free time while still being productive.”
As an athlete, picking up another sport is a fun, easy way to stay in shape and entertained, according to Rulison.
“I think it’s important to stay busy during quarantine to pass the time, and basketball is a good way to get off my phone and be active,” Rulison said.According to Frederick, hobbies are important because people need to find a way to occupy their time during social distancing.
“It’s kind of like in the wintertime, when the weather is really crummy and people get shut in,” Frederick said. “We’re stuck. I think hobbies can not only take you from being tied down to one location but also can challenge you to (try) something different that you didn’t have the time to do.”