Day 1-March 18

Hey I’m Katelyn. Your typical 19-year-old who goes to college and then goes home with not much in between. It’s currently my first day in isolation due to the spread of COVID-19. I should technically be in class right now, but here I am, with you, writing a daily journal instead, explaining what I’ll be encountering for the next while. I’ve been trying to stay home, but I’m currently living with my grandfather and cousin. We’ve been giving him a hand around the house. It’s been rough. I’m not going to lie. It really sucks not being able to go to places I want, or having that “freedom” without the anxiety and worry that I might catch the virus or let alone, worry for his health. Sidenote– if you’ve ever tried to explain to an elderly person that they shouldn’t do something, then you would understand how it’s been for me telling my grandpa he should stay in. Good luck.

So far, days have been feeling endless. Although I’m not living at home, I have been keeping busy. Whether it’s doing laundry or doing my assignments, there’s always something and I just need a break. Ironic, I know. But seriously, I’m surprised by how far I’ve managed to get. I don’t cook at all. My type of cooking is whatever I can microwave. But I think I’m doing pretty good, teaching myself how to cook. Picking up a pan, making things on a whim and what seems right. It’s been hard, but my motto keeping me going in the kitchen has been, “Don’t worry if you screw up, just another learning curve.” Also, can we just take a minute to acknowledge how empty some grocery stores have been? I kind of miss chicken. We only have been able to get a hold of beef so that’s been my source of protein for the past three days and more to come. 

This whole virus adventure has really sucked. I miss my friends, variety of foods, and I’m constantly exhausted. I’ve been trying to break from the news because I’m simply sick of hearing stuff about the pandemic. (That was not a pun–promise.) But, yeah. I don’t know what’s going to happen in the next couple of weeks, and hopefully, things will turn up. 

Till next time,

Katelyn

Day 2-March 19

I think it’s starting to set in how hard things are going to be for the next while. You see, being a second-year journalism student means the pressure is on. We have this saying in my program which is you’ll “hit the ground running.” I just didn’t think it would be from a virus we’re all desperately trying to avoid. 

If you’ve heard of the saying making the best out of a bad situation, that’s exactly what I’ve been trying to do. Today I chose to give my grandpa’s dog a bath, and here’s how that turned out: 

Of course, he didn’t seem to enjoy it but I thought it would be something nice to do for my gramps and a change from doing assignments. 

My cooking adventures have also continued today. On the menu was homemade chili.     

It was actually a lot easier than I thought it’d be to make. Just chop up some vegetables, add meat, throw it into a slow cooker for roughly four hours and you’re set.

Besides that, the day has been quite slow. I’m really starting to worry about assignments. Trying to juggle housework here while keeping up with due dates is proving to be a challenge but I am sure I’ll get through it, I always do. I just hope the weight of everything on my shoulders won’t prove to be too much. 

Till next time, 

Katelyn

Day 3-March 20

Today was an all-around rough day. It would’ve been my grandparents’ 56th wedding anniversary if my grandma was still alive. The isolation on top of their anniversary was a lot emotionally to handle. I like to consider myself a generally loud and bubbly person but today just wasn’t my day. My gramps was down and his attitude reflected upon me making me equally down as well. Cooking didn’t go too well, and the whole day was just off. Despite my complete kitchen mishap of deconstructed perogies, to space out and relax I decided to deem today as one of my chill out days. So, that’s exactly what I did. Watch Netflix, ate food, and did some embroidery. 

It’s quite un-bee-lievable how great embroidery is. I never really had a craft that didn’t require much brain power until I started it. God, I feel like such an old person saying this, haha. 

Being able to just listen to music while making a patch for my backpack has been something that’s been almost therapeutic. Of course, going outside and walking about might not seem like the brightest thing to do at this current point in time. So I’m glad my new hobby has been keeping me sane. I also have been teaching my cousin how to embroider. This is the patch she has been working on: 

I’m shocked at how much more in touch I’ve been with the things around me. The lockdown has allowed me to learn skills I never thought I’d pick up. Who knows what I’ll learn in the upcoming days.

Till next time, 

Katelyn

Day 4-March 21

I once wrote in a blue journal I carried with me everywhere, 

“Life has its ways of staying interesting. Whether it’s throwing you obstacles or being able to feel like you’re your best self, it has its ways of always keeping you on your feet. 

Maybe the difference between today and the next is what keeps us going. The possibility that tomorrow will be different than today.

Or, maybe that’s just the human spirit. 

Hope. 

What drives our ambitions and dreams. The hope that things will change.”

Today has been a day of self-reflection. The photo above was taken ten minutes before my family and I got into a car accident back in October of 2018. I titled the photo “Stillness in the air, and the sound of the rain.”

It seemed like a blur that night, similar to how these days have been passing by amid the pandemic. Although it may seem like not much is happening in my day-to-day life, still, there’s so much to do but so little motivation to do it. I’m close to the end of my final year in college and I keep pushing myself to stay on top of things. But, this isolation thing is starting to get to me. Not being able to see people that keep me motivated and happy hurts. I guess all that’s left for me is to hope. Hope that things will change.

Till next time,

Katelyn

 Day 5-March 22

Today was busy yet boring as a whole. I did school work all day. I don’t know if it’s just me, but doing work for hours on end without a good break in between really makes the days seem to drag on depending on the assignment. I’m starting to run out of creative ideas to keep myself entertained and it’s gotten to the point where it’s become boring even going on my phone. I just want to sleep and have it all be over with so I can get my life back on track. I’m really struggling to think; I feel like my mind is deteriorating. I know I’m not “stuck” in the house but, at the same time, it doesn’t seem worth it to go outside and get sick. 

In order to break up my day a tad and make it better, my cousin and I thought it would be funny to lip-sync to Taylor Swift’s – I Knew You Were Trouble (Goat Version). Despite the laughter she and I got to experience over the time it took us to nail the lip sync, I don’t think my grandfather enjoyed hearing the same thing over and over. Oh well. Sorry, gramps! Other than that, with the way the last five days have been, it feels as if my life is a song but I’m stuck on repeat. Who knows? Maybe I’m not the only one feeling this way.

Till next time,

Katelyn

Day 6-March 23

Another slow day, shocker. There’s honestly nothing to do at my grandfather’s house. So just to put it into perspective how it’s been feeling: 

In other news, I had my first virtual class today and I strongly, am not a fan. I’m trying to embrace the whole “need to move online for learning to limit the spread of the virus” but it just doesn’t beat learning in person and the software we’re using seems quite glitchy. It feels weird to me and I’d rather spend the 1 hour and 30 minutes it takes to bus to class. 

Currently at my grandfather’s, we’ve run out of meat so we need to go shopping but at the same time, in all honesty, I’d rather stay indoors despite how sick I am of it. Today, we had pasta with red sauce, and for someone who eats meat in their day-to-day life, it feels like food is missing something without it. Luckily, my aunt was our saviour of the day and brought some board games for us to play. 

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It was fun while it lasted until my cousin so graciously lifted her leg up onto the bed and mistakenly hit the board, making us lose where everything was. However, it was just the type of thing we needed to lighten up our spirits. A good laugh. 

Till next time,

Katelyn

Day 7-March 24

I’ve been losing track of my days. But, I guess it helps having assignments due. That way in order to get them done, I need to manage my time and days accordingly. Things are progressively getting more boring and the workload is still being taken care of. Besides work, to have fun my cousin and I did a photoshoot with the dog. I must say, however, it is a struggle getting a photo of him when he refuses to stay still. It was fun though! Some fresh air was exactly what I needed, and he seemed to enjoy it too. Although trying to get a photo where he wasn’t moving was a challenge, it was definitely worth it.

Other than that, my day was just like the others this past week. Doing work but also trying to find the motivation to do it. After today, though, I feel like I’m regaining my motivation and things are starting to feel a little better. I can make it. I just have to keep pushing myself to get to my end goal and graduate. 

Till next time, 

Katelyn

Day 8-March 25

Today I had an early rise, the second time since classes were pushed online. I really forgot how much I disliked waking up early for class, but this is what it’s like if you want to get the best selection of items from a grocery store. So, that’s what we did. 

We arrived at Costco at 7:30 a.m. and stood out in the cold waiting for the doors to open at 9:00 a.m., corralled as if we were animals in a maze set-up created from skids, told to keep six feet apart from one another. The wait felt like forever. But every second was well worth it in the end. I’ve never wanted to get hand sanitizer more in my entire life. Being the first in line and first to walk into Costco was like a blessing. The swarm of people that followed behind me was unbelievable. I was surprised at the protocol they had in place to ensure the safety of the customers. They had yellow lines made of tape at the cash, lining the floor with strips six feet apart so that everyone was remaining socially distant. Once you got to where you would place items on the conveyor belt, an employee would do that for you and paying at the cash register was like going through airport security. It seems these days every one has the same things on their shopping lists. toilet paper, Lysol wipes and hand sanitizer. The day before, Costco restocked its toilet paper only to sell out by the end of the day. Even when it came to purchasing the hand sanitizer, there was a rule of only one per member. Luckily, I got one. Now to find toilet paper. 

Till next time,

Katelyn

Day 9-March 26

I cannot explain how happy I was today and excited over dinner. With the virus going around, it’s really making me appreciate the smaller things in life. Like today, we managed to get a hold of chicken burgers. God, how I’ve missed eating chicken.

Other than that, my days are continuing to blend due to it being the same thing over and over. Wake up, do work, cook dinner, work some more, maybe play some games, then sleep. A constant cycle that hasn’t stopped. 

The past few days have been really frustrating for me. I have a lot of work to do yet at the same time I’m needed elsewhere. I also think there’s something wrong with my right hand. It’s been randomly going numb and cold lately so the only thing that’s has helped it is wearing a brace. I’m guessing, possible carpal tunnel, but I have no clue. With how things are currently, I can’t go to a doctor to get it checked out. Many people, like my grandfather and father, have had their appointments rescheduled to the very minimum two months from now. So, regardless of whether I make an appointment or not, it won’t guarantee I can go have checked in the next couple of weeks.

Besides that, after a good four hours of working, I decided to play some games with my cousin. We played Heads Up, a game where you need to guess what the other person is acting out, or by the clues you are given. To keep socially distant, we decided to play the game but have a friend join in over Skype. It wasn’t as easy as it would’ve been if he were with us in person; however, we managed.

It’s quite interesting how we’re making things work. There’s a saying going around right now stating “flatten the curve,” and how everyone (for the most part) is coming together to stop the spread of the virus. Virtual classes, social distancing, self-isolating. We’re getting somewhere. Let’s just hope it’s in the right direction.

Till next time,

Katelyn

Day 10-March 27

It happened. I finally snapped. I never realized walking into quarantine would deplete my energy and emotional state as much as it has. Between school and home life, I really just wanted my life to take a pause. I want to be able to relax but every day it’s been a fight to complete whatever tasks need to be done for the day. To be someone living through this right now, it hurts. You can’t see the elderly people you love, your friends or even family just because you don’t want to potentially make them sick. You can go outside, however, you risk your health to do exactly that. Unfortunately, because I couldn’t take staying in much longer, we thought it would be nice to head down to the lake. So we did exactly that while keeping in mind to stay socially distant from others.

It might be hard to understand for someone not experiencing what it’s like if you’re more or less stuck inside your house all day just for your safety. Being in the same house with the same people all day has been driving us stir-crazy. We want to be able to go wherever we want, whenever we want but we simply can’t. So, with that said, choosing to go out and risk my health seemed worth it just so I could get that fresh breath of air.

Till next time,

Katelyn

Day 11-March 28

When you repeat something over and over it tends to become bland. Even if you try to shake things up in the slightest, still, boredom hangs over you like a stormy cloud. Today was a gloomy day. The sky was cloudy and grey as if it were foreshadowing worse things on the way. Today Ontario reported that there were 151 new cases of COVID-19 bringing the provincial total to 1,144. It seemed so far away at one point but with the way the cases have been appearing, it’s been growing exponentially. I’m scared. I really am. I don’t know how anyone could call this living. We are no longer living. We are surviving. Many people still aren’t grasping how big of a threat this pandemic has become. The U.S. has already surpassed China in the number of positive cases so what does that mean for Canada? 

On an unrelated note, my day started late. I woke up at 11:00 a.m. I thought it would be a nice break for me if I played on my switch so that’s what I did for an hour. I played The Legend of Zelda – Breath of the Wild. The slight escape I got to experience for that duration of time gave me just the perfect amount of energy I needed to complete my work.

Other than that, it was back to my normal routine. 

Trying to finish my work and graduate. 

Till next time, 

Katelyn

Day 12-March 29

This is weird, my final entry I am writing on this experience. I’d like to thank you for reading my journey if you got to the end. My life will continue on, as will yours and maybe in two months from now (if you’re also living through this pandemic), our lives can resume back to normal. Although, that’s the thing about something this large. Regardless of it passing, the damage left behind will be something everyone will feel for possibly years to come. It’s been a rough time just watching the virus unfold and I can’t guarantee what the next while will be like. While we all remain socially distant from one another, I just hope you stay healthy as well. 

Having a support system in place has been keeping me sane. Despite not being able to be around the people I want to see or get to go where I want, I remind myself that I am lucky and I should be grateful for being able to live in an age where I can go around the world without leaving my home. As my parting thought, I’d like to leave you with something I wrote in my blue journal.

They say life is filled with many new chapters. But like a book, once you finish reading it, it becomes a part of the past.

Sure, you can go back and re-read it, but, it will never have the same effect as it did the first time you read it, and with the way time moves quickly, by the time you realize, your story has already ended.

I guess our lives are in a sense like books. The same concept of wanting to forget would be like ripping pages out of a story. Or wanting to remember things so we highlight the important parts.

It’s quite interesting when you think about it. Yet with time moving quickly and never stopping, we don’t have the chance to stop and process what just happened.

So, as human beings on borrowed time, it’s up to us how we intend on using it because once our story is over, we too will become a part of the past.

Thank you,

Katelyn