Quarantine Stories – more of a learning than a burden

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We millennials have always craved to stay at home and sleep. We have always cherished our weekends (even if we were loaded with assignments and work) and waited for the national holidays or maybe long weekends. 2020 as it came, swept us right through what we had been looking for – Enough time to be at home, sleep, relax and spend time with family. It also brought us to some other pros that we should look out for, as this quarantine period could be once or maybe twice a lifetime. So why not make the most use of it?

Here, we – Berfin and Nishtha look out to share our quarantine lives with throwing major light upon the pros of it. It is important to look for an opportunity even in a crisis and that is what motivates us to move forward. We will be discussing lives in 4 countries- Belgium and Turkey (Berfin’s present country and country of residence) and USA and India (Nishtha’s present country and country of residence). After our discussions, we came to a conclusion that our journeys have been very similar. We both have been staying away from home in our second homes in other continents. This ideology makes us even stronger and resilient during these rough times. Similarly, we find more privacy as we have been loaded with school assignments and office work. Back in our countries, the restrictions can be a little too much. Turkey and India have been very strict about outdoor movement and social distancing measures. Similarly, we find it more peaceful and self-reliant in Belgium and USA where restrictions aren’t that much and we can go out in the evening and spend a little time with the nature. We humans have an affinity towards nature and during these socially difficult times, the walking trail and nearby water bodies helps in soothing the mind.

Due to study/work from home, we discovered how we were able to utilise our day in other hobbies and activities. Saving commute time thus leads to more time for meditation, exercising, cooking some new cuisine while watching a new documentary. Reading non-fictions has been one of the greatest pastimes. This brought about flexibility in our eating habits and daily routine which turned out to be a great reason for balance in mental and physiological health. Meanwhile, our lives in home countries could have been totally different. Lesser privacy but more stable in terms of social bonds and emotional well-being. It could have brought about lesser self dependence and more reliance on our parents and families to support us and fill our stomachs.

Every story has two sides just like a coin. We believe in looking out to a more positive side. This quarantine surely brings about a drawback of not being able to move freely and travel but it definitely has changed our life patterns, the way we perceive our future. It has somehow cultivated healthier habits in us, maybe preparing us for the next pandemic. It has made us realise how important the social spaces and our immediate spaces are- because we spend 90% of our time indoors and it is utmost important for us to surround ourselves with healthy spaces. Some habits of ours could change after this ends but some surely will remain for a longer period- or forever.