Basically everyone is at home and slowly
losing our braincells from doing the same mundane things day after day. I feel
you. Not fully, but I feel you.
In all honesty, if I’m being real here, Restriction
of Movement Order (RMO) hasn’t affected me personally all that much in terms of
my daily routine at home. And I know it’s such a privileged thing to say. My
family and friends are safe and well, most of us are at home, self-quarantining.
I know some of my friends who are still stuck in uni or somewhere else, unable
to go back to their loved ones. I know friends who are in school or from other
universities struggling with online classes while me and the rest of UIA
students are just chilling till June.
I hope yall are okay.
I see some people running out of things to
keep themselves entertained. They want to go out and socialize, meet other
people and whatever it is besides staying home. And I’m here being like “lol
can’t relate.” What I’m doing now at home is exactly what I’d do any other day even when there’s no RMO. Very little changes have been made. I’m truly a boring
person in general. So from a boring person to a bored one (reading this because
you have nothing else to do), let us get through this together.
Normally when I’m home it means I don’t
have a lot of things to do. If I’m in uni, then I’ll have assignments to submit
or some reading to be done. But since UIA pulled a stunt and announced we’ll
have two months of holidays with no submission, I figured I gotta find other
things to keep myself entertained. I wake up everyday (definitely not in the
morning, though) with a small goal in mind. Something on my to-do-list. And if
you know me, you’d know I only have stupid shits on the list. Clean my closet, set
aside clothes I’m not wearing anymore (this is for tomorrow), paint a sunset,
draw more hands, write a poem (earth’s heartbeat), read (finish that book you’re
currently reading before moving on to the next one), learn Japanese on Duolingo,
watch Avatar, watch Kim’s Convenience, watch Haikyu… and the boring list
goes on and on.
But the trick is to only do one or two
things per day. Spread it out. It is by no means a complicated list. A lot of
the things are simple, and can definitely be done is a few hours or less. The
beauty is in the fact that I can have something done for the day and feel
accomplished, and I can look forward to tomorrow because the are more things on
my list. Sometimes I get the urge to do a lot of things in one day but then I remember
that I have two months in my hands.
Speaking of two months, there are so many
healthy habits that I can try to build, and so many bad ones. My sleep schedule
is already fucked up and since it’s already April and Ramadhan is coming, I figured
I should try my best to slowly fix it. I gotta say, it’s fun staying up late and
sneaking into the kitchen to get some ice cream, but it’s also unhealthy. William
James said that habits are built through repetition. I have two months to come
up with a pattern, a new routine. I’m personally trying to rebuild some habits
I acquired during high school, namely Al-Mulk and Al-Kahfi and just reciting
the Quran more in general. It sucks to admit, I was losing touch with the
better half of myself. So I thought since I can’t complain about being busy, I
might as well try to build that habit again.
It’s also a good time to learn a new skill.
Some people learn how to cook, maybe how to sew, and I just wanted to learn a new
language for fun. There was a video my lecturer shared to us about how to be
good at something. He said if we focus our energy and discipline for 40 minutes
everyday for about two months, we can learn a new skill. 40 minutes out of 24
hours of not doing anything is truly not that long. And even if it is, I’d
suggest breaking it into two 20 minute sessions or whatever it is that suits
you. There’s a YouTuber I watch (Stephiance) who sets a timer for 15 minutes
everytime he works. Each time the timer rings, he’d take a pause and stretch or
go to the bathroom or drink water before he continues for another 15 minutes and repeat. I think that’s a good tip for people who have
short attention span but needs to do something time-consuming.
Now let’s get to a more serious topic. I
know everyone is afraid. I am too. But I want to believe that everyone has
their own way and willpower to cope with what is happening. And I am saying
this, again, as a very lucky person whose only job in the middle in this
pandemic is to sit quietly at home. Some people may not be as lucky.
I don’t know about you but I try not to read
too much into what is happening around me. I know it sounds ignorant but I just
don’t want to overwhelm myself. When RMO was first announced I was still in
Gombak and I was anxiously waiting for UIA to make an announcement, then for my
lecturers to confirm about the classes, and I was keeping myself updated with my bus and it was a lot for me to handle. I felt a bit anxious for a few days even
after I got home and I realized that I needed to watch how I’m reacting to
things.
I still keep myself updated practically
everyday; I check KKM’s Twitter update, I watch some The Daily Shows, I
watch Dr. Mike’s videos. But I limit myself to only a certain amount of time to
check those things because I don’t want to panic for no reason. I keep myself
informed as best as I could without pushing my own boundaries. Be alert, but
don’t be stupid. But really, this has just been me for the
past two weeks. Everyone is different.
I saw a post saying “Introverts, this is the time for you to
check on your extroverted friends and see how they’re dealing with this.” I
know it’s harder for some people. My mum is an example. She’s such a social person
and now she’s stuck with the same two people at home. So I hope everyone is
coping healthily and staying safe. I hope that anyone who may not be as fortunate
to be patient and please reach out and talk to someone.
I don’t know when things can go back to
normal. I don’t think anyone does. But what we do know is that things are going
to take time. Not just for the spread of the virus to go down and ultimately
stop, but for our economy to be fixed, for schools and businesses to get
back on track. Things are going to be shitty for awhile, but we have to push
through. We don’t have a different option.
Alright, folks. That’s all for tonight.
Stay at home, stay safe. Remember to thank our front-liners, medical staffs, food
service providers and everyone involved in keeping the world running. Remember
to support small and local businesses. Be mindful of those who are less
fortunate. Be kind to one another. And don’t be a covidiot.
-
Nik.