By Evan Spry

As we all know, the consequences of COVID-19 have been life-changing and new to all of us. The lucky few were able to exploit this mandatory quarantine and find new hobbies and passions, or even work on their physical strength by manufacturing their own personal gym in the corner of a room. I, however, did none of these, but I did learn something about myself. As all my peers grumbled about not being able to go out on the town and have fun with groups of people, I thought to myself, “Eh… This really isn’t that bad. I’m pretty happy where I am.” As I thought this over and over again, I began to realize that there may be something more to it. I’ve always known the difference between an introvert and an extrovert, but I could never quite figure out which one I was. I really enjoy being with friends and people I love and feel very comfortable in those situations. However, not much could beat lying in a cozy bed with my two dogs and the TV on. As I spent more time in my room during quarantine, I found out that this is where I’m most comfortable and where I recharge to the fullest extent. Unfortunately, due to my introversion, I started spending a lot of time thinking about myself. Now for me, this is one of the hardest things to think about for an extended period of time, and I’m sure many would agree. Luckily, some good came out of this. I started noticing my surroundings more and kind of woke up to the fact that I was extremely fortunate to be where I was, physically. I had good air conditioning; I had my own room and bathroom, and my own TV. What more could a man need!? I was also extremely fortunate that my parents’ business didn’t go under due to this pandemic. We were able to re-open our rental properties a few hard months into quarantine so we could get back into having a stable financial situation. This appreciation of the things I had was also sparked by the homeless persons that roam near my house. I knew many of these people, from volunteer work, and they were all good people that didn’t deserve to be stranded out in the heat with nowhere to go in the middle of a global pandemic. Fortunately, after a little while, these homeless individuals were provided hotel accommodations that were not being used. But the thought was still ingrained in my mind. I was extremely lucky. With this positive energy, I was able to work on myself emotionally. I learned that an unstructured environment gave me anxiety, so I started making daily schedules for myself with checkboxes. Some of these checkboxes included drinking eight cups of water a day and eating at least two solid meals. These increased my energy and, therefore, happiness. I also had a checkbox that I would check up on my parents daily to see if they needed any help around the house or with their business. This probably had the best positive outcome because they were much more happy and friendly with me and now mainly left me alone because they knew I would happily volunteer if they needed it. So, in the end, I have my introversion to thank for making me think overly about myself and not about missing social interaction. Without it, I would not be nearly as grateful or happy. Overall, this quarantine is a struggle, a big one, and everyone should be proud of themselves for not going crazy. I think many of us are too caught up in day-to-day life to sit down and give ourselves a pat on the back, but it is really important. And I applaud you all. 

Learned-Something-New Editor: Hannah Hall