Nicholas Mo,17, Student,
Bay Area, California
With ONE word, how do you hope to come out of this quarantine?
"Better"
What was the effect of COVID-19 on your routine?
"The Coronavirus caused the shutdown of my school, which led to the cancellation of a club trip I had planned. Outside of school, the COVID-19 caused the cancellation of an out of state competition I had hoped to attend. Regarding my daily life and routine, I began sleeping and waking up earlier. Interestingly, I also started to exercise more in my house, and more frequently go out on walks. Prior to the entrance of coronavirus, I had very rarely exited my house to go on walks or bike rides."
What is one realization you’ve had about yourself or the world?
"I realized that I was less dependent on my classmates and friends that I had thought. I enjoyed the time I had for myself."
What works and doesn’t work while in quarantine? (open-ended)
"Quarantine allows for me to have a much more flexible work schedule. This means I can wake up later and go to sleep later without much consequence. Normally, I would be forced to wake up early in order to match the schedule of others. Due to the shutdown of the vast majority of restaurants, I also have been eating much more home cooked food, as before I would go out to eat with my friends or family at least a couple times a week."
In what ways have you shown self-improvement?
"I think I have been able to improve my work flexibility during this time. This means that I have better control over when I work. However, I also find myself procrastinating more."
If you had to give your “pre-quarantine” self a piece of advice, what would that be?
"I would tell my pre-quarantine self to buy more snacks beforehand since its going to be tough trying to buy them the first couple weeks."