Quarantine: An Opportunity for Growth (Suggestions from students and young professionals)

We are a generation shaped by certain interruptions of “personal freedom”. We think of it as the liberty to do what we want, when we want. This liberty, combined with unprecedented material prosperity, gives us a type of power that would make anyone of the 20th century blush with envy.

We’re not used to hearing the word “no”, in fact for our generation the term “impossible” is much more a challenge than a statement of fact.

So what happens when all this freedom suddenly, almost overnight, ceases to exist. When one is told, almost reminiscent of our days of childhood disobedience, to stay in your room or else.

Let’s face no-one likes being grounded, much less so by state than ones parents. Yet this is the case of millions, (soon to be billions) of people around the globe. Confined to their homes, all in the effort of thwarting the spread of the dreaded “Coronavirus”.

Putting it into perspective, being told to stay home, wash our hands and practice social distancing is certainly no storming the beaches of Normandy, crossing of the River Delaware or Siege of Vienna.

However, that being said, it is a major disruption to our daily lives. Many students are left wondering about their financial situation, others about the status of their grades and for certain students with underlying health conditions, the virus poses a real risk to their physical well being.

But thankfully in the end all of this will blow over and life will go on as before.

This time however should not be looked upon as a gap, an empty space of procrastination and passive waiting. We really should see quarantine as the real opportunity that it represents. An opportunity to do that thing you always wanted to do, but kept saying you never have the time.

Hopefully this event will be a once in a lifetime experience, but an experience worth exploiting all the same.

To that end, here are some suggestions from students and young professionals around Ireland and the world on how to make the most of your quarantine.

Will, 23; "I’m using my newly found free time to get a Solutions Architect certification from Amazon Web Services, will allow me to professionally build software on the AWS and will be a nice addition to my CV."

Isabella, 20; “Don’t confuse time by yourself with loneliness. Take time to read new books and write new thoughts down. Let the mind wander. Life has given you time without a schedule, a standstill, make the most of it.”

Michael, 22; “When self isolating with someone it can be difficult but don't think that person annoys me, think that person can sanctify my soul.”

Emma, 21; “As a language student, people constantly tell me they wish they had time to brush up on their language skills...now you do! I know we’re not in the best situation right now, but we can definitely make the most of it. Download Duolingo, tune into Raidió na Gaeltachta, watch TG4. At the very least, it’ll be something to help pass the time.”

Edward, 30; “Take the time to find a new rhythm to life. The Church gives us the Liturgy of the Hours, set times throughout the day in which we turn to the Lord in prayer. Try incorporating a couple of these times into your new home-based work day. The Universalis app is great for this.”

Miriam, 24; “Baking! I’ve baked an apple cake and fruit scones so far!”

Sinéad, 21; “I finally have time to really get to know my mom and sister, and make tomato soup!”

Christine, 26; “I find that a routine really helps me. I'm much more strict with myself than I ever was outside of quarantine, in order to have something solid to rely on. Then it's a treat when I look at my phone or on the weekend when I sleep in. Lockdown is really strict in France and you can't cycle or go running further than 2km away. So I downloaded freeletics and I'm exercising on my balcony. It actually really helps. It's the first time I've diligently made my way through a novena everyday and now I write a lot more. I'm much more grateful for family and friends and I hope I'll never take my freedom lightly again.”

Donal, 23; "Brought everything into perspective and made me realise that your health is your wealth."

Sarah 23; “I’m using this time to read more scripture and to reconnect digitally with people who I’ve been meaning to catch up with.”

Méabh, 20; “I’m going to take this opportunity to not just get fit again but also to appreciate more the amazing scenery we have here in Kerry. I’ve always wanted to climb Carrauntoohil and now I’ve no excuse not to, perfect place to self isolate, but the only thing I wouldn’t be self isolating from is my dog Archie.”

James, 30; “This is a hard time for everyone, but the crisis - and the fact that so many of life's distractions are now no longer present - provides us with an opportunity to focus on expanding our knowledge and broadening our minds. In particular, it is a great time to read, and to be more focused in our reading. Instead of picking up whatever comes to hand, it is worth taking the time to compile a list of areas where you want to learn more, along with a list of books which could help you to achieve this. Moreover, a good way of keeping track of your progress is to keep track of every book you read. At first, this may not seem valuable, but as the weeks and months go on, you will begin to appreciate how much ground you are making. You will also learn more about what your interests are, what your weaknesses are and where you would like to continue to expand your education."

Ian, 22; "Quarantine, has given me the time to relearn many of the old piano pieces I had forgotten, and study a niche topic of architecture I have found a passion for, a sort of uncategorized late American gothic art deco."

Laura, 23; “I’m going to take this quarantine as an opportunity to step back from life and to reflect on what I have to be grateful for. I hope to spend more time in prayer and learn how to just ‘be’. I’m also taking this opportunity to stem my creativity and learn some beautiful Russian music- something I haven’t had the opportunity to do before.”

Jack, 24; “Stop scrolling through Instagram and start turning pages. Fictional reading is not only something to enjoy, it is something to learn from. (This is not Fake News).”

Pablo, 19; “Life is a succession of lessons that must be lived in order to be understood. This is not a time to complain, to isolate yourself or to give up. It's a time to get stronger, to care of others and to fight. Remember, life is going to make you happy. But first it has to make you strong.”

To conclude, the coming weeks doesn’t have to be only Netflix, 24 hour news cycles, junk food and complaining. At risk of sounding like my own father, get up in the morning, make your bed and do something productive with yourself. Life is a gift to be used, now more than ever.

Hope this helps. Best of luck and happy quarantine!

Niall Buckley

March 2020