I finished my isolated quarantine yesterday! But there's a catch.
Last Wednesday, I learned that my quarantine will be officially extended by the Florida County government (do counties even have governments?). The mayor of Orange County announced that the residents are going into shelter-in-place starting March 26 through April 9. This means that everyone is to stay at home unless they’re going for essentials: grocery stores, pharmacy, etc. Everything else will be closed, although I’m not sure if restaurants are doing delivery.
In addition, the intern supervisors wrote an email about how the interns need to stay in their apartments. Earlier this week, we were told that we could still hang out with each other, but now I won’t be able to see anyone outside of my roommates after my quarantine.
All of a sudden, quarantine no longer lasted for two weeks, but a month. And this was only County regulations. I don’t know how long it would be once the state of Florida issues a lockdown.
I was pretty upset. Maybe not as upset as when I heard I would be quarantined, but still frustrated and sad at the entire situation. I felt entitled – entitled to trust, that I would make good decisions; entitled to community, that I could physically be with other interns; entitled to freedom, that I could go and hangout outside.
I Miss This
I’ve felt a lot of emotions lately, ranging from extreme positive to negative. Thankful for all the friends near and far I’ve been able to connect/reconnect with. Feeling loved by many people who check in on me and send me gifts and kind words. But frustrated that I am so close to community yet so far. Sad to read articles about how people are suffering. Nervous for all the workers that are risking their lives to save others’ lives.
Also. I’ve been trying to honestly come before God with all of these emotions, but it’s hard. I didn’t sign up to go on a spring break trip, come back, and be locked in my apartment indefinitely. It’s rough to be losing all the things I’ve worked so hard to familiarize myself with here in Orlando. But yes, there are a lot of things that I have taken for granted.
This quarantine has revealed a lot more of my sinful, rebellious nature than I would care to admit.
But at the same time, there is so much to be thankful for. Here are just a few:
- Time to check in and reconnect with old friends
- Alone time in the apartment
- Space to create new habits
- Easy access to food and technology
- Proper rest
Gratitude Viruses
But honestly, it is not good for man to be alone. God definitely created us to be in community, and living solo for two weeks has been pretty rough.
But on a lighter note, here are some stats on how I spent the last two weeks:
- 0 TV shows
- 0 Movies
- 80 phone/video calls using 8 platforms
- Google, Zoom, Facetime, Line, Houseparty, Facebook Video, Whatsapp, & good old phone
- Watched basically all the Epicurious "4 Levels of Cooking" videos
- Too many songs to count
- 5 blogposts (2 published after isolation)
I also learned to play a few things on the guitar. I used DoorDash to get Panera Bread on my last day, kind of as a reward for myself, and motivation to get through the very end.
Building Callouses
Am I sick? I used more Kleenex to kill cockroaches than blow my nose. Go figure.
Keren and Jennifer came back Saturday morning! And I went to the grocery store. Even though a stay-at-home order is in place, life feels a lot more normal. I am thankful for laughter in the living room, walking through semi-empty aisles, and driving with my windows down (even though I don’t like driving). These are seemingly mundane things, but I am thankful.
"Welcome Home!"
I also learned how extremely independent and unrestrained I like my life to be. There’s this level of free spirit/borderline recklessness in my personality that I discovered being cooped up these past two weeks. Maybe this is why I fear commitment.
Anyway, I hope you are all enjoying this beautiful Sunday! It is currently sunny and 90 degrees in Orlando. Don’t worry, we have the AC on in our apartment ;)
No comments:
Post a Comment