UD’s campus in Minecraft. North Green and Trabant.

Since coming home for spring break and taking my classes online like the majority of society, I have fallen too comfortable with my surroundings. I lack the discipline to stay focused on academics. As I am holed up in my room all day, my video games, which are always less than ten feet away from me, constantly nag for attention to which I happily, yet unfortunately, oblige. Though being in these games and calls has allowed me to interact with my friends and somewhat replace that which I have lost due to the pandemic, I find myself playing unhealthily grinding away hours by myself after they have taken a break. I feel as if this deprivation of physical interaction will have some profound effect on my personality, but I don’t feel any meaningful changes as of right now. It’s a little embarrassing (and in my opinion funny) to admit that as an introvert, I don’t feel as if much has changed in regards to not leaving my house for weeks.

Moreover, I have relapsed into an inconsistent and unhealthy sleep schedule. In college, I was able to sleep early on most days, but now I end up going to bed unfathomably late with the reassurance that videos are recorded or that most of my classes aren’t synchronous and therefore I don’t need to wake up early.

I’m also still upset about the fact that I’m not able to rock climb until this thing blows over, and I’m worried my technique will regress significantly; I’m doing what I can at home to prevent this. Simple body-weight exercises and hangboarding will hopefully do the trick. I’m thankful that my friend Aaron also continues to host ab-o’clock with me and his other friends over zoom. Without such, I’d one-hundred percent have no motivation to work the core necessary for climbing.

Ultimately, I am glad that my family is healthy and safe. That’s more important to me than anything I listed above. I get to spend time with them and eat home-cooked meals, which are unmeasurably more delicious than anything the dining halls have to offer. I feel a sense of duty and accomplishment in knowing that by socially distancing myself, I am a part of this swelling force that will push the pandemic away. So yeah, perhaps I am relapsing a bit in my bad habits, but I think everything is going to work out and be fine in the end.