Most simply said, I am doing well. I, along with my family and friends, am in good health, and my main concern is occupying myself for 16 hours a day without being able to do anything social. I am living in my favorite place, Sea Isle City, and have been able to develop a fairly solid routine to get me through each day, so life is pretty good. I spend a lot of time each day playing cornhole and ping pong against my family, which to me is really an ideal day.
One of the tasks I have taken on is redoing this one room (or closet as my mom calls it) in my house. It was previously filled with a bunch of junk and random items, most of which we did not need. So, I cleared it out completely, cleaned it, put in furniture, and strung lights. What used to be a storage room about two weeks ago has been transformed into my own little hangout spot, which I am super excited about.
Despite being forced to stay in isolation, I have been able to leave the house on occasion. Living right next to the beach, and with a stretch of fairly good weather, I have been fortunate enough to go surfing with my close friend a few times (keeping our distance, of course). I try to stay active by going on runs, which I would do on the beach, until it was closed a couple days ago.
In summary, I am doing well. The transition to online classes is not the easiest, and I still wish I was back at UD, but I have nothing to complain about. I am fortunate that my family and I are all healthy, and we have been able to spend some really quality time together.
English 110 Honors Spring 2020 
Chris, I’m happy to hear that you and your family are healthy and that you have managed to stay productive and sane throughout this time. Cleaning out the “closet” and remodeling it was an ingenious way to spend your time because having your own “hangout spot” will be beneficial now that online classes have started up.
On another note, I related to the title of your post because my family has had a lot of mandatory family bonding over the past few weeks. We have gone on walks, had family game nights, watched movies together, and played cornhole, just like your family. Although I often spend a lot of time with my family, my dad is typically consumed with work, and therefore not able to join us. However, as a result of COVID19, we have all been able to participate in family activities, which has been nice. It’s a strange positive resulting from the global pandemic, but one I am taking advantage of.
-Renea Briner
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I am happy to hear that you are doing well in this time. As someone who is currently living in upstate New York where it is still thirty degrees out, I am extremely jealous of the fact that you are living on the beach. I truly appreciate the tone of positivity throughout your writing and the fact that you are not complaining about your daily circumstances. I am constantly seeing posts on social media in which people are lamenting over the fact that they are bored, when all they are asked to do is stay inside, so it is refreshing to hear someone say that they do not think they have anything to complain about. Furthermore, it is great to see that you have been productive during this time, and I believe that staying busy is very important during a time like this because it alleviates the stress of the current global situation and can prevent mental health issues that stem from social isolation. I love that you have made your hang out spot where you can be alone, but that you are still spending time with your family everyday, as it is important not to take this time we have with our loved ones for granted because we are all in some level of danger. I hope you are staying safe and healthy!
Sarina Simpson
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You’re doing “well”! Yeehaw, brother. I am so happy to hear that you are able to find “quality time” in a very difficult time like this. I really like how you’ve been able to transmute this seemingly gloom sentence to boredom (quarantine) into something really productive and wholesome. That is a really important skill to have in life, and it will serve you well in the coming years.
Dude. The beach! NIIIICE. I am sure, though, it being closed was saddening. But, by that same token, I have no doubt it is still really beautiful where you are.
“(keeping our distance, of course).” Good stuff 😉
I really like this statement:
” I am fortunate that my family and I are all healthy, and we have been able to spend some really quality time together.”
You hit it right on the head, man. I love how you are appreciating the time you’ve spent. Unfortunately, it can always be worse.
Awesome stuff, Chris. I’m sure you’ll continue making the most out of this situation.
Stay safe my friend,
Sincerely,
Neil Baker
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“Ping pong is really fun when you play against people you know and when the competitiveness of everyone starts rising! I think it’s cool that you’ve taken up redesigning/fixing and doing things around the house, though we don’t really have much of a choice anyway, as opposed to sitting around doing nothing. I envy how close you are to the beach and how you’re still able to have fun by the sea (I wish I could do the same!). I hope you and your family continue to stay safe! :)” -Ciana Gadut
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Chris, I really enjoyed reading your post because of how positive and optimistic it was! I’m glad to hear you are lucky enough to be spending your quarantine by the beach. I am definitely jealous about that part. Also, your new extra room sounds cool. Similarly, I’ve continuously started to clear out my bedroom to reconfigure everything just to change things up since we are all stuck out home for a few extra months. However, every time I actually start to plan out what I want to do I lose the motivation to actually execute the project, so good for you for actually following through! Your title made me laugh when I first saw it because I immediately thought about the many (unsuccessful) attempts my family has had at family bonding activities and games since this lock in has started. Thanks for the good read!
-Bel Yu
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