Change in a Trying Time

by Adele Gaburo ’21

Hey guys! I hope everyone’s quarantine is going well. I hope you have monopoly or a fat stack of movies or knitting needles to keep you entertained.

As for me, my family is quarantined at our beach house which means that three people are in less than 900 square feet of each other at all times. Needless to say, I’m getting outside as much as possible….

I remember the first time I ventured out of my house here: I went to walk the boardwalk and didn’t see another soul for like 20 minutes. Yes, the winter makes the beach a lot quieter, but never in my 11 years of having a house here have I seen it completely empty. Part of me thought it was really peaceful, because the winter boardwalk scene is usually just a bunch of local kids nearly running you over with their bikes. The other, much larger part of me thought it was incredibly eerie. Not smelling the fry grease, not hearing the arcade games, and yes, not fearing the impending doom of ten year old biker gangs, doesn’t sit right with me.

And on top of that, my entire routine is messed up. I’m used to waking up at the crack of dawn to go to school, being tired all day, coming home (to scarf down some food and do my mountain of homework), going to bed, and doing it all over again the next morning. My routine sounds less than fun, and that’s because it’s definitely not fun, but there’s something about not having it that makes me want it back. Whether it be online school, online work, or sitting on the couch a little too much, deviation from your regular routine is bound to feel a little weird.

This change is something we all have to deal with because, like it or not, everyone is effected by what’s going on right now. Although I want to be the one with all the answers, I honestly don’t have a lot of advice for this because it’s so unprecedented. My grandparents have never seen anything like it, so I definitely haven’t in my almost-17 years of life. Given that, I just wanted to write the post to show you that everyone’s routine is changing, that we’re all in the same boat, and even in this time of separation, we are unified by the disruption we’re all facing.