For this week’s post it only seemed to fitting to stage an interview with myself, in honour of these times of social distancing. Everyday there are peaks and troughs and whether you live alone, or with housemates or your family, it is easy to feel lonely in these times of never-ending news and panic. For our NHS workers and those working in critical roles such as supermarkets, social distancing isn’t a choice they can afford, but the rest of us, it is a necessity. So, over to me…
Q: How do you feel about social distancing?
A: As a self-confessed introvert, the thought of staying indoors surrounded by my books and the recently purchased Disney +, I wasn’t as horrified by the thought of it as some people may be. But at the same time, I recognise that I’m privileged enough to be able to spend my time like this. Up until very recently I was still living in my uni house but had booked to go home, months prior to the Coronavirus outbreak. Compared to my uni house, my family home is quite a lot smaller, so I was a little bit anxious about being cooped up in such small confinements, but so far it hasn’t been too bad. Like a lot of final-year students it’s difficult to get my head around the fact that I will never go back to uni like it’s another day of the semester or spend my final months in Oxford surrounded by my friends, which may seem superficial, but still a sad truth. I think everyday will have peaks and troughs, but we just have to accept the fact that this is the new, temporary normal.
Q: What do you plan to do with this time?
A: Despite not really being able to afford it, I did invest in Disney + as mentioned above, but maintain it’s an investment into my sanity and happiness, so 100% worth it. I do also have a degree to finish, so I’ve got a few assignments left to do. My brother bought me a ukulele for my birthday, a couple of months ago, so I may try tuning that and learn some basic tunes, but I don’t know how long that will last until I drive my family mad. Apart from that I’m not sure, my motivation is quite low at the moment so I don’t want to put too much on my plate.
Q: Have you established any sort of routine?
A: Short answer: no. As I mentioned before, my motivation is quite low, which I think ironically is because of how stressed I feel about work. Our graduation has been postponed like most other universities across the country, and even-though I know we will have one, it just seems a little anti-climatic. Also, when I eventually finish my assignments, that’s the end of being a student, which is a little bit scary, so we’ll blame that for my procrastination! I do want to establish some sort of routine though, maybe yoga in the morning, but we’ll see about that…
Q: How are you managing to be social whilst distancing?
A: Luckily for me, some of my friends are a lot more proactive than I am, so yesterday I facetimed with two of my friends, which I would really recommend as it made me feel a lot better when I was feeling low. I’m going to make a real effort to schedule in facetiming with my friends because it’s so much better when you can talk to them and see their faces, bringing back some sort of normality. It’s also nice to have different kinds of conversations with people outside of your house, rather than just talking about the C-word or what you’re going to have for lunch. I also want to try Netflix party, because generally, I enjoy watching films and providing commentary with my friends. Keeping tabs on people is really important, because everyone’s going through this tough time and it’s good to let people know you’re thinking of them.
Q: I can’t think of anymore questions, can you?
A: Leaves interview in dramatic style