Essay Collection

COVID What I miss at Home Essay

Grace Crilly

Being stuck at home means that we have to miss out on a lot of things we love about being outside. Since the stay at home order is extended to May 30th, that means my best friend and I can't celebrate our birthdays going to our favorite restaurant, Noodles and Company. The only thing I wanted to do for my birthday is get my hair done, but now I can't do that! What if by every month we keep getting an extensions every time we get an update on the coronavirus? If it does, the year will be boring. Now when we're stuck at home, it affects us since we're distracted and not able to go to  work or school. In this essay, I'll be discussing what I miss about going outside and what my worries and hopes are for this ending  soon. Staying inside isn't easy, especially because it can be boring and it affects how you live your life everyday now.

It feels like I'm being isolated having to stay inside, so that it feels like it worsens myself mentally and emotionally. Most of the time now being at home I'm just lazy and do nothing but writing and watching television everyday. The last few days before the parks shut down, I did go to the park with my best friend, but now I can't. That is one of the things I miss about being outside. What would make this worse if it does extend in the summer. I could miss my favorite part of the year, the beginning of July when we traditionally go to Wisconsin. We go on my step dad's boat and go on Lake Delavan. My family and I hardly go on vacations anymore. That's why I'm afraid of missing that trip this year. Rather than that trip, I have gotten to go to Michigan with my best friend's family last year and I would love to go again, but it's possible it won't happen. A lot of things and people in my life I love are already gone.

Staying inside at home all day makes me feel anti-social. The only people I get to see are my mom and my stepdad. The past few weeks, my mom has had her schedule cut from working at the hospital. Most often I would be with her at home on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. However, I just found out that she will have regular hours starting next week. When my mom would be home with me, she would first stay with me for a while and then go out to several stores to get wipes, Lysol spray, etc. and then go get a car wash. My stepdad can still work, so he works everyday. Most of the time I'm alone at home. Since I'm home alone, my stepdad makes sure I have the food I need. However, it hasn't been the same not being able to go to my favorite restaurants like Panera, Noodles and Company, and Olive Garden. Since  families are eating  inside now, some individuals' eating habits can change. During this time, everyone is trying to find good shows and movie recommendations. Because of this, many people end up binge-watching which also  affects  their diets and exercising habits. Since the public is allowed to walk their dogs, I've been able to keep up with my activeness daily by walking my dog.

Besides the point of walking my dog, I miss using the Harper gym daily. I especially miss going to the pool. Once the stay at home order started, my daily routine was thrown  off. It feels completely different from being physically at school. My usual schedule before this even started was driving to school in the morning while fidgeting with the radio. I then waited  for my best friend at the chairs in building X, before English class started. We'd go into class together, work together during class, and then we'd both have to leave each other afterwards. I would have Intro to Psychology class fifteen minutes after English, so I would fill up my water and use the bathroom before psychology. (Intro to psychology class is in a lecture hall type class that's in the theatre). Once I would sit down in the theatre, I would have a snack then I would take out my folders and notebooks for class.

After psychology, I would go to Starbucks and get a drink. I would go to the D building and have my lunch. Once I was finished eating, I'd do my homework, which usually takes me a while. I would leave one of my fruits for later to eat. Then I'd have my journalism class. Afterward, I'd usually go to the gym and listen to my music while walking around the track. When I was done with the gym, I'd do more of my homework then and eat my snack. By the time I complete my homework, I would call either my mom or dad about picking me up. Once they would tell me it would take them either fifteen or thirty minutes to get to Harper to get me, I'd go back to the gym and walk around the track until they told  me they were  parked outside of the M building. My routine at home is a bit wacky for me.

Being at home all the time now messes up my routine when it comes to waking up and going to bed. When I'm home, I'm used to the fact I can stay up later than what I'm used to when I would go to school the next day. This  is a problem for me, because I'm usually a night owl that likes to sleep in. Even if I stay up late, I try to wake up early as much as possible. Although, that means I do feel sleepy during the day because I haven't been getting enough sleep. I'd usually try to wake up around nine forty in the morning and then I'd do my chores. Then I'd have my breakfast. Once I'm done eating, I start working on homework and studying. I'd work on Psychology first, Journalism second, and then English. In between assignments and studying, I'd give myself a break and listen to some music while walking around the house. I would usually eat my lunch after finishing my work for journalism and then work on English after that. Around seven is when my stepdad would get home, then my mom would get home around eight-thirty. We'd eat out dinner late by like nine thirty, and after I would eat I would go in my room and do whatever I want. My mom and stepdad fall asleep quickly on the couch, so then I would usually stay up late.

Once life gets back to normal, I would love to do the things I miss out doing like going out to my favorite restaurants with my friends and family. I would love to go out Noodles and Company with my best friend as a late celebratory dinner for our birthdays. I desperately want to still be able to go to Wisconsin to go on the boat, if we don't that's on my to do list once this does get back to normal. I want to be able to hang out with my friends and go swimming. I want to go to Olive Garden, take out orders aren't the same without the delicious bread that goes along with your meal and the chocolate mint you get after your dinner. I miss going out to eat with my Mamo to a restaurant called Johnny's Place, which I think is an Irish restaurant. Although, what I am grateful for during this time is being able to sleep in. Even though this is tough on everybody, we can find some ways that this leaves a positive impact for us about staying home. Sleeping in is a positive for me;, however, the time I go to bed is the issue. 

My sleep is my main issue with having to be home all the time now. I can improve this by making myself a daily planner of when to do what and when I should go to bed. I miss being able to hang out and have sleepovers with my best friend. Even though there are things I do miss about being outside, most of the time now I'm used to being stuck inside so that I do want to stay inside. In some ways, I'm afraid to go outside and the only thing that could make it better is by going swimming and being with my best friend.