With quarantine comes the thought of not knowing where this will take us in the next few months. The most stressful thing during this time is dealing with isolation, and how this will affect my journey to college. The only way to overcome these stresses is to find something or some way to cope with them for the time being. 

Being a senior, I am going through the process of registering for college, and in my case, I am going to college 4,000 miles away in Hawai’i. Because of the coronavirus, flying is very restricted and I worry about whether I will be able to go or if it will be too late to apply anywhere else. This was one of my biggest stresses, so to cope with it, I set dates for when I will check flights, register, and schedule my zoom advising call. Spreading out your to-do list with enough time to prepare for each is key. With or without the coronavirus, college prepping is always stressful.

Another huge stresser during this time is the isolation itself. A lot can not handle the fact of being separated from society, especially for months on end. To many, it may sound stupid or crazy, but cabin fever is a real thing and affects people greatly. Some people still have the ability to go to the store or get fast food, however I do not do any of that, which makes it 10 times harder. I have not seen the outside of my house in a very long time. 

To cope with my isolation struggles, I swim. I am thankful enough to have a pool in my backyard, so I go out there every nice day I can to get away from my room. I also enjoy cooking new things, even if they do not turn out the best. Lastly, I do puzzles. My mom and I have done puzzles together since I was little; it’s extremely relaxing. The stress almost seems to vanish when you learn to cope. It’s all one step at a time.