Staying at Home and Staying Busy: Quarantine Activities
Emmett Dowd '21 Features Editor
The Hopkins community is finding ways to go beyond their comfort zones, expand their horizons, and try things they never would have, if not for COVID-19.
Many students are making up for the lack of a spring sport by discovering new ways to keep active they might not have done otherwise. Ella Zuse ’21 stated “I have always wanted to train for a half-marathon but with school sports, I have never had the time. Kate Collier and I have decided to train for one together and we’ve had a lot of fun so far! It’s really nice to have a plan each day for how to work out and also a goal to work towards. Kate and I are definitely bummed that we can’t run together right now, but hopefully we still get to race in July!” Fiona O’ Brien ’21 is using the time away from her usual lacrosse season to learn a new sport: tennis. “Well, I completely learned how to play tennis. I play every single day for an hour with my dad. I went from 0-100, and it's a way for me to play a new sport since I can’t play any of my usual ones.”
Other Hopkins students are using the time to perfect their skills on their spring sports for when school opens back up and they can return to their normal sports teams. David Verdu ’21 (Varsity Football) described his routine to stay ready for the next year’s sports seasons saying, “I’ve started playing a lot of basketball and running. Even though I’m studying more, I find a lot of time to be more active. Running especially helps since football season is around the corner and I want to win a championship next year.” Even though spring sports have been canceled, Hopkins Varsity Baseball player Jason Chung ’21 stated he’s been keeping up with his practicing. “It’s still important for me to keep my skills sharp so I am ready for the next spring season.”
Other members of the Hopkins community are using the stay-at-home order to catch up on their favorite activities. Chemistry teacher Joshua Young stated, “I have always (at least as an adult) loved yard work and cooking, but both are time consuming. I have had much more time to do both these days. Since social distancing began, we've been eating like kings, our yard looks fantastic and all my jeans have grass stains!” Visual Arts teacher Jacqueline LaBelle-Young commented, “Mr. Young and I have been playing much more guitar together . . . and parenting. There has been much more parenting.”
Many Hopkins students and faculty now have a full house, with members of their family coming home from jobs and college. Others are simply getting to spend much more time with their family than they normally would. Ellie Miller ’21 commented,“Quarantine has let me spend so much more time with my parents, and we’ve gotten a lot closer. I’m also playing online chess and going on hikes every day!”
Other Hopkins students and faculty are enjoying the slower pace to life and using it to relax and take in things they normally miss. Talia Chang ’22 said, “ I’ve enjoyed being able to just sit and listen to music all the way through and appreciate it in a different way because I now have time to just sit and listen to it and take in the little things.”
There is also another crowd of students taking up brand new hobbies. Scrapbooking, painting, writing letters, and drawing, are popular amongst students and faculty alike. Addie Priest ’21 mentioned that she “has been doing watercolor art a lot to relax. I also started a garden! A few little sprouts have popped up but I'm hoping more come soon, it’s a nice thing to remember to do each day.” Lola Panagos ’21 further commented that “Since my time has begun in quarantine I've started scrapbooking. I had tons of extra pictures laying around and decided to collage them together so I have a memory book of my time in high school at Hopkins.”
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