For years, the world has experienced multiple diseases that spread like wildfire amongst people. The first recorded pandemic was known to have started during the Peloponnesian War that spread through multiple countries in the Middle East killing two-thirds of the population. 

In today’s day and age, one struggle people experience the most while quarantine-ing would be the ability to keep their sanity. It can be hard to stay sane when someone is alone for so long and not allowed to see their friends or family; however, there are many steps they can take to not only stay connected with the world around them but themselves as well. 

“In order to stay sane during quarantine, I try my best to follow a schedule so that I don’t find myself getting too much sleep or even sometimes not even getting out of bed,” Ashley Trimble, a senior, said.

During quarantine, it can be hard for people to find things to do and ways to be active; however, by creating a schedule, it allows a person to be able to have consistency during the day and a new mindset that will motivate them to not only get things done, but also to make goals for themselves to accomplish new things.

“Throughout all of quarantine, I have tried to set goals for myself so that I’m not always sitting on my couch… So far, I have moved rooms, painted my walls, and even learned how to sew! I feel like keeping a schedule helps me to stay organized and get things done!” Cheyanne Price, a senior, said.

Setting new goals and trying out new things is an important part of quarantine and allows people to get out of their comfort zone and learn to do things they never would have thought to do before. This can also help someone to stay entertained and keep their minds off of being alone for so long. The sense of accomplishment can help someone feel proud of themselves for doing new things and can stick with them for a long time even after quarantine. Being away from friends and family can take a toll on someone, but if they try to better themselves it will help them to maintain their sanity.

Lack of human contact for long periods of time can be very detrimental to one’s health and can even introduce depressive symptoms that can truly affect someone. Being around other people is very important; however, when it comes to a worldwide pandemic, the safety of others rises above all. It is important to stay inside and find ways around being bored and alone.

One way people can stay in contact with each other would be online. A simple phone call or even a comment on one’s social media can make someone’s day. Staying in contact and checking in on friends and loved ones can truly help everyone get through a quarantine and keep their sanity.

“In the beginning of quarantine, I often kept to myself and enjoyed the time I finally had away from people, but after a short while, I soon came to realize that I not only missed my friends, but also random people at school that I would talk to in the hallways or the five minutes we had before class started. I’m definitely ready for life to go back to normal,” Maya Altland, a junior, said.

Another thing someone could do during quarantine would be to get exercise. Exercise is very important for everyone’s health because exercise strengthens a person’s heart and improves their circulation by increasing blood flow and oxygen levels in the body. Exercise also helps to decrease one’s risk of heart diseases such as coronary artery disease, high cholesterol, and heart attacks. 

There are many ways someone can exercise inside and outside. If the outdoors are not available at the time, a simple jog in the house or up and down the stairs can be a good exercise. Another way someone can get their exercise in for the day would be to simply follow an exercise video online. This will allow a person to search for a video that is the pace they would prefer and allow them to follow someone else’s instructions rather than making up their own workouts.

“I used to go to the gym everyday and workout on the machines they had, but when the gyms closed down, I had to improvise and figure out workouts to do at home. At first I just made up my own workouts, but I found out that it was much easier to just follow along with a Youtube video,” Rachel Katzmann, a senior, said.

Lastly, a very important step in surviving quarantine would be to always have hope. Hope is what brings people together and helps them through the hard times. When people feel as if the world is ending and that they should give up on themselves and the people around them, it can be very hard to to get through each day. Hope is what will get the world through this pandemic, and keep people sane along the way.