Fun Things to do While Quarantined

By Emmett Bassen-Alexander

Over the past few days, odds are that you, spectrum reader, have been stuck at home due to the recent global pandemic. Boring, I know. And I would wager to say that you need things to do. Well, fear not, because if you are reading this, you are about to learn some fun things to do while you are waiting for school to come back. Before this starts, I am federally mandated to tell you all to wash your hands as much as you can and make sure that if you do go out, you are careful about what you touch and how far apart you stand from people (6 feet). Anyway. Disclaimer over, prepare to be wowed by my beautiful and mind blowing-ly helpful suggestions.

1. Do a puzzle. It may sound lame at first, and it kind of is, but if you put music on or something, you can definitely sink a couple hours into a puzzle. The beauty of a puzzle is that you can do it alone or with another person, and you don’t have to do it all in one sitting. You could start it, maybe find the corners, and then leave and get a snack. Contrary to popular belief, the puzzle will still be there when you come back. Magical, I know. As Martin Luther King jr. and Gandhi once said: “Puzzles are fun, and you should do one.” 
2. Hop on Duolingo. While it is kind of annoying, Duolingo is one of the best places to feel like you are learning without really actually getting anything done. Trust me. I’ve spent a lot of time on duolingo, and I remember next to nothing about it. Seriously, it’s like the human brain is wired to black out anything taught on duolingo. Don’t believe me? Give it a try!
3. Clean your house. This might seem a bit not fun at all, but if you really get into it, cleaning a room down to exactly how you want it to look is incredibly satisfying. If it’s your room, you have a bit more liberty on how you want to clean it, but even if it’s your kitchen or some other communal space, you will get some bonus points with whoever normally cleans that area. Plus making every counter and space looking spotless, at least for a couple days before it is dirty again is a very good feeling. 
4. Take a walk or do something else physically active. While technically you have to be outside to take  a walk, if you don’t touch anyone or anything it is still basically like quarantine. And while when you are inside, you may not really want to take a walk, it feels good to know that you have been physically active in some way. If not a walk, you could do some push ups or something, or just take a walk inside. If you still have one of those Wii exercise games, you could try that out too. But the bottom line is that it does really help to stay active somehow.
5. Catch up on schoolwork. While you may think that these are getting less and less fun, what is really happening is that they are getting more and more useful. If you catch up on schoolwork, you will have less schoolwork, which is great. It is a foolproof plan and I can’t believe I was the first person to ever think of it.
6. Read The Spectrum! I just thought of this right now of my own accord, but you should definitely read The Spectrum more. It is a quality news website. You have nothing better to do, right?

Well, now you know what to do. Have fun and stay healthy!