Quarantine Times
Entry One * 3/30/20
Routines
Routines
As I'm sure most people are aware, Milwaukee is on quarantine until the coronavirus can be contained and taken care of. In this time, I've seen many people "bored in the house", trying to find ways to entertain themselves. I truly envy those people. I haven't been able to feel that feeling of total boredom yet because I still have to go to work once I'm finished with my school work for the day. Each day of the week seems like one long day that keeps extending now that I'm not at school and feel as if I have no structure in my life. My entire inner clock has been effected because my outer
clock has been turned upside down, if that makes any sense.
Everyday I wake up at 6:30, which is the time I get ready for school. No alarm clock, just my inner clock still thinking that there's regular school. I fall back asleep and wakeup around 11, do my homework, get ready for work around 2:30, and be at work by 3. But, everyday, those times change depending on how much homework there is to do that day. sometimes I get to work at 4, sometimes I get there at 3:30. Once I get to work I do my normal routine of helping out in classrooms, doing snack and dinner, and cleaning. I get off at around 8, but sometimes that can change too. Once I'm home I shower, eat something, try and relax and hopefully fall asleep in the process. As one can tell, my routine is much more chaotic than I can handle. I only leave little room in my life for "when life gives you lemon" moments, so the fact that this is happening, and so drastically at that, is honestly making me sick.
Having my routine change like this has definitely effected me, a lot more than I thought it would. I've become more tired, despite me going to bed even earlier than I did when school. I'm more stressed, as well. I'm not even sure what I've been stressing over. I'm not as worried about catching the virus as most people are. I'm in clean environments and even though I work around kids we've taught them the importance of distancing themselves and being clean, so I really don't have much contact with them as one might think. I'm not high risk of catching it, so that's not what I'm stressed about. I dread getting out of bed everyday knowing that, today, something just isn't going to feel right. Today is going to be another "grab bag" of a day, except its going to be a really bad grab bag and I'm not going to like it. The lack of face-to-face communication with people I actually want to talk to is killing me as well. I feel so lonely, now. FaceTime and texting really isn't enough for me, and as much as I thought I'd never be saying this, I miss school. I miss my friends and my teachers. I miss my normal routine.
I know it sounds selfish of me to be complaining about a routine when we're in the middle of a worldwide crisis and people are dying, and my routine being thrown off a bit is actually keeping myself and other safe. I'm just so used to it. I can't handle change at all and when it happens so suddenly I fell like everything's falling apart and I can't handle it. I've been this way since I was a kid. I'm doing my best, but I really hope this is over soon so things can go back to the way they were.
