Author: Gunwook Baik
It’s surreal how quickly COVID-19 came in and just took the world by storm. Just within maybe a few months we saw the cases go from China to all around the world, causing quarantines and many public places being closed. Most people who know me would probably guess that my daily routine wouldn’t have changed much. After all, what I did before COVID was essentially going to school, then going to work and teaching children, and coming back home to play video games. Now with COVID-19 placing us in lockdown, going to school and to work isn’t really an option, and I’m just at home 24/7 just like everyone else.
My daily routine has changed quite a bit since the advent of COVID. I still have to wake up at the same time every day, since my morning classes adopted Zoom, and my sleep schedule also stayed relatively the same as well. As for what had changed, I have adopted a bit of light exercise in the mornings to help with the fact that I do sit at my computer desk all day. Although I do enjoy playing video games, my many years of playing them have told me that playing them all day will just lead to early burnout, so I’ve adopted a couple of other things to do like trying to speak to my mother in only Korean, and watching/rewatching some movies and shows that I have missed. Unlike most of my schoolmates though, I haven’t really taken on more obligations such as going to the grocery store or whatnot now that I have more time. Having Crohn’s disease has put my family on edge regarding me going out at all, so even if I wanted to contribute a bit more, I’m just met with “No”s by my family members.
My school life has changed significantly as well. Apart from the obvious fact that on-campus classes moved to online, actually learning some of my subjects have gotten a bit more difficult that I had expected. It really showed me that going to lectures, even if I may despise it at times, really does help with learning, as opposed to just looking at slides online and reading off the textbook for help. Both of my ICS classes however have had a really nice transition, as some may expect from a computer-related class. I also learned more about my friends from all of this time online as well. The extra time online allows us to talk to each other more often, and we’ve talked to each other more frequently about our past and how we felt about out time in middle/high school.
Although this may be a time of seperation from our friends and families, all of this time alone has given me time to reflect on my past and has given me time to think about my next steps in life. I have gotten closer to my friends as a result, and with more extra time I have taken up a few things to keep me healthy and my relationship with my family healthy. It may currently be a time of isolation, but for me, I’ve learned to use this time and make more use out of it than if I were to just sit at my computer and play video games all day.