We all heard of the story of Rapunzel: a princess trapped in a tower by Mother Gothel and unable to leave for years until she meets Flynn Rider…except what we didn’t know was that that would be us minus the Flynn Rider part. 

At the beginning of quarantine, I watched Tangled and thought to myself how she was still so happy even though she had been struck in a tower for eighteen years. The answer? A chameleon, painting, and food. 

So…I don’t have a chameleon but I have a dog so I guess that works. But, like Rapunzel, I decided that regardless of everything happening around me right now, I would try to make the best of my situation. 

I recently started cooking with my sister. She likes to make desserts, like banana bread and fruit tarts, while I like making pastas and burgers. Everytime you walk into our house now, the smell of delicious food hits you and when I sleep at night, I can still smell it. My parents have also been buying more food during quarantine, I just keep eating because I’m stressed and have nothing else to do anyways. I swear I’m going to gain a quarantine fifteen after this is all over. 

I’ve also had time to clean up and reorganize my entire room along with catching up on all of the things that I’ve fallen behind on because of school, like graphic designing, watching my favorite shows, and finding new music to listen to.

Regardless of all these things I’ve been doing though, I spend a majority of my time on my phone. My screen time has jumped dramatically and it made me realize something. 

When I was younger, my parents would always tell me these stories of them exploring and having fun so what am I going to tell my kids when I’m older? That I was on my phone the entire time and did absolutely nothing? 

Quarantine has made me rethink my life. There are suddenly so many things that I want to do when quarantine is over. I want to hang out with my friends. I want to eat s’mores at a bonfire. I want to volunteer at my church. I want to do so many things that do not involve laying on my bed and scrolling on my phone. 

Rapunzel didn’t have a phone and she was still so happy because she had family, friends, and hobbies. So, lately I’ve been putting down my phone and starting to focus on myself and the people around me more and doing the things that I’ve always wanted to do. 

The reality for many people during quarantine is that it’s boring and repetitive but change your reality. Get off your phone and try something new! There’s a new world beyond your phone.