What if I told you life in quarantine could end right now? Of course, that doesn’t mean violating quarantine regulations. Would you believe me? Either way, give me a few minutes of your time and I’ll convince you that quarantine is all a big illusion.

Although truth is widely defined as a fact or event that we know to be valid and correct given that it has been proved multiple times to be correct and without error, it could be something that we believe in based on our personal experiences, common knowledge that we have learned to accept in our childhood, or something that we are learning from people, things, or places. One knows when something is true when provided by a reliable source and through reasoning and logic that we have conformed to reality. Personally, my truth is based on what I experienced in my young adolescence and what the community around me, such as my family, friends, teachers, and other trusted adults, have assured me to be true. Above all things, the hard truth can be tested in many trials and prove time and time again that it is indeed reliable.

“I think therefore I am” – Rene Descartes

We cannot be 100% sure about anything, even the world and people around us, based on what has been known as “common knowledge” or our experiences, one thing we can be sure about is our doubt. This concept is more famously known as Cartesian doubt formed by Rene Descartes, who found that the only truth we can trust is our doubt on anything that could be doubted.

With that in mind, who says we can’t reimagine our truth and doubt and use it in our favor? Let us adapt ourselves to what we can handle and re-label quarantine as a momentary period of peace for each individual.

This is not to say that there are not many suffering right now; but in a time where a lot of us are indeed suffering, everyone can agree on wanting to get past these rough times. For all of those who have not caused harm to others or themselves, they deserve the right to have time to themselves and to use it to focus on whatever they need.

We can compare life with COVID-19 to a situation we are more comfortable with and learning to adapt that way. By mentally putting ourselves in a setting where we are very much in control, we can choose and decide for ourselves how to get past the many obstacles in our way, or really, what troubles 2020 have given us thus far. For example, many teenagers are immersing themselves in the world of the internet, books, video games, TikTok, social media, movies, and TV shows because whether or not they know it, those hobbies are what get them away from the real world and allows them to cope and adapt accordingly to have a good time despite all the tragedies. For others, it may be a specific location, like Hawaii, or a particular memory with people that they miss. In that case, they most likely depended on the livelihood of their surrounding environment or the presence of loved ones to provide the happiness in their lives.

We can slowly change to how our lives once were if we are willing to, if we have the mindset to. Missing the beautiful, tranquil beaches in Hawaii may not be the same as a walk around a neighborhood but each setting provides different possibilities and freedoms. With the advancement of communication and technology, we are never truly alone. The spirit of our loved ones can be felt through a single phone call or text.

The truth is a question of perspective. Only you can decide what to make of it.

Simply put, being bored is always an option. Like being cold or hot. You can choose to be cold or hot. And you can choose to be bored. And who would choose to be bored given their imagination and what society has provided us in our up-and-coming times?

So, how about you? If you were to fall out of the sky onto any location in the real or make-believe world right now, at this exact moment in which you’re sitting in bed or a chair reading this writing, what setting would put you most at ease?