5 Ways I Found Gratitude in My College Quarantine
What I’m grateful for as a college student during the pandemic.
I turned 21 on the floor of my bedroom, waiting for the sun to set.
The Netflix password from my freshman year hookup finally stopped working, so I used my direct view into my neighbor’s kitchen to entertain me. My roommates slid me well-wishes under my door and handed me meals through an air-conditioning vent with an opening big enough to trade clean and dirty dishes three times a day.
If this was prison, it was like the one that Martha Stewart went to — and instead of insider trading, my crime was going on a blind date with a coronavirus infectee.
I was Prisoner 001 in my own bedroom.
No question: I’d rate my stay in COVID-19 penitentiary with a glowing five stars; but that doesn’t change the fact that I was still sitting alone in my bedroom waiting for the boy who gave me this birthday gift to text back. So, not exactly the party I had envisioned.
But even so, as I moved my dinner up from the floor to my desk and clicked on the Zoom link my roommates used to virtually seat me at our dining room table, I was grateful.
Grateful I could still taste the homemade empanadas my roommate specially made for my big day. Grateful for friends who were willing to pick up my dirty dishes from our hallway. And grateful that the sun had finally set, leaving behind a beautiful pink sky just for me and my prison cell.
I didn’t dance on a bar like in Coyote Ugly like I’d dreamed, but in the midst of a global pandemic, the people’s revolution, and what seems to be a never-ending cycle of bad news, I found a lot of little reasons to be grateful for.
Here’s my list of 5:
1. I finally watched Airplane, and all the other movies I’ve been lying about loving for years.
The one thing the pandemic has given a lot of us bored college kids is time. Some people use theirs practically — they read more books, start working out, take up a new skill. Some people like my show-off of a sister who lost 20 pounds, learned a third language and became my mother’s favorite. Quarantine glow ups are very real.
So what did this runner up daughter do? I gained 10 pounds, pretty much forgot how to read, and most importantly, I watched all of the Tarantino movies I’ve been telling my film-major friends I’ve already seen. Turns out I love Kill Bill just as much as I’ve been pretending I did. Who needs Portuguese when you can finally decode Tarantino references?
2. I’ve eaten three meals a day, every day since the start of the semester.
The combination of our stay-at-home orders and TikTok have turned me into the second coming of Julia Child. I never used to have time to cook, and sustained myself on three cups of cold brew and a single granola bar.
But now, when my lectures start my mic goes quiet, my camera turns off, and I start to julienne anything in sight. At my mother’s request I’ve been writing down all the recipes I collect from blogs, my family, and my friends. I’m grateful for every one of them.
The pandemic has forced me to find new ways of connecting, and while unconventional, I can say for certain that in a regular semester, I would not find myself being yelled at by Grandma for under-seasoning my rice.
This year — along with my college apartment kitchen — is a mess, but there are reasons to smile hidden under all those dirty pans. Acknowledging your gratitude, according to the lab coats at Harvard, will allow you to relish good experiences more richly, sleep better, and help you deal with adversity. Sounds like perfect advice for 2020 to me.
3. I’ve been able to avoid people — with tremendous success.
Online classes mean no more run-ins with my psycho roommates from freshman year (the ones who ate tomato soup from a can in bed). I don’t dress up for class, just in case I “run into someone” — hell, I don’t even wear pants anymore. The few times I do step on campus, my mask and hoodie combo hides my identity pretty well.
It’s small, but this anxious Gen Z-er is grateful for her anonymity. Funny enough, research shows that expressing gratitude can REDUCE the symptoms of anxiety and negative thoughts. A tactic I’ll try if I can ever take my mask off in public again.
4. My skin is absolutely glowing (through the wonders of Zoom).
I’ve ditched my makeup and opted for the “touch up my appearance” setting on my Zoom calls — life changer. My skin has literally never looked better. Hungover? Touch up my appearance. Dark circles? Touch up my appearance. Zoom date? TOUCH UP MY APPEARANCE.
Sure, it’s easy to fixate on my lack of clear skin, but focusing on what I don’t have is a lot less fun than toggling the magic button that makes all my blemishes disappear. And the science is behind me on this one.
Studies show that shifting focus from what we are lacking (my sister’s quarantine glow-up) to what we are grateful for (21st-century tech) can increase satisfaction, motivation, reduce stress, and even increase feelings of purpose. So, superficial or not, admitting you’re grateful for that little button can open the doors to so much more.
5. I have not had to hear “Sweet Caroline” at a single frat party.
This is because there are none! Being socially responsible these days means keeping your circle small. My friends and I play board games until the sun rises and host dinner parties with cocktails we found on Pinterest. I’m constantly telling them how much I love them over a shared bottle of wine while they yell at me for hogging our shared bottle of wine.
But the scientists say that showing gratitude, even through slurred words, builds honest and lasting relationships — and in these times making new friends is simply not an option.
These may seem small, but little deposits of joy are what get us through big problems — big problems like 2020. Reflecting on all the things that went right in a day helps the bigger wrongs in the world seem a little more manageable.
You just read my list of 5 things I’m grateful for — so now I challenge you!
Take 5 minutes and jot down 5 things that make your life better. Big or small, it doesn’t matter, just write them down.
The big brains at Harvard say that keeping a gratitude journal leads to an optimistic outlook and lowered blood pressure: two things we could all use this year. Just look at me, I’m a liberal arts major graduating into a recession during a global endemic — and even I found something to smile about today.
If you like this, read my other piece on how to cultivate an Attitude of Gratitude Year-Round and learn how you can start a gratitude journal of your own.
Finally, I’m grateful I made it through my quarantine with a negative Covid result, and can spend the holiday with my family…after I make it through my finals, of course.
This piece was written by Isabella Leon!
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