My name is Chloe Abrams and I am a junior at Calabasas High School. Although the virus has not necessarily affected my class as much as the seniors, I still miss my friends, school and the freedoms I used to have. Waking up and going to school everyday used to feel like a burden, but now little things like seeing my friends and classmates in the morning is what I miss the most. Due to the Coronavirus and the social distancing order in Calabasas, students have been participating in online classes every day. For me, being isolated is bitter-sweet because I really like my new schedule which allows my classwork and homework to be lighter, but not seeing people everyday has really changed my life. Days in quarantine are long, but setting up a check-list schedule for each day has been an easy way to speed them up.

My days usually start off with waking up and checking into class whether I have an actual meeting or just assignments to complete. Even though going to bed later has become part of my new routine, waking up has not been that hard because I can attend my classes while I am in bed. The time between my first period and second period classes is when I usually go downstairs to make coffee, eat breakfast and say good morning to my family. My friends and I have also started to Facetime call during this faux nutrition, because it is when we would have normally been sitting together and eating. After my third period is complete, I am usually done for the day school-wise and can begin my new at-home daily routine which I have created with my family. My schedule usually consists of drawing or painting until lunchtime. After my lunch, I go upstairs to get ready for my day and put my workout clothes on, clean my room and make my bed. My sister and I do about an hour long workout every day, around the same time, which has assisted in reducing boredom. Due to the fact that my sister would always be busy with work, spending time with her while doing daily activities with her is really nice and has made our bond much stronger. Afterward, my family may go on a walk but if not, I take a shower and change back into more comfortable clothes. Now that I am back to being cozy, I push myself to get all of my homework done so that I am not too stressed out for the rest of the week. During this time, I also play music or watch Netflix. Now that all my homework is done, the late afternoon is approaching and I can either just chill out and watch more Netflix or my family and I play board games. I really enjoy doing this because it is the time of the day where I can just be lazy and relax. Then, either my siblings and I or my parents make dinner for all of us. Once dinner is done and everything is cleaned up, my family and I usually watch a movie. Movies usually bring the night to an end because, by the time the movie is over, I am extremely tired and go upstairs to get ready for bed. This cycle repeats when the day is over and has been extremely helpful to decreasing boredom and keep my mental health positive.

Technology has played a huge role in maintaining my friendships because being able to text and Facetime has been the easiest way to keep in touch with my friends. My friend group also discovered Netflixparty.com,which has made chatting with friends while watching the same movie/show on Netflix possible, and has been really fun to participate with my friend group. Despite the fact that quarantine can be mentally draining, creating a daily routine is an exciting way to stay active and to try new things.