Lauren Simpson // Blog Writer
It’s no secret that the vast majority of us are barely muddling through quarantine. We’re battling boredom, anxious about the world, and for a lot of us, back home with our parents and away from our friends and the things we’ve been looking forward to this semester. We now have a block of time where we have quite literally nothing to do. But it is still possible to stave off this ever-present boredom and distract ourselves for a bit. Here are some ideas to fill your quarantine vacation time:
Adapt your Favorite Book into a Screenplay
This is a good exercise for any VMA kids focusing on screenwriting or just for fun. This isn’t an assignment for class, and there aren’t any absolute rules. You can be creative and change it however you’d like. Writing out a screenplay and working out the mechanics with an outline already in place can help you look at specifics.
Throw your Pet a Birthday Party
Maybe you already know your pet’s actual birthday, but they don’t understand the concept anyway. Bake a cake for you and your family to eat. Give them some chicken with a candle in it and try to force a birthday hat on them. If you have confetti on hand, why? But go for it. Make them dance. To the best of your ability, try not to traumatize them. Take lots of pictures. Frame them. Cherish the memory. It’s almost Gemini season. If you have a pet, then it might be the right time to assign them a new birthday.
Learn a TikTok Dance
This might not seem immediately appealing to people who don’t like the app, but some of these dances are actually pretty difficult and time-consuming to learn! Almost all of us have declared that we will be working out and staying fit during the quarantine, most likely by looking up a workout video on YouTube. But only a small portion of us will actually do it more than once. Or at all. Learning a TikTok dance can be a fun workout. If you can find a partner, try the #PlankChallenge dance or if you’re on you’re own try Supalonely. Then you can force your family to watch you perform.
Make an Art Museum for a Small Critter
If you have a lizard or a gerbil, then it’s time to show them something fancy. Get a cardboard box and paint it white. Art museums are usually minimalist. Make some tiny canvases out of more cardboard with paper stretched over them and remake some classic pieces with your pet as the focus. Next, make a tiny red velvet rope out of string or pipe cleaners and weave it over toothpicks. Add whatever other tiny details you’d like, like a Polly Pocket doll as a security guard or a DON’T TOUCH THE ART sign. Then release your tiny pet into the museum. They deserve an outing too.
Make Temporary Tattoos
If you’re artistically inclined or you know someone who is, grab a sharpie and have said artist draw a design on you. Slap some baby powder on that sucker and then apply some hairspray. Your new sharpie tattoo should stay on for about a month. Copy designs you see online or make an original. There are no rules! The world is ending!
Make Some New Playlists on Spotify
Go on Spotify and organize your already existing library, or start some completely new ones. Pick some cute cover art and creative names for said playlists and make them public. Then tell your friends to go listen. Ask them if you should make a living as a DJ. Ignore them when they say “probably not,” and then do it anyway.
Get Really into Astrology
Become an expert. Research all the signs. Make binders dedicated to your research. Find out your exact time of birth and find your moon sign and your rising sign. Take it a step further and order some Tarot cards and learn how to do that. Take it another step forward and get some crystals. Then learn palm reading. Then become a witch. Really though, even if you don’t believe in astrology and all that jazz, it’s still fun to learn about. People used to believe that the lines on our hands were entire universes and deciphering them could define our futures as individuals. Pretty interesting stuff. All you have is free time.
Go Outside?
I guess? Not in the actual public. But maybe around the block?
Pick Some Pinterest Recipes and Become a Chef
Put Pixar’s Ratatouille on in the background and try some difficult recipes to master. If anyone learns how to make Eggs Benedict please let me know. I volunteer to taste test.
Go on Club Penguin
Rediscover your childhood and pick a mildly inappropriate new username if you can’t remember your old login. Mingle with the young kids who are meant to be on Club Penguin, or find the people your own age who also shouldn’t be on there. Go play Cart Surfer again–you know you miss it. Go fishing at the ski lodge. Get your squad to meet you at the Pizza Parlor and boom, that’s your socialization for the day. Throw a party at your igloo. This is not a sponsored message.
Have a Zoom Party
Especially if one of your friends is going to be a quarantine baby, throw them a birthday party! Make Evites: it makes it a classy affair. Meet all of your friends on Zoom at the designated time and have a cocktail, if you’re of age, or a mocktail if you’re not. Play some party games. Make some PowerPoint presentations to explain things to your dumb friends. Wear party hats. Wear party hats in every situation it is even mildly acceptable. Socialize! Play JackBox games! Enjoy!
Have fun. Even though things are pretty sucky right now, make the most out of your time off. Recharge. Acquire new skills. Talk to your family? Maybe. Pursue the things you haven’t had time for. But most importantly, stay out of public!