My Life During the COVID-19 Pandemic Experience Essay

Ever since the pandemic occurred in March, 2020, I’ve needed to find things to do to keep myself together. During the beginning of the pandemic, I became bored pretty frequently. I couldn’t see friends, family, or even go places. It felt like I was trapped in this teeny tiny little box with no air to breathe. I was completely isolated. I spent most of my days in my cold, dark room. I began to spiral into a deep depression which I sometimes even deal with to this day. At first, I  was scared to get sick. When we needed to go to the grocery store, I would always walk far away from others. Most people would do the same as me. We would look at each other and sprint ahead. Many people were fearful at the beginning of the pandemic. But once everyone started to get used to the regular pandemic life, I got extremely bored. It was almost as if I was stranded on a desert island with no people or resources. That’s what my room feels like most of the time. Instead of providing a comforting feeling, my room makes me feel alone and vulnerable. In order to entertain myself, I’ve found some things to do.

I’ve always been a huge lover of movies and shows but especially during the pandemic was when I truly got into them. With the help of my close friend, Jared, I was able to find really good movies through an app called Letterboxd. On the app, people rate their favorite movies and give reviews about them. I got really into it even more recently. Writing reviews about movies is really fun too. When writing them, it’s like I get lost in the typing. I forget I’m typing because I’m so focused on my review. It’s a good feeling. I know it may sound stupid but it really is enjoyable. When I’m watching movies or shows, I’m completely distracted from everything else. There’s no problems in life. 

Kinda like movies, music also helps me cope in life. If I’m having a bad day or feeling sad, I hop on to my comfy bed, put in my airpods, turn my LED lights to blue and listen to some tunes. It’s honestly a great sensation. Music makes me feel all kinds of things. Sometimes I even notice myself tapping my foot to the beat. It’s so surreal to me that our body can do that without us even realizing it. We can truly get caught up in the music. I can always picture myself in the music, if that makes sense. It probably doesn’t but it’s like I’m living in the story behind the lyrics. I can always see myself in different locations for each song. Whenever I’m listening to Nirvana, I picture myself at a party, sitting in the bathroom, laughing with friends, the room filled with fog, and having a good time. If I’m listening to Frank Ocean, I picture myself swimming in an ocean where the water is a beautiful shade of blue and the sun is kissing my face. I also love making playlists too. I’ve created one for each mood that I feel during a typical day. Every time I click the little “+” button on the Spotify app to add a song to a playlist, I feel giddy. 

If it weren’t for my best friends Ava and Jared, I would be a disaster. I would be even more depressed than I already am. They’ve helped me in so many ways. I remember this one time where I had gotten in a fight with my now ex best friends, and they were there for me. We facetimed around 1 am because I couldn’t sleep because I had an anxiety attack. A week later, we played Jailbreak till 3 in the morning and they made me laugh, something I hadn’t done in a while ever since I had lost my ex best friends. The thing that I love about my friends is that they share the same interests as me. It’s honestly shocking how alike the three of us are. We’ve got similar music tastes, movie tastes, and we are all extremely sarcastic. Ava and I had just recently binged the Twilight Saga movies. At first we only watched it for laughs but then we got really into it and had an amazing time. We huddled under the blankets in my purple tinted room, watching many films on my flat screen tv that faced our direction. Environment is very important to me when watching movies. I know that sounds stupid and dramatic. The best environment is having a clear room, not too warm, not too cold, but a median temperature. If it’s freezing, I end up having these tiny little goosebumps all over my body. When it’s too warm, I’m sweating and burning up. Blankets are also the best for watching movies because they provide this comforting sensation which helps me relieve stress. It’s almost as if blankets suck up the stress and negative energy from your body.

Even though my mental health isn’t truly at its best in the present, movies, music, and friends have helped me cope with life during the pandemic. Each thing provides comfort, calmess, and entertainment. Those are key factors for being stable during the pandemic. I’m thankful for the things that have helped me in life for the past year because without them, I’d be even worse.