The QuaranTEEN Life: Then and Now

We gotta say, this “new normal” is admittedly not very “new” anymore. After all, it’s been nearly two years of endless lockdowns, not ever meeting your friends, struggling to focus during online class, and drowning in a tsunami of never-ending requirements. Though, looking back, we hadn’t always resented this “new normal”. In fact, if we’re going to be completely truthful, it was interesting and even exciting back in the beginning of March 2020, when we were getting our first tastes of a new way of living. So in this article, we will list the events that happened during our quaranTEEN days at home, then and now, and how we’ve changed as a result of them.

MARCH TO MAY 2020

The Self-Study Program (also known as the SSP) was a memorable experience. For those who may not remember what the SSP is, it was Jubilee’s first ever attempt at completely remote learning. From our time in the SSP, we learn that there are two types of students: the ones that actually read through the handouts and answer the exercises given, diligently answer the graded homework, and attend the weekly meetings to discuss their queries with the teachers -- OR the ones who only briefly scan the handout and cram the homework last minute. Although, if there’s anything both types have in common, it’s having group studies and then completely forgetting the SSP lessons right after. We suppose grade-consciousness and forgetfulness are simply universal.

JUNE TO SEPTEMBER 2020

Summer break 2020 was definitely a unique one to say the least. No traveling locally or abroad, no meeting family or friends, no extracurricular activities like arts classes or swimming lessons. Just an indefinite staycation. With everyone stuck at home, personal development trends blew up: following exercise regimens, becoming a “plant-tito” or “plant-tita”, learning a new skill, getting a pet, starting an online business -- the list goes on. We took the chance to invest in ourselves, deciding to take our free time and use it productively in the hopes that we might come out of the quarantine feeling fabulously fresh and new.

If there’s anything that will come out of this extended quarantine, it’s the precious time we’ll have spent with our families. The games, mealtimes, and movie nights spent together with our loved ones are memories we’ll one day look back on with fondness when the whole pandemic is but a distant past, retelling these stories to our children, grandchildren, and the future generations. There’ll always be moments of light like these in the darkness.

SEPTEMBER 2020 TO MAY 2021

Ah yes, the first year of actual online class. It was an upgrade to switch to Google Classroom from iTunes U. And really, the plus sides of online class were showing themselves: Eating in class? Who’s eating? Not you. All anyone sees are your eyes and forehead, if your camera is on at all. Tired of sitting down? Go lie on your bed and bring your device with you. Teacher calls you? Unmute and recite, go back to watching Youtube. Not to say that we recommend or encourage these things, but you’ve got to admit that it happens.

However, the more accustomed we got to virtual learning, the longer the list of downsides slowly grew: disconnecting during a meet, worrying about whether your device’s battery will last, lazily creating a meet for every group work, and of course, the “Will my test please turn-in already I’m going to be late” and the “Why did my answers not save--”. The classics.

JUNE TO AUGUST 2021

This second quarantine summer break was much-needed and much-appreciated for the students and teachers. We’d exhausted pretty much all the activities one can do at home, from sleeping and waking up late to never meeting our friends. All these considered, life got pretty repetitive and wasn’t doing much favors to our physical, emotional, social and mental health.

It’s also at this point where you realize just how fast time flies. One year of quarantine, gone in a blink. One year of our lives, taken. Like, what did we even do? Such questions really make you think about how we spend our time.

SEPTEMBER TO DECEMBER 2021

This school year has been a ride, if not physically, definitely mentally. Work, compounded by the effects of a year and a half’s worth of social deprivation and routine lifestyle, has made our day-to-day lives admittedly a chore to go through. It’s become so normal-- staying indoors, texting friends instead of meeting them, spending hours a day on the screen as your window to the outside world -- and it’s scary how we’ve adapted to such a detached way of living.

Yet despite all this, we find glimmers of hope that all this will come to pass soon. Other countries have moved on, now calling the situation an “endemic” rather than a “pandemic”. The Philippines has recently started opening vaccinations for kids 12-17 years of age. Quarantine restrictions are being lifted in all parts of the world, with some countries even having reached herd immunity.

And just like our rapidly shifting society, we’ve definitely seen changes in ourselves, if not in our habits, in the way that we interact and value the people and things around us. Despite what it seems, all of us have grown and matured as individuals who have learned the effects of loss, realized the good and bad change can bring, and found our own ways of moving forward. The pandemic has taught us not to take anyone for granted, to treasure every beautiful moment we have, and to always hold hope for the future.

There will always be hope to be had; hope to return to our old way of living, mixed with the improved technology and systems we’ve developed during our time inside, no matter how slowly the process may take. All we need is to hold on however much longer, a feat that can be accomplished with our friends, our families, and our faith. We’ll come out of isolation, if not fabulously fresh like we initially dreamed, stronger and more experienced, knowing the full extent of how much we can endure. And, knowing what we had, what we lost, and what we’ve regained, we’ll come out of quarantine more grateful for our blessings, our loved ones, and for the gift that is life.

Cover Image Reference:

At Home [Online Image]. (n.d.). 2EC. Retrieved from https://www.2ec.com.au/news/coronavirus-updates/99254-10-self-quarantine-activities

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Article Images provided by Cate Ong