How I kept myself entertained during the covid 19 pandemic
Date: October 04, 2021 |Published by: MIU
Introduction;
Hello! I am Krishie, 19 years old and I’m a final year Diploma in Mass Communication student. The covid-19 pandemic has been a really big hit in my life because of various reasons but I will pin point it into one; my MBTI type is an INFP, these personality types always have an imaginative mind and constantly need stimulation to live, be it a small vacation or a beautiful hike. I am used to visiting beautiful new places every weekend with my partner of 6 years and my uncle and aunt, these three people mean a lot to me and they have brought me into so many adventures.
But during covid-19, we could not meet each other anymore because we live in different states. A line sung by my favourite artist Lana Del Rey from her song ‘The Greatest’ sings; “we didn’t know that we had it all, but nobody warns you before the fall”, that is exactly how I felt about being separated from my loved ones.
- Getting yourself a pet.
Just like how they say, ‘the grass is always greener on the other side’ I had my bright sides too and that is what I will be sharing here! For starters, I got myself a cute little hamster followed by another one that was gifted to me from my mom, their names are Paimon and Kotaro, I have to say, having fluffy little critters can make your life so much easier, not in terms of chores but mentally, ever since I got my first hamster Paimon, I never felt lonely in my own room, whenever I am hit with the blues and I need someone to look at me, I always remember I have my little fluffy girl (and boy!) and I can swear they can sense if I am sad and come up near the cage and let me pet them.
- Playing new games that will keep your mind occupied
I started playing this game called Genshin Impact after my friend recommended it to me. I am a diehard anime fan and also an absolutely LOVE adventure games that has its own puzzles and stuff and Genshin Impact is exactly that, the game of my dreams, though it’s a gacha game, it is extremely amusing to play and has a lot of puzzles that will give your brain a great exercise. After starting to play that game, I never felt lonely as I met so many friends there, the total number of friends are 45 in that game and I have maxed that number out, me being a lonely girl ever since I was at school, I never thought I would ever make this much friends in the future.
- Learning new hobbies
Before I got Paimon and Kotaro, I had another hobby, which was fishkeeping, I bought a 10 gallon tank just to fill it up with beautiful small fishes that were absolutely colourful and beautiful to see, keeping an aquarium can also relieve your stress when you look at them swimming so gracefully in the water with their beautiful and colourful fins and tails, I also hear the sound of water flowing from the filter everyday because my aquarium is in my living hall and thus keeps my mind at peace when I am doing assignments late at night in that place. Other than fishkeeping I have two more hobbies that I hold dear to my heart, crocheting and painting, crocheting is similar to knitting and I make cute little dolls out of it from just a bunch of yarn and stuffings! And as for my painting hobby, I made it into my own little business, I paint anime characters on glass and sell it to cover my uni costs! You can find my art account at @calypse.arts on Instagram!
- Watching new shows or Educational Documentaries
When it comes to shows, I love watching anime the most and I think most people know what an anime is but to summarize it, it is mostly animated Japanese shows. Anime changed my life when I first watched the series JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures and I found myself in a community that had the same tastes as me after years of solitude without friends. Anime also helped me find amazing friends, I have two best friends whom I trust with my life, one I met on Instagram, another one of my best friends is a Manipal student herself, we clicked through our mutual taste in anime and these two mean the world to me. If you want to watch anime, I would recommend shows like Attack on Titan (Shonen) and if you want something fun, I would recommend Fugou Keiji: Balance Unlimited.
But when it comes to documentaries or educational series, I have this favourite YouTube page called TedEd who teach amazing facts and short mythology stories, me being an absolute nerd for Greek Mythology or ancient Egypt mythology, TedEd is my go-to place to watch bite sized videos and seek knowledge because I cannot commit myself to watch hour-long documentaries, and not to mention their animations are always aesthetically pleasing to watch after a long and hectic day of assignments.
But to conclude all of this, everyone has their preferences when it comes to what they do to subside their loneliness and their blues, for me its anime, hamsters, fishes, TEDed videos and repeat, for others it might not work that way and there might be people who are more active than me, but sometimes we might not know about something until we try and that was my reason behind this short article from my mind. You can do whatever that makes you happy as long as it does not bring harm others or yourself and you do not have to fear judgement, in some cases if you can’t get hold of your thoughts, always reach out to a loved one or get help from a professional, there are so many people who take red flag calls for free, this pandemic has affected so many, even myself but always remember you are not in this battle alone. Live, and Let Live.
-Krishie, Diploma in Mass Communication-