Hello, world! Today is Wednesday, March, 18.

Welcome to the first day of quarantine for Columbia Public Schools (CPS) students. After two days of speculation and anticipation, Superintendent Dr. Peter Stiepleman announced yesterday that starting today, CPS will be having school online until April 13.

Last night as I was getting ready for bed, I looked out our front window to check the ground for snow. I know how crazy it sounds, but a snow day seemed like a far more understandable and reasonable explanation for why I wouldn’t be going to school today than the COVID-19 pandemic. As a second semester senior, through my reserves of motivation and careful scheduling I’ve been waging war against senioritis just to be caught off guard by a surprise blitz attack by the coronavirus. Or, as my brother likes to call it, the “roni,” pronounced like “macaroni.” While I had four years to prepare for the lack of motivation senior year brings, there isn’t really a way to mentally prepare for a pandemic.

I’ve been feeling under the weather, exhausted and stressed out for the last few days, so instead of cracking down on school work like I usually would on a Wednesday, I treated today like a productive sick day. For the first time in what felt like a small eternity I got a full 9.5 hours of sleep on a “school” night and woke up feeling energized. I even had an actual breakfast, lunch and dinner at their semi-usual times, which for me is a big accomplishment. After a productive morning starting season five of Criminal Minds on Netflix and checking in with my fellow journalism staff members, I at last worked up the courage to confront the pigsty that was my room. 

Let me set the scene for you: If crime scene investigators were to enter my room before I’d cleaned, I am certain they would find at least four different food substances, a pile of clothes that looked less like a mountain and more like a slowly oozing volcano as it destroys the surrounding village and a carpet so desperately in need of vacuuming even my cat wouldn’t dare to lay down on it. 

I put on some music, and after a 15 minute period during which I discovered I no longer like any song I’ve listened to in the last six months, I got to work folding clothes, picking up piles and removing the dust, dirt and grime that has accumulated since summer. To spice things up, I even took out all the old shoes, soccer balls and volleyballs I’ve stashed under my bed. I sorted the shoes into “keep” and “donate” piles, realizing if they are covered in dust then I’m probably not wearing them anymore. As for the balls, I somehow decided I needed to inflate all of them, so after about 20 minutes of pumping them up they returned to their original shape. For anyone who has not yet vacuumed, it was life changing. I can finally see my floor and not want to cry.

Although I made the decision not to change out of PJs all day, I did check in with my Advanced Placement (AP) Psychology teacher and class and read the various emails my teachers sent out. While the content was different, each one had basically the same message: be safe, stay on top of work, teachers are figuring out technology. These emails were a tether to the real world of school, grades and peers, but they didn’t seem quite real. It felt more like I was reading screenshots from students halfway across the world who were switching to online education rather than witnessing the reality of my life for the next month or so.

Since I felt I’d been productive, at least in relative terms of leaving my bed and picking up after myself, I ended up taking an impromptu nap from 4:45-7:15 p.m. I’m not sure if 2.5 hours counts as a nap anymore, but I’m guessing my body really needed that rest, especially after only sleeping about five hours Monday night after producing an entire paper. So, I’m not going to complain. Hopefully I can adhere to a regular sleep schedule soon, but for now I’m hoping my body and mind will become more well-rested if I allow myself to sleep.

As accomplished as I feel for making myself do more than Netflix and chill, I still didn’t get around to taking a shower, so I’m feeling pretty grimy. I’ve heard stories of people who’ve gone into quarantine and end up letting go of all personal hygiene, which I can completely understand given the circumstances, but I know when I don’t clean up I end up feeling less mentally healthy and more unmotivated, so I’m trying to make an effort every day to do something positive that will improve my mental health. Today, that was allowing myself to sleep in and feel rested. Tomorrow I’ll shower, which I think my whole family will thank me for.

I’m not an incredibly social person (I’m usually too busy with school to spend time socializing after school or in the summer) so for now I’m not feeling the loneliness of social distancing. I am worried, however, that with enough time I’ll go slightly crazy if I’m only around my parents and brother. As of now my brother is still working, and since both of my parents are teachers for CPS they are figuring out how to make their curriculum work in this new situation.

I think this is a time of adjustment for us all. With the first Boone County COVID-19 related death today, the reality of this pandemic is starting to hit close to home. While for the time-being not having in-school class seems surreal, I’m hoping everyone can adjust quickly. I know as a student taking four AP classes and preparing for the courses’ respective tests, not being in a school building every day will present a challenge in understanding certain content pieces and furthering my education. I suppose we can only hope for the speedy arrival of good news and remain optimistic in this historical period of uncertainty.

I’ve never been one for endings (I can’t seem to find quite the right words), so I think I’ll stick to borrowing other people’s, at least for now.

“Of all the qualities, I think that perhaps Grace just might hold the absolute and undisputed title of most underrated.” — Tyler Knott Gregson, poet

What was your first day like? Let us know in the comments below.