Today is April 4, and I woke up slowly to the sound of my parents filling my cat Daisy’s food bowl. I knew later in the day they might remind me again that taking care of her is my job, but I just felt really tired this morning and could not get out of bed. When I finally managed to step into the kitchen, I headed straight for my laptop — today is a huge workday, and I realized I had little time left to lose: the three day grace period Columbia Public Schools has implemented for students from April 1 to April 3 in the hopes of promoting health over schoolwork for the moment has merely pushed my deadlines for class assignments closer together. I was determined then, despite my earlier laziness, to get my tasks done so I can relax later.

I started off by finishing my chemistry homework. I originally thought there was a quiz we needed to take, but it turns out there were only some notes to finish. I learned about energy bar charts today, which aren’t too difficult so far. Then, I wanted to complete my math test, but it was almost 11 a.m., which is when my fast stopped today. I fast daily for weight purposes as well as to control my compulsive eating. I do so by using the app Zero,which has options for different fast lengths and reminds me when to break a fast or start one. Typically, I go for 16:8 intermittent, meaning that I have a 16 hour period of not eating with an eight hour window of time allotted for eating. I took up finishing the piece of art I started yesterday to resist the urge to chow down until lunch.

I added lots of details to the face, most notably the eyes. I also redid the entire outline of the person, which I find to be a nifty way to make sure there aren’t any awkward lines or curves. Even so, I want there to be imperfections, such as coloring outside the lines, in my drawings to add life into the piece. At one point, my mom stopped by and asked what was on the girl’s face. The reference photo (which I found again) shows it’s a band-aid. My mom jokingly commented the spots I put on mine looked like roly polies, which I thought was an interesting observation. Perhaps I will draw some pill bugs later, just for fun. 

When I felt satisfied with the rough drawing, I started making brunch. In the beginning, I had planned to make the same meal as yesterday [vc_images_carousel images=”330216,330218″ img_size=”full” mode=”vertical”] (some leftovers and veggies on bread with sour cream), but my dad actually ate the last piece of bread, so I resorted to using leftover rice. I started off by sautéing sliced carrots, a small orange pepper, half an onion (I love caramelized onions), some cauliflower and stirred in a bit of rice when everything was thoroughly cooked. 

I suppose some  fried rice, but I think of it more as stir-fry because I didn’t add eggs while cooking. Originally, I was going to sprinkle in some turmeric along with the usual salt, black pepper and soy sauce, but I tried that yesterday and the taste was just a bit too strong for me, especially when the spice collected in the nooks and crannies of the cauliflower. I did add in a fiery tomato-chili sauce (老干妈), however, to give the dish an extra kick. My parents had left another hard-boiled egg for me after they finished eating, so I tossed that in the bowl too. Daisy was sleeping this moment and did not come begging for the treat; I was happy to keep a whole egg to myself. 

Now that I was content and no longer hungry, I started on my Advanced Placement (AP) Calculus AB test over using integrals to find the area and volume of objects. It took me roughly two hours to finish, but I missed just one question, which I was pretty psyched about. I moved on to the AP Classroom progress reviews, which prep the class for the AP exam, but I didn’t realize how long they would take me. For the next hour, I sat there, working on math problems. Near the end of the first review, I realized how anxious I felt; I had been on overdrive for a few hours at that point, so I frantically looked around for snacks to comfort my tired brain. 

By now, I had eaten so much but barely budged that I wanted to jump rope for three two-minute intervals, resting for a minute or two in between. Jumping rope allows me to get exercise without needing to go outside or be too active, unlike running, which triggers my asthma. My mom actually stopped me in the middle of a jumping interval, though, because she said I was stirring up dust and Daisy’s cat hairs off of the carpet. There weren’t other suitable places at home left except the kitchen or outside, but I didn’t want to jump rope in either of those places. Leaving me without a choice, I went back to work on my AP English Language and Composition homework. 

The rest of the day was incredibly boring. I pretty much just tried to complete all of my homework in the hopes I would get some free time tomorrow to relax and play video games all day; overall, it’s still a weird experience trying to get everything done online, even if that’s how I’ve usually prefered working. Despite my doubts about the occasionally unreliable connections and methods of turning assignments in, I’m deeply grateful today’s technology allows me to continue learning from home. 

How are you balancing health and studies during the quarantine? Let us know in the comments below.