Where do I begin? When the whole talk of the coronavirus started, I honestly thought it was a joke or something. I didn’t think it would be something this serious and now here I am with a completely altered life. Will it return to normal in a month? Maybe two? A year? Who knows.

This semester has been anything but normal. One week I was talking with my roommates about spring break plans and the next we were all stuck at home saying, “what even happened?” It’s not like I had any other plans besides working and maybe going back home for a night, but still. It seemed like everyone had to cancel all their plans and were stuck at home wondering if we were going to be able to have normal classes again. I kind of liked the idea of having all online classes just because I’m able to work more, but then again I don’t get to see my classmates or professors again, so was it really worth hoping to stay online?

It’s definitely hard finding the motivation to want to do some of my assignments. I didn’t realize it was dead week until yesterday. I thought, “crap I haven’t started on my final projects yet,” and even after the split second of panic I still went back to what I was doing even though I know I could put that on hold and start on at least one final. This class I at least have a few deadlines every week that kind of help keep me on track, but Netflix and a puzzle sound so much more fun than finding newsworthy articles to tweet.

I’m still going to work full time and there’s rumors that we might try and start slowly opening up our store. It’s not that I’m scared for it to open, I’m pissed that the company is even considering allowing the store to open up right now. I don’t mind working because I can stay a safe distance from customers safely inside the store. If we we’re allowed to have customers come inside, I could possibly come into contact with people that might have the virus and then it would just be a disaster. Drive thru is all we need open until we see some kind of decline in cases.

Also, since this was the last semester of my senior year of college, I did miss out on many of my “lasts.” The last time I’d walk into the photography studio, the last time I’d walk through the student union, the last time I could show up unannounced into my professors office to say hi, and maybe even the last time I see some of my college friends. I have the opportunity to walk at graduation in the summer, but it definitely won’t feel the same as if I was able to walk in May like I was supposed to. I don’t even know if I want to walk in July then.

During this last semester I was also going hard at wedding planning. I found a dress, we picked a date, we found a venue and an officiant, we’ve even paid off a big chunk of deposits and portions of the vendors. Since the coronavirus slowly started shutting everything down, I’m stuck. Do I keep planning? Do we cancel? Do we move it? Do we still do it and just record it for everyone to see hopefully in the future?

There are many questions that I just don’t have an answer to and I know no one will. I’ve asked my parents and they just say, “do what you want to do,” but honestly, I don’t know what to do. I didn’t plan for this to happen. I’ve already decided to cancel my bridal shower, which isn’t too big of a deal but what do I do about the rest? Maybe I’m asking these questions to the public so someone can give me some kind of advice.

I know it’ll probably be a while before anything goes back to any kind of normal. One good thing to come out of this is it seems that our Earth is healing. No one knows how long this pandemic will last, but for now I guess I’ll just take it all one day at a time.

I’m running out of patience during this quarantine. I feel like I’m on a constant repeat cycle. Wake up, go to work, come home, do homework, sleep, and repeat. And I barely have the motivation to do homework when I get home. Only 14 more days till no more homework.

Something that has helped be a little bit of a distraction is a 3,000 piece puzzle my roommates and I are doing. We’re about halfway done, so hopefully we get it done the same time quarantine is over.

My roommates and I like to also go to a park by our house and play tennis or basketball. I don’t know if this is really allowed, but we only ever touch our own rackets and balls, so as long as we aren’t around strangers I don’t really see a problem with it.

I think something that helps me relax and cope the most during this quarantine is zoning out watching Netflix or doing my puzzle. I deal with many angry customers throughout the day. They’re mainly angry because we’re out of pastry items and breads and for some reason they think they’ll die without their cinnamon crunch bagel or their scones.

Don’t get me wrong there’s plenty of nice customers that come through, but sometimes I wish more people would just be grateful we’re still open and risking our health during these times.

I really hope this quarantine ends soon because I feel like I’m going to start going crazy. It’s taking a toll on my mental health. I want to be able to go home and see my dad. I want to be able to go to the pool this summer, maybe even a summer vacation. I just want to be able to leave my house and wander around Target for no reason.

Once this whole quarantine is over I also need to figure out what I’m going to be doing for the rest of my life. I’m graduating college and supposed to have an adult job figured out and know where I want to live, but I just don’t have too much of a plan for that. I knew I should of had a plan by now, but with this whole coronavirus, it kind of made me stop thinking about my future.

Who knows how long this is going to last. Who knows when I should actually be thinking about my future. Probably should be thinking about that now, but being stuck in side really drains your motivation.

Stuck in quarantine and need something new to watch? Tired of watching the same show and instead yearning to watch a new series on Netflix where hot and dumb people are trying to win $100,000? Well I’ve found the show for you.

A new show to Netflix called, “Too Hot To Handle” brings from around the world a group of hot, dumb, people, as some of the guests refer to themselves as. They’re all trying to win the grand prize money, but the catch is they aren’t allowed any kind of sexual activity, including kissing. This group was brought to the show because they are unable to make long lasting connections with people and only see them as a one-time sex object.

The purpose of the show is to take these high sex driven people and help them see the wrong in their ways. There’s a robotic cone named Lana that watches everything these people do to try and keep them on track to better development. When they mess up by kissing someone or do any other sexual acts, they lose money. How much money they lose also depends on what act they did. For example, a kiss between two people deducts the overall total by $3,000.

Every episode comes with its own twist of drama. Girls are fighting over guys. Everyone is fighting with their emotions. Some even fall back to old habits. The goal of the show is to see if this group of people who can barely go a day without sex can make meaningful connections with others and their own body.

Without giving away too many spoilers, there are a few members who leave before the end of the show and some new faces who join to see if they can tempt the others or grow with them. Some are even given opportunities to go on dates and spend time alone in a private suite, but even then, are unable to break the rules unless they want money taken from the funds.

For being a reality TV show about basically sex addicts trying not to have sex anymore, it did seem like they’re was some helpful workshops that would help the people grow and maybe even some of the viewers if they wanted to take a look at their personal self. The show was filled with plenty of drama (expected), but it wouldn’t be entertainment without it.

I don’t really know how to rate shows, but it’s quarantine season. If you’re needing a quick Netflix show to binge and looking for an extra dose of drama to spice up your life, I suggest this one.

The longer the state of Nebraska doesn’t issue a stay at home order, the more positive cases of coronavirus we’re going to have statewide.

The Kearney Hub’s Erin Duffy wrote an article titled, “Meatpacking plants are Nebraska’s newest battleground in war against coronavirus.” By this she means that cases are spreading all over in counties that have big meat packing plants like Tyson or JBS beef plant.

The positive case numbers are only going up and yet we’re still allowing people to go shopping and go to work. Pete Rickets even said that as of Monday more than 2,000 coronavirus tests came back and almost half were from either Dawson or Hall County. Hall County has Grand Island JBS plant and Dawson has a Tyson Foods, so no wonder the cases are so high there.

This article is important because Duffy highlights that if these outbreaks keep happening it’s only going to hurt the food supply chain. It hurts everyone who works there and everyone needing that food to survive. That includes grocery stores and farms that help supply the meat. Other plants that are employing thousands of workers are closed because of the amount of people who have gotten sick and died.

Duffy makes sure the readers know that the spread of the virus is happening rapidly throughout these meatpacking plants. We don’t realize that this is that bad of an issue in our state until we see that facilities that are important parts of our communities have numerous positive cases. The more cases that come up in the meat packing plants the more it’s going to hurt the meat industry.

In her article, Duffy points out that a job in the meat industry can’t be done from home and that these workers spend most of their time elbow-to-elbow with other coworkers. English isn’t the first language for many of these workers, so health news also needs to be translated into other languages so precautions can be spread throughout the plant.

The meat plant in Hall County, which Grand Island is located in, his home of the most coronavirus cases in Nebraska. There’s known to be at least eight workers at the Tyson plant in Madison County that have tested positive for the virus. The coronavirus seems to be getting closer to my home and my family. Hopefully people will start to take this suggested stay at home order seriously. Maybe the state will take it more seriously and turn it from a suggestion to a law that people need to stay home.

If we want the spread to stop, we need to be on the same page as a state. There can’t be some stores closed and others hoping to open. Nebraska is one of the few states that isn’t on a full lockdown and because of that our case numbers are constantly rising, and Duffy does an excellent job of reporting that.

The first question I get asked when people see my tattoos is, “what does it mean?” Then it’s always how many do you have, and don’t you know those are permanent? With the money I spend on my tattoos I sure hope they’re permanent.

I got my first tattoo when I was 17 in the back of a barber shop (sorry mom and dad) and from there I just kept getting more. I got my next one the night of my 18th birthday. It’s a stick and poke tattoo, which is basically an in-home tattoo. Don’t worry though we sanitized the needles and used real tattoo ink.

I don’t know why, but I’ve never been one to put a meaning behind my tattoos. They’ve always just been something that I’ve wanted and when I have enough money saved up and can still sit comfortably financially then I’ll go get one. I’m not even a big fan of getting words tattooed because I don’t care if my tattoos have a meaning or not. Getting words tattooed is definitely a meaning in some way. That being said I still managed to convince myself to get not one, but two different sayings tattooed on my body.

Now, this doesn’t mean that I think that people who have tattoos with real meaning behind them are silly. It’s their body and their choice. I don’t think it’s necessary for me to explain why I got Saturn, or a skull tattooed on my body. I had the money, I found designs I liked, and I decided to add some cool art to my body.

I’m all for getting deep, meaningful tattoos, but I’m also all for getting something tattooed that you want. If you like giraffes and want to get one tattooed on your body, then get one. Again, it’s your body your choice.

Besides people always thinking there needs to be meaning behind a tattoo, I’ve always wondered why people think they are unprofessional? I understand if there is vulgar language or sexual images tattooed onto a body, but other than that what makes these unprofessional?

The wedding company I work for requires me to cover all of my tattoos when I go to events, so I maintain a sense of professionalism and no, he doesn’t make me wear gloves to cover up the tattoos on my hand and wrist. Thankfully.

Either way just know almost all of my tattoos (and I have quite a few) don’t have a meaning. There doesn’t need to be a meaning behind everything we do.

When going through Twitter I realized I don’t follow many accounts that tweet newsworthy articles. So, I began a search and something that I found that started a topic I originally found on Facebook, but then quickly found many people talking about the subject on Twitter.

As many businesses are taking a financial hit from having to be shut down there is talk of an outlet mall in Nebraska to be opening its doors soon even though the number of cases for the coronavirus are still rising. Nebraska is one of the few states that is still allowing malls to stay open as long as they’re following the strict social gatherings rules the state has in place.

I understand wanting to open up businesses. I understand wanting to go and see family and friends again. I understand wanting to be able to do something that’s not considered essential. What I don’t understand is how people don’t see the severity of this virus.

The numbers of cases and deaths are only going up at this point. Governor Pete Ricketts is advising people still to only shop once a week and to shop alone. Everywhere we’re hearing from people stay inside, don’t come in contact with people, wear masks and gloves, only the essential can be out and working. So, why are people so eager to open up America again if the next thing I see in my news feed is how there’s a new confirmed case near me?

Local health experts said that opening businesses could undo any possible control of the virus that happened from people staying home. By allowing malls to open, even soft openings, we’re taking away from the progress we made to flatten the curve, but to continue to allow businesses to be open we’re just going to make matters worse.

The outlet mall says it’s taking precautions for the soft opening, but wouldn’t the biggest precaution to just stay closed until the spread dies down? It’s an ever-changing situation and I don’t think we need to be preparing to open up businesses. I understand it’s hard being locked inside with no work and no contact with people outside of the house, but it’s what’s best for us right now. It’s what’s best for the people in health care who are having to deal with these cases.

We don’t have enough health care workers right now to take care of us when all of America gets sick. Health care workers already seem overloaded with the 632,000 cases we already have. It’s one thing to be concerned about how being on a full lockdown might affect our economy, but we need to be worried about the health care workers who are constantly in hospitals taking care of coronavirus patients. They’re spending countless hours nursing people back to health and people want to risk it all just so they can go to an outlet mall.

There’s so many stories I could tell you about myself. I feel like I’m always doing something or something is happening to me. So, maybe this will be a little of a sadder story, but not all stories can be happy, right?

When I was about 12 my parents got a divorce. It was definitely something that seemed like it was coming for a while. My mom was in a work related accident when I was really young and so she hasn’t been able to work since then. My parents said they got a divorce because if they stayed together they’d go broke with having to pay all the medical bills, but later I found out it was for different reasons.

I kind of went back and forth between my dad and my mom’s house growing up so it felt like I was never in a stable spot. I spent a lot of time at my friend’s houses and they all took me in as their new family member. Eventually, my dad let his high school sweetheart and her three kids move in because their living situation wasn’t the best either. So, that left me with sleeping on the couch. We all thought it was best for me to move in with my mom so I could have a stable room and just visit my dad when I wanted to. My parents still lived in the same town so it was easy to walk or ride my bike from one house to another.

And then it seemed like things got even more rocky. My mom still hasn’t really been working since her injury, but has had a lot of issues with surgeries, pain, and her pain medication. There’d be multiple times I’d come home and she had taken her pain meds and wouldn’t be able to function properly. I was kind of forced to grow up on my own. I cooked for myself, I made sure I got to school and did my homework, once I turned 16 I bought a car and got a job so I was able to take care of myself.

Eventually, living with my mom wasn’t a good choice so after living with her full time for about a year my dad decided it was time I came back and lived with him. I knew there I’d have a hot meal every night, groceries in the fridge, parents who would make sure I was doing my homework, and people who would come to my sporting events.

Growing up it’s been a constant battle between my parents and I. It was always a fight of where I should stay, how I should be raised, and everything else parents fight about with their kids, but worse. They have two totally different parenting styles and definitely two different kinds of lives. I can see why they butt heads so much.

My parents having me go back and forth has definitely made me the independent person I am. And I’m definitely hard headed because of it. I’m the kind of person who has to do most things on my own, I can’t ask for help, and I have to constantly be working to be able to provide for myself. Maybe it hasn’t allowed me to loosen up a little, but I think I turned out pretty alright through the situations I was given.

Being stuck at home all the time has been driving me a little crazy. So, I’ve decided to try some crafts at home that I’ve been wanting to do for a while. I decided to do a reverse tie dye shirt and a new trend I’ve been seeing where people are bleaching parts of their jeans.

I grabbed items that I already had in my house to do these crafts. I know I would need a black shirt, a pair of dark jeans, rubber bands, a spray bottle, a sponge, and some bleach. I probably should’ve used gloves, but I didn’t have any so I just tried to be as careful as I could with the bleach.

First, I started out by soaking my black shirt in water to help it absorb the bleach. After I wrung out most of the water just so the shirt was damp, I grabbed a part of the black shirt and started twirling it in a spiral motion. I used the rubber bands to hold the shirt in place. If you’ve ever tie dyed anything then it’s the same exact steps, but I’m using a black shirt instead of a white one.

I used about five or six rubber bands to hold the shirt in place. I decided to do these projects outside so I could have some better ventilation and not have to inhale nasty chemicals while doing my projects. I then took my spray bottle full of bleach and started spraying one side. I could see parts of the black shirt turning a burnt orange color and I knew I needed to let the bleach soak up into the fabric for a bit, so I flipped over the shirt and started spraying the other side. Once I finished spraying both sides with the desired amount of bleach I let it sit outside for about 15 minutes. Once my time was up, I took it inside and started rinsing out the shirt.

Now that my first project was done, I moved onto the next one that was going to be a little more time consuming. I’ve seen some people who have bleached parts of their jeans cover the parts they want to leave the same in a sack of some sort and I knew I only wanted to do half of my pants. So I grabbed a spare Walmart sack (because we have a whole drawer full of them) and some tape so I could make sure I was only spraying bleach on the half I wanted to be bleached.

Once I had half of my pants covered up with the bag and tape I then proceeded to spray the exposed half with bleach. Once I had a good amount covered I took my sponge and used it to help rub the bleach into the fabric. I knew it was going to take a lot of bleach and some waiting so I switched between the front and the back of the shorts to help make the process a little quicker. I kept repeating this until the one side was the color I desired. I let the bleach dry just a little bit more into the fabric and then brought the pants inside to rinse out the excess bleach.

I knew after I was finished with both products I’d have to wash them to get both items full cleared of the bleach. So, once I was done with both the shirt and the pants I put them in the wash together and ran them on a quick clean cycle on cold cold. I prefer to air dry most of my clothes so I set them outside for a few hours and as easy as that I had a whole new quarantine outfit.

As schools across the nation started to close down, students feared for how the rest of their semester was going to play out. Student-athletes were stressed because their seasons we’re being cut short and for some, it could be the last time they’ll ever compete.

Brand Lemek, a senior golfer from Doniphan had her whole life flipped upside down after hearing the news of campus closing and sports being cancelled for the remainder of the spring semester. I mean what senior didn’t feel like they were going to miss so many lasts of their senior year. Most of the seniors are missing proms, time with friends, final times competing in sports, and even graduation.

Lemek has an immune deficiency that causes her to get extremely sick many times throughout the year. She also has a 20% chance to get the same lung disease her grandmother had and died from when she was one years old. Since COVID-19 caused campuses to close, she had to move back home with her parents, and it has been a little hard to adjust for her.

“Just because I’m not really allowed to go out and do anything right now, living at home kind of sucks I’m not going to lie,” said Lemek. “The only thing I can really do now is homework, play video games, and sometimes I just have to sit with myself, which isn’t fun.”

Lemek is one of the many people who struggles with her mental health. When the NCAA announced that spring sports we’re going to be cut short, she was at work and had one of the biggest panic attacks she felt she had ever experienced. This was supposed to be her final chance for her and her team to make it to nationals. They were so close last year and with more hard work and practice they were sure they were going to make it this year.

In the dorms Lemek had her roommates that would constantly support her and be there for her, but since she’s moved home, she’s struggled to keep in contact with every one and adjust to her new quarantine life. She knows her parents support her but knows it can be easier to talk to people your own age rather than your parents.

Along with adjusting to moving back home she has also had to adjust to a fully online course load. Her struggle isn’t with the course load, but more of having to find motivation to want to sit down and do her homework. It seems to be easier to go to class and turn in homework when you have to do it in person because we like to hold ourselves accountable for turning in our homework. At home we can easily get away with saying the internet is down or Canvas isn’t working at the moment.

With no real timeline of when this virus will pass, Lemek and other education majors are unsure if they will be able to student teach in the fall. Without student teaching they don’t fulfill their requirements to graduate which could potentially throw them off their plan to get a full-time teaching position at a school. This quarantine leaves a lot of uncertainty for everyone. We don’t know how long it will last and there’s no way to prepare for it. We just have to take it one day at a time and hopefully keep some of our sanity along the way.

“I really don’t like quarantine life. I understand the concern of people’s safety, but it’s definitely affected my mental health a lot more than being at school did,” said Lemek. “It’s lonelier and even though I know have the chance to FaceTime someone I lose out on that face to face connection that helps lift my mood. When I’m alone for a long period of time, it just gets really hard for me mentally.”

Hello fellow readers. Here’s another post about how I am basically surviving quarantine life.

Also, anytime I have to go out into public during this virus and even before then I always want to play, “Don’t Stand So Close To Me,” by The Police. I like my personal space so if you haven’t heard it before give it a listen now.

Since we’ve had to go to a more quarantine lifestyle I’ve had to alter my lifestyle a little bit. I’ve been able to keep my job (for now) and have gotten more hours since many people are going on furlough. I continue to do my school work (even though I feel like I’m still on spring break) and am figuring out how to do certain assignments. One of my classes is photography at The Antelope where I have to take photos of things going on around campus, but now there’s nothing. So, that class I’m having to improvise photos a little.

Something that is helping keep my sane during this quarantine has been the nice weather. I’ve been going on bike rides, runs, my roommates and I have gone to the park to play basketball, catch, tennis, and we even went frisbee golfing. When the weather was a bit gloomy that was driving me crazy because I felt cooped up inside of my house. And yes I know I could’ve gone outside, but I get cold so easily I just wanted to sit under a warm blanket with my coffee.

One good thing about quarantine I guess is it’s allowing me to be a little more creative in my crafting. I’ve had some bake clay for a while, which I’m hoping to turn into a pot for a new plant. I also have some more time to paint some new art work for my house. I also have plenty of time now to make some new ankle bracelets for my friends. I made a bunch my freshman year of college for my friends and over the years they’ve worn down and broken so now I can make some quarantine bracelets for them.

The latest thing my roommates and I have started is a 3000 piece puzzle. We got it last summer to do, but with everyone’s busy lives we only just started it now. So, what better way to try to stay home than to try and complete a 3000 piece puzzle before quarantine is over.

I can say I am really itching for quarantine to be over though. I want to be able to go to Target and wander aimlessly. I want to wander around campus again and laugh at the squirrels. I want to be able to go to a swimming pool and feel like I’m in middle school again by jumping off the diving board. I want to be able to go on some kind of summer vacation.

Basically, I’m enjoying some more of this free time I’ve gotten from the quarantine, but I am really excited to be able to leave my house freely.