BIANKE NEETHLING

During the lockdown, many students may be struggling to find ways to keep busy. Without the constant interaction of campus life, it is easy to feel isolated. PDBY asked some UP students how they are spending their time during this mandatory period of social distancing.

 

I’m taking this lockdown as a great opportunity to rest and take things slow. I sleep late in the mornings and go to bed late at night. When it was recess, I didn’t do any work because it was my time to rest and just enjoy the vacation. As [April] started, I started to read books for Uni because […] I want to be prepared. I also started revising my work every day but not for too long, just to make sure I still understand everything and am up to date. Other than that, I just enjoy the lockdown, am taking things slow, exercising a lot and just relaxing.

 

 

Being home-bound for the past couple weeks came as a real shock. […] It all came to a halt quite abruptly leaving me to question what I actually enjoy doing in my free time. […] Having a routine is important to me, so I try to ensure that I have a set sequence of events that I perform throughout the day. Some of these include catching up on series, exercising and taking a walk through the garden whilst listening to some music. I feel I’ve developed a new passion for cooking as well. […] I’ve also made it my goal to spend more time with my family. […] It’s hard to completely ignore the mountain of work that is waiting for us when we return to varsity, so I try to be as academic as can be. […] My thinking is that if we maintain this working mentality, then transitioning back to full-time class will be that much easier. We are constantly bombarded by negativity in times like these and so I feel it’s important to maintain a positive attitude […] In the words of Tupac Shakur: ‘For every dark night, there is a brighter day’.

 

Being stuck indoors during this unfortunate lockdown and the recent release of Call of Duty Modern Warfare’s new Battle Royale, Warzone, has brought out the worst of my innate loafing ability. I say this since repeatedly failing at achieving anything significant. In-game has replaced all the ambitious goals centred around being academically productive I laid out for myself during the frantic drive back to the Western Cape. Gardening has also become an unexpected side-hobby. Thus, […] the lockdown already seems to be having some curious results. Hopefully, catching up with the work I was already behind with will become one as well.

 

 

As a second year law student you never quite feel like a break is actually a break but rather a time to get back on track. I have used some of my time during lockdown to help prepare for the workload that I am inevitably going to face once we get back to university. […] I decided to counteract the stress and uncertainty that accompanies [the lockdown] by taking time for myself and doing things that I enjoy such as reading, exercising, journaling, writing, and spending time in my garden, usually with my camera at hand. After a few days, I realized that I was capturing my experiences, and the things I was doing in photographs and decided to start an Instagram page […]. It has been hard to remain positive in this scary time in the world, but I have found that by doing something small for myself everyday it has allowed me to calm my nerves with regards to the situation.

 

[…] Since I have been given so much time at home, it forced me to be more creative. Some days all I do is Netflix and chill, but then I decided to wake up every morning and write a page a day. […] After all this is over, I will be able to go back and read my thoughts I had during the lockdown. Besides polishing my writing skills, I exercise regularly. From home-workouts to dancing in my living room, I aim to keep active. I have also been studying and making notes to keep myself motivated through this time of isolation. As lovely as it is to be home, I am waiting in anticipation to be able to go outside and experience the world again.

 

Illustrations: Promise Zulu

Photos: Provided