Today was a weird day. This week I've been feeling pretty tired, bored and in some cases depressed. Although being in quarantine was not so difficult for me before, now, having passed more than 2 months in this situation, I am beginning to feel the consequences. Before I used to take advantage of my free time by doing things I really enjoyed. Do you remember? Now I feel with no energy at all, I feel I am not in the mood of taking action and doing something I consider “productive”. 

Today, coming to the end of this “lost week” (as I call it), I began to reflect and try to understand whether the way I am facing this social isolation is the correct one or not. I realized this just depends on me: why can't I feel as happy and productive as I felt a week ago? Because of my mind, my mind controls EVERYTHING. This situation is making me feel overwhelmed. 

So I decided to change, because this is up to me, and because changes are taking place in every section of people's lives: changes towards work, studying, human relationships. In this way, I came to the conclusion that my mind needs to adapt to this situation, as I can not change what is going on, and try to live it as if today was the last one. If today was the last day of my life, would I stay in bed, instead of spending time with my friends and family, instead of doing activities which make me feel happy and productive? No, definitely I wouldn't do so. So now, I´ill start living. I will start by organizing my mind, I will call my friends and talk to them for long hours, I will spend time with my family and I will do a gym class, which in fact I discovered makes me feel full of energy.

Because that's the only thing I appreciate from this situation: I have learned to be thankful for the things I have and take advantage of them. It also helped me know myself better, and in fact I became closer to my friends, although they are not with me physically.

Tuesday, 26th May

Dear Beltran, 

Hello! How are you? Thank you very much for your letter!! I have to admit I am facing this situation quite positively luckily. You asked me about the best moment I lived during quarantine; this was my fifteenth birthday, which took place the 2nd April. Due to the fact that people cannot leave their houses, my friends decided to celebrate this moment via Google Meet. When we finished this virtual celebration, I fell asleep. I was exhausted! The next morning, one of my friends organized a FIFA tournament, one of my favourite video games, which counted with 16 participants.  As I am good at playing it (I spend hours playing FIFA) I could move to quarter finals. However, when I arrived to semifinals, I had to face Felipe, one of the best players. I was mad because I didn't want to lose. I finally  won with a  2-1 victory. Nevertheless, I have to admit I was a bit nervous!  The final was with Mateo who isn't as good as me, so I let him win the tournament. All in all, this was the best moment lived during this lockdown, not only because it was my birthday, but also because I could play the tournament with my friends and enjoy an amazing time.

As you might already know, I love football, so my favourite activity these days is watching football. Football makes people gather at home to vote for the same team, shout for goals, and the emotions shared when watching a game are incredible. Moreover, it transmits values such as humility, as every player is at the same level; friendship, because football creates bonds of this value inside and outside the field; and teamwork, as each player is essential, has something to contribute, and victories or losses includes all the team. 

I was told that there, in the USA the pandemic has taken many lives. I now want to know about you!! How have you gone through the lockdown? Which are the activities which left your mind distracted? Have you kept in touch with your relatives? Hope everything finishes soon and we can meet each other someday. 

Love, 

Stefano

Firstly, if the questioned people were asked what this situation taught them, many of them would answer that they have now learned to value those little things they before took for granted. However, there are other who claimed they were taught more personal skills such as loving themselves the way they are. Moreover, there are also people who have been able to take advantage of the lockdown and discovered new hobbies. Surprisingly, the majority of those surveyed have changed their perspective towards their lives during quarantine. This is clearly demonstrated by the fact that 80% of them have stated so. In addition, just a 10% of people think they will act exactly the same after leaving the social isolation situation, whereas the other 90% have stated they think they will act differently, meaning their choices and values will differ from those before this quarantine. To continue, almost all those surveyed have had time to reflect and understand themselves in a better way, which can be justified by the fact that thirty-nine out of fourty have affirmed this. However, although most of them have been able to become closer to themselves, there is a 55% of people who did not become closer to their families. We can understand, in this way, that the lockdown has actually isolated them from their relatives. Furthermore, a significant number of those questioned believe their way of living will change after this quarantine. This is illustrated by the fact that 97.5% of them have claimed that they think the working and learning dynamics will differ from the actual ones. 

Besides, there is a large majority of those surveyed who were able to discover a new hobby. This statement can be clearly justified by the fact that 90% of them have stated so. However, those hobbies they took into consideration differ depending on each person. Whereas some began to practice  activities related to creativity such as writing, painting and drawing, others found a deep relationship with music and to listen to it frequently or play the ukelele. Moreover, others found staying active really interesting, as many claimed they discovered their love for yoga, gym exercises and meditation. However, there are also some people who focused on reading, playing video games and cooking. In addition, absolutely all of the questioned people have kept in touch with their friends and family. However, just some of them have met new people through social media, as only four out of the forty surveyed reported to do so. Furthermore, almost all of them have respected the quarantine. This can be demonstrated by the fact that 95% of the questioned people have stayed safe at home. Finally, they were asked what they would advice a person who was about to face this situation we are living today. Many of them suggested to try to stay positive and patient, while others concluded it was essential to find a hobby or an activity to spend time with so as to outpass this lockdown with a better mental health. Moreover, the surveyed people seem to be really optimistics, as the messages they left were full of hope, considering the fact that “things will always get better”.

All in all, people are generally facing this unmet situation the best way as possible, most of them have found an activity that inspires them, and makes them feel happy and relaxed, and they have also left hopeful messages. Taking into consideration the fact that they are all keeping in touch with their relatives, it is clear that they show empathy and love towards their families and friends.  Moreover, their values and choices towards life have been clearly stated, as they have laid all their cards on the table. For instance, they showed to be respectful individuals, as they have stayed at home during these days, as well as reflective ones, as this situation has made them reconsider different facts about life.