Blog #5 - A Unique Birthday

By Brenna Cohoon

A typical day in my life over the past week and a half has been far from exciting.  I have found myself trying to provide each day with some kind of structure that leaves enough room for flexibility.

On my e-Learning days, I wake up around 8:00 or 8:30 am, enjoying the opportunity to sleep in while I can.  I eat breakfast, brush my teeth, and usually get started on some homework.  I spend the majority of the morning and afternoon completing assignments, taking occasional breaks to eat, talk to a friend, or scroll through social media.

Upon the completion of my homework, I go on my daily run.  With the uncertainty surrounding the remainder of our track season, this has been the perfect time to get in some solid mileage and shake out my legs after a whole day of being cooped up inside of my house.  That first breath of fresh air and step into the breezy outdoors are refreshing, to say the least.

In order to comply with the rules of social distancing, I have been running alone the past several days.  I pop in my earbuds, play some music, start my watch, and then I’m off.

Sometimes, my runs drag on and I struggle with trying to keep myself upbeat and motivated.  At other moments, I’m just cruising along, enjoying a sense of inner-peace.  I take in everything around me, grateful that I can still get out and move.

After my run, I do a variety of strength and mobility exercises to get my body moving in a slightly different way and complement my training.

The evening winds down as I eat dinner with my family and the four of us watch TV or a movie.  The other night, we decided to change things up by starting an ongoing game of Monopoly.  Having the opportunity to spend so much extra time with my family has been a major benefit of these otherwise frustrating circumstances.

Weekends or weekdays without e-Learning look a little different, placing less of an emphasis on schoolwork productivity and more upon relaxation and family interaction.  I usually get my run in earlier in the day, so I have the rest of my time to do some other activities I enjoy.

Life isn’t super glamorous while in quarantine, but I’m starting to accept that it isn’t supposed to be.  The days are passing slowly now so we can prioritize everyone’s health.  The more quickly people comply with the Illinois stay-at-home order, the more quickly things will return back to normal.

Last Thursday was a bit of an odd day.  I turned 18, and I can confidently say that this will be the most memorable birthday of my life.  Not everyone can say that they celebrated their birthday during a worldwide pandemic, so that’s pretty unique.

That day in particular was pretty normal (at least, normal in comparison to the last several days).  However, so many people in my life made it feel like such a special day.  I received numerous messages and phone calls throughout the duration of the day, as well as some visits from friends (don’t worry, we maintained a full six feet or more of distance between us as we talked across my front lawn).  My family still got a cake and sang to me, so things were very much the same as all other birthdays.  

My birthday left me feeling incredibly grateful for all of my friends and family.  They helped turn a less than ideal situation into an emotionally fulfilling day.  My birthday in quarantine is something I can look upon fondly in the future.

Even though we continue to be faced with so much uncertainty, there are ways to look at the current situation in a positive light.  Although my mindset continues to change on the daily, I somehow find a way to ground myself and mentally reset.  While it is important to acknowledge the range of emotions that comes with our new normal, I am going to keep working hard in all areas of my life to find the silver linings.