by Ian Curtis, staff reporter

We are in the midst of a historic time in our society. Covid-19 has cancelled pretty much every event in the country. If you don’t already know about that, I hope the rock you’re living under at least has air conditioning. (And some hand sanitizer.)

Unprecedented levels of boredom are sweeping teens across the nation. During this crisis, one question is being asked more than any other: what do I do with all this free time?

Even without being able to leave your house, there are still many ways to use and enjoy your time in quarantine.

1. For starters, there’s the obvious solution of working on schoolwork that you have probably been putting off for weeks. Use the break to get ahead of everyone else who will probably keep slacking off, even with this time off. 

1. Along similar lines, try giving your room, car, or other space a Spring Cleaning. It may not be fun, but starting is half the battle, and it can be extremely rewarding once you’ve finally finished.

Both of those things can be very relieving, and you’ll probably thank yourself later when they need to be done. That said, they’re also quite boring and personally I’ll be waiting until the last possible moment to do both of them.

There are plenty of more fun ways to spend your time at home. You can try exploring the internet, for one thing. So many interesting sites can be found when you just start messing around and get lost down a rabbit hole.

1. My personal favorite of these is a place I found called Radio Garden. It’s a free website where you can stream almost any radio station from almost any place in the world at any time. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it goes to show that just a little bit of searching can turn up some of the internet’s hidden gems.

Now we come to another major problem of staying inside for weeks on end. A lack of social interaction. For some people, this isn’t too much of a problem (looking at you, introverts). But for others, not being able to go out with their friends every weekend is a nightmare. 

1. However, there is still hope. You may not be able to chat with your normal friend group, but that’s okay. Use this opportunity to make some new friends. Maybe it’s someone you’ve wanted to talk to but never worked up the nerve, or maybe it’s someone you’ve never met. There are several websites and communities where you can find a pen pal if that’s what you’re looking for. Either way, now is the best time to try to talk to them; everyone can bond over their current collective boredom. Maybe something special will happen. Who knows?

Now is the time to do whatever you feel like doing. Always wanted to learn a language? Well go on and start it up! Enjoy singing but embarrassed about your skills? Hold a concert for no one in your room, and try out some of those “terrible” dance moves. Nobody can call you out, and nobody can stop you!

Being stuck at home for weeks on end isn’t something anyone was hoping for this year. That doesn’t mean you can’t make the best of it. There’s always a way for you to make this time yours, and come out ahead whenever this mess finally ends.