Coincidentally, the first week the Coronavirus pandemic over-lapped with the first week of Spring; and I was holed-up within the walls of my NYC apartment, day after day, doing a Spring Cleaning like I’ve never done in my lifetime. I opened old mail, shredding lots of papers and documents; had the courage to trash everything I hadn’t looked at/ touched/ used in over a year; boxed old clothing to donate; and started the Spring season feeling very light & refreshed, free from unnecessary clutter and in full bloom for the season.
After the week-long project, it began to settle in how isolating not only the liveliest city in the world has become, but also the world as we knew it before. Everyday the severity of the pandemic intensifies and more social-distancing rules go into effect. Eventually, you could no longer even ‘grab-and-go’ at Starbucks, and all nonessential businesses have closed down. Even Times Square is a ghost-town.
The pressure of a forced-isolation, with no freedom to hang out with friends, go out to eat, participate in the nightlife in the city that never sleeps which has fell into a deep slumber, led me to candidly relocate to Maine, where I can have a quaran-team in a serene environment that feels more like being on a vacation than in a prison within your own home. I’m aware that the majority of people don’t have the option to just pack-up, pick-up, and leave home; but still, we can all quarantine with purpose and in style!
QUARANTINING WITH PURPOSE:
Have you had things (such as personal goals) to do which have been placed on the back-burner due to the demands of day-to-day life? Well, being forced to not leave the house and not go to work gives us lots of free-time for self care, and personal growth and development. Some things on my bucket-list, such as traveling internationally to new destinations, are presently unachievable due to travel restrictions and the health risks associated with socializing these days; but on the other hand, I was able to finally tend to my hobby (blogging) after over a year of inactivity, learned that I love to cook due to having time to explore the kitchen, finally started an Instagram account to connect a real-time visual aspect to the footer of my blog, and have been able to tend to relationships (via daily video chats) with loved ones around the country (and world) that have been neglected due to the robotic manner in which days have been structured prior to the international pandemic, in which all work and no play seemed to be the way of life. I’m sure everybody has a few personal projects to start and/ or complete at home before we return to a sense of normalcy in society.
QUARANTINING IN STYLE:
Since I love getting dressed according to my mood in the morning, I continued to do so during social isolation; to the point where I sometimes wear Louboutin heels in the house to just relax, or even to cook. We cannot let outside factors change our inner-selves; even if you’re in the mood to be casual, you can still shower first thing in the morning as if you’re getting ready for work, and dress-up in your favorite loungewear & a pop of lip color, and maybe even a little bit of mascara. Then, you’ll be ready to tackle your personal goals for the day as if you’re “hard at work” from 9 to 5.
We have to maintain a sense of self, or get back to our sense of self, in a world that’s turning upside down due to an unforeseen international pandemic that changed every aspect of life; except for who we are.
Personally, I’ve tackled a few personal goals during quarantine so far and am continuing to do so, but over a month indoors with seldom trips out for necessities has me feeling a little imprisoned ; as we all probably feel these days. Within a week, I will be venturing to the South where the quarantine restrictions have been lifted, and will be proceeding with CAUTION; the new normal !
Happy Quarantine

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