By Krishika Jethani
As COVID-19 cases continue to soar due to the highly contagious Omicron variant, Ontario has moved back into a modified Stage Two of its reopening plan and many are being asked to stay home once again.
After nearly two years, the pandemic has caused a number of unexpected lockdowns and public health regulations that have taken a toll on Ryerson’s student body. Under Ontario’s latest restrictions, students are taking various approaches to keep themselves busy during this lockdown.
Jessica Adelson, a second-year creative industries student, said she now has more time to “focus on herself and her mental health than she otherwise would.”
“I get up in the morning and I can make a good breakfast, then I do a workout, which is stuff that I normally wouldn’t have time for if I was busy doing other things,” she said.
Adelson also added that “it’s important to not focus so much on if we might go back in-person or we might stay here, but instead just go with it and be comfortable with whatever happens.”
As an international student currently living in Toronto, Giuli Saucedo, a second-year creative industries student has used her time to explore Toronto and acclimate herself to the new environment.
She has also used this time as an opportunity to bond with her roommates.
“It’s giving me a lot of time to watch movies and play board games with them,” said Saucedo.
With being forced back to stay indoors, Mariana Alfaro, a third-year hospitality and tourism management student, said she can’t be stuck inside her apartment during lockdown—no matter what the weather is like outside, she needs physical activity.
“I still do my morning walk every single day before work and after work, even if it’s -29C degrees,” she said.
Alfaro said this lockdown has given her the opportunity to spend a couple of days with her family in Oakville, where they spent their time going out for walks, skating, and hiking in the mountains.
“Physical activity helped me personally a lot because I don’t like being indoors, I feel super claustrophobic.”
She added that she is trying to keep a routine and focuses on doing activities such as cooking and baking to “get into the stress-free zone.”
Saucedo said “having a routine is important especially because there’s so much uncertainty whether we’re going to be online or not. It’s good to plan a set schedule for yourself every day.”
She said she believes little things like going for a walk and for coffee “add up to your day so that you feel like you have a fulfilling day even if you didn’t do that much.”
Mauricio Jubis, a third-year business and global management student, describes his day-to-day routine as waking up, cooking breakfast and doing a few at-home workouts from YouTube.
He said he uses his afternoons to look for jobs for his summer internship and to make sure all his classes for the day are completed. He also said he watches movies or a TV series almost every day.
Jubis said he wants to make the most of this lockdown experience, including online learning, and said he wants to try to learn from the experience of learning online.
“I believe that in the future, most of the world will function online, so I am trying to better adapt to my virtual classes. I am still hopeful that we will go back to in-person learning soon.”
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