Staff picks: What we miss while stuck at home

Timothy Hall

Staff Writer

I miss the freedom of going places and not being stuck at home. I miss the restaurants and the movie theaters and being able to spend time outside the house/apartment. I like to be able to travel and now the only place we can go is work or the grocery store. I can’t even get a haircut! Instead, I’m cooped up and I feel stuck.

However, there are good things to all this. There’s the free time I now have at hand to do a lot more things at home. I’ve been enjoying ‘Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ and lots of other activities such as writing, drawing and a new activity I’ve picked up after taking a class at Kirkwood, programming/coding. I am able to enjoy my free time more freely now even if I can’t leave the house as I would like to. 

I miss going to small shops. Although I’m most likely not going to buy anything, it’s a change of scenery after what appears to be the never-ending cycle of home, school, and work. I enjoy walking around the Newbo area and seeing what local shops have to offer. Another thing I miss is playing Pokémon Go with my friends, as the game has events where you can go out to battle raids or find shiny Pokémon. For me it’s one of the few times I’m able to see some of my old friends since we graduated and give us a day to actually see each other and catch up as we all have different and busy schedules.  I feel like a good thing that came out of this is the realization of needing to get out of the house and see your friends and family that you don’t see every single day. 

I miss being able to go see my grandma whenever I want. In the past I could leave from school and go see her whenever I wanted but now I can’t. I also had plans to take my youngest cousins to a movie but theaters have closed. I have missed birthdays for my younger cousins and that breaks my heart. I miss going to school and seeing classmates something I never would have thought I would say considering how badly bullied I was. I miss seeing my friends. I miss going for a meal with them or to the movies just to hang out and not worry that we could spread an illness that could kill someone. 

Over the last month I’ve tried to learn new hobbies like knitting. I have worked on my photography and tried to learn new skills in photo shop. I try to stay positive and I rarely watch the news at this point as it has gotten too depressing and very little changes day to day. I am trying not to focus on the things we’ve lost, like study abroad adventures, but the ways we can help, like donating blood and plasma. I am trying to learn new things like gardening. I’m trying to plan places for my dog and I to hike to this summer. I am looking forward to seeing my little cousins again this summer so we can hopefully go swimming, watch movies and build pillow forts. I am looking forward to getting a real hug from my grandma again. I am looking forward to being able to cook a meal for her and bake her the best apple pie she’s ever had. I really just want to see my family again. I miss family Sunday dinners and when this is over I will cook one heck of a Sunday dinner for us.

Andrew Schneider

Web Editor

Since classes were moved online and we’ve all been forced to spend most of our time at home I’ve done a lot of thinking. I’ve also done a little reading, some writing, lots of homework and watched some good films. (Check out Kanopy if you get the chance. You can watch movies for free with your local library card. They have lots of good classics, indies and foreign films.) Since these are some of my favorite things to do I can’t complain too much and have been enjoying a little peace and quiet.

Some things I miss are being able to go to the gym (my single twenty pound dumbbell is not cutting it), playing basketball (there is nothing more tragic than a hoop without a net) and being able to sit down at restaurants. It’s great to support your local spots by getting carryout and eating your meals at home while watching ‘Rick and Morty’ has its place but it’s nothing like being out at a restaurant, enjoying good food with friends and family and feeling the pulse of the city.

Stay strong everyone. This too shall pass.

I miss movie theaters. My wife and I go out at least once a week to see a movie and now that hobby is gone. I worry that the normal theater going experience will never come back in the same way. The communal experience of a new blockbuster or the magic of the next Marvel movie can only be enjoyed at home for now. I hope the longstanding American tradition of going to the movies comes back to us soon. One good thing to come from this may be that employers realize how easy it could be to work from home and more people have the option in the future. 

I miss the feeling of walking into an indoor restaurant and pigging out in public. It is unfortunate to not be able to take in the atmosphere as you ask for refills  while hanging out with friends. The social aspect of eating can be missed a lot more by me than I originally expected, and I have begun to learn that during these times. I hope that this can end by next year so I can crash into a Red Robin and munch on their steak-fries. Not promoted or affiliated, it’s just my favorite dine-in restaurant. 

I miss soccer. Plain and simple. I follow the English Premier League, the best of the best in England, and my team has been sitting at the top of the table, over 25 points clear of any other squad. But I can’t enjoy it and neither can they. Two matches would’ve marked Liverpool’s first league trophy in almost 30 years. This was supposed to be our season after coming off of the Champion’s League win last season as well as being one point shy in the table last season. We’re so close, but I suppose we’ve waited this long, what’s another 30 years?