Could you believe that it’s almost two years since the global pandemic had taken us all over and frankly put so much stress on us?
      Indeed there are many dark days especially because of the big adjustments and sudden tragic deaths due to the rising covid-19 cases, but there are also brighter ones that paved the way to different industries’ resourcefulness and innovation like how we adopt most of our activities to be done online! And hey, the vaccines had lightened a new hope in many. I won’t deny that it was such a relief when the vaccine became available in the Philippines. 
      However, it seems that it’s not the whole of our luck yet the way the virus evolves in many different variants and taking its toll again. Sadly, the month of August welcomed another wave of Enhanced Community Quarantine in some provinces, most particularly in Luzon. If you’re in one of the affected areas, you’ve probably been disheartened by the news and slump your shoulders with frustrations.
       I can’t give you the best comforting and cheering words out there, but let me still tell you that undying ‘we’re all in this together’ pandemic motto, as indeed, we are all in this! You’re not alone. Always remember that. Don’t let yourself sulk easily. I’ve read somewhere on the internet that it’s a traumatic time to live through but the best that you can do is to survive and take care of yourself well, and I could not agree more. If we’ve come this far, surely we make it further.
    Instead of letting the situation put us down, let’s take it as a chance to discover new opportunities or anything new again. Have you already planned a new set of your to-do list for this ECQ? Honestly, I have nothing much new to recommend but I think you should try my personal time-killer activity these days which I call, a study therapy!

You read it right! A study therapy ~

   I don’t know if it’s just the nerd in me, but I think the best that you can do this with your free time is to study. Personally for me, I find it enjoyable to study different topic area when I’m required to stay at home during the new normal. I think it’s better to let your curiosity take over you than your worries. Aside from feeding your curious mind, your learning new things by taking in new information.
What would you study tho? I suggest anything that is within your interest and can also be helpful for you in the future. 

If you would ask me, you can go among these topics:

1.Microsoft office.
    If you are not really that tech-savvy, it’s now the right time to be so. New normal had made us highly adopt working with the internet and technology. It would be a long-term hassle if you won’t spend time learning on them, and the most common workspaces and soft wares we used now are Microsoft office applications. Why not have a tutorial on Microsoft Word? spreadsheets? powerpoints? Maybe you already know the basics of them, but wouldn’t it be fun to truly master them? Like knowing shortcuts, discovering unknown hacks, or how to use them better on dealing with your projects!

2.How to write. 
   Maybe you’d tell me you’ve gone to school and you’re not dumb to not know how to write, but that’s not the point. Writing includes a very big scope of skills.  It has many styles like from formal to non-formal, or academic to professional and business. Different tones, different genres, different categories. Have you already explored most of it? Being an effective and efficient writer can help you not just in school but also in your professional career. If you wish to be in the writing industry someday too, like become a novel author, content writer, copywriter, or even a journalist, you should start building your foundation skills now. Study and master grammars, improve your vocabulary, practice, and get into writing prompts. You surely won’t regret it later!

3.Basic of Accounting. 
    It might not be your dream to be a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), but each one of us deals with finance, our personal, and if possible in business. Take your free time to educate yourself even with the basics of accounting and finance rather than finding yourself struggling with your budget in the near future. This learning is a very useful survival guide when dealing with money that we do almost every day, especially if you find yourself handling a business soon.

4.Cleaning. 
    Since there is always a threat of the virus, always maintaining cleanliness and sanitation is important. If you quite don’t really know how to properly sanitize the groceries you bought in, or even maintaining sanitation in storing your foods, the tutorial is just right on the internet that you can spend a little time with. Since you’re also staying at home, grab some hacks on the internet on how to better make your house fresh and clean. You can even get into more details about how to actually and accurately remove specific stains in your stuff that you never have time to research before. Or the cheap alternative cleaning tricks and tools you might not even be aware of!  

5.Cooking. 
    Staying at home can make you stress, bored, and most especially hungry! Your life would even be dull if you keep on eating the same dish every day. That’s why I think getting some time to learn to cook different recipes while you still have the opportunity is of very great help. There are many unique and easy recipes you can learn on the internet today. Why not try some of them? Or who knows, it might even get you into a mini food business!

6.Repairing.
   Being a homebody, you might tend to observe much of your house and stuff and most probably you may discover things that need fixing already. For example, if you’re window can’t be closed anymore, or one of your faucets has a minor leak or problems with your personal stuff like rips in your favorite clothing. You can always choose to hire someone for the service of repairing it for you, but if you can do it on your own, why not just save your money? Again, there are a lot of free tutorials out there on the internet, especially on youtube. Get your inner handyman working.

7.Language. 
    I’ve always been fascinated with multilingual, and the different languages themselves. If you love watching different international films or dramas, for sure you’ll have an interest in this too. Wouldn’t it be amazing if someday you’ll just find yourself not needing an English translation anymore? Whether it’s Korean, Chinese, Thai, Spanish, or anything else. Learning a new language also introduces you to other countries' cultures, and that would be both fun and useful if you love traveling out of town or just befriending some foreigners! 

8.Emergency Response and Survival Guides. 
    Emergency situations are inevitable, especially with unpredictable calamities and accidents. And my question for you is, how many emergency responses have you even know about? Have you ever spend some time at least educating yourself about it? What is exactly the right way to deal with floods, earthquakes, fire, robbery, injuries, etc.?How about effective hacks? As most people said, superheroes don’t always wear capes. Who knows it can be you? Who knows this simple knowledge you randomly study might actually save you and your loved ones right?

9.Instrument. 
    You may not have a good voice to be a good singer, but don’t put down your relationship with music yet. Who said you can’t jam with a musical instrument? It doesn’t demand an inborn gift, just perseverance and hard work to learn! And you can also brag about it when someone asks you about your talents! There’s such a variety of instruments you can learn, from percussions, winds, bowed strings, and guitars. Perhaps you can even borrow from a friend instead of buying or be creative and resourceful to create an improvised.

10.Medicines. 
   This is random but, have you ever wondered which is actually for which looking into your medicine cabinet? There are medicines that can treat two or more ailments you would on commercials, but have you ever look at their specific purpose? What are antibiotics?analgesics?antacids? And so on. Are you also aware of their side effects and proper dosage? Or how to properly store them? Most of us rely on over-the-counter drugs just matching the symptoms we feel with what the medicine commercials commonly tell, but remember those are still chemicals that we take in our body. It can have side effects that we might know about, so why not educate ourselves as much as possible right? It’s not like we need to be a pharmacist to know them, a little background knowledge wouldn’t hurt.

Instead of procrastinating and worrying too much about many things, let’s keep our minds productive instead. Remember, no one gets tired of learning as the process is surely a lifetime. It’s not every time that ignorance is bliss, sometimes it’s a disease that terminates the right decision. I hope you have gotten a lot of insights! Have a nice day!