Staying Safe and Staying Sane

Staying home has a lot of us feeling down! I know now that we’re back in school for the semester, you might have the urge to go out. But as scary as it is, the pandemic isn’t over yet, and going out probably isn’t the best idea right now. Even though this is the case, you can still have fun while staying safe! Here’s some ideas to keep you busy and safe!

Host a game night with your friends

Small groups are okay to be in since they’re a lot easier to social distance in. Invite over three to four of your friends, and spread out a little more than usual to play games together! Whenever my friends and I do this, our personal favorite game is Photo Roulette, an app you download on your phone that shows a random photo and you have to guess who’s phone it came from. This one can even be done over Zoom if you aren’t even together physically but have a free minute to kill. But seeing your friend’s crazy photos on their phones is such a blast and lets everybody stay in their own personal bubble.

Join a club

Photo Source: Auburn’s Apparel Merchandising and Design Association

One of the best parts about being in college is the wide range of organization options you have to join and meet people! Clubs, especially here at Auburn, are taking major precautions to keep their members involved, even over long distance. Take this year to discover a passion you might not have pursued before, like joining the Auburn Film Club; or, use this time to pursue some professional development opportunities that the campus offers such as the leadership program Emerge or AMDA which is for our very own fashion students.

Go for a walk

You don’t actually have to stay inside this entire time! Going for a walk and soaking up the Vitamin D from the sun is a great way to get your spirits back up if things have you feeling down. If you want a walk with a view, Chewacla State Park is a beautiful option for Auburn residents, or if you want something a little closer, going for a walk on campus after classes end is another great activity. Auburn students are really lucky to go to school somewhere so beautiful, so enjoy as much of it as you can!

Photo Source: https://www.alapark.com/parks/chewacla-state-park

Try out some new movies

Photo Source: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3539664/

Between Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, HBO Max, and more, there are endless streaming services available now! I’m guilty of going back to my favorite shows over and over again when I’m bored, but there’s no time like now to maybe test out a genre you wouldn’t normally choose, explore more from your favorite actor, or watch that one movie you just haven’t gotten around to yet. If you’re interested in an inside look on fashion, Hulu currently has a documentary on Dior titled “Dior and I”. Alternatively, the always classic “Clueless” available on Netflix right now features styles that are circling back around this season!

Catch up with old friends

Since COVID hit, I have connected with people I haven’t spoken with in years! I’m so glad they took the initiative to reach out, because we ended up spending hours reminiscing the great memories I had with them, remembering our inside jokes, going through our old photos, and remembering happy times. People naturally drift apart sometimes, but there’s nothing like a pandemic to reunite old friends!

There’s so many options to keep yourself safe in these recent times, and safety definitely doesn’t need to be boring! We will all get through this, we just need to work together (but apart)!