The QuaranTEENS

After having been locked up for almost 2 months, we are finally allowed to go out.

It’s such a wonderful relief, an unindescribable feeling. Of course I went out on monday, and being able to walk down on the street freely is amazing. Being able to feel the presence of passers-by and see new faces was a special feeling that I haven’t been able to experience for a long time. However, In my case, I still have a weird feeling about what’s going on. The atmosphere is still heavy, half of the people are wearing masks and the shops are mostly closed. But let’s take a look at the bright side, we can hang out with our friends, spend time outside, we won’t have to stay home and wonder “What am I gonna do to pass the time ?”, because we already know what to do.

In my opinion, we will have to wait a long time before returning to our former everyday life. School is still over for us, and we are still going to spend a lot of time on Netflix and Fortnite.

We’ve been quarantined since march, 17th 2020. I don’t really have a routine anymore. I try to do some workout whenever I’ve got the time, the space, but above all, motivation.

I’ve been reading a book for my history class, named ” Memorias de domitilia”. It’s a Bolivian wowan telling her story, a wowan who used to work in the Bolivian mines. There are 2 chapters, in the first one she talks about her people, in the second one, she tells us about her life. She tells us her story with relevant facts, full of details, with a very simple vocabulary.

As I already said, we’ve been locked in for more than a month, and I think that it’s all driving us crazy.

Fortunately, it’s been announced that we should be able to go out freely on May, 11th 2020. Which means, that there are 5 days left, at last, to be free. However, I’m wondering if it’s a good idea.

For example, on one hand, the government Scientific Council recommends us not to go back to school before September. On the other hand, The French president, is planning to reopen the schools in May and June. Finally, should we go out and enjoy ? Who should we believe and listen to ? When will we able to get back to our lives ?

In order to kill some time, I’ve been watching tv shows since the quarantine started. I know you can find a bunch of tv series on netflix, amazon prime video and even illegally on the internet for free. And I’m also aware that it’s an effective way to pass the time, but the point is, that in my opinion, spending time in front of screens, should also be a way to learn something. Improve you linguistic capacities for instance. That’s way, I’ve been watching Criminal minds for more than a month. It’s a famous tv show that you all must have been seen being on tv at least once.

It follows a group of criminal profilers who work for the FBI as members of its Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU), using behavioral analysis and profiling to investigate crimes and find perpetrators. The show tells the story of the team as they work various cases, and tackle their personal struggles. Of course it’s a way for me to work my English skills. But it’s mainly a good way to learn a lot about psychology and human behavior. It’s interesting to see how awful can be a serial killer who seems to be a random family man, to see how these profilers have to work and to struggle not to mentally and physically break down (even if it’s fictional). Moreover, my brother have been studying psychology for two years now, it allows me to get knowledge from an “expert” and an objective point of view.

We’ve been quarantined for more than a month now, maybe even more, I’m no longer counting the days . I must have lost the track of time. I don’t even know what day it is. My days are all very similar. Nothing really excites me. I don’t really have anything relevant to tell or share. In my opinion, we all started to feel like a routine. We were told that quarantine will be over on may 11th . But it wasn’t clear enough, we don’t know yet in which conditions we will go back to school, or how. It’s kind of messy and we are in the middle, waiting for answers. In the meantime, I got back to what I really like and really make me happy when I was younger and had more free time, which are computers and video games. I spend most of my time doing video and audio editing in order to improve my skills, also playing video games and trying to be better or even the best !

This quarantine has been giving value to our freedom, to all the people we miss (family, friends…), to everything we love. I’ve been confined with my family which is composed of 8 persons. It’s driving all of us crazy. We really need to go out and see others faces

Not having been out since the beginning of the quarantine, I realize how lucky we were to be free, that’s what I miss the most, my freedom. In spite of our duties, we have a lot of rights, and one of it, the most valuable in my opinion, is our freedom, the freedom of movement.

I really feel like a caged animal. Like everybody, I’d say that I miss my friends, I miss going out and having fun. Nevertheless, what I miss the most is doing usual things. I didn’t think that I would miss it, going out to buy baguette, taking the bus, seeing the Eiffel tower every morning when I take the metro in order to go to school. But I think, that’s the lack of social interaction, which is vital for us as human being, that we miss the most. It’s vital, not seeing anybody for weeks, not talking to anyone, it can drives us crazy.

Indeed, the lack of freedom and social interaction can be dangerous. It leads us to feel useless and that’s the most frustrating for me. We can’t really contribute to anything. I know that staying at home can save lives, but I need to feel useful as an active person in my case. So, to fill this lack of objectives, I advise you to set yourself goals, something to achieve. For instance, if you are a book reader, think of a number of books you could read in a short time, if you are a musician , think of a song you’ll learn until the end of the quarantine. You’ll feel more useful, and you’ll really have this feeling that you are doing something during this dark period.

I’m hopeful about the future, I’m pretty sure that when it’s over, we will see all the good points. The governments will invest more money in our healthcare systems. Everybody is going to realize how lucky and important is our freedom. Jacques Bainville once said ” C’est quand les hommes commencent à se sentir sûrs du lendemain que la liberté commence aussi à avoir du prix pour eux“.

Alexandre Mansour

We’ve been quarantined for more than a week now. Time doesn’t really go fast when you are locked in for an indefinite time. I spite of my, trying to desperately keep a regular timetable, there are times when i do not do anything. Since we are not going to school anymore, I try to study as much as i can even if it’s kind of hard and boring. In order to fill this lack of knowledge owed to the closure of schools, I often read books in French, English, or even Spanish not to lose my laguage level.

I spend half of my time on Netflix or Amazon Prime Video.

I’m currently watching for the second time The Mentalist which is my favourite tv show, I strongly recommend you to watch it !

The other half of my time is dedicated to video games and to the piano. Indeed, these are the two things that are helping me to relax and to stay pshycologically sane. It kills the time and it’s a way to be creative.

I’m not really stressed about what is happening. I’m sure that things will be better. I’m kind of optimistic. I may be nervous about next year, or about the bac, but the goverment will figure it out, they’ll find a solution. I stay informed about what is happening thanks to youtube channels which are posting daily reviews of what is going on in our country and around the world, or news channels.

I haven’t been out of my home for days, I’m not longer couting the days. At the begining, In my opinion nobody was realizing and aware of what was happening. We were even happy and excited about not going to school. On the contrary, now, we all want to go out, and therefor, I’m sure that we are all looking forward to go back to school.