The QuaranTEENS

SEVENTH WEEK

This week I started to research Luxury for next year.  Since I have more time than usual I read magazines, small books and documentaries.  I like it because I remember a lot from my readings.

Friday was May 1, I used to buy thrush, but this year I didn’t go 🙁

My habits have really changed before I couldn’t stay at home that long.  Now I try to do a lot of things, clean up, cook a lot, read, which I haven’t been able to do in so long, play card with my brother. I think it feels good but I hope to find a  normal life.

This week I worked on sciences : Physics-chemistry, math and the sciences and life of the Earth. It was quite complicated but I ended up understanding with time.

I have been listening to foreign languages. I now, only listen to shows in English or Spanish. I like it because it teaches me new words and teaches me how to pronounce words better.

Yesterday was the first day of reopening. People were able to go back to work or go outside without certificate… This is a good thing for the French economy.  

However, this might become a problem in terms of safety and public health. Indeed, with more circulation, the virus can spread more easily. That’s why people need to be protected by masks and adapt barrier gestures such as hand washing.  

But some rules are not respected like safety distance. For example, during the rush hour, in public transports, there is a lot of people who are next to each other.  

Furthermore, I saw, yesterday, friends’ group outside, without masks and I think it’s too early to do that.  

These attitudes can cause a second wave and we will have to be confined again.  

So, I think that we need to stay home a little more to be sure that going outside is safe for our health, for the others, and to prevent hospitals from being overcrowded.  

See you next week!

The containment ended two days ago now, but of course everything did not return as before. The security rules are still in place and surely for a good time. What could be more normal after all to avoid an epidemic recovery, and a new containment.

Nothing will be like it was before, even when things have calmed down and a vaccine has been found.

This pandemic taught us to pay more attention to our hygiene by washing our hands more frequently (French being known for not really paying attention by washing our hands before meals and others), or even certain will perhaps avoid do the kisses to greet.

Have you noticed how people look at you when you are not wearing a mask, when it is not mandatory on the street but only in spaces with number influences. When you are alone on the sidewalk you meet a person a lot you look at you with an air or you have done something wrong.

Lots of things are changing, and nothing will really be the same, even if it is what we want.

We are already one day after the end of lockdown, but I still didn’t go out yesterday. I think it’s stupid to go out even if the confinement is over. I find it very irresponsible to go outside as if nothing had happened, just because we’re more confined doesn’t mean the virus is gone. For my part, I personally will make sure not to exceed the limit, that is to say I think I go out about two or three times a week with my mask of course. But I find that mentally it’s already good to think that if you’re more confined, it proves that the mortality rate is already much lower than at the beginning, so personally it was a huge relief to know that. For example, today I went shopping and I really noticed that there were a lot of people outside, which is understandable in real life because people are tired of staying at home but it’s still irresponsible to go outside like that without a mask or anything, we were the only ones wearing masks with my father and we found it really shocking.After shopping we went for a little walk by the lake and morally it felt good to see that people were smiling and happy and that everything was as if nothing had happened, even though deep down we know that danger is still present throughout the world, I hope that everything will be sorted out as soon as possible.

Hi guys 😜 Yesterday was finally the end of lockdown, so I went out to eat with my best friend, I also went to the dentist and they directly took my temperature, that was king of strange to live. Today when I went to the park, I saw a lot of group of people that were far more than ten.

In one hand, since we had to talk over a phone during almost two months, I find that people are no longer used to speak to each other “for real”. But in the other hand I feel that a week ago we were at school living our “normal life”. I don’t think that we are going back to school this year and I can’t wait the really end of the school year because I’m getting tired of distance school. My dad went back to work but my mom is still working at home, I can’t wait that she finally go back there !!🥵

What really scares me is that we can’t go further than 100km this summer and that we’ll have to stay in Paris. But I don’t think so. I hope that all this situation will not ruin our vacation 🏖

Quarantine was far from easy especially in a social point of view. We were not allowed to go and see our relatives nor our friends. No strolls around the gardens were possible, no dinner in restaurant was allowed, and no birthday was organized although 2020 was the year of our 18th anniversary. All connections were done through phone or internet and via different applications such as Skype or Zoom.

From a cultural point of view, it was difficult therefore we have had to adapt. We could not go to the cinema and the theater, visit museum and use library neither. Therefore, we had to cope with what we had; it meant watching movies, television reports or reading books. There have been many initiatives from artists aimed at bringing culture to people. Theater plays, concerts, museum visits have been broadcasted in the visual media.

In terms of studies, we have had to find and test different ways of learning such as video-conferencing with teachers, online teachings, or educational videos on internet. Quarantine was an excellent period to develop our aptitudes to self-learning. This was not an easy task because it completely changed our working habits. We learned to manage on our own. We improved also attendance and performance in virtual school because we had fewer courses with our teachers. Finally, we have learnt how to learn. For the rest, quarantine has had positive impact. I could sleep for a long time and I was able to be more physically active and to work more efficiently during the day. When I was awake, I accomplished more in one hour than when I was at school. No transport, no time to go to school as your school is at home. I loved the experience of managing my own time. Stress and nervous tensions were less. I felt really rested. I was more effective in my homework. When I needed to go deeper into complex issues, I could do it immediately in internet. No need to wait to be at home. I was already at home. I used also time to cook, play board games and run.

I’ve just watched a few videos about how to get motivated to do hard work, which is usually a synonym of “being productive”.

These videos tell you that in the modern world and the modern society, you get used doing simple things that get your brain to produce dopamine, which gives you some kind(s) of pleasure(s). But this is just like a drug (which does, too, produce dopamine). It becomes your “new normal of satisfaction” and becomes a habit. So you don’t feel anything after doing that thing after a little while. But when you suddenly try to stop doing it because you think it’s a waste of your time, you can feel reeeaaallly unmotivated, not wanting to do many things that could change your day by making it extremely productive.

So basically, these things that might make you feel good for a little while and then make you feel really lazy or uncomfortable are: scrolling down on social media, watching tv (entertainment not really the news), watching online pornography (just a fact, go check on the internet if you don’t believe me), and other instant pleasures. You might think of a few more I could think of, but maybe you understand what it is about. It’s something that you do, or consume for the 100th time, not because it’s exciting anymore, but because you need it. This video told me that if you check social medias all the time, it could be for a lot of reasons, but one of them would be expecting a notification, because we got used to it, and it is the thing about social media that gives you pleasure (aka someone carres about you, what you said, did, or commented on).

So if you’re willing to get more productive by avoiding spending all your time on your phone, on your instagram account, going everyday to McDonald’s or KFC etc. I think you should read the following instructions:

-First start with one day of the week when you prepared what you had to do during the eve on a piece of paper, so that you don’t have to look at your phone every once in a while and get attracted by Facebook originally willing to just check what you need to do.

-Slowly rise the amount of days. Start with one for 2-3 weeks, then add 1 for 2 weeks, then do this 3, 4, 5 days a week until you’re unable to do the work without checking for so long what to do.

-During these special days, do the boring productive things, read books, play chess, read even more, work on a project, build things, do math, write poems, essays. After a while, I promise you’ll satisfy your brain by doing that. This isn’t what you’ll like to do at first. But when you feel at ease doing it, you might realise how interesting it is, how useful it can be.

And the VERY FEW DAYS when you’ll try yourself to video games, to social media, tv, I guarantee you that it WON’T FEEL THE SAME AT ALL. I haven’t tried it, but it’s worth the time. Free yourself from dopamine.

Brahms.

It’s been almost 2 months since that whole quarantine thing as started and it looks like we’re approaching the end of it . I really miss playing football with my homies . The good news of this week is that in some countries like Germany , football will restart in 2 weeks . I’m feeling a bit tired because my sleeping schedules have been messed up by some early tests and classes . Watching the news , i don’t think that we will come back to school this year . So i try my best to follow online classes and to keep up with all the homework . Otherwise , i don’t do much stuff during my free time .

We have been confined to our home for 1 month and 20 days, so I want to practice basketball because I no longer play sports. I also manage to organize myself well for my homework. So I had an SVT check this morning at 8:30 am and had trouble getting up. In view of the news of the situation I do not think that we will return to class. So I work as hard as possible to get a good attendance grade in order to get a baccalaureate grade. Otherwise apart from that I don’t do anything during my days but I still feel overwhelmed

Today is Brahms’ 187th birthday (Johannes Brahms is not a random pseudonym for my account…). Johannes Brahms was a german composer, and even though I don’t know many of his works and chose his name pretty randomly, I do like the most famous ones: The 3rd movement of his 3rd symphony, Hungarian Dance n5 (I don’t know any other pieces from him anyway 😳😅). I also only knew about today’s event because of Steinway & Sons’ instagram account (Steinway is for sure the most well know piano brand in the world), sorry I don’t have an infinite memory to remember every composer’s birthday 😆.

I would like to talk about instrumental music from before the 20th century. I think that the popularity of “classical music” (wrongly used by some people to describe any music that isn’t rap, jazz, pop, funk, slam, etc.) among teenagers and young adults was really at its lowest point between 1970 and 2010. But it seems to be now slowly going up again.

I would like to tell all of you, reading this, that “classical music” (which is actually composed of various other genres of music: Baroque, Classic, Romantique, Opera, atonal, serial and many others) is not as boring as your memories tell you. And I think that in general, films by telling you it’s boring, sometimes; and pop music or rap for example because it’s very different, make you feel somehow uncomfortable. But maybe each one of you should really feel the music you’re listening to and try yourself to classical music, feel the emotions it’s creating and trying to share.
So please tell me in the comments if you like “Classical music” or not and if you don’t, are you willing to try it?

Brahms.