The QuaranTEENS

It is sometimes difficult to see how time goes by faster an faster. I don’t remember a lot from my early ages, until I was like 11. Some people say that being a child, days are short but on a greater scale, it feels like “eternity”. And that growing up, you realise how time is “accelerating”. I don’t really see it myself, although I think I understand why we slowly start to understand that time goes fast: it’s just that you get to understand time better. Each year you live, you (un)consciously tell yourself “it’s just another year to live”. And you think or maybe have this idea of life where you start only by learning a lot, then you’re just dropped into the active life, with the same routine, going to work everyday, coming back, making dinner and going to bed and so you are just waiting for things to happen (that’s how it feels to me for now anyway). Put some spices in your life!

So, if you think that time is going faster than some time ago, how do we try to manage our time, or even try to slow it down? First, time, if you’re not eternal, has a value. So for example if you have any projects, accomplish them. And if you have none, make a list of things you could do on the long run. Things that matter to you. Examples: learn a new language, a discipline, a science or learning how to cook.

For the most ambitious ones, why not try to plan your life on a decade or more. Think of an ideal job, leisures, where you think you’d want to live, and what kind of big life projects you’ll want to pursue etc.

I realise some of you might be thinking that some of what I say is a little “too much”; but I like telling what I think, and this quarantine blog was really a place where I felt “free” to say what was on my mind and that I wanted to tell when I had the occasion. Thank you for this opportunity of showing how I think to myself and others!

Brahms

It’s been 2 weeks now, since we have been able to go out, the first thing I decide to do is to see some friends and hang out. Afterwards, in my free time I organized myself so that I can do some sport, such as running, but hard to breath with a mask. It is kinda annoying at the begin, having to keep a mask, wash your hands every single time you go somewhere, but I think that I will manage to get over it and see it as a normality. Since we can go out now, many people have asked me what will I be doing during vacations, at first it’s kinda of a weird question since we need to follow the rule of 100km and half of the attractions are canceled, but on second thought WHAT will I be doing during vacation? I thought about it a lot and since there isn’t much to do I will be working in a Franprix and make a bit of money.

This week I went out a lot to see friends, most of them are allowed to go out even more day after day. Now that my parents know that a lot of people are going out they forbid me some time to go out and party with them. But of course, courses are still on and I’m really happy that the teacher’s meeting is soon. I already have my school for next year, everything is about marketing and luxury that’s why I’m not really interested in Parcoursup, and I’m glad about it because when I see everyone stressing for their results… it’s crazy. My driving lesson resumed and I will pass my driving license asap I really want to be able to drive during summer break because I’ll do more things on my own. 

Hello everyone!

I hope you are fine and healthy.

At the moment, we live a little stressful time (for some non) pending the results of Parcorsup. Personally, I am hyper stressed😣 because I want to study medicine but there are a lot of requests but luckily I’m not at the end of the list.

I read the article on a girl who had more than 16.5 overall average but she had refusals in her favorite wishes. To say I was shocked means nothing. I can’t even imagine how she must be disappointed.I think the system is a little unequal, especially for her.

Let’s talk a little about the end of lockdown.

A few days ago I saw on TV that there was a relaxation in some people about Coronavirus,some went to the beach to party, the rest went to soccer games.

Match illégal à Strasbourg: le maire appelle les personnes présentes à se faire dépister pic.twitter.com/fohTWNuRZo

— BFMTV (@BFMTV) May 26, 2020

I find that this behavior is really abused. I understand that containment was difficult, but this is exaggerated😤. We say that we cannot trust the government, but in truth we must also present ourselves as a people we can trust otherwise the pandemic will always be present.

I am a little disappointed that we could not see the takeoff of Space X because of bad weather but I hope we can see it on Saturday 👩‍🚀.

The end of confinement allows us to physically find people we could not have had in the previous period. Even if you communicate with them through the ticket of technological means it is different to have the person in front of you.

In some reunion situation it may be strange to have the impression that the time elapsed has changed something between two people. By bringing them closer together because the separation is great and you realize how important it is to this person, or an indifference in the distance time that you could not explain.

The time that has passed makes us change our relationship into something different, we may also want to be forgiven for something produced as a bad farce, seeing in some people tried to continue despite all this joke that lasts for months because the person is “too” nice.

All this time far apart has brought us in some ways much closer to each other, because we never know until when we can continue to talk with that person.

It’s the end of May, and it’s time to find out if we’re going back to school! Indeed, it seems to me that tomorrow a minister is going to speak (maybe Édouard Philippe or Jean-Michel Blanquer) to announce how the next steps are going to be taken. So we’re going to know about the classes, if we’re going to go back, and if so, how will it go? Half day by half day? Full days? By whole class or by group?

There’s a lot of uncertainty and we’ll know more tomorrow.
Personally I find it’s pretty hard to predict if we’re going to go back to class or not. I think it’s possible, but that it won’t be beneficial: we’ll learn a little bit, and do a lot of exams I think. We’ll have to do the classes with masks… I think it’s going to be hard to stay focused, or at least it’s going to be very constraining.I want to go back, but more to see my classmates and the teachers, than to do tests.

This week I don’t have much to say, I’m running out of ideas, but I’m still posting! See you next week!

Yes, we’re already done with quarantine, for now. However, many measures remain the same, and do not intend to change at this time. Until when will the mask be mandatory? What about borders? And the classes?
For the moment, and in the month until the start of the school year, nothing will return to “normality”, and perhaps it never will return.
In fact, several of these measures settle for certain people or companies. For example, stores that sell the masks at an exorbitant price, or more expensive telephone plans but which allow to make fluid video calls. Many are trying to take advantage of the situation.

And the list goes on, some markets selling antibacterial gels per liter, expensive tests, disinfectants that sell much more expensive because they “eradicate” the virus, etc.

But it’s not just the stores that are taking advantage of the situation. I have come across many more police officers than usual, who watch every action of people. I don’t want to attack the government, but I find it scandalous that the police jump on people, at the slightest error, like raptors, in order to steal their 135 euros.

in the busier streets, I met a ton of police at each street crossing, who fined cyclists, drivers, and others who did not respect the law. I mean, that’s their role, but especially I see too many people taking fines for things that, before the forties, we did without fear.

In short, today, the problem is no longer based on the virus, but on the actions that the government, businesses, and the rest of the world are taking in response to this situation, and it is not surprising that people are trying to take advantage of the situation.

Dear future Beatriz,  

We are currently Wednesday, May 27^th, in the midst of a covid-19 pandemic. I am going to tell you what I miss the most. 

Our life changed and we are learning to live differently. I miss my old life, the life where I was more free.  
I miss the time we could go out without worrying about our health, the time we were physically more free.  

May be the coronavirus is still there, or maybe not. I don’t know how is your life but I want to tell you that you must enjoy all the moments with your family or with your friends.  

Ohhh, I almost forgot … never give up on your dreams! 

Kisses 😘 

This week, I bike in Paris. It was really pleasant because since the confinement there are much less cars in Paris. I did Vélib because I do not have a bike at home and it turns out that it is quite practical.

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During my ride, I saw that there were a lot of bikes compared to before this coronavirus crisis. However, I could see that people are now using their own bikes and are not using the Vélibs much. I can imagine that it is because of the fear they have around the virus, and the fear of being infected. It is true that people have become quite paranoid. I respect the safety rules and suddenly, I do not think I run a big risk. But people are afraid, which is quite paradoxical knowing that they are not afraid to go queuing for hours to go to buy clothes at Zara for example.

In any case, the fact that there are more bikes and less cars does a lot of good for the environment and that is already a very good point. To go further, there are measures that have been taken for the environment that sound good to me. For example, rue de Rivoli is closed to cars for the moment, except for buses and taxis. This makes that in addition to being pleasant for the people who wander, it is important for the planet.

For me, confinement is not a hard and complicated ordeal and I have put in place a certain routine and tips to make the most of this situation which allows us to have time for ourselves, to reflect and enjoy our family.
I wake up at 8:30 a.m. all week except weekends to keep up with the pace while focusing on weekends to differentiate each week.
I recommend to do some sport. Regularly, like once a day that you can do at home like fitness. Today, there are many You Tube videos with tutorials from different sports that you can practice at home. Practicing sport allows you to clear your mind and keep a certain muscle tone. It’s really important when you’re locked up for days.
And every week, you can establish a to-do list for the week which allows you to have goals to achieve regularly. For example, you can program to store the things stored for years in the attic, the cellar or the bottom of your cupboards.