“I don’t have enough time.” Everyone has said this at least once in their lives. Especially as teenagers, we fill every waking minute with school, sports, homework, family time, etc. But we don’t have a choice most of the time. As students, this is required of us in order to get into college, have a career and constantly improve that future resume. So how do we cope with losing all of that? How will we survive without these every day activities filling our lives?

Maybe, it will give us the ability to put everything into perspective.

Whether you are an extrovert to the extreme or a proud introvert, we’ve all had our personal boundaries pushed. Quarantining is hard, I have no problem admitting it. Yes, we are safe at home, and it could be significantly worse, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t difficult. It’s hard to lose our everyday normal lives and activities all in one day. We have never experienced anything like what we’re experiencing right now. However, amidst the trouble, there are benefits. One of the biggest ones for me has been time.

After quarantine, no one can say they don’t have enough time. The “I don’t have enough time to start working out,” or “I don’t have enough time to read,” or to learn another language, learn how to make a certain craft, perfect your sport, or work on learning a new monologue.

No one’s family life is the same, but throughout this, I think many people have developed tendencies to do more things as a family, whether to help each other not go insane together or because it’s been so long since everyone has really been together. So maybe after the quarantine is over, we will make some choices.

Do we want to force ourselves back into this hectic lifestyle? Do we want to fill every waking minute with activities and completely throw time with our siblings, parents and grandparents out the window? Maybe you can continue to go on those family walks at least once a week. Or maybe keep the tradition of having a different themed dinner once a month. Maybe we can continue to learn new things because they brought us a lot of joy. Although it is scary, this virus has given us all some time. Everyone has heard the phrase, “life goes so fast,” or “life is too short.” So maybe, this is our strict, mandatory reminder about the fact that life is fast, so we can slow down and appreciate what is around us. Time is not a common gift, so when it comes, we need to appreciate every second life has given us.