By Ashley D’Ambrosia

The movie Tangled tells the story of a young girl named Rapunzel, who has spent her whole life trapped in a tower with no way to get out. Mother Gothel forces her to stay inside because she wants to “protect” Rapunzel from the real world outside. Five Feet Apart is about two cystic fibrosis patients, Will and Stella, who are unable to come closer than six feet of each other, or they could risk their lives. All they want is to come one foot closer together, even though they know it could make them both very sick. In the movie Everything, Everything, an 18-year-old girl named Maddy lives her entire life inside because stepping outdoors could make her very ill. All she wants to do is spend time at the ocean with the boy across the street, but her mother will not allow it. 

These three movies sound like they are describing the conditions of our world today. The coronavirus, or COVID-19, has rapidly escalated into a global pandemic. As the virus spread to places around the world, more and more countries have been told to quarantine themselves or practice social distancing. In the last few weeks, the spread of the coronavirus in the United States has grown exponentially; causing the majority of the country to stay in their homes and not get closer than six feet from any given person. On Monday, March 23, Governor Ralph Northam made an announcement stating he will be closing all Virginia schools for the rest of the academic year. 

This new announcement made by the governor has left people with a great deal of time on their hands. Yes, schools are not entirely closing, and students still have work to do, but not nearly as much work as they did before. For example, Collegiate School has moved to online classes, but the days are significantly shorter than usual, and there are no extracurricular activities or after-school sports. All of this extra free time has resulted in people finding new activities to stay busy. 

During the busy life of a Collegiate teenager, it is often hard to spend quality time with family, but now with all this extra free time, many people are engaging more with family members. Alice Mendelson (’21) has been taking long walks outside with her sisters Claire and Emily Mendelson (‘18). She says, “Although I’m unable to see my friends in person, it’s been nice to spend more time outside with my sisters and further strengthen our relationship.”

Catherine Horner (’22) has also been spending quality time with family, specifically her brother. Horner and her brother Charles H. (‘26) created a game called balloon volleyball in which “you try to spike the ball to the other person’s side of a ‘court’ to score a point.” Horner says, “It’s fun, because I can bond with my little brother and pass the time. We both are really competitive people, so we get really into our skill and smack talk.”

Others are using their free time for baking and cooking. Marianna McComb (’21) has been making dinner with her mom. She and her sisters Maddie M. (’25) and Ellie McComb (’23) have also been trying new recipes; so far, their favorite has been a chocolate cream pie. Nora Willett (’21) made fried chicken and says, “I wanted to try and challenge myself to take my mind off of the news and everything going on.” Charlotte Smith (’22) has also been spending time in the kitchen working on her cake baking. She says, “I have been testing and developing perfect cake recipes, and I have even tried new decorating techniques.” Not only is she making cakes, but she is also helping people within the community. She says, “Everyone could use some cheer given the current circumstances, so I have also been giving away my baked goods to friends and family to help make people smile!”

Others have been using their extra free time to relax and or do things they usually do not have time to do. Grace Cornell (’21) has a coloring book that she uses while watching Netflix. Lilly Brand (’20) says she “cleaned out our pantry and reorganized it so we could know what we had and if there was anything we needed.” Ginnie Featherston (’21) has been using this time to relax and spend time with family at the same time. She and her family have been watching the popular early 2000s TV show Lost together. She says, “It’s nice that we’ve found a show that we all like.”

Some people have chosen to quarantine themselves in second homes. Frances Baldridge (’21) is in Florida with a friend and the friend’s family. Baldridge says she has “been laying by the pool, swimming, and going on boat rides.” Lauren Lucy (’22) went to Virginia Beach with her family. Lucy says, they “have been playing a lot of games and having a lot of family dinners.” 

Others are using their free time to learn new skills. Anastasia Redmond (’21) has learned how to play poker with her family, and she loves it. Redmond says, “I wanted to learn to play in case I find myself in a bind for money, or in a casino.” Betty Zhao (’21) has learned how to play “Fly Me to the Moon” by Frank Sinatra on the ukulele. Upper School English teacher Vlastik Svab has also been learning how to play the ukulele, as well as teaching his son Henry (’29) how to play. Not only has he been playing the ukulele, but Henry has also been teaching his dad new Rubik’s cube tricks.

I have been using my free time to start something I have always wanted to do. This past summer, I wanted to learn to crochet so I could make hats for childhood cancer patients, but I had always been too busy. Now I have taught myself to crochet and have successfully completed two hats. I have also been spending time with my new mini-goldendoodle puppy Winnie, and my sister and I even made a chalk mural outside.