Day 36: Hobbies Before and During Quarantine

Day 36: May 1, 2020
Global cases: 3,398,473; Deaths: 239,448
Egypt cases: 5,895; Deaths: 406

Menna Saad
Political Science Senior
President of The Insider

Art is an essential part of my life. It relaxes me, fixes my mood, and makes me take a break from how hectic and stressing studying can be. Before quarantine, I always kept a sketchbook with me in my backpack, and a book to read while riding the bus to and from AUC. A book was a great beginning and ending to my day at university and it helped me detach from thinking about studying a little. Also, whenever I found time during assembly, alone, I would get out my sketchbook and draw.

However, I must admit that during the first few weeks of quarantine, it was so hard to cope with how hectic everything is, and I completely felt out of tune with my hobbies. I experienced an artist’s block, and for those of you who aren’t very familiar with the term, it means the inability to produce or finish any type of creative work, it can be painting, drawing, writing, and any form of creative self-expression.

Of course, with every artist block, I feel a wave of negative emotions and that I will never be able to hold a pencil and draw again or find the energy to read. However, this proves to be a false idea every time because it’s a phase and it just passes, and I end up drawing again better than ever and reading again as fast as I could.

In the last couple of weeks, although we are going through a finals period, I decided to squeeze in some time for drawing. I told myself: “Menna, you must draw anything, it can be a stick figure, just hold a pencil and draw.” Indeed, I started with rough sketches that took me 30 minutes to do and later it became a habit that no matter how hectic studying is and stressing quarantine is, I will just have to draw at least once a week.

For The Caravan‘s previous diary entries in Arabic and English go to our COVID-19 Special Coverage page.

That method proved to be very successful. I also made up my own art space. I decorated my desk with all the colors and ornaments that I love, and I put it beside my window, so it faces the sun directly. This made me have a very relaxing spot which encouraged me to be more creative. As for reading, unfortunately I manage to read two pages a day because of the amount of studying that I have but every day I convince myself that it’s better than nothing.

I guess the secret here lies in disconnecting. Disconnecting from studying, from the news, and from the entire world. And no matter what, you have to be able to find some time for yourself and things that speak to your soul, and deep down, make you happy. It made me able to study, and focus better, and it also improved my mental health drastically.

I advise anyone who has a hobby to not neglect it. Even if you have exams, take 30 minutes each day and do something that you love; you don’t have to do it perfectly, but just do it. You’ll end up feeling a lot better than not doing it at all.