Grace Malm, 11 – reading

Junior Grace Malm has used her time in quarantine to jump back into a love of reading.

“I used to be a huge reader when I was in middle school and elementary school,” Malm said. “I was the kid that read all the ‘Magic Treehouse’ books.”

Malm turned to books as a way to alleviate quarantine boredom.

“I really didn’t have a lot going on,” Malm said. “I just needed something to occupy my mind that wasn’t my phone or the TV.”

She hopes to continue reading as a way to relax.

“It’s almost escapism — it’s really a wonderful break from reality to just be able to dive back into a book,” Malm said.

She believes that, in some ways, other forms of media can’t compare to books.

“The amount of description and the amount of intimate understanding that you can have of a character and the way that their mind works is something that you don’t get on TV or in movies,” she said.

Luke Smith, 10 – gaming, fishing

Sophomore Luke Smith spent his time in quarantine playing video games and trying to keep in contact with his friends. Although he liked gaming before the pandemic, his drive to do so grew immensely when he was unable to see his friends.

“I played a lot of video games with my friends [during quarantine],” Smith said. “That was the only way that I could talk to them.”

Along with playing video games, Smith also began fishing during quarantine. Although it kept him busy, he said it was sometimes a lot of waiting.

“It’s very exciting when you get a bite,” Smith said. “It can also be pretty boring when you don’t get any for a long time.”

Now that everything is opening back up and slowly going back to normal, Smith has picked up some of his old hobbies as well.

“I [have] started hanging out with people a little more, but not as much as normal,” he said. “Sports have started up, so I can watch them now.”

Quincy Hartman, 12 – photography, cello

During quarantine, senior Quincy Hartman began to not only pursue her love of photography and painting, but she also picked up an old hobby as well.

“I’ve [taken] a few senior pictures and have started doing cello lessons again,” Hartman said.

Even with the rules and regulations of quarantine, Hartman still found ways of pursuing these activities. Whether it was doing online cello lessons or wearing a mask and social distancing while taking photos, she made the most of it.

“I pushed through and didn’t give up on trying to find ways to be safe but still have something to do,” Hartman said.

Ava Wadman, 9 – self-care, organization

Before quarantine, freshman Ava Wadman was always doing something. Whether it be with friends, family or dance, Wadman was constantly busy. Although most of her hobbies weren’t quarantine friendly, she had to find new ways to keep herself busy and entertained.

“During quarantine, I needed to figure out more things to do on my own, so I did a lot of organization and self-care,” Wadman said. “[I also] fell back into painting [and] spent a lot of time with my family. We’re all super busy, so it was good to have more time with them.”

Even though most businesses are open now and she’s almost back to her busy schedule, Wadman still finds the time for self-care.

“I try to still do as much as I can,” Wadman said. “It makes me a better person, and I do it as a distraction from everything else that’s going on.”

Emma Williams, 12 – reading

Life before quarantine for senior Emma Williams was very busy and full of activities. She played volleyball, hung out with friends and was involved in track; but all of this came to an end in quarantine.

With her new-found boredom, she had to find a way to keep herself busy so she began reading.

“I didn’t want to sit on my phone all day or watch TV so I was like, ‘Let’s start reading,’” Williams said.

Williams enjoyed reading before the pandemic but didn’t read nearly as much as she did during quarantine.

“I did a lot of reading,” she said. “I read like 50 books.”

Because of all of that reading, Williams and her friends decided to create a book club and now have a positive new hobby they plan to continue even out of quarantine.

“We’re going to read books and talk about them together,” she said.

Ellie Nuss, 11 – tarot, oracle reading

Over quarantine, junior Ellie Nuss got more in touch with pagan spirituality, especially tarot and oracle card reading. This hobby stemmed from an interest in various religions.

“I’ve always been very interested in different types of spirituality,” Nuss said. “This is just the one I gravitated toward most.”

Although there is much information on this topic on the internet, Nuss prefers to learn about tarot and oracle reading through literature.

“There are a lot of really good books that are really specific,” Nuss said. “I have one that’s about tarot and [its meanings in] pop culture.”

Besides tarot, Nuss also dabbles in spellwork.

“The only real spells I do are ones with pure intent,” Nuss said. “They’re [for] protection and making sure I’m safe.”

Nuss plans to continue reaping the emotional benefits of this spiritual practice.

“It really helped calm me down,” Nuss said. “It’s something I really, really enjoy.”

Sofia Hughes, 11 – embroidery

Junior Sofia Hughes learned how to embroider during quarantine after seeing pictures on social media.

“I saw a lot of videos of embroidery on TikTok,” Hughes said. “I also saw pictures on Instagram or art accounts — unique stuff that isn’t what you think of when you think of embroidery.”

Hughes learned how to embroider through YouTube tutorials, but she said most of it is intuitive.

“You learn some basic stitches, but a lot of it is just pull[ing] the needle through the [fabric] over and over again until it looks like what you want it to look like,” Hughes said. “There are definitely more complicated styles, but I’ve just kind of done whatever I wanted and messed around.”

Besides the creative aspect of embroidery, Hughes likes how she can multitask with it.

“I really like listening to podcasts and watching TV [while I do it],” Hughes said. “I always have a hard time paying attention to things, and [it’s] just a really nice thing to do with my hands.”

Max Holdhusen, 10 – gaming, schoolwork

Over quarantine, sophomore Max Holdhusen has been playing more video games.

“A new video game came out called ‘Among Us,’ and it’s really fun to play with my friends,” Holdhusen said.

Holdhusen’s friends encouraged him to start playing “Among Us.”

“My friends are the ones that do all of that gaming stuff,” Holdhusen said. “They told me to download this game.”

Besides gaming, Holdhusen has also focused more on his studies during the break.

“I’ve been getting on top of schoolwork and getting all of it done,” Holdhusen said.

Thinking toward the future keeps Holdhusen motivated to keep improving as a student.

“I’m striving to do better in school,” he said. “That’s something I want to do in life — have good grades and go to a good school. I think that’s important.”