It is the second summer season that children, 17 years old and below, have to spend indoors. Not only are we not allowed to go out, but we also cannot get the vaccine yet.
We understand that requiring children to stay home is for the good of all, but there are drawbacks. Some of us may feel like we have nothing better to do in our homes than sit down staring into oblivion while waiting for the pandemic to end.
We checked in with a few Grade 9 students from the Quezon City Science High School (QCSHS) to get a better grasp on how the youth are doing and feeling in their second pandemic summer.
Not enthusiastic to be indoors again
High temperature and boredom are making the second homebound summer difficult for James Gabriel Corpuz. He wishes that he could go outside and play.
While happy to have a place where she is safe and comfortable, Sehanna De Vera says she doesn’t want to spend another summer at home and would rather be out visiting islands and other countries with her family as they did pre-pandemic.
Fine to be safe inside
Eliza Karel Gruta, meanwhile, welcomes another summer spent with her family at home. Ernest Odones Sy likewise prefers the current set-up as he says he is not fond of going outside and socializing, and would rather do housework. Same goes for Rojan Dicion, who also doesn’t mind being ordered to stay in because he doesn’t like the outdoors much.
Atasha Manaligod shares that spending summer at home isn’t new to her because she and her family spend summer mostly at home even before the pandemic. But she adds that it also feels devastating that we still can’t go out to enjoy the season.
Keeping themselves occupied
Some of us may not be too giddy to spend another summer inside the house, but there are a few things that we do to keep us occupied.
Ernest plays games, does chores, and learns how to play the piano. Rojan is usually on Twitter, reads novels and manga, and watches anime. Atasha helps her parents with their business. James helps his mother and grandmother with housekeeping before he watches shows on Netflix and plays his guitar.
Eliza does her hobbies and spends time with her family. Sehanna spends her time lounging and talking to friends, while also immersing herself in video games and classic literature.
Silver lining
As the pandemic drags on, Ernest is optimistic that we can still enjoy the summer as long as we do something that we like and can help distract us from the current situation.
The others agree with Ernest. Rojan says there’s room for enjoyment during the pandemic, while James believes that as long as one is productive, there is still space for fun. Atasha says there are many things to enjoy at home and for Eliza, anyone can have fun what with so many entertainment choices available nowadays.
Sehanna agrees that there is still room for enjoyment, especially for young people who are privileged enough to have access to gadgets and Internet. She opines that young kids should try their best to enjoy whatever is left for them to enjoy, after all, we only are kids once.
It turns out that we, young people, can still manage to find our own joys even in quarantine. Creativity helps us think of things to pursue and learn, while our energy enables us to venture into new and exciting indoor activities before the summer ends.