DIY Tie-Dye Sweat Set
We’ve all seen those adorable, trending tie-dye sweat sets worn by Charlie D’amelio and Addison Rae. But they can be so expensive!
You can turn cheap sweatpants and a sweatshirt from Walmart into your own fashionable tie-dye sweat-set using rubber bands and a little bit of bleach!
Macomb student’s life in quarantine
Matt Thomas is a freshman at Central Michigan University. For spring break, Thomas decided to go back to his hometown of Macomb, Michigan. Little did he know that he wouldn’t be leaving the house for the next month.
Macomb has the third most coronavirus cases out of all cities in Michigan. With the city having 3,992 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 354 subsequent deaths, Macomb residents have been ordered to stay inside their homes unless absolutely necessary.
For the past 4 weeks, Thomas has been quarantined at home with his mother, father and Thomas’ two sisters. He rarely gets to leave the house, except for a solo bike ride every now and then for some sunlight and exercise.
Life during quarantine has changed dramatically for Thomas. “Everything has changed really,” Thomas said. “My routine, my social life, my mental health, my fitness, my diet, my school performance, everything’s changed.”
Classes have not been easy for Thomas with the switch to online only. The classes that Thomas is most struggling with are public speaking and calculus.
“I had to record myself giving my speech for public speaking. That seemed pretty contradictory to me to be honest,” Thomas said.
Thomas also struggled with his calculus exams. He had to print off the exam papers, fill them out as he would in class, then take pictures of his papers and submit them on blackboard, all while on a lockdown browser and during a one hour time limit.
What Thomas misses most during quarantine is his life back up at CMU.
“I miss going to parties and eating dinner with my roommates in the dining hall,” Thomas said. “I was just starting to build a life for myself up there.”
Thomas had plans on moving into an apartment on campus over the summer, but now he is nervous for what the future will hold. “There’s so much uncertainty,” Thomas said.
However, Thomas is very hopeful that the worst of the virus will be over by June.
“It sounds bad, but it needs to get worse before it can get better. Eventually the curve will flatten then life will go on as normal,” said Thomas.
Survey: What’s your favorite character from The Office?
The Office: An American Workplace
Netflix has become America’s pastime during the quarantine. Whether your rewatching your favorite old shows for the fifteenth time or binge watching an entire new series, Netflix has something for everybody.
Below is a chart that illustrates both the audience’s and Rotten Tomatoes scores for the most popular TV shows on Netflix.
As illustrated from the chart, one of the shows most beloved by the audience is The Office. Below is a word-cloud illustrating the most famous quotes from the series.
Source: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0386676/quotes/qt2977404
Life during the quarantine
Central Michigan University sophomore Grace Kern is remaining on campus during the quarantine, despite the urge from administration to leave because of the COVID-19 outbreak. Because of the quarantine, living at CMU has changed drastically. Hallways are silent, laundry rooms are empty, and lobbies are ghost towns. With no social gatherings, only online classes, and most public buildings being closed, Kern passes the time any way that she can.
Kern finishes a puzzle that she has been working on for 3 days in between homework and online lectures.
Kern works at the technology help desk in the Park Library. However, because Governor Whitmer’s order to close all public places of amusement, the Park Library has since been closed. Kern now works the help desk from home, being “online” and available to students in need for her designated shift.
Kern gets her meals at Fresh Food Company dining hall here on campus during the quarantine. She waits at the designated six feet apart cones while waiting in line.
One of Kern’s favorite hobbies is playing her ukulele. Now during the quarantine, she has more time to practice. Her favorite song to play is “Can’t Help Falling in Love” by Elvis.
Headshots
I had the pleasure of taking my room mate, sophomore Grace Kern’s headshot photos. She was quite nervous about having her picture taken, and was very reluctant to get in front of the camera. I had to make some fun of the situation to get her to laugh so we could see that beautiful natural smile.
‘Marvel Talks Episode One: Iron Man: The Man, The Myth, The Legend’
Shane and Katie discuss the movie that began one of the greatest sagas in cinematic history: “Iron Man”. Then they hit the streets to ask random people questions about the movie, but looking only for wrong answers.
CMU student finds passion in sports photojournalism
Central Michigan University student Layla Blahnik-Thoune combines her love of sports and her passion for photography into her career path as a photojournalist for CMU. Layla dreams of one day taking pictures for the Milwaukee Bucks basketball team.
What is Self-Care?
Self-care is the practice of taking action in preserving or improving one’s own well-being and overall happiness.
When talking about self-care, I like to use the story of a teapot.
You are a nice and caring person with a big teapot full of tea, and you like to share with your friends. Say one day your best friend is going through a rough breakup at school, so you pour her a cup of tea from your teapot to make her feel better. She takes the tea and thanks you for the drink. Then say that evening your coworker approaches you at work and tells you they are being harassed by your superior. You pour her a cup of tea while she talks to you about it to help calm her. Then say that night your sister comes into your room and she tells you that she’s failing two of her classes, so you pour her a cup of tea to cheer her up. You look down at your teapot and realize that it is completely empty. Now you have to take a break and boil some water, steep the tea, and let it cool before you can give anyone else tea. Because you cannot pour from an empty teapot. The same concept applies to self-care.
In order to take care of others, you need to take care of yourself first.
Learning to say “no” to things that overextend you is an important yet very difficult part of self-care. It is not selfish to say “no” to something at that very moment. A simple “I can’t do that now, how about I get back to you later” is always okay.
Remember, you cannot pour from an empty teapot. If you cannot be there for someone 100%, just say no. More often than not, they’ll understand.
Another important part of self care is setting boundaries for yourself. Don’t stay up until 2 am studying for your linear algebra midterm, trust me, it’s doing more harm than good at that point.
Don’t work yourself to death. Set a deadline for yourself to be relaxing and in bed by a certain time every night. If something is not done by your deadline, it can wait until the morning. This will also help you be more productive during the day and to prioritize your tasks.
With a deadline, cut yourself off. That means don’t check email, don’t go on blackboard, put the phone on do not disturb for the rest of the night and focus on decompressing after a long day.
No two people have the same self-care routine. What works for one person might not work exactly the same for the other. You need to figure out what works for you. To do this, try new things. Try journaling, taking naps, going to the gym, crying it out into your pillow, try anything until you find something that helps you relax and feel better about yourself.
How do you realize when your teapot is empty? When you start to feel exhausted and numb. Saying things like “I can’t deal with this right now” or “I don’t care, it doesn’t matter” are warning signs that you are burnt out and just need to take some time to refill your teapot.
Self care is not a luxury, it is a necessity. Take time to love and take care of yourself, so you can love and be there for others.
Katie Hixson's Self Care Blog 