“I wouldn’t say that I added a new hobby to my repertoire, but I did build on an existing one. It’s not a secret to anyone that knows me that I am obsessed with everything that involves the entertainment industry. Movies, musicals, television shows, plays, practically anything with a character, I’m there. With that, I’ve slowly found myself becoming not only an avid watcher and critic, but a creator myself. I’ve been pushing myself to write a screenplay for a few years now, but quarantine and being stuck at home allowed me to really take a major leap in that endeavor. So this semester, other than writing for The Current, I will be working on my various screenplays and scripts in my free time,” said Christina McLaughlin, co-editor-in-chief.
“This past summer, I really got back into spending time outside. I live up north, so when I flew home last March, there was still snow on the ground. When I’m in Florida normally, on the other hand, I visit parks, walk outside or go to the beach whenever I can — assuming it’s not storming. This past spring, between the cold weather, ‘social isolation’ guidelines and keeping up with my online classes, I spent a lot of my time in my house — which was a departure from my ‘normal.’ Once the semester was over and the weather started getting warmer, I tried to spend more time outside. If I had days off from work, I’d try to drive to a lake or visit state and county parks whenever I got the chance. I’ve always been an outdoorsy type of person, so this isn’t really a new hobby, just something I tried to make more of a priority,” said Madelyn Rinka, co-editor-in-chief.
“During the summer quarantine, I discovered a love for painting that I never had before. I’d dabbled in the art of working with paints when I painted a Marshall amp last year prior to the pandemic, but I had never really painted on a canvas before. This all changed when I found myself looking for a new way to get creative. At the beginning of the quarantine, I found myself embroidering and sewing — artsy and crafty things I’d done before, but one day, I went to Dollar Tree and found mini canvases for $1. Having recently bought paint pens, I decided to give it a go and found myself loving the painting experience. I’ve loved the experience so much that I have slowly been filling up one of the walls in my room with paintings. I’ve also made some paintings for loved ones. It’s just become a good pastime for me where I can connect with my creative side,” said Flor Ana Mireles, copy editor.
“During quarantine, I didn’t really get to pick up a new hobby, but rather I developed better habits for myself and created a daily schedule. I started to workout outside and created a whole routine for myself. I started eating at regular hours of the day and bought an annual pass to Universal because they had an awesome deal where they gave me three months for free and I pay $10 a month. Other than that, I’ve been working as a social media and office manager for student media and interned as a marketing and production assistant for a financial firm,” said Farhan Shaban, chief of visual design.
“While I would not really call this a hobby, during quarantine my collection of “fake” skulls grew tremendously. I am a Halloween aficionado. As such, I have a plethora of skull decorations that I have bought over time — mostly on impulse. However, during quarantine, this collection skyrocketed and now my room is littered with skull decorations. Am I upset? No. I am more than happy with this casual obsession. My favorite skull that I acquired over quarantine is one that was carved from petrified wood with a little frog inside the part where the brain would be. Quarantine really brought out my inner love for skull decor,” said Rick Esner, news editor.
“Not quite a new hobby, but I got back into hiking while I was back home for the quarantine. I live in a small town, so even without COVID-19 restrictions, there’s not a ton to do. With even less options, hiking became a good way to occupy some of my time. Luckily, there are so many trails in my area near where I live. Some of them I had hiked before, but lots of them were ones I had never explored before. They definitely beat being cooped up inside all day,” said Emma Heineman, features editor.
“During the summer, I took staying home very seriously because I have several people in my life who are immunocompromised and at a higher risk of serious infection. I only traveled out of the house for essential errands. That being said, I was bored out of my mind! I began watching crafting videos on YouTube and realized two things: first, I would certainly be bad at whatever I tried, and second, I had the time to be bad at it and learn from my mistakes! I decided I wanted to try making epoxy resin charms. For those of you that don’t know, there are several types of resin, but UV and epoxy resin are most commonly used for crafting. Epoxy resin is a two part clear substance that hardens over time, but when it is still in liquid form after being mixed, it can be poured into molds. You can add pigment, glitter and even little charms to make super cool and cute little sculptures. I had been watching resin crafting videos for quite a while now, but never really thought I’d had the time or energy as making one piece can take several hours and the pieces need at least 24 hours to harden before you can demold them. A little resin goes a long way; over the summer, I ended up making over 50 little charms, and plan to continue making them whenever I get back home,” said Sofia Gallus, arts & entertainment editor.
“I didn’t really take the time to develop any new hobbies over quarantine, but I did spend a lot of time cleaning and fixing things around my house. Quarantine made time for my family to work on doing much needed repairs around the house. Aside from that, I had plenty of time to play video games when all the work for the day was done,” said Alexander Martinie, opinions editor.
Photo obtained by E. Robertson
