May 4 2020
We have been in lockdown for several weeks and I have had some trouble maintaining a balance of creativity and activity. I began exercising soon after we were given the order to stay at home, and I wanted to do something that would be beneficial to me in the long run, and something that I could be glad I did later on. This was an issue I had with finding something creative to do. Theatre and acting of any kind was something I did in school, and while I enjoy it, I don’t see a viable way for me to regularly practice without it taking up too much of my time, especially now with school being all the more difficult to manage. As a result, I want to be creative from time to time without it becoming too complicated and with some goal in mind that would help me grow as a person.
I have always told myself I would read more. Language and Literature is one of my favourite classes, and while the books we read have been interesting, I never felt they were something I would read in my own time. Furthermore, most of my family are avid readers, and we have several bookshelves at home with things they have read and which I hope to read. On top of this, my bedside table has 7 books on it I have been meaning to read at some point. About a week ago my father, who works in a building next to a library, checked out Batman: Knightfall, one of the most popular stories published by DC. I finished it a few days ago and am currently reading the second volume. At the same time, I am reading Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, a book recommended to me by my History teacher. I hope to finish both soon so I can read the third volume of Knightfall and move onto the other books on my nightstand: Salem’s Lot (recommended by my English teacher), a collection of H.P. Lovecraft Stories, and Altered Carbon.
I realize that, while reading is creative and good for literacy, comprehension and general mental exercise, it isn’t something that I can set goals for or hope to get better at, aside from remaining committed to reading. As a result, I downloaded Duolingo. Originally I had hoped to begin learning Japanese, but after a bit of research into ways to learn the language and how effective Duolingo itself is, I found it wouldn’t be the best way to do this. Instead, I took the strength test for Russian so that I could practice what I had forgotten since I stopped using it so frequently. I made a couple of obvious mistakes in the test so was placed below where I should be, but I am still able to practice and fix little things I get wrong, like sentence structure, conjugation, and gender. I am currently on Checkpoint 2 and working on Dative & Plural, Perfective 1, Instrumental Case, and Body & Life.
Another way I want to remain creative and learn something in the process is with music. My dad plays three instruments and so does my uncle, and they were in two or three bands together. As a result, we have many instruments sitting around the house. I tried guitar and piano when I was young but never pursued them, but felt that now would be the perfect time to try again. Initially, I considered trying to learn guitar again, but when I tried playing the acoustic, I just didn’t like the way it sounded. Instead, I began learning the bass. I started by watching a few YouTube videos on the basics and asking my father where I should start, but I tried not to rely on him for help because I wanted to learn it independently. My next step was to learn how to play a song, so I went through my phone to find a song I liked that also had bass, and I eventually found a couple. In less than a week I was able to play the opening to Not Today by Twenty One Pilots, one of my favourite songs by the band.
(Playing Not Today on bass, video taken by my brother)
Our amplifier isn’t working so I had to start plucking and strumming the strings a lot harder for them to be heard when I practised, which ends up wearing me out faster, but it is good conditioning. I moved on to learning some other songs and practising only about 15 minutes a day between classes and during breaks, but I enjoy it.
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