A Day in the Life of a Quarantined Student

A couple of days ago, I did a day in the life on my Instagram stories and thought I would type it up here- so welcome to a little insight into my life on lockdown as an aspiring scientist!

8:20: Lockdown was starting to get to me, so I’ve started using Headspace to start my day off with a bit of mindfulness and then a stretch! After that, I would usually go and have breakfast, but I had had an exciting delivery the day before- my prize from ‘A Short Scientist’s blog competition- so I spent a little while blutacking the sciencey stickers and postcards to my wall.

9:25: It’s time for breakfast! Porridge with bananas today… Did You Know? Bananas are full of potassium! Potassium is vital for your body, as their ions are instrumental in nerve signals. But… some potassium ions are radioactive, so bananas are actually radioactive! Don’t stop eating bananas though, only 0.012% of potassium ions are radioactive, and even then they have a very long half-life, so you would have to eat over 1000 bananas to receive even the same small dose as getting an x-ray.

9:50: Ticking things off a list always motivates me, so I always write a list of things to do each day! I don’t actually have many classes at the moment (only two physics lessons a week), so I’ve signed up to a few online courses/MOOCs to keep me going. On today’s list:

Biology Revision/ Prep
Moons MOOC
Exoplanets MOOC
Italian
Catch up on yesterday’s physics lesson
Isaac Physics
Exercise

10:46: Biology ticked off! Did some revision of genes, cell division and protein synthesis, then moved on to some more detailed notes about protein synthesis from my new textbook for the course I’m moving on to in September! Ready to get started on the Moons MOOC

12:00: Spent the last our on Future Learn learning about different types of orbits different moons may have, why our moon is (and most others are) tidally locked, and how rings form. I’m really loving learning the things I like, at my own pace.

12:21: Time for lunch- one good thing about lockdown is I can have a proper lunch- and to watch an episode of friends (I’m on series 8 now)

13:03: Had to catch up on yesterday’s physics lesson as I couldn’t join the meet due to technical difficulties! Learning all about cosmology, so I completed a couple of sheets on Wien’s Law, Parallax and the Stephan Boltzman Law.

14:36: Another perk of working from home is afternoon tea time… well a-cup-of-tea-and-a-brownie time, nothing fancy!

16:20: Started a new online course; Exploring Exoplanets and I completed 5 parts from the first section and derived an equation! (admittedly half copying the video, but I understood it!!) Now to do some Italian.

17:15: Did a few questions from my new Italian workbook, I’ve been learning bits of Italian here and there over the past few years, but now I have more time I’m putting more effort into it! For me, language learning is really important, and its super fun too. Just taking a quick break to post to my photography account, as I’ve realised I haven’t posted in a few days.

17:46: Finished off my Italian practice with some Duolingo. I find it really useful to do some quick practice on it to learn vocab and gain a general understanding, and not wanting to lose my streak (42 days and running) is a great motivator!

19:30: I’ve had dinner, and now I’m going to do half an hour of exercise- I’m really lucky to have a chin-up bar and rings in my room, which are super useful for keeping my strength up in lockdown, as usually, I’m an avid climber- but I haven’t climbed in 8 weeks! I think that’s the longest period I’ve gone without climbing since 2016… Anyway, I love working out, so I usually spend at least half an hour a day doing exercise, but usually more.

20:10: Quick change and its time for a zoom call/Netflix party with some of my friends! In normal times, we only see each other once a month, but since lockdown, we’ve organised a zoom call every week! Although lockdown has made me (and pretty much everyone in the world) miss out on some pretty big events (RIP exams 2020), I have actually become more connected with some people, and the reduced stress has had a great impact on my life! That said, I’m looking forward to seeing everyone again, but for now, at least, stay safe and keep on socially distancing!

I hope you guys enjoyed that little insight into my ‘life on lockdown’! I’m going to be doing mini ‘day in the life’s like this more frequently on my stories, as people seem to like them (and who doesn’t love a good study timelapse?!) You can find these stories in my highlights, so go check that out!