Skills we picked up in quarantine
Did you find yourself becoming bored, itching for something new to do in quarantine? Did you search for new hobbies, pick up old ones or try something new? Elizabeth Burg, first-year vet grad student, tried many different hobbies before sticking to one: roller skating.
“I’m one of those people that constantly has to be doing something,” Burg said. “So, I picked up six different things. Did I stick with all of them? Absolutely not.”
Aside from roller skating, Burg tried knitting, painting, playing guitar and clay backing. She bought roller skates on a Black Friday and found quarantine was the perfect time to use them.
“I went on spring break and then came back and obviously had to quarantine, and that is when the world ended,” she said. “So, it was probably on day three when I lost my mind and then picked it up.”
Burg learned how to skate on her own. She took 30 minutes a day, a couple times a week, to go outside and skate. It’s a form of relaxation for her and she looks forward to it, especially when she has a busy week.
Her favorite part of roller skating is being able to see how much her skills have improved. “I’m good enough where I’m more confident and can flow more and sway to music,” Burg said.
The most challenging part of skating for Burg was trusting that she could go faster and not fall. In the beginning, she said she fell many times, but she didn’t let that stop her.
“I’ve gotten pretty good at it, and now I’m really proud of myself,” Burg said. “Now it’s my little break from vet school.”
Mark de los Reyes, a junior in mechanical engineering, learned something completely new during quarantine. His car, a BMW 325i, needed work, so he researched his questions online and asked his dad for help.
“I learned how to fix the cooling system in an E46,” he said. “Fixing a car is a lot simpler than I thought.” He said he became good at it, because it needed to be fixed several times.
Reyes said another reason that motivated him to fix his car was to see his girlfriend. Last semester, when most students had to go home, Reyes stayed in Manhattan. His girlfriend went home, which was three hours away.
He said the car still needs some work and he plans to learn more on how to fix it.
Maclaine McKnight, senior in interior design, started her own small business on Instagram and Facebook. With a little help from YouTube, she was able to be productive while at home.
Mcknight was inspired to make clay earrings. During quarantine, she spent hours on Pinterest finding inspiration for her patterns.
Her mom bought her a tub of clay and that’s all it took to get started. In the beginning, she started small, but she became better with practice. She created patterns and learned how to bake, roll and shape the clay.
Mcknight said the most challenging part was adding the hardwear back to the clay, but she has improved. It only took her a couple of months to hone her new craft. Now, she loves experimenting with different clays.
“If I’m working on an interior design project and if I’m working with a purple design, I lean towards purple stuff,” she said. “Kind of whatever is going on in my life, I feel like I make the earrings to go with it.”
Mcknight did not expect her small business run on social media to be as successful as it is now. Her customers range from the ages of 9 to 65-years-old.
“Don’t be afraid to try stuff. It’s not going to hurt if you just try,” she said. “Find what interests you and do it. YouTube is a crazy place. You can literally learn how to do anything.”
