What am I doing in quarantine?

Hey everyone. I hope all of you are safe during these times. Please remember to keep practicing good hygiene, disinfecting your belongings and only leaving the house if it's to buy essential items! Please take this situation seriously if you aren't already. 

I recognize that being in isolation sucks, so I'm writing this post to remind everyone about the importance of keeping busy. I struggle with depression and I've noticed it gets worse if I don't fill up my schedule. If you're like me, these suggestions may help. 

If you can't or don't feel like doing any of these, there's nothing wrong with simply surviving during this time. Your value should not be based on your productivity. It is perfectly valid if you use this time to simply rest, work to provide for your family, etc. 

Continuing support for causes I care about, such as Indigenous sovereignty and climate action  

I'm a university student, and I lived on campus before the pandemic. This meant that while I was not studying or going to classes, I was also going to meetings for student clubs/organizations, protests for causes I care about, and guest lectures by famous profs who were visiting from other universities. 

Some of these events obviously had to be cancelled. For example I help the Indigenous Studies Student Union at my university. They were organizing a powwow. It's very difficult for that sort of thing to be moved online so it was simply cancelled. 

But other events moved online. For example, book clubs/reading groups. I was in one about socialism. We read and discussed the Communist Manifesto together and various articles about Marxism before the pandemic. Now these have been moved onto Zoom, which is great and I actually like it better than in-person meetings. 

I also used to go to climate protests. Greta Thunberg's movement called Fridays for Future spread to my city. I don't know how exactly this will work, but apparently they are trying to do an online climate protest thing. Sounds kinda strange to me but if I end up participating I'll let you know how it goes. 

I also supported the Wet'suwet'en Nation in its fight against the coastal gaslink pipeline (and still do! Canada is still continuing pipeline construction despite COVID-19). I went to fundraiser event where Eve Saint, the daughter of one of the hereditary chiefs spoke. Here is a huge compilation of online solidarity actions. They range from calling your MPs to demanding companies like CIBC withdraw their funding for the pipeline: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NB3A-BlJBr2CbJ6exU1CWwYHIOyZZXmLu70Z3o_MkRA/edit?usp=drivesdk please try doing some of these. 

Doing embroidery 

I always loved this art form. My mom is a pro at it and can make really intricate designs. I'm not as good as her, but I'd love to use quarantine time to get better. I'll post my designs here and on my DeviantArt account (aztecatl13). I also love sewing. 

I plan on doing embroidery designs inspired by my culture. Elephants, peacocks, tigers, cobras, lotus flowers (pretty obvious where I'm from). 

Also if you ever buy basmati rice, henna, spices or anything else from an Indian grocery store, often the packaging will have cultural designs on it. I often save the packaging or take a picture of it for inspiration. 

I also love Mexican culture, so I will do a few designs inspired by that. Perhaps corn, chili peppers, avocados, axolotls, etc. 

Learning digital art 

I get made fun of by my fellow artists sometimes for only drawing on paper. Now that I finally have a graphics tablet, there's no excuse not to learn digital art! 

I'll be posting what I draw on this blog and also my DeviantArt account (aztecatl13). 

Getting into Amino 

I deleted my Instagram and limited my friends list on Facebook to less than 30 people, and I hate Twitter because of how toxic the people on there can be. DeviantArt is awesome, but it's dead and barely anyone uses it anymore. It peaked in 2012. 

So I'm going to be joining Amino because it is a creative community. There are lots of Amino groups where people post their art and writing. I am a fan of certain books, shows and movies and I would love to interact with the fans on this wholesome platform. I will also join culture/travel related groups and language learning groups. 

Reading the Bhagavad Gita and perhaps other Hindu scripture. Maybe reading about other aspects of India Perhaps reading about other religions as well.