I'm writing this on my fourteenth day of isolation after testing positive for COVID-19.

Isolation has been, isolating, boring, and lonely. It's not fun.

If you're wearing masks and social distancing, you most likely won't have to do this! Keep it up, please!

If you find yourself having to isolate for the standard ten days (or more, like me), here are some things I did that made me feel (remotely) human again. Isolating like this is a dehumanizing experience. Let one human that's been through it tell another human (yes, you are human~) some ways to handle this terrifying, lonely, but necessary challenge.

1. Binge TV like it's nobody's business

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This can take up entire days, I think I spent my first four days watching Gilmore Girls without a care in the world (well, except the whole COVID thing.) Pick something new, or revisit an old favorite! This method is great to keep your mind off of your situation. Plus, we're all busy people! You'll likely never have this many days in a row with nothing to do ever again! Make the most of it.

2. CLEAN!

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You're obviously going to want to disinfect, like, everything in your isolation space every day, but organize! Dust! Wash your windows! You can't control what's happening to you right now, but you CAN control your prison cell immediate environment.

3. Read that book you've been dying to start

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Again, you've got a lot of time on your hands. Hell, even find an audiobook and follow along while somebody reads it aloud! It'll make you feel like you have somebody in the room with you!

4. Write. Journal. Write your feelings down.

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You're going through it right now. Even if you don't actively feel it, this is straining on your mental and physical health. Let it out. Don't bottle it up. Getting it out and seeing it on paper may help you process how you're feeling.

5. Talk to friends and family

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Again, I can't stress enough how dehumanizing this experience is. I'm terrified to rejoin the outside world. I have no desire to leave sometimes, and absolutely no desire to speak to anyone. I don't think I've talked for more than a half an hour the entire time I've been isolating. Don't let your mental health deteriorate. You may be physically alone, but you are not completely alone. Talk to your support system.

6. Call your university's counseling and psychological services

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This is a traumatic experience you're going through. Nobody really knows how to truly handle everything. The uncertainty and being just another positive test to the contact tracer in charge of your case is truly unfathomable to anyone unless they're going through this life-capsizing experience. I get it! You can talk to someone that's been through it! Or, call someone. Again, the world we're navigating right now is so new and unexplored, but professionals can help.

7. Explore new music

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Do this while you're eating your meals on trays delivered to your door like you're in prison, or just laying down and chilling out. I'm a big listen to music while you're doing something else right now. In fact, I'm shuffling Camila Caballo, while writing down my feelings, in isolation! It helps fill the silence. And, if you're a big music guy like me, it just helps make you feel better.

8. Plan what you'll do when you can come out of isolation

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Make plans with your friends! Pick out what you'll eat for dinner or what you want to have in the house for snacks! Because I bet it'll feel good the first time I can go get my own glass of water in an actual cup and eat with actual plates and silverware. I know my dad really wants to go to the beach with me, so I have that to look forward to in (hopefully) just a few more days!

9. Exercise

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It's easy to sit around and do nothing this entire experience, trust me. When I was feeling down and antsy I would turn on my friend Fitness Marshall to cheer me up and get me dancing, something I love to do! Don't forget to take care of yourself while you're isolating for the sake of others.

10. Go outside

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Please don't sit in your room all day. If possible, have a roommate or a parent open your doors for you and let you go outside at least once a day. Stretch your legs. Stand, as you're probably sitting in your room all day. Feel the sunlight on your skin. You are ALIVE.

You will get through this. You will feel normal again one day. You got this!

If you need to talk to someone who's been through it, please contact me. (DM me on twitter @stinaaform)

Stay safe out there everyone! Wear a freaking mask!