If you are an artist of any kind, rather it is an aspiring filmmaker, illustrator, writer, musician or anything else one of the biggest excuses you will use is, "I just don't have enough time to do that." It's a valid excuse as well. Why don't you go out there and make your short film you've always wanted? Well, I gotta go to school, do my homework and then clock onto work. If I had the time, I'd make my short film. I'd write my script. I'd create music. I'd sketch out my picture book. I'd write my screenplay. I'd read more. I'd DO more.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a weird opportunity in the lives of artists. This span of our lives will be free time we never have again. This provides people with the question, "what should I do with all of this free time?" and that becomes a daunting question. I wake up everyday at about 11 pm, pour a cup of coffee and wonder what the heck I'm doing with my life right now. Sometimes this boils to laying in my bed, listening to dream pop music and wondering if I could be doing more. Heck, I used to go out to movie theatres multiple times of week to get my mind off of things and now without theatres open I find it hard sometimes to get my focus on a film when it is playing in my room. My mind still tells myself the same thing, "you could be doing more." Then, I don't know what I could be doing because there's so many options.

Alongside getting my homework done for the rest of the year, my days have consisted of a lot of drawing and learning how my new copic markers work. This leads to marathoning shows like Breaking Bad I've been putting off to finish. Then I'll write a screenplay and look at the Criterion Channel for a more obscure movie that's on my watchlist I've always wanted to check out.

Then I'll take a walk outside to get some fresh air. Go home and workout a bit to stay healthy and feel less trapped. The days go by fast this way. I usually end the night talking to my friends online for hours until 2 in the morning. Quarantine has been odd because I do miss being able to stop by Barnes and Noble for a book or go to the theatre. I miss planning on hanging out with friends and running around Springfield on a Friday night. However, I feel like this is a unique time in my life where I've changed as an individual. I haven't gotten as much done as I've wanted. I want to create an animated short film, finish off watchlists, write a picture book, get more fit, worry less and get some more projects off the ground.

I know a lot of people feel the same way I do. How I see it, what I've tried to do is have one goal a day. I'm gonna draw ten pictures today. I'm gonna watch one three hour foreign film today. I'm gonna write five articles today. I'm gonna clean my room today. I'm gonna eat healthier every day. I'm gonna record something today. I'm gonna publish something today. Maybe by the time this is all over, we will have more of an appreciation for the little things. We will have more work to share with the world. We will appreciate the little moments even more.

So make sure during quarantine to try to help yourself. Not only creatively but emotionally. Find your self worth. Tell the people you appreciate that you appreciate them. Be kind to one another. Do good things- make a positive impact on the world because who knows when everything we have could be taken away.