I've seen it all over social media, tons of posts about needing to be productive while in quarantine, and why your value decreases if you aren't. I've gotta be honest, I'm sick of it. The pressure social media put on us before coronavirus was already tremendous, but now? It seems as if we aren't posting our push-up challenge to our Instagram story or learning a new recipe, we just aren't doing enough.

For some, quarantine is a great time to better themselves and learn new things. For me? Quarantine has been a roller coaster.

Some days I'll do my whole skincare and makeup routine for nothing, workout, and eat a normal three meals a day. Most days though, my hair's in a bun, I'm running on three hours of sleep, and I haven't stopped playing Minecraft in six hours. The truth is, this is okay and I am doing just fine!

Sometimes, getting up and just taking care of myself takes up the entire day.

This time is definitely uncharted territory for me. Getting used to spending every second of every day with myself has been a battle. To put it simply, say you were put in a prison cell with someone you didn't particularly like. Then, you're told you're going to spend the unforeseeable future with them, so you might as well learn to enjoy their company.

Hopefully, we'll all find that we aren't so terrible to be stuck with.

Sometimes what we need in life is a simple break from expectations, from routine, and for me, a break from mascara. Whatever you're deciding to do while in quarantine is completely valid. It's important to remember that most of us have never experienced a pandemic before. This means our body is trying to understand our irregular sleeping patterns, unusual food intake, and this new source of stress.

While it's a great idea to take up new hobbies, it's more important than ever to be gentle with ourselves. If you think about it, taking care of your mental health by not worrying about other people's standards is bettering yourself in the long run. Comparing our productivity during this time is not only aimless but incorrect.

Growth isn't linear and we're all beautifully, chaotically different.