Everyone, this is Hal! He’s a student at the University of Michigan. Through the summer of 2020, he’s stuck at home like the rest of us. He’ll be back every week to share with you some of the good, bad, and plain unexpected things that come with moving back home during a pandemic.
This week, Hal’s been aching for some alone time. He wants to enjoy his book, but it seems like everyone else has other plans for the afternoon… Is there ever a moment when someone isn’t mowing their lawn?
Your body reminds me of one of those statues, like that of a Greek goddess
Your words invoked tears and a gentle smile
I don’t know if you knew it then or even now
But that’s one of the best things someone has said to me
I made a promise to love myself
When I look at my body in the mirror
With its curves and flab and indented ridges of stretched skin
My frown dissipates
My body is like that of a Greek goddess
I wrote this poem during a time in which I felt particularly insecure about my body. As I said in a previous post, I’m new to this whole poetry thing, but I feel as though this poem—or at least this attempt at one—was the best means of expressing how I felt at the time. I know I’m not supposed to have to explain what a poem means, but I think it deals with an important subject of people’s ever-increasing worries about their “quarantine bodies.”
It’s no secret that many people go through times when they grapple with body-image issues. It seems like we more often receive negative feedback than positive, and dealing with insecurities about one’s body can be a struggle. When confronting these issues, you can look at the comparison of a woman’s body to that of Aphrodite. Now, Aphrodite is the Greek Olympian goddess of love, beauty, sexual pleasure, and fertility. Many stories portray her as the epitome of female beauty, and it has been said that men can’t help but fall in love with her.
While Aphrodite is said to be infinitely enchanting and desirable, she is also depicted as human-like in many physical renderings. She has beauty, but she also has flaws. This doesn’t mean you have to look identical to Aphrodite’s statue to be beautiful, but rather contributes to an understanding of respect. If the body a statue represents is respected, why can’t yours be? What is it about Aphrodite’s curves and rolls that are impossibly different from yours?
Perspective matters, as does artistic expression. Rather than idealizing the images shown in social media and advertising, which often inundate us with objectified or altered depictions of the human body, turn to art. Art doesn’t exclusively characterize the human body as a product. It represents a variety of body types that have been embraced throughout different cultures and different times. Art is also vulnerable to different interpretations. There is no one, singular perfect piece of art that all other artwork is meant to emulate. Similarly, idolizing one set body type diminishes the natural beauty that resides in each unique body. Statues that depict Greek gods and goddesses are works of art and so are human bodies.
Heyo! Marge bringing you another comic about what will surely become unhealthy coping mechanisms. Webtoons are fun, but please read responsibly (i.e. don’t be like me).
Last summer, I had the opportunity to live and work in Ann Arbor. From the Ann Arbor Summer Festival’s Top of the Park series to the Ann Arbor Art Festival, there were a variety of events and activities to enjoy. Along with these, I went to parks, restaurants, and other parts of the city I hadn’t been to previously. One place was the Ann Arbor District Downtown Library (AADL). I made frequent trips to the library, not only for books, but for the events led by the library’s incredible staff and guest speakers. In addition to being fun and educational, many of the events were part of the AADL’s Summer Game.
The AADL’s annual Summer Game consists of finding codes, solving puzzles, and more via the library’s catalog and branch libraries. There are also opportunities to earn online badges, rate/review items in the library’s catalog, and log what you’ve been reading. There are also codes at various locations in Ann Arbor, encouraging participants to explore the city. These codes and challenges are used to earn points that can be redeemed for an array of real-life AADL prizes at the end of the summer.
I had a blast playing the Summer Game and received some awesome prizes (shout-out to Friends of the Ann Arbor District Library). So, you can imagine my excitement when I found out about the “Bummer Game.” With everyone hunkered in their homes for an unknown period of time, the Bummer Game offers a neat distraction from boredom or stress. The game includes online puzzles to solve for badges and points, which can be used toward the 2020 Summer Game. For Summer Game fanatics, this is a great way to gain a head start in earning points to spend on AADL merchandise at the end of July. For new players, the Bummer Game could be a nice introduction into the Summer Game. Either way, it is a cool activity to curb boredom and switch up your Netflix and quarantine routine.
Both the Bummer Game and the Summer Game are unique opportunities to discover new books, trivia, and more. Besides offering points and prizes, the Bummer and Summer Games present interesting ways for people to learn about history, art, literature, and more. Like its summer counterpart, the Bummer Game doesn’t require a library card, just an online account which you can use to keep track of points and order prizes.
Click here to start playing today!
The abrupt transition from life in the dorms to life at home has been strange. It’s been less than two weeks, and I already miss my friends, in-person classes, and other aspects of college life. Like many other students, the changes—coupled with growing concern over the virus—have had a negative impact on my motivation to do schoolwork. As I’ve tried to keep in contact with friends, I’ve noticed a trend: we all seem to struggle with finding things to do.
It’s easy to feel helpless during the epidemic, as our active role in solving the problem is simply being inactive by staying at home. As students, we are also caught in a weird situation; there is still some sense of normalcy, as we have full course loads to keep up with. At the same time, the loss of jobs, clubs, and other aspects of college life can be an uncomfortable change. Whether you have unexpected free time or are looking for a stress reliever, here are some ideas for artsy things you can do while in quarantine.
And there you have it! To follow my own advice, I’ll work on some of these things in the coming weeks and update you on my progress. Do you have another idea not listed here? What are you doing to ward off the quarantine blues? Comment below!
