Here in California and across most of the country, things are starting to slowly open up. I’m slowly but surely starting to spend some time in the vet hospital, and every day I get to go in, it’s so fun, so exciting, and such an amazing learning experience. In my first two weeks, I was only able to go in 4 days, but in that time I had the cutest kitten patient with a complicated issue, and I got to perform minor surgery by myself. That being said, it’s frustrating and challenging that we are still home SO MUCH. That’s kind of the purpose of my post today.
Given how amazing and fun it is the hours or days we get to go in, it’s really easy to think about what this year should have looked like. In the hospital every day, seeing multiple cases every day instead of a few a week, lots of hands on time, time collaborating with classmates and friends, wine nights with friends after a long week of work.
But when I step away from comparing my year to how it could have been, things feel much better. This week, I get to go in every day, albeit only for a couple of hours. I’m on the Behavior rotation, and with everything I’m learning now, I feel like I’ll be fairly competent to deal with some issues in practice. Extra time at home means extra snuggle time with the kitties. I’m learning how to cook all kinds of new (albeit basic…) things. I’m staying active. I’m way more tan than I ever expected to be this year…Last week I had the realization that with all these changes and a lot of time learning virtually, it really is up to me to take charge of my own education. This means more study time for things I feel like I will need in practice. There are a ton of online resources coming out with virtual rounds on all kinds of topics. Because I’m spending so much time at home, I’m preparing to be totally ready to crush my ER rotation by prepping and bringing all my energy (aka the energy of the last 3 months I’ve been home) to the hospital. I’m going to make the most of every day I get to be there.
I realize that my school situation is sort of unique right now, and I didn’t intend this to be the main focus of today’s post. Today’s post is all about changing your mindset.
So to address the title of the post: yes, I got stronger during quarantine. I realize that I ended up in a lucky situation to have more access to weights, but stay with me here.
We were sheltered in place with gyms closed for 3 months. Prior to quarantine, I was doing a squat program and getting stronger, and I was teaching regular spin classes and in great cardiovascular shape. Of course, when quarantine hit, I worried about how I would lose all that fitness. But it’s all about working with what you’ve got.
I know mentally, quarantine has been challenging for a lot of people, myself included. 90% of the time I’ve managed to stay positive and find joy in the small things.
Lifting weights has been one of the best things for keeping me sane. I’m super lucky that I ended up with a pretty great garage gym setup thanks to my gym renting out barbells and weights, as well as some other equipment acquisitions, but it doesn’t have to be that fancy. I started out with a single dumbbell and learned you can do quite a lot with just that.
As things got challenging at times during this period, I got to feel strong. This is why I love weight lifting for myself but for everyone. You get to feel strong, and it goes beyond just the “weight room” (aka my garage right now). When it feels like the world is falling apart around you, it helps so much to have something constant, something that makes you feel powerful and like you’re still able to control your life. Because ultimately, even though it may not feel like it, we still have control. We control our situations. We control our mindset. You can choose to look at the positives. I have so many great memories that came from staying at home in quarantine. I’m not writing the past 3 months off as a complete wash. I may not be in the hospital as much as I was hoping but I’m still learning a ton.
As things start opening up, life still won’t be “normal” for a while, and we need to remember to still find beauty in the little things, joy in the simple things, and lightness in an era of heaviness. We cannot just let the entire year pass without getting something from it. Perhaps the lesson we can learn is how to make the most of the situation we’re in. We get to narrate our own stories; we set the tone. The story is not over.
