Updates of an artistic introvert during quarantine
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n Life of an artistic introvert during quarantine?nnMonday, 4th May 2020.nn nnIt's been already 2 months of lockdown and today I'm feeling quite comfortable to write about it.nnIt's a sunny morning and I am still on the bed, pushing myself to write something on my kinda abandoned blog.nn nnSummarizing my last 8 weeks: it's been a lot of silence, self-knowledge, ups, and downs.nn nnYesterday I read an article about how the introverts are dealing with quarantine, and as part of this community, I got myself thinking through it.nn"Time to think and be creative, and without too much socializing, is an introvert’s ideal environment" - that's what they sayn
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nI include myself in this group cause I definitely feel more productive when I am having creative moments recharging on my own. While extroverts need people to recharge, introverts can do that by themselves. And I'm not saying that with a superiority tone, cause to be honest, in the society where we live, it's been always more attractive to be an extrovert, don't forget that.nn nnAs time passed, we can already draw a curve of what quarantine meant for each of us.nn nnAs for me, I clearly see the introversion phases of quarantine over these 8 weeks.n
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n [caption id="attachment_3856" align="aligncenter" width="748"] One of my quarentine paintings, if I don't have a Monstera deliciosa, let's paint it then[/caption]n
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n [caption id="attachment_3853" align="aligncenter" width="768"] Deciding what to paint next[/caption]n
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THE BEGINNINGn
n Let's put aside all the initial panic we went through, that's not worth talking now.nnIn the beginning, I felt a big relief as I finally had free time to do all the things I wanted to do (and found time excuses not to).nn nPlanning things to do, I love that. Who else is a to-do list fan?n nnIn the first 2 weeks, I was not alone. Bartek and I developed a routine I ended up loving (and now missing). Having meals together became the event of the day. When nothing really happens, sitting to eat is just the best part of the day. When life outside is not as before, going out for a short walk or run is something much more precious, and unique.nnThis feeling of "I have a lot of free time to do my things without distractions" was really good.nnI started to redesign my blog, finish an SEO course, and applied some of the concepts on my blog posts. I also started painting, and now there are four new canvas in the living room waiting to hang on the wall. I took pictures and read a lot.nnThese 2 weeks passed really fast. Probably when I was going through them it didn't really feel like that, but now it feels.nn nnThe thing is that, once it's mandatory for everyone to recharge by yourself, things start changing.nn nn n
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THE MIDDLEn
n Gonna talk about middle in the present now, cause that's where I am, we are.nn nThe middle is long, very long. And that's when the downs come.n nnThe days when you wake up and you kinda regret being so early, cause there is not a proper daily plan, and you can't find the motivation to do anything. Yea, I had some of these days, but they passed, like everything else.nnThe middle is somehow like the boring stage of a project, you already passed through the cool and exciting beginning. Now you need to make things work. You need a systematic plan, repetition, follow-up, and keep your feelings stable. It's hard, especially for me, because my motivation is fed with innovation, adventures, exploring the unknown.nnDuring the middle phase, I started realizing I needed people. I felt lonely, but I thought it was all my fault. My fault I was not productive, my fault I could not finish that thing by myself. As an introvert, you are used to feeling good by yourself, but the lockdown has changed everything.nn nIntroverts are in need of people and extroverts are forced to realize the power of loneliness. n nnPerhaps I am being too extreme here when I say introverts are in need of people, but I guess that works for social introverts.nnThe middle phase made me speak with people I would never speak before. People you suddenly realize you could have a great conversation and remember good old times. Thanks to all the video calls, I got closer to people than I was before (when we need to speak, I can offer you 5 different apps to set up our call, ok?).nnIt made me talk more to myself.nnHow many times did I catch myself thinking philosophically about so far stupid things?nn nnOhhhh and I can't forget mentioning the goose families.nn nnThese goose families were my light in many blue days.nnBasically, one day I went out for a run around the lake, and suddenly I saw a lot of goose couples followed by a lot of newborns. For real, from day to night, all the pregnant mamas gave birth to baby gooses and they were all over the place.nn nnThat's the goose season. nn nnLook, I would get out of the house feeling blue, I would see the parents growing and protecting their little babies, and I would feel stupid. Nature once again teaching us lessons. Not only I was getting fed with happiness while following the goose season, but many people were also doing the same!nnJesus, if I wasn't living these times, I guess I would never write about goose families. BUT.nn nnAnyways, another week comes, and I have a good feeling about it.n
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n [caption id="attachment_3857" align="aligncenter" width="768"] bed days[/caption]nn[caption id="attachment_3854" align="aligncenter" width="756"] Goose families in the sunset time[/caption]nn n
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THE ENDn
n Well, the end still can't be shared as the lockdown is not over, but I will update this section once this is all finished, promise!nn nnP.S.: I wrote this post in the beginning - about the things I, as an artistic introvert during quarantine, was doing to keep my mental health.n
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