Students went from attending school regularly to staying home every day. Many of their daily schedules changed quickly and drastically. Although this is a different time for all of us, there are ways that we can all make it a little more fun.
For some teenagers, spending time with the family is boring. We live together and already see each other every day. Senior, Jada Scharff knows how to appreciate the time spent with her family and even make it exciting. Scharff, her mom and stepdad, and her two younger siblings find new ways to entertain themselves together every day. They woke up one morning and decided they wanted to go on a 26 mile run together.
“I had seen an idea similar to it on the internet and mentioned it to my family,” said Scharff. “We love crazy, weird things like that, so we decided we would take on the challenge. At first, I think we all just thought it was the craziest, most impossible thing ever, but once we sat down and actually discussed it, everyone was on board.”
Not only are they spending quality time together, but the Scharff family is also inspiring other families to spend more time together. Each week, they upload what they are doing on social media to entertain everyone during quarantine where there’s not much to do.
“At first, we were just trying to show our social media followers what we were doing at
the Scharff/Kuehl house, but it later turned into getting people to spend more time with their families,” said Scharff. “We had lots of friends reach out and tell us they loved what we were doing. Many people would respond with “This is what I look forward to every day!!” And that made us super happy knowing we were making others smile in this weird time.”
Having to adjust to such a change in life is exhausting, but we can all do a little better in making the most of it. Soon this curse of social distancing will be lifted and we will go back to our normal routines. At the same time, it is not long before college comes around and teenagers go off on their own and spend less and less time with family.
“More people should take advantage of this time they have with their families,” said Scharff. “I understand it can get to be a bit much with everyone always around each other, but in the end, it’s these moments that we will look back on and remember forever.”
Activities like running and spending time with family can take the mind off quarantine. The Scharff family finds fun ways to spend time together, instead of sitting around and being lazy. Although they can not go out as much as before, they still make the most of their time together.