How I overcame FOMO, and learnt to love self-isolation

Keira Woods is a year 7 student at Willoughby Girls' High School, who had to self-isolate after a schoolmate tested positive to coronavirus. This is her experience.

Quarantine has been a different yet interesting experience. It started, on Monday, March 9, when an announcement came over the school speakers, about a student from our school testing positive for COVID-19.

It was a mad rush of panicking and worried girls, calling and texting their parents and wishing farewell to each other. Soon many of us were rushing out of the school gates, to get home for our two days of isolation. Later the next day I was contacted by NSW Health as I had been in close contact with someone who tested positive. Now I was stuck at home for 10 long days.

At first, I was excited. Netflix all day, less work and free time on my devices. Then I realised I would be stuck at home, in my room all by myself, most likely doing school work or nothing at all? I mean, I couldn’t spend all my time on my phone for 10 days, I would go crazy.

Suddenly that excitement disappeared, and I realised this might not be as great as I thought. I was worried suddenly. What was I going to do? How would I do school work? How many out-of-school activities would I miss? FOMO [Fear of Missing Out] was taking over. My real worry wasn’t contracting the virus, it was missing out on all the fun everyone else was having.

At first, I was really anxious and worried. I was confused and stressed and eventually over time I learnt to enjoy the tranquil solitude.

For the first few days, I mainly spent my time FaceTiming other troubled and uneasy friends who were also in quarantine. I had lots of school work to do and group FaceTimed my classmates to work on it together.

Sometimes it was super boring, no one to text, call or socialise with. FOMO was back. I was determined to find a way to cure boredom. My imagination flourished and I ended up knitting and creating a DIY face mask to protect myself. It’s not perfect but I really enjoyed making it.

I started an online course about female entrepreneurship and how to start your own business. I also took up learning Indonesian online, which is my mother’s native language. This activity passed the time and has become a great way to connect with her.

Quarantine has given me more time to focus on schoolwork and important activities. There’s less stress to finish work and more time for myself. In the beginning, I was confused, stressed and worried about not seeing friends, missing out on other activities and my schoolwork (FOMO). But now, I am enjoying the quiet. Being in quarantine is a different experience from my daily life.

I found the silence has helped me focus and pay more attention to my surroundings. I feel calmer and more tranquil. I prefer to think of the isolation as more of an opportunity than an inconvenience. I don’t think the self-isolation is as bad as many others might make it seem.