Before Friday, March 13th, the only expectation I had for my spring break was for it to be unforgettable, for it to be fun-filled, joyful memories that would define my junior year. I had anticipated the rare,  trippy moment in life when all of the time dissolved into space– into nothing. The moment where time didn’t exist. The trippiness of being able to stop while you were out making memories and soak in the feeling of pure happiness. To think, “Wow, this–this right here– is one for the books.”

Planning to watch whatever Netflix classified as a “horror” movie together with your best friends. Recreating the golden, soft fried Oreos, you made the past humid summer. Showing your friend a meme and hearing their laughter– scratch that–their “squeaking-chair” wheeze that was funnier than the joke itself, for your body to make that noiseless laugh that made your ribs on the verge of breaking apart.

This break was supposed to be the key to unlocking new memories that would forever engrave into my mind. Never did I expect it to be the epitome of boredom.

I can’t go out to make these memories because then I wouldn’t only be putting my health in jeopardy, but I’d also risk the well-being of my friends. As saddening as this is, to not fulfill my spring break expectations, quarantine is the best way to go.

The first few days were absolute heaven. I was on regular dates with my new friend “Netflix,” and he was very entertaining. However, as much as I love sitting on my warm, comforting, peaceful bed, I have learned that there is a thing as “too much of it.”

So, after a few days, there I sat, staring at the Netflix watch menu and thought, “what am I doing?” I didn’t realize how secretly bored I was while watching Netflix. I was watching movies I wasn’t even into. I took a pause, closed my computer, and looked around my room. The light blue walls suddenly became so empty and sullen that I became an interior designer for a day. If the people from HGTV who decorate homes are ever looking for a new person to hire, I am now the CEO of interior design.

I might be bragging a little; the only revolutionary thing I did was add white Christmas lights to the line where my ceiling and my walls intersect. However, from that point on, I felt like Mrs. Bob, the Builder. I mean, I was envisioning all the different ways I could style my room. I added polaroids of memories of my friends and I to my walls, I finally straightened that slightly crooked painting on my wall that screamed “fix me,” and I even hung a paper origami swan on my ceiling for a little “pizzazz.”

After all of this, I felt productive enough that I could treat myself to a movie on DisneyPlus. I browsed and browsed, but I didn’t see anything that caught my attention. It wasn’t until I got to their “Star Wars” section and felt enticed to watch the first movie. Never in a million years did I ever see myself watching what seventh grade me would call “the nerdy space movies.” Now, as a quarantined junior, I can say those movies are “so cool!” Even though the first movie of the saga, Star Wars: A New Hope, was filmed in the ’70s, the graphics are still amazing. The action, the adventure, and the lightsabers all got me hooked into the Star Wars series. Quarantine has felt easier as the days pass.

All in all, I’ve concluded that this break is only as dull as you’ll make it. I can’t say this quarantine isn’t for the best—because it is. It’s only up to us to get up, be productive (even if it is becoming a mini interior designer for a day), and make the most of this unfortunate mandatory break.

Marissa Llamas is currently a junior at Jimmy Carter Early College High School. She is in extracurricular activities such as UIL, The National Honor Society and the Texas Association of Future Educators. She has been doing UIL Academics ever since her freshman year and is currently in Mathematics and Number Sense. When she first joined UIL Math, she was shocked to see how she was the only freshman on the team. Last year as a sophomore, she went to the TMSCA competition for UIL Math in San Antonio. This year she was promoted as captain for her UIL Math Team. Her academic goals include to pass all her classes, to hopefully receive internships during the summer, and she plans to lead her Math team straight to regionals in San Antonio. She values how with a little determination, a touch of drive, and with true diligence anything is possible.