Contributor:
Vaness S. Kongsakul
Here and there, boredom actually is all around
When you talk about what to kills your boredom during the pandemic, you might come up with many different activities that can thrill yourself. In my perspective, boredom is an emotion that really common in life and I don’t seem to have reason to get rid of it. In fact, you can say that I have a very boring life style… When people having trouble adjusting the new way of normal living, being alone, social distancing and not partying seem to be perfectly fine with me but “depression”.
Never-bored people are also struggling
If you know me, you will also know that I like to stay in alone, not socialising and I am difficult to reach via any communicational devices. It will be triple level of me being away from everyone when I am depressed. I think I am easily turned down by the negative news on Covid-19, by the fake news and also the fact that I cannot control where I can go, that’s really affect me mentally.
Well, I never felt the lack of freedom like this before even I am totally fine with “not going anywhere”. But it’s quite contradict if I say that I so much love travelling. I have visited 34 countries/territories before the COVID era (check out his travelling images), most of them I was travelling alone. Post-COVID era? Of course, travelling is still the first thing I want to do. It is my teacher; it expands my perspective of seeing the world. You have all the technology to learn how different life is in another places but it’s unlike you be there yourself. You don’t understand why people in the middle of Australia live underground until you feel the real heat bump on your skin and your heart is rocking like it’s going pop-out. Remember what Jack said to Rose before he died?, “…you’re going to die an old lady, in your warm bed…”. But you wouldn’t say that in Thailand because it’s so hot here and you want to die in your “cool” bed, not warm!
Travelling can give us a lot of unfamiliar experiences, the true educational beyond classrooms. Every place has something unique to teach us including your home place. You might find out how you feel about your home when you are away.
And now we can’t travel… Covid-19 hits me hard this time….and that brought me to this big decision!
Here it is, I bought a car without knowing how to drive!
The unexpected
I never wanted to have a car and I really meant it. It was so “non-essential” for me who grown up in a very congested city, Bangkok, and I am always the passenger, why would I need to have a car? Anyway, I’ll give credit to the pandemic that gave me so much depression and I spent this huge savings with something I never thought I wanted. But it’s the unexpected that changes our lives!
Luckily, I was able to take driving lessons between the two lockdowns. And yes, I can proudly say that I learnt how to drive in my late 30s and during the pandemic. This is my new skill now.
People don’t take trips, trips take people
After I have the driving license, it’s time for me to go for some road trips. The purpose? At first, it was for practicing. Secondly, it’s a kind of compulsory that I have to use it! Get out and practice! Don’t just sit in and get out! As you know, changing your habits – doing something different can be hard but now the road trips break up my routine in a good way.
It helps boosting up my mind! After taking some recent road trips, I can feel the way my mind has changed. The road trips need a good plan and preparation even it’s a short trip. If you have planned it well, it will help you with time management but remember that no matter how well you plan, sh*t could happen! So that will also help your adaptability when you have to face with something unexpected. It really does take my mind away from other worries.
You see places you have never seen before
I think this is the highlight of the road trips. Seeing things you have never seen can remind how you appreciate the beauty, how you react with the diversity. It is actually allowing you to discover yourself. I remembered one moment that I had a conversation with the locals and I realised their accent is so different, and that’s so nice! And then I thought how great to be here, I might not hear such an accent if I was stuck in Bangkok. They might try to blend their accent into the “Bangkokian accent” and that’s quite sad. This is one example when you go to their place where they comfortable of being themselves.
Stay safe
This is something that helped me deal with my mental health during the pandemic. But every country / area has different restrictions. If your area can do so, please remember that you still need to be extra careful. Frequently wash your hands, wear mask and keep social distancing. If you are interested on doing the road trip, this article could help you prepare for the trip during Covid-19 pandemic.
Take good care and be extra careful!
2nd Anniversary of APCOM’s Special Series on the COVID-19 Effect:
APCOM staff share their activities for maintaining good mental health
Click on the photo to read their articles.
Try them out, and if you have other tips that you’d like to share – please contact us at [email protected]
