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Work and Hobbies During COVID

This was not really a recent experience, but this all happened about two months ago during the summer before college. The summer after my senior year was pretty tough in terms of my jobs. I lost two jobs during that time because I worked in the restaurant industry. At the time, I was working at a restaurant called 151 Kitchen and Bar. Before the pandemic hit, I worked there for almost two years at that point. Yet, in Illinois, all the restaurants were forced to close down and many people lost their jobs including me. For me, it was not too much of a problem because to me this as not a career. I was working this job to save up some money for college, but for the people I was working with, this was their only source of income. 

151 Kitchen and Bar in Elmhurst, IL

So when the pandemic hit, it was pretty sad witnessing those who I had worked with have to worry about how they will pay rent. It was especially saddening to see the owner of the restaurant worry because her three restaurants all closed down simultaneously, losing all revenue and having to throw out all the product in the kitchen. 

Pazzi Di Pizza in Elmhurst, IL

After I was furloughed, I looked for other sources of money during the time so that I could continue saving up for college. At point, I applied for a job delivering pizzas at a place called Pazzi Di Pizza. After getting the job and only working there for about 3 weeks, a person in the kitchen got the coronavirus and the whole restaurant shut down for weeks. I was pretty saddened about this one because I truly enjoyed delivering pizzas. Being able to listen to music all day and getting a lot of tips from the frequent orders during lockdown made the job a pretty good gig. Eventually the job opened back up after a couple weeks, but for a while I really had nothing to do. Working was something that kept me busy during the isolation of being home. 

To cope with the lack of things to keep me busy, I have noticed stark change in activities I do daily to keep me busy, including a change in more normal hobbies. There is no doubt that the coronavirus has eliminated the possibly of many forms of social gatherings. When I arrived to the University of Kentucky, I was immediately dismayed by the sight of the basketball courts being taken down. Before COVID, I had taken up basketball as a hobby for a while and was really starting to enjoy it. Once the pandemic hit, though, the rims were taken down almost everywhere. Playing basketball would have been a pretty easy way to meet people and make friends, which really disappointed me when I found out that opportunity would be taken away. 

Pictured: The basketball court near me before COVID-19

As for now, if I even wanted to go play basketball, I would have to walk 30 minutes at least to a park a couple miles away. I went with my friend recently, but got rained on while walking back. Overall, the experience was pretty unpleasant, so we have refrained from going back. 

To find something else to take up time, I have taken up longboarding. This is an activity that is pretty individual unless going out with others which even at that point is pretty socially distant. I invested in a pretty nice longboard a little while back and have been exploring the campus recently at night because it is pretty relaxing. I am just hoping soon that the hoops will be put back up so that I can resume my hobby of playing basketball and possibly meet some people. Although I have gotten pretty good at skating, I miss hooping.  

Basketball hoops at Syracuse University, reminiscent of the outdoor court at University of Kentucky