Desteny Maragh – Reporter
While COVID-19 has hindered the physical aspect of sharing one’s hobbies in any public setting, some students have found creative ways to combat the physical aspect.
When the university shut down back in March and shifted entirely online, students we mostly kept inside causing them to pick up new hobbies like baking or knitting.
Communications major Kieron Turnbull, a senior, is in the works of creating a new bold podcast.
“I haven’t settled on a name yet, but I have different topics and segments all planned out,” said Turnbull.
He said he is a huge fan of hip-hop culture and regularly watches podcasts that dish out the latest news.
“A new of my favorite podcasts are Joe Budden, the Breakfast Club, and the list goes on and on,” said Turnbull. “I think what separates my podcast from others in the same category is the fact that I am not afraid to say what I feel, and I am open to different opinions and views. In fact, I embrace debating and I love people who can disagree with me but still communicate.”
Turnbull said he believes his podcast will be important because of how he will portray himself.
“I know kids growing up who look like me need someone they can reference as a funny but successful character,” said Turnbull.
Turnbull said while growing up, many times the only aspirations he was pushed towards were sports or anything that had to do with physical labor.
“I am 6’2, everyone wanted me to play sports, and I did, I love sports, but I prefer to talk about sports much more than I want to play them.”
Another student who has found a new interest during the pandemic is biology major Hollie David, a sophomore.
David said she has picked up “writing as a hobby but really more as an escape.” “Writing helps me de-stress,” said David. “I recently started to blog on my Tumblr, I typically post blogs on the weekend and they range from about 100-1,000 words.”
David said her blogs are not consistent with any specific genre; she just writes about anything she’s feeling at that given time.
According to Today, the COVID-19 pandemic has increased anxiety and stress across the coutry, which has brought about concerns of a looming mental health crisis.
Mayo Clinic advised in the article that picking up hobbies such as writing can get people away from “the cycle of negative thoughts that feed anxiety and depression,” and that “something positive to manage anxiety is a healthy coping strategy.
David said she writes whatever comes into her head just to be able to de-stress.
“Last week I wrote a small fictional piece about animals eating people, strange yes, but that’s just what came to mind,” said David. “I write about all kinds of things, happy, sad or even scary.”
During the pandemic, it was rough at first because as an only child; she was normally home alone since her mom’s a nurse, she never really got to see her. Even when she was home it was hard because they both knew the danger that could come from her job.
“I never really wrote anything outside of school assignments until the pandemic, I wondered if it would be a good pass time and I realized I like it a lot,” said David.
More students who have unleashed their creative juices during the pandemic include Public health major, Paige Greger and Exercise science major, Riley Johnson, both freshmen.
The two students say they met on a university tour last year and in contrast stayed throughout their transition to Southern and decided to create a joint YouTube channel to talk about their college experience.
“We’re going to call it ‘Girls Getting Degrees’ and it’s going to be weekly vlog of our lives on campus,” said Johnson.
“We don’t have any classes together, so we’re going to film our classes separately and meet up in common places like the student center or the library and film together,” said Greger.
Both said they are excited and have already filmed some videos of them eating together at Connecticut Hall and a Q&A, they just need to edit the clips.
“We are trying to stay motivated in classes,” said Johnson, “and we think this will help us and be sort of a therapeutic experience for the next four years.”
