Cool Things Arise with New COVID-19 Life Around the World

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Written by: Sarah Campbell

@eatingalotofbanana

Photo by: Sarah Campbell

Are you getting sick of the movie marathons or reorganizing your room a million times during the #StayHome period? You are not alone, most people are. But there are some individuals and hashtags that are doing some pretty cool things for you to engage with when the next wave of boredom sweeps by. Here are some things to do today!

Staying Physically Active

One thing about being at home is that our activity levels tend to get limited to the route between the kitchen and the sofa. One way to get your body moving is to join an online workout class! There are live streams and also classes for free on YouTube, like Zumba, meditation, yoga, HIIT, cardio, shadow boxing etc. SBNation listed 13 free online workouts for you and your friends to enjoy at home. There are also free live yoga classes at various times, and 305 fitness with hour-long dance parties on YouTube.

Sing-Along

If the Italians’ singing over balcony has played a tune in your throat, you may want to check out some platforms Time Out blog featured where you could sing along, including The Sofa Singers and LifeFullnessLive.

 

Watch Them Sing instead…

Not a fan of showing your face while singing? Just watch a live concert! Global Citizens welcomes you to join #TogetherAtHome concert series through live streams on Instagram and YouTube. Famous artists including Chris Martin, John Legend, Charlie Puth, and One Republic are all joining the movement.

 

Taking it back home to Canada, the Choirs Choirs Choirs, a Canadian band has been hosting live Sing-A-Thons on Facebook and Youtube to foster the sense of togetherness during this time. Would you like to join the next one live? They are having another Social Distan-Sing-Athon to support the Canadian Cancer Society on April 11 at 3 pm EDT on Facebook or YouTube.

 

What about Sunday morning Christian worship concerts? Any of those? The Elevation Worships and Lakewood Church with Joel Osteen are streaming live every Sunday morning. Locally, from Halifax, the Deep Water Church is streaming on Facebook at 11 am every Sunday.

 

Protect Our Planet

COVID-19 doesn’t stop climate change from acting around the clock. An ongoing movement that is now on its 85th week is #SchoolStrike4Climate. Greta Thunberg, the young climate advocate, has initiated the #FridaysForFuture climate strike online. You can participate by taking a picture of yourself and/or friends holding your climate strike sign and post it online with the hashtag #ClimateStrikeOnline to be a part of something bigger than yourself.

 

Release Your Creativity

According to Harvard Business Review, boredom sparks creativity, take advantage of this time to try coming up with a cover music video about how you are coping with COVID-19. Several online stars have been posting music covers, like a family from Kent singing Les Misérables corona edition or Chris Mann singing Hello (from the inside). Maybe the next video we see will be yours!

 

Maybe you’re a bit shy with your vocal skills, that’s alright, try to recreate paintings with The Getty Museum in Los Angeles then! The museum is asking people to recreate their collection of artworks with the things lying around their house. Buckle up! Within a few minutes, there’ll be a whole art collection right in your house.

 

Talk Shows Still on the Go…

Join Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show: At Home Edition on YouTube. Each day he talks about a different charity that citizens can donate to to help build the world. Also, he has moved his show to video chatting, check it out for more celebrity insights.

 

SMU Huskies!!

From our very own SMU Huskies, we got the Knowledge 4 Students Podcast still going strong. The third episode just came out today! From first-year student advice to Husky Athlete insights, the host, Andrea Berry, has been touching on topics SMU students are curious about. You can contribute your ideas by directly messaging them on IG @knowledge4students or vote on the weekly poles on their IG stories.

Of course, we won’t forget our very own The SMU Journal page here providing quality content on various columns, including Arts and Culture, Opinions, University and much more. You as a reader have a voice, too! We love to hear about what you think and ideas you may have for us for upcoming posts, DM us on @thesmujoural through Instagram, Facebook or Twitter.

 

Acts of Kindness Submission

Lastly, we all need some positive uplifts in our life. HuffPost is asking Canadians to submit acts of kindness you have encountered or done through their website. Give a shout out to someone that has made your day and share the positive vibe!

Claire Keenan