Dangerous Habits
By Lindsay Wong
2020 has by far been the most bizarre year in my 20 years of life and definitely the most boring. It’s September now, and I’ve been in lockdown for around five months. With nothing even remotely exciting happening as I stay at home literally every day, the days pass by so fleetingly. I can’t even remember what I did in the past week because the days are so routine: eat, sleep, study, write, watch shows, and repeat. Plus, I’m living away from home, so I don’t have anyone monitoring me as I live independently. Because of all these circumstances, I’ve developed what I would call “dangerous habits” – habits I definitely would not have if not for the pandemic.
Eating and snacking have become my favorite pastime during this pandemic, and I find great comfort in food now. I’ve always been a foodie at heart, keen on trying different cuisines from around the world. Growing up in Japan, everything I ate was always so delicious and the quality of food in general was much higher. I developed a passion for food and looked forward to eating out on weekends. Of course, I also treasured delicious homecooked food. After moving to Australia, I started cooking by myself but continued eating out on weekends with my friends and trying out all the different cuisines that Melbourne has to offer. This is one of the things I miss the most , since the lockdown has rendered all restaurants to only be open for takeaway. Nevertheless, I order dinner from Uber Eats twice a week as I’m getting tired of my own cooking. This isn’t a dangerous habit – I’m actually learning a lot about self-control and budgeting by restricting my Uber Eats orders to only twice a week. My new dangerous habit is snacking and unhealthy eating.
Snacking and an unhealthy eating pattern are becoming all too common for me during this pandemic. I find myself being hungry almost all of the time. I guess I can attribute this to being stuck at home with not much to do. If not for the pandemic, I would be more active outside of home by going out into the city or keeping myself busy at uni. Under these circumstances, I wouldn’t focus on food since I would be preoccupied with more important things. But under lockdown, there’s not much to think about, so I find myself turning to snacks more and more. I still eat my three basic meals a day, but I’m always drinking hot chocolate or eating chips or preparing ready-made soup in between every meal. I wish that other activities would keep me occupied again so I’m not constantly eating all the time. However, with nothing that exciting happening in life, I look forward to my mealtimes or my next snack.
Another dangerous habit I now have is binge-watching shows. Before the pandemic, I was only actively watching one K-drama and one anime at a time. Now, I’m juggling around 10 series in total. It’s too easy to fall into the world of fiction when the real world is constantly full of bad news and pessimism. With Netflix and so many streaming sites being so easy to access, binge-watching has never been easier. Fiction is definitely another source of comfort during uncertain times. Sometimes, I find myself so entranced in a series that I neglect my schoolwork and other responsibilities. But I’m trying my best to find a balance between leisure and work.
However, I try not to beat myself up too much because of my dangerous habits. I mean, we are going through a global pandemic. Things are already so bad outside – I should be able to snack when I want and indulge in my favorite series when I feel like it. Also, I’m looking forward to the end of lockdown so life can go back to normal. Plus, at least I haven’t fallen into being obsessed with another common dangerous habit – online shopping… yet.
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