Why I Wore Jeans in Quarantine
by Lynn Huffard
This has officially been the longest month of my life. Time no longer has meaning. All our societal constructs have been thrown out the window. Everything is so loosey-goosey, no real schedule to follow (except the occasional zoom class), and nowhere to go.
For the longest while, my wardrobe reflected this exactly. Nowhere to go, no one to see, so let’s make my pants as loose as my concept of time.
I’ve found, this neglect in taking care of the way I look, was really contributing to lowering productivity, motivation, and creativity. I am a firm believer in “dress for success” or dressing for the person you want to be. Looking at myself during quarantine, I was dressing for someone who did not want to do anything. I was reflecting every negative feeling I had about this sudden halt of life in my wardrobe. Granted more than 3-quarters of my clothes are still stuck at school (sad face), it was time to actually try to get dressed, to reflect the person I want to be despite the challenges of being quarantined.
Last week I unfortunately came down with a fever and flu like symptoms. As a healthy 20-year-old girl, I was unable to receive a test for coronavirus because I did not fall in the “high risk” group, who would need these limited tests more. Because of this unfortunate event, I have not only been confined to my house, but quarantined in my room. That said, I am currently on day 8 of not having left my room to help lower the risk of anyone in my house becoming infected, if what I had was indeed, corona.
Now you know the saying, not all heroes wear capes, but some heroes wear jeans, even during quarantine. When I woke up this morning, after a few days of finally feeling healthy and back to normal, I decided it was time. I woke up, brushed my teeth, washed my face and did some morning stretching off YouTube. After that I walked to my dresser and opened my neatly folded drawer of jeans, some old, some new, all waiting eagerly to be worn. I picked out a pair of straight leg, light wash, high-waisted Lucky Brand jeans, whose material I knew would generously give as my day of zoom classes and quarantine activities prevailed.
As I slid on my pair of jeans, one leg at a time, I’m not going to lie to you guys, I felt… like I wanted to put back on my sweats… but quickly found that in the jeans I felt like I had purpose. The act of getting dress signified a transition from lack of motivation to a can-do attitude. I wear jeans in quarantine because they remind me of why, when we aren’t in quarantine, we get up in the morning. We get up, get dressed, and show up for our lives. We are meant to attack the world and spaces we inhabit, even if they have been reduced to four walls and an adjoining bathroom. In this time where it seems like our entire lives have been deconstructed, it may bode well for you, like it did for me, to put on some clothes that are a little more constructive. So tomorrow, wear some jeans in quarantine
Images Provided by Lynn Huffard