We are living in weird and scary times, but connecting with your friends is the best way to find some comfort. Connecting is easier than ever before, and joining a video meeting with some friends is available through a number of different apps. Sophia Wilken, a current senior at Cleveland High School explains, “The only way to reach out to people and stay updated with peoples life is through texting and video calling nowadays.” Facetiming your friends is an amazing way to connect, and throughout this quarantine I have created a list of my top ten things to do over FaceTime:
Start a Book Club
With all the free time we have now, it is the perfect time to pick up a book you have been meaning to read. This offers a nice escape from the world around us and provides you with some nice entertainment. To make this experience even better, read the book with a friend. Decide the number of pages to read and then meet over FaceTime to talk it over. This doesn’t need to be about the deep meanings of the book; you could just spend the time talking about your favorite character or an annoying scene.
Enjoy a Game Night with Your Friends
Although this one may be weird, I’ve done it, trust me! Even though we are no longer able to hang out at someone’s house, this allows for a fun night at home. The games you can play are endless and completely up to your imagination. Here are some of my suggestions: trivia, Heads Up, 20 questions, or charades. You also can try some card games if you both have a deck; my friend and I have played Uno over FaceTime (this requires being trustworthy and not cheating). There are also apps like jackbox.tv that allow you to play games online with your friends, and they are extra fun if you FaceTime at the same time!
Spend Time Cooking Together
This can be whatever you want it to be, from as simple as making a snack while talking over FaceTime to as complex as using the same recipe or trying something new together. The point of these activities is to have fun with your friends when we are not able to hang out together. Spending this time together allows us to catch up with each other’s lives while getting a yummy meal by the end of it.
Watch Something Together
This one may involve an application or just a reaction after watching it. Whatever you choose is up to you, so have fun trying out different options. Like books, movies are a fun way to distract yourself from the world around us while enjoying an interesting story. Doing this together gives you an excuse to talk with friends.
Have a Dance Party Together
During parties or school dances, it is always fun to dance and sing with your friends, so why can’t we still do it? You can control the music and spend the time dancing and laughing with friends. Make sure everyone brings their favorite tunes and a readiness to dance!
Study Together
Although this might be a boring suggestion among the others, keeping focused and finishing work can be difficult during this time. When you do it with a friend, they are the thing that keeps you working. It is much more fun when you are able to work with your friend, and it allows you to have someone who can help you work out problems when you encounter them.
Have a Tea Party
It doesn’t need to be only a tea party, but sitting down and having a nice snack together is a perfect thing you can do over the phone. It does not require much effort or planning, and can be really fun. My favorite thing to do is bake a nice treat and eat it while having a conversation with a friend.
Do Art Together
Art can be really relaxing and fun! Spend time creating your own original drawing or compete with your friends to see who can draw the best self portrait. This might not be for everyone, but if you enjoy doing art then why not try it with your friends?
Work Out Together
Motivation is key when thinking about working out. For some people, it may be easy to decide to get up and go for a run or do some yoga, but for others it takes more motivation. Scheduling a workout with some friends is a good way to keep you all accountable. Invite your friends to do a simple workout or some yoga next time you talk to them and see what they say!
Just Hang Out!
As I have been saying throughout this piece, getting to FaceTime and do something with your loved ones is the reason for all these activities. Above are suggestions of activities easily possible over the phone, but be creative! Sometimes just getting time to talk to the people you care about the most is all that you want. “With the amount of time I have it’s nice to just be able to talk, I don’t think I’ve ever had this much time to talk with someone, unless we were hanging out, and it’s really nice.” Wilken concludes.
With everything happening around us, it’s really easy to feel lonely, but when we reach out to our friends it reminds us that we are all in this together. Even though the end of this quarantine is unknown and the future is still unclear, we will get through this, and in the meantime we should support one another and make the most of the time we are living in.
