What activities can we do sitting from home for profile building

When you are in the midst of preparing for college admissions, The Great Pause, a.k.a the COVID lockdown could come as a shocker. Or you could consider it a gift! Imagine an indefinite forced period of days, weeks, or even months, when no other friend is out watching a movie while you are stuck home! 

Jokes apart, the best use of the weeks of lockdown would be to participate in some activities that would help in building up your profile for college application. If only I had a large chunk of free time, I could really flesh out my profile and make it something special. Haven't we all thought like that?

Whether you include the end-product of these activities in your application or not, it goes without saying that all of the following would be a great idea for anyone!

Get creative:

• Paint. But obviously. The internet is RIFE with suggestions, tutorials, magical hyperlapses, paint-alongs.. Complaining that you don’t know how to paint, or that you wish you had company, is not a good enough excuse for procrastination anymore. Paint on paper, paint murals on walls, paint on newspaper, fabric. The world is your canvas. And if you run out of paints, paint with coffee!
• Journal: Keeping a journal has been key to many breakthroughs of many brilliant minds. You don’t have to type out a journal everyday (e.g I did the dishes today, ate, slept. I did the laundry today, watched 3 movies, slept) That’s definitely not the journaling attitude we are talking about. Journaling has been proven to open up your mind to more creative thought in every field. Write in your journal, type it, paint it, make a mind map, do whatever suits your personality. At best, it could get the creative juices flowing and help you with your college essays, or maybe a novella (NaNoWriMo has a StayHomeWriMo). At worst, you will have a detailed account of your days in lockdown. Ever heard of Anne Frank?
• Learn to bake or cook. Learn to be self-reliant. How many of us know how to stitch a button? This might not help in building a profile, but it will definitely help you when you live alone abroad.

Offer virtual companionship for people who are impacted by COVID 19: 

• If you have a course in Psychology, this is the time to put it to use. Everyone now is connected on video chat. From schools running entire classes on Zoom, virtual offices running full steam, individual tuitions for name-the-subject available at the drop of a hat, even all grandparents know how to video chat. Offer, in your community, or outside, to someone’s parents, or your neighbour, some time every other day. Our lives are lonely enough in a crowd. Imagine the magnitude of it in a lockdown. A little company goes a long way in times like this. 

Showcase commitment for a prior commitment: 

• Let not the lockdown lock you down. If there is a project that got interrupted by the lockdown, physically being apart from your team shouldn’t stop you from completing it. If a commitment has been made, and you honour it despite the adverse circumstances, it shows character. Principles, commitment, integrity. 
• Choose one or two activities that you enjoyed pursuing pre-pandemic. Practicing a musical instrument at a professional level? You could practice with discipline, and connect with your teacher online. Try, and succeed, to maintain a level of continuity in your commitments. Robotics project stuck in the works? Gather your friends, delegate responsibilities, complete it. 

Research Project:

• Do you know what a library looks like? Like a lot of alone people, pretending they are alone in a large zone filled with information. A little like our situation today. And do you know what it’s perfect for? Research! If there’s a topic that’s always been close to your heart, this is the perfect opportunity for uninterrupted time at your fingertips. It is also possible that some of the elusive experts - who were usually really hard to get a hold of because they were too busy - might have some time at hand. Approach them, write to them, get some invaluable guidance and inputs and make the most of this opportunity. 

Self-Driven Projects:

• Self Study: A number of universities offer free, and paid, certifications, MOOC’s, and courses online. Many are self paced and are easily available. This would be a great time to upskill yourself.
• Online Projects: Collaborate for an online fundraiser. Participate in digithons, hackathons, or any other kind of challenge that you would have never dreamt of doing because of time constraints. 
• The virtual world is bursting with content right now, and the largest consumer is the young generation. Gather a bunch of friends and start a blog based on a specialisation. How to debate louder, Secret basketball moves, Social Media and how to navigate it. 

Once you begin to think about it, there’s no limit to the number of activities that you can participate in during the COVID lockdown. Remember though, first make your bed, help your mom and dad with chores, and only then disappear into the world of your new found project!