South students’ days fill up with one e-learning assignment after the next and with Zoom call after Zoom call. With so much time spent solely indoors, the seemingly endless days spent under quarantine can begin to feel tedious and dull. However, in the midst of this new way of life, some of South’s students have found a new spark of joy within their lives through various hobbies.

Junior Dina Saef began a new pastime during quarantine: aiding the Northfield Township Food Pantry by creating a project to help out essential workers combating the pandemic. To those who made a donation, she took it upon her own time to tie blue ribbons outside their homes, according to Saef.

“A few years ago when [junior] Luke [Gregory] got cancer, someone started an initiative where they would hang a gold ribbon in support of childhood cancer research and you would donate to the research foundation,” Saef said. “[When] my mom reminded me about [the gold ribbons], that influenced me.”

While Saef found a new way to pass her time through this small act of service, sophomore Madeline Goldberg has returned to one of her old hobbies: jewelry-making.

“I did it [during] the school year [too], but now that I have more time I was able to find random things around my house and turn them into earrings,” Goldberg said. “It just gives [me] something to do. Now that I can’t really see my friends or go outside that often, it’s just something to keep me sane.”

Saef, too, has returned to some of her old hobbies, like baking. She specializes in making baked goods for her friends and family. “During quarantine, I have been able to make so many things that I’ve never made before,” Saef said. “It’s all these things that we think about making but we never actually make and so now I am able to actually do it.”