Joanna Odoriso
Objects & acts of resilience
My Water Bottle
Hydration is key – especially during stressful periods of your life. I’ve been taking my water bottle with me wherever I may be sitting in the house and making sure to drink it’s full serving a few times a day. I’ve had this particular one since my sophomore year of college in the states and it reminds me of the places I’ve been to, things I’ve done, and what to look forward to again after quarantine. It also can be a preventative mechanism to stop my extreme snacking! When I feel like rummaging around in the pantry even though I’m not hungry whatsoever, and likely just ate, I’ll start chugging water to remind myself to not waste all the snacks in the first day they’ve been purchased.
Doing Yoga/ Learning Head & Handstands
I’ve been ensuring to take time to move my body each day and have been trying to enhance my yoga practice. I’ve never been able to do a handstand and it’s something I’ve always (strangely) wanted to accomplish – so I figured what’s a better time than now to work on it! So far I’ve gotten to a headstand and I’m slowly trying to work my way to just my hands with the help of a wall. It’s pretty tough and I definitely don’t have the arm strength yet to properly do it. But it’s a good way to pass the time when I’m avoiding working on my dissertation.
Tea!
Probably like most people under quarantine in the UK I’ve been drinking an exorbitant amount of tea! Not sure how much tea is too much tea but I’m likely teetering on the edge of it there. Whenever I’m feeling a little stressed or despondent about the world I just make a cup of normal or mint tea to soothe my qualms. I remember being first introduced to tea with milk by a family I babysat for in Boston, and I was just flabbergasted at the combination. I feel like many Americans are deprived of this amazing combination. But it truly does wonders for delivering a momentary sense of calm, so I’ve been resorting to it frequently.
My Kindle
Like everybody else, I’ve been working on reading more when I’m not actively working on something. It took me about seven months to finish “1Q84” by Murakami – I just kept losing motivation to keep up with it but I refuse to quite so I just wrapped up a few weeks ago. Last week I read “An American Marriage” by Tayari Jones which I really enjoyed. I’ve been turning to lighter reads now since that book after those two intense ones. I’m currently working on “How to Build a Girl” which I think has recently been turned into a film, and I have a few easy thriller/mystery books downloaded for when I finish that.