Over the long, unpredictable months of quarantine, people around the world were forced to make their own fun, regardless of whether they wanted to or not. Some people watched a new show on Netflix, while others started the infamous Chloe Ting exercise challenge. Students at SHS were among the people who took up new activities during the months of lockdown. In particular, seniors Izzy Jarnot, Anya Lesher, and Cam Reardon, three members of the SHS community, used their months at home investing in their own businesses and learning experiences.

Izzy Jarnot used her interests in jewelry-making and baking to create a company that simultaneously provided delicious food and supported the community. During the past six months, Izzy has worked on promoting her company, Stinky Monkey Scituate. When asked about the background of her company, Jarnot said she and her friend, Maggie Blake, “really made a dream team,” with a combination of photography, social media skills, and a love for making jewelry and baking. Jarnot’s favorite recipe to bake is her cookies, stating that her recipe was “trial and error for a while,” but she ended up matching the ingredients perfectly to get “the chewiest, yummiest cookies possible.” After asking Izzy about the future of her baking career, she said that one of her many dreams is to “have a diner/bakery in a small town where people can come to hang out, listen to music, and eat good food.”

Known as a creative personality among her peers, Anya Lesher spent the past six months creating paintings of an abundance of different characters, sayings, and other miscellaneous subjects. Lesher says she became interested in painting as a child, but quarantine helped her to improve her skills and open a new chapter for herself. She has painted everything from album covers to lyrics: “The paintings that I usually do are more posterized and illustrative,” Lesher explained when talking about the types of art she enjoys creating the most. Lesher explained that painting is more of a hobby than a possible career in the future, but she is still thankful that quarantine brought her to this new path of showcasing and selling her paintings on social media. 

Cam Reardon took a different approach to keep himself busy during the quarantine. This past summer, he started working at The Galley, located in Scituate Harbor, where he worked as a dishwasher. Eventually, he was promoted to “cooking on the line,” which entails preparing all the food orders that come in from customers. When asked about his favorite meal to make, Reardon described his “fettuccine alfredo with crispy chicken slices topped with mozzarella cheese.” Over the summer, Reardon made an Instagram account (@cams.cafe) to showcase his prepared meals to the community. After high school, Reardon plans to attend culinary school and train to become a professional chef. He aspires to pursue cooking as his career and wants to own two to three restaurants in the future. 

Although these interesting activities started because of quarantine, Reardon, Jarnot, and Lesher agree they will continue to be a big part of their lives for years to come. Whether these students have found their passion or just a side-hobby, the period of quarantine had some positive effects on those who used it wisely.