With distance learning scheduled through the end of the year, we students suddenly have more time to sleep in, maybe work on a few projects, and―yes―watch TV. Being apart from our friends and motivating ourselves to get our work done can be hard and stressful, and sometimes we all could use a movie break. But if scrolling through Nexflix looking for a new show or movie is tedious, or if you just need a good old change of pace, here’s my advice: Revisit your favorites.

Remember that one movie you loved as a kid? Or the one with your favorite storyline? We all have favorite movies or shows and they are our favorites for a reason. Embrace that; revisit those oldies but goodies. Rewatch Friends for the tenth time. Have a week-long Harry Potter movie marathon. A journey about resilience and bravery is just what we could use right about now.

It’s in these stories that we love that we find hope and beauty. Rewatching your favorites will make you happy, remind you of why you loved it in the first place and give you an escape for a couple of hours. Even better: Make it a family event or tell your friends to watch the same movie so you can talk about it later. Watching a movie together is a simple but fun social event.

It doesn’t just have to be movies and television. Now is as perfect a time as any to revisit the written stories that inspire you, stories that remind you of the beauty of humanity. For me, recently this has been the Lord of The Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein.

In the past few weeks, my family watched the extended movies of the Lord of The Rings and, besides providing a family escape, it really did make me reflect on the times we are all going through. The Lord of The Rings is about a journey and a fight against darkness; it’s about those who persevered through everything in the name of friends and the good things in the world.

We are all probably feeling a bit like Frodo when he says, “I wish it need not have happened in my time.” Frodo lived through his long, dark journey, and so will we if we remember Gandalf’s reply: “So do I, and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”