Coronavirus lockdown is boring. Life has stalled, and you can’t go out as you used to, to malls, movies, restaurants, and more. You are stuck in your room with nothing to do and would love to have something to entertain you. Is there a way you can treat yourself in this situation for free? Certainly! Here are a few resources that you can use. For some of these resources (as indicated), you might need to install the Georgetown SFSQ off-campus VPN, and the instructions to enable that are here.
1) YouTube Movies (Needs VPN)
YouTube Movies is the answer to those who don’t have a Netflix subscription but want to be entertained. Youtube USA has a vast collection of free movies that anyone can watch simply by logging in to YouTube with your VPN turned on. Some titles include Apartment 303, Poltergeist II, The Great Bear, Alien Arrival, and more. The free movies playlist has freebies from all major genres: Family & Kids, Sci-Fi, Western & Asian Fantasy, Horror, Thrillers, Drama, and Romance. So if you want to watch that one midnight flick to treat yourself on the weekends, after a week of Zoom classes, to get college-sickness off your mind, turn on your VPN, hop on over to Youtube Movies and pick a flick.
2) Tubi (VPN Needed To Access US Only Content)
An alternative to YouTube Movies is Tubi. Tubi functions by offering premium, legal entertainment for free, supported by advertisements. Tubi’s content does not necessarily require a VPN. Without one, you can still access some independent movies and shows, but the best content are accessible in the United States. Therefore using GU-Q’s VPN will help one get access to premium content. Some titles on Tubi include TV shows such as Transformers Prime, The Bachelor, Hell’s Kitchen, etc. and movies such as Sorority Row, The Guillotines, Antboy 3, and so on. All of this content is free.
3) Wattpad
Wattpad is a platform for those who are searching for original creative writing. It is like YouTube in the fact that anyone can share their writing and everyone can access other people’s reading lists. The platform has a plethora of novels written by a passionate writing community spanning the entire globe. The beauty of the platform? It is a social reader. Wattpad enables you to interact with your fellow readers and the authors themselves. Moreover, they have their curated lists that recommend quality content, and if you share writing that is really good, you may even have a chance of your story being selected by traditional publishers or even film producers. Check them out here.
4) Libby (Requires Qatar National Library Subscription)
For those students who have a Qatar National Library card, Libby is a great resource. Libby enables students to access ebooks — books of thought, politics, and novels — alongside audiobooks of various genres. Libby is part of Overdrive, a database of ebooks (that QNL subscribers have access to), and has apps for Android and iOS. Popular titles available are the Game Of Thrones Book Series (Audiobook and Ebook available), Harry Potter (Audiobooks and Ebooks), Someone We Know by Shari LaPena (Audiobook and Ebook), etc.
Keeping yourself entertained is one way you can help yourself stay healthy in quarantine, helping you relax and take your mind off worries that are commonplace now. These 4 resources might help you with that. Stay safe, and stay healthy! Hoya Saxa!