In This Together

Day 13 of hiding from COVID-19 is coming to a close and I never thought social distancing would feel so strange.

Interestingly for me, I live quite an isolated existence as it is, so I never would have imagined that working from home every day would make much of a difference to my daily life, but it really has.

As many of you know, I get more than a little anxious about my health. It’s exhausting, but just something I’ve learned to live and cope with as much as possible. When the COVID-19 outbreak first began, I must admit I was one of the down-players. I was one of the people actively not worrying about the coming months, but to be fair to myself, I had no way of knowing what I was about to live through. Most people alive today have never endured anything like this, so we are all in shock together. Now that things are ramping up day by day, I’m more than my share of nervous and I’m sure many of you can understand why that means I have barely left my apartment at all for almost two straight weeks.

Working from home is really nice and I’m so privileged to work for a company and within a role that allows me to continue the job I love from the comfort of my couch. So many people don’t have this luxury and I am very aware of that fact and incredibly grateful each day that I can keep myself safe and still do my job. That said, however, I can feel the effects of living an even more isolated and sedentary life than I was before. I know I could get out more, but where would I go? It’s easy when you’re facing a scary world on the outside and getting little face-to-face contact anywhere to feel very alone.

I feel like my entire life is backward from what it was, which is definitely part of the problem. I work where I sleep, I shower in the evening after work rather than before, I drink numerous pots of tea rather than endless cups of coffee, and I watch hours of mindless TV a day rather than listen to a moment of music. I haven’t taken a picture or written a post in ages and all that combined is what sparked me to write this today. I miss listening to Post Malone and spilling my inner-most thoughts to the world, it’s good for my soul. Plus a friend mentioned to me the other day that documenting my experiences being house-bound and living through this pandemic would make for interesting content and I think they’re right.

So, here we are - two bags of pizza rolls and two seasons of Love Island UK into this thing and I’m feeling slightly lonely and growing increasingly tired of seeing my living room walls. But, there are a few upsides to this whole mess. My face hasn’t seen a drop of makeup since two Thursdays ago, so I’m sure my skin is loving the break. Also, because I’m living in pajamas and sweats day in and out, my laundry pile has decreased significantly. And, who doesn’t love sleeping-in over an hour longer than you used to? For me, however, that doesn’t equate to any more sleep since I’ve also been going to sleep an average of 3 hours later than I used to. Those that know me well can do the math and are probably panicking for my sake.

All in all, it’s a crazy and scary time for everyone, all around the world. With so much uncertainty and so many worries on everyone’s mind, you can feel the tension in the air building every day. But a kind friend sent me a picture of a sidewalk he’d spotted today that read “in this together” and it reminded me of why I’m staying home in the first place. I’m staying home not just to keep myself safe, but to make sure that others have a fair shot, too. And there are so many other ways we all can all work together to get past this turmoil as best as we can. If you can, here’s a list of organizations that could use your support right now -

THE UNITED WAY

FEEDING AMERICA

NO KID HUNGRY

CENTER FOR DISASTER PHILANTHROPY

THE CORONA VIRUS RELIEF FUND

Helping New York City During COVID-19 GOFUNDME

GODS LOVE WE DELIVER

THE SEATTLE FOUNDATION

THE CDC FOUNDATION

COVID-19 RELIEF GOFUNDME

UNICEF

GLOBAL GIVING

So, to all my friends out there in quarantine or practicing social distancing, I know it feels lonely right now. We might not have any clue what tomorrow will bring or how long this whole mess is going to last. But let this be your reminder that we will make it through this crisis, one step at a time - like the chalk on the sidewalk of life reminding you that we are all in this together.