My first thought is my parents. I just want them to be as safe as possible. Especially my dad–he’s of the vulnerable population. He’s doing a really good job of doing what he’s supposed to do and staying home but definitely I wake up thinking “are my parents ok?”
What was most important to you before you had to social distance?
So many things are simultaneously important to me. For me, health is wellness and wellness is health. So I guess my own health and my family’s health. Especially since I’ve been going through a lot of changes physically, I’ve just really gained a new perspective on mobility and taking control of your body and how that affects your mental state. That part of my brain has been unlocked, and that was definitely already important to me, but I guess it’s become more important to me in the last year. Health and mobility.
What’s the first thing you’ll do when this is over?
Touch people. Hug. Go see my parents. You take things for granted when you’re being forced to do something that feels completely unnatural. It’s not the human condition to constantly be in fear of touch. So to be free of that mindset, that’s gonna be great to not be afraid of other people!
What are you doing to pass the time?
Other than worrying? Luckily I do already work from home, so I can work. I’m spending time with my husband and we’re trying to make each other laugh and keep each other up. If I’m dipping, he’s there..and if he’s down, I’m trying to do the same thing. It’s ok to feel bad, it’s ok to feel negative, but it’s helpful to have somebody here. Being alone or being with roommates–that would be an entirely different experience, so I’m grateful for that.
What makes you happy right now?
Technology. I do feel grateful in the sense that we are in a time where we can still communicate on a daily basis in a way that does feel more intimate than just a phone call or a letter. I can keep in touch and see each others faces at least. We still can work a lot of the time from home, there’s so many games that we can play, we can still interact in a way. It’s just more immersive…so that makes me happy.
What would you tell yourself a month ago with the knowledge you have today?
Other than stay the fuck out of New York?! Grab all your shit and go to Jersey with your parents! This is so unprecedented. You hear it all the time but just don’t take anything for granted. We’ve all agreed on what our norms are whether it’s how we communicate, what money is–societal norms that we agree on–just know that that’s very fragile and don’t take it for granted. Things can be uprooted in a way that is really alarming and crazy. I think it’s this really rigid thing, but it’s absolutely not. Granted, we live in a very rich country and there are a lot of places where things are much more unstable on a daily basis but yeah, just don’t take that stability for granted, because everything is fragile.
