My family. Definitely my husband and my dog because they’re here. I’m an aunt to many nieces and nephews, so I miss them a lot. My family is in Pennsylvania, so with all this I don’t know when I’m going to see them again. My parents are older, so they’re a big concern. It’s just kind of checking in and making sure that everybody’s still okay. Checking in on my strong friends a lot of the time too. My mental health is one of my biggest concerns right now.
What was most important to you before you had to social distance?
Being as productive as possible was probably my biggest concern. The hustle, while still trying to see friends and have a social life. We stick to our home a lot of the time so we’re only just starting to get that itch this week of not being allowed to see anybody. Before this it was really a lot of little things that were my top priority rather than the big picture people in my life.
What’s the first thing you’ll do when this is over?
I want to drive out to my family’s place in Pennsylvania with our dog. My dog hasn’t ever gone out there yet. I want to bring her for the first time and see her run in the countryside, play with my family’s other dogs, and have my nieces and nephews meet her for the first time.
What are you doing to pass the time?
I’m trying to stay very busy while listening to my mental health. I make a list every single day. The fact that I make a list makes me feel better. I create YouTube content for my community. I’m trying to stay up with that and giving them as much of an escape as I can. Editing and filming helps distract me. It feels like a sense of normalcy. I started crafting a lot. I just started doing macrame. Going on long walks, trying to stay physically active. We’ve got our binge moments too. I enjoy cleaning, so I’m cleaning more often than not. If I can channel something through my hands and physically get my anxiety out of my body, it’s going to make me feel better. I’ll do anything I can to keep my mind off of what’s actually happening in the world.
What makes you happy right now?
The sunshine! I really do need the sun to feel like I can function as a human being. My dog–her unconditional love. The fact that I’m stuck here with my husband is a big joy. We’re both stuck but at least we have each other. We’ve got unending support for each other. Singing. Whenever I can go live and sing stuff for people to make them happy–giving anyone who will watch something to help them escape makes me really happy.
What would you tell yourself two months ago with the knowledge you have today?
Chill the fuck out. Really start work on your negative self-talk now because the more mentally stable you can be before all of this hits, the better. There are so many more important things than not getting into an audition, following up on that email etc… there’s so much more importance in the world at large than what you have going on in your little microcosm. People are more important than things. Just chill the fuck out.
