My friends and family–checking in with them and making sure that connection is there–making sure everyone’s okay. Connection to other people is the most important thing to me right now. Trying to find joy. I was so anxious, that’s the standard right now. What do we do to live in that world while also finding joy or things that are soothing?
What was most important to you before you had to social distance?
Friends and family tied with career. Doing everything that I had to do to move forward in what I wanted to do. I was focused on scheduling a lot, I was worried about day jobs–trying to figure out how to stay healthy, wanting to explore more.
What’s the first thing you’ll do when this is over?
Hug people. I definitely want to throw a party where I get to feed people and then we can just hang out or dance. I think that’s number one–get to see people. Go places–take a long walk where I don’t have to worry about things. It makes me want to get even more involved in my community.
What are you doing to pass the time?
I still have my day job for the most part, so I’ve been tutoring. I’ve also been learning yoga. My parents live in a neighborhood where I can go on a run, so I’ve been taking up running. I’ve been watching 911:Lonestar, trying to read plays, calling a lot of people. A lot of passing the time involves being engaged via FaceTime. Also, playing with my parents’ dog!
What makes you happy right now?
Definitely talking to people. My family for sure, eating good food, music and dancing. I started putting on 90s jams and dancing and it instantly changed my mood! I started painting. Art-making and art consumption have been helpful and bringing little bubbles of joy. The dog [too]!
What would you tell yourself two months ago with the knowledge you have today?
Really enjoy and savor every moment. Take it a little bit more easy. I feel like a lot of the stuff that I loved doing or took for granted, I don’t get to do. I was stressed about a lot of things that in the grand scheme of things were not that stressful. It’s also okay not to know, is what I’ve kind of realized too. The unknown is always going to be there-I’m learning to breathe with that more. Seeing how fucked up the system is has made me want to engage with my own civil duties, too.
