Ever since school, sports, and social events as well as everything else in our lives  temporarily shut down due to COVID-19, I have found myself feeling meaningless. Like so many other people in this world who are constantly juggling a million different things at once, I felt lost and honestly pretty depressed when everything that gave my life purpose and excitement got put on hold. Having to wake up everyday for school, sitting through lectures in my least favorite classes, getting destroyed at swim practice, and running errands are all things that I would always complain about. Now, I wish I would have appreciated them more.

Last week when I heard the possibility of Nebraskan students taking online school for the foreseeable future, I was ticked. I laid on my couch for hours, staring at the ceiling and thinking about how much this was going to suck. These feelings weren’t wrong; it is totally justifiable to feel angry and sad at the world right now. All of us got robbed of a lot of upcoming memories that were supposed to be made in so many different ways.

My initial mindset was that there was no point in doing anything. It wasn’t like I had anything coming up on my schedule that I needed to prepare for. However, after a long and tear-filled conversation with my mother, I realized I couldn’t just lay on my living room couch and wallow in my feelings forever. I have all of this time now that I’m sequestered in my house, so I might as well do something with it. After all, pandemics don’t last forever and I would like to exit this one knowing that I grew as a person.

So, I decided to have hope. I try my best to wake up every morning and tell myself that all of us are one day, one hour closer to getting through this. I go on runs with my sister (even though she completely leaves me in the dust) and remind myself that cross-training will help me become a better athlete since I don’t get to be a swimmer for a while. I attempt to take advantage of this time I have to do things I always say I would do but never did during my regular life: grow in my faith and study scripture, finish my paintings, bake new recipes, practice my violin every day, and maybe finally learn how to play my ukulele. It seems like busy work sometimes, but I think that as a society we overlook the things that we want to do for our own happiness as less important than the things we are required to complete like school and work. 

Through this whole rant, I guess what I am saying is to change your outlook. Have faith in the doctors, nurses, and researchers all around the world treating the sick and working to find solutions. Have faith in the fact that this lonely part of our lives won’t last forever. As my mom told me, this time in my life is just a tiny blip in my lifelong journey. Find ways to be grateful everyday. Whether it’s a clear blue sky, spending time with family, watching your favorite show on Netflix, or FaceTiming friends, be grateful for those good moments. If your family is healthy and you are healthy, be grateful. Be considerate, and stay home. Protect the people in our community who are the most vulnerable to this disease.