A rainbow shines on the cloudiest of days 😉 (taken on 4/3/2020)

Displaced.

This is that word that comes to mind when I think of the question “How are you?”

I think, mentally, I’m still digesting the fact that our current reality… is our current reality. There is a sense of being removed from the way things should be. But then again, “should” is a dangerous word.

I believe that the displacement is two-fold. The first side of this coin, is the fact that the second semester was truly an amazing time for me (while on campus). Things were really coming together and the “hump” so to speak, often found during the first semester for many students, was for the most part gone. There was, I believe, a sense of home-away-from-home truly starting to develop. Alas, out of the frying pan and into quarantine.

The second aspect of this is the reality that everyone I know and love is in imminent danger. That is truly something to wrap your head around. So many people are at risk. Terribly, there have already been tens-of-thousands of deaths worldwide. Now, I can say first-hand that COVID-19 is truly something to treat as an imminent and viable threat. A quick tangent: I spoke with someone yesterday who thought that viruses were best treated by “allowing infected people to interact with others, so that people can learn to resist it.” I then mentioned the importance of social distancing, to which this person then hugged another individual to spite the idea. It is deeply unfortunate for those underestimate the seriousness of the situation. Anyway, I digress. My father is an emergency room physician who tells me first hand about the horrific nature of this pandemic. Folks have died in front of him with the virus, and he estimates that upwards of 2/3 of the people in the E.R. on a given day have the infection. It just doesn’t feel right. Yet, the fact remains.

I have to be honest, I really don’t like the connotation of sadness that may inhabit my previous paragraphs. I believe it represents the situation partially, yet understandably. There are certainly sad and terrible things happening, BUT, I think that within this situation there is a growth potential. I personally believe that in any situation there is a positive insight or lesson that can occur, even if it is the darkest of times. I certainly see lessons to be had here, in this situation. I’ll keep the lessons I see at a personal level (as opposed to a societal or global) because it ties in more with the prompted question.

I believe that within this digestion of the fact that we are in a global pandemic (and that college is ONLINE) evinces a certain age-old truism that I’ve now come to appreciate the gravity of a little bit more. It is very easy to take life for granted. In reality however, life is very fragile and ephemeral. In dire times like this, I think everyone can come to appreciate that sentiment a little more. Hug people a little tighter in the future. Perhaps let people know how much you care about them. And maybe even realize our interdependence on each other for our own well being… to shoot off a few.

It is a scary time. Alas, like with all trials and tribulations, you’ve got to keep on pushing through. I mean, puppies still exist. There’s something to be ecstatic about right there 🙂

My absolute best wishes to anyone who reads this. Keep on keepin’ on! Things will be better in time.

Don’t forget that shenanigans can still be had virtually!