Quarantine. A word that is known in every language and corner of the world because of the global pandemic we’ve been in for almost two years now. Just like you and many others, I too was shocked, confused, and felt like this had to be a weird simulation when the world announced we were all in a global pandemic due to COVID-19 on March 13, 2020. When the NBA officially shut down, I knew quarantine wasn’t just going to be the duration of my Spring break in college. When this happened, I was left just like all of you probably were, with great amounts of time and energy to do nothing but be at home and watch TV. If you were on social media during the first stages of quarantine, you too remember the, “Be a better person than when quarantine first started,” trend, the Social Justice era, the Capitol insurrection, the pivotal election period, and most importantly, the constant hardship and increasing death toll that Covid-19 has left in its wake. To say the least, the world and, most importantly, you have been through a lot in these last few years.

With so much going on, one could get lost in all of this madness. One side is saying we should be grateful for what we have because, in a matter of seconds, our circumstances can change all due to COVID-19.

While the other says, it’s okay to feel hopeless, depressed, sad, and to just feel the negative emotions that are surfacing in you because you have all the right to given what’s going on in the world. What I say to all of this is, “Do what’s best for you at the end of the day.” What I mean is, do whatever you’re mentally and physically able to handle and whatever benefits you in a positive and progressive way.

Just like you and many others, I sit here having experienced the loss of loved ones due to COVID-19, the loss of normalcy that we all miss and long for, poverty due to the pandemic, and most importantly, my fair share of battles of maintaining my sanity and and prioritizing mental health. But my solution for all of these things is, to take yourself out of these issues, situations, and unfavorable circumstances and look at them from a bird’s eye view. By this, I mean look at what these things may be teaching you.

 I feel that quarantine and COVID-19 have taught many of us that no job or thing will be greater than the preservation of ourselves at the end of the day.

It taught me to take control of the things that I can in my life and live with the things that are out of my control. It taught me that I will forever be my greatest investment – mentally, physically, or financially. Most importantly, it taught me to love myself greatly because people, life and its problems will try to suck you dry. I won’t sit here and say I have life all figured out or that these things I’m telling you are easy by any means,but you are worth every penny and second, so why not try at least?

We may not ever, as a civilization, return to normalcy because it’s been so long, but we can make the best out of this hand that we’ve all been dealt. Try and look past your situations and circumstance and look at them with a bird’s eye view.