Look for the positive

As we all have probably noticed at this point, it’s hard not to talk about the negativity and ramifications of this virus that has pretty much shut down the world. There really is no way around not talking about it in most cases. It is unfortunate since we are already living it and would probably talk about other things and do other things. It also gets hard to see the positivity in all of this. It took me a long time to realize there are quite a few positive things going for me right now and one of them I feel like many might not be thinking about.

            I have not been able to spend great amounts of time with my family since moving away to college. Since many things have shut down and been cancelled, I’ve been spending a ton of time with my family. It has been nice cooking dinner with them every night and watching Survivor after. All of this to say maybe we should take a step back and look at the positive things this has brought. I don’t remember I spent this much quality time with my family. I also notice since there isn’t a ton of other pressure from the outside world it is genuinely a good time, no one has other things to do and we can just sit and talk or hang out.

            We get so caught up in so many different things we normally don’t try to make plans with our family or just think one day we will get to it. But if this virus has taught us anything it’s that we might not get those days. Our family and friends are very precious, and we have the opportunity to spend long periods of time around them or on the phone with them. Take advantage of this extra time to connect with your family. Take time to learn about your family history or learn really crazy stories about your parents.

            There is not as much time as we always hope. We always say we will do it later or down the road or plan it for the future without thinking about it again. Take time to make time. Take time to plan calls with your grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, or whoever you’ve been meaning to. The time we’ve been given with each other is undetermined. If we are going to learn anything it’s how quickly things can change. So take the time to enjoy the time you have with your family or your roommates or whoever your spending this self-isolation time with.

            Think about once the gates are lifted and we’re able to carry on with our lives. Will you ever spend that much time with them again? Are you ever going to have the free time to call as many people as you want? Take time to rebuild the connections with family and friends. There really is no downside to absorbing the quality time and reconnecting.