There’s no doubt that this pandemic has been difficult for everyone. Families of victims are grieving their losses. Healthcare employees are working tirelessly to treat those affected and to keep the rest of us safe. Thousands upon thousands of people have lost their jobs and are struggling to provide for their families. The class of 2020 has missed out on milestones we’ve looked forward to for years. We all miss being able to spend time with our friends and loved ones. We all miss going to school every day and seeing our teachers. We miss our lives the way they used to be. We miss when life was normal.

It can be hard to stay positive during all of this uncertainty. Everyday tasks seem to take all of my energy. Getting out of bed seems pointless some days. I lack motivation to finish my homework, clean my room, or even change out of my pajamas sometimes. Some days I feel like my mental health is the best it’s ever been, but the next I feel like any progress I’ve made has been completely lost. I’ll see a picture in my camera roll of my friends and I at school, and I miss them so much that I can’t help but cry. Someone will post a throwback to their own Prom or talk about their graduation and it breaks my heart. I’ll watch a movie or TV show in a high school setting and feel so sad. I feel truly hopeless some days. I wonder when all of this will be over and when life will feel okay again. It feels like I’ve been waiting for my life back for years when it’s only been months. The main things I’ve been looking forward to, like the end of high school and the Harry Styles concert my best friend Zoe and I have tickets to, have been cancelled or postponed. Everything feels clouded by how unfortunate of a time we’re living through. 

However, there are definitely some positive things that have been giving me hope that everything will be ok soon. Most people who contract the virus recover, with only approx. 1% dying according to Harvard Medical School. Science is making great strides toward a vaccine, the CEO of Moderna says we should expect to see one by the end of the year. The planet is recovering from pollution with humans being stuck inside, and the canals in Venice are becoming clear again. The number of new cases in places like Italy and China is declining. News like this seems to be a big step towards the world returning to normal, and it makes me feel optimistic for the first time since March. 

Not only do conditions seem to be looking up on a global scale, but on a more local one as well. Since Whitey’s reopened, I’ve gone back to work. Many of the people I work with are my close friends, so being able to spend time with them again has been amazing. Even though the store has been crazy busy and it’s stressful most of the time, I’m grateful for the little bit of normalcy it’s given me. Since I’ve already been in contact with my coworkers during our shifts, we’ve also hung out when we’re not at work (with masks, of course.) Just today a few of us went to Target together, something I hadn’t done in months. Then we got take-out sushi and had a picnic at Schwiebert Park, followed by an impromptu photoshoot by the water. It brought me so much joy to be able to laugh with them again. For an afternoon I was able to forget the turmoil the world is going through right now, and just be happy again.

  Since this pandemic hit full force in March, I’ve felt pessimistic, discouraged, and sad. I was unsure of how long the uncertainty would last, and how many more aspects of life would be ruined. I missed my friends, my family, my teachers, and everyone I love. I just wanted life to be normal again. Recently, I’ve been seeing and doing things that make me feel like everything will be alright soon. I’m starting to feel more optimistic about life now. After months of darkness, the light at the end of the tunnel finally seems to be visible.