During this weird time in all of our lives where it feels like we’re doing a whole lot of everything and a whole lot of nothing simultaneously, it is important to maintain our connections with others throughout social distancing and quarantine. Not only does this include platonic and romantic connections, but familial connections as well. With this in mind, these ways to stay close will not be a perfect fit for every person in every home situation, so remember your parents are just trying to keep you safe and may reject some of the following ways to stay close from afar.
- Walking
When one of my friends was initially “quarantined”, we would walk her dog together in order to spend time with each other in nature where it is easier to keep your distance; however, you can still hold conversations and maintain your connection with that person.
- Car rides
This only works with members of your own house. However, while everything is closed and there’s nowhere to go, it is a perfect opportunity to become the small-town teenagers that we see in every movie. Aimlessly driving and looking around is the perfect way to familiarize ourselves with everything as well as admire the architecture in the town.
- FaceTime
FaceTime is a perfect tool for telling stories when you can’t be physically close, for example when you need to urgently tell your best friend a story but can’t meet up with them at that exact moment. Regardless of it was because its 3AM and your parents are dead asleep or you’re quarantined, you understand the value of FaceTime. It provides you with a digital face-to-face connection and has an extremely low rate of COVID-19 transmission: 0%.
Social distancing isn’t fun for anyone, and it can be easy to feel isolated as we all spend more time at home and less time with our loved ones. The important part of this all is to stay away and keep ourselves and each other safe, but it doesn’t make it any easier to be far away from our favorite people. Here are my top three ways to connect with my people through this madness and please remember to stay inside and think towards a brighter future.
