My mom calls it “social distancing,” but I think of it more as “social isolation.” Whether you agree with either concept or not, for better or for worse they are our lives. Now that the shock of this sudden change has been absorbed, we find ourselves scrambling for bearings and ask ourselves “what now?”

Is it eSchool? Is it Netflix? Is it, God forbid, acceptance? Well, it should be. While some see acceptance as a sign of resignation, it is far better to do so, so get with the program. Come to terms with reality, come to terms with corona. 

Fussing about things we can’t change won’t be any help. What can be of help, though, is addressing what we can. 

So what is that exactly? Well since we have little control over anything right now, we should probably just start with ourselves. We can attack this on three fronts: mental, physical, and emotional.

When most people think of mental health they think of psychological well being. Honestly, they’re probably doing justice to the textbook definition but for my purposes I will define it as the literal health of the mind. 

If your grandma is anything like mine, you’ve probably heard that “your mind is a muscle that needs to be exercised” countless times. Before this break, I honestly didn’t believe her but after letting my mind waste away on a diet of Netflix and Hulu, I can personally attest. 

Honestly, eLearning has offered some reprieve from the desolation of my bedroom. If that idea is too far fetched for you then maybe settle for something less radical. I’d suggest reading a book but (and I don’t know if this has anything to do with my choice of company) I honestly don’t know more than two people who actually still enjoy that. 

So for something more practical, I suggest that the next time you’re mindlessly scrolling through YouTube or Netflix, settle on something educational. Keep in mind this doesn’t necessarily mean a tutorial on trigonometry (although if that happens to be your thing then lucky you). As long as you keep your wheels turning you’re doing just fine. 

As for physical goals, now is the time. You have God only knows how long until you see someone outside your family so take advantage of it. When we do finally crawl out of quarantine odds are that most of us, myself especially, will have put on several pounds and lost our last shred of dignity. If you’d like to be the go getter outlier then power to you. As for the rest of us, we’ll likely be too busy “boredom eating” to notice. 

Finally, we have the emotional front to tackle. Saying I saved the best for last would be a lie. While this is the most important, it is hardly the best for tackling. This is especially true considering we have fewer social outlets (to my surprise I have a newfound appreciation for school). As such, we just have to do our best. True, there’s not much in our control but we have to accept that and keep on. Reach out to old friends, rekindle lost bonds, or make new ones. Yes, this is harder in the midst of social distancing but it is possible and most definitely worth it. 

P.S Don’t make the mistake of doing your eLearning work Sunday night because it is detrimental to emotional wellbeing.