Personal essay: loving family from a distance

By REBECCA MUNSIE

Staff Writer

It is no secret that these are trying times. Our new reality has shifted and there is a lot of fear and uncertainty in our lives right now. When all of this started I wondered how it was going to work for me; my family lives in Canada and I cannot travel to them because of the coronavirus. During a terrifying time, I could not be with my family.

Luckily, I have an amazing boyfriend who has opened up his home to me so we can quarantine together. In the beginning, I was hesitant, as I did not want to be a burden by moving all of my stuff into his place. However, something I have realized during this time is that being with the ones you love really helps all of this go down easier. I cannot be with my family at this time but my boyfriend has helped me find a safe place to hunker down for a while.

Obviously, this has not only been hard for me. My mom was extremely concerned when the pandemic began and realized it was not safe for me to travel. My father was concerned about me being out of the country while this global pandemic was underway but he was very relieved that I had a safe place to go when the campus closed down.

This is a learning curve for all of us and our new reality has shifted.

It is not just me who cannot be with family right now either, my brother who is in the United States Army is also not allowed to go home at this time since he is about to go to Ranger training. When I asked him how this felt to him he said, “Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. I would love to be with family right now but that isn’t possible for me currently.” Things have changed drastically and yes we are all scared but we cannot all just focus on the bad.

My reality has changed but it is not all bad, going online has been different for me but I have more time in the days to do other things. I am learning how to cook new things and I am also learning how to embroider. Am I bored from time to time? Absolutely. But I refuse to only focus on the bad and I am focusing on the positives in my life. I know other students have it worse than me and I just want to reach out and say to keep your head up.

I also want to reach out and say something to the graduating class. I cannot even begin to understand what you are going through but try and remember the good times you had these last few years you were here and don’t let your senior year being cut short take those good memories away from you.

Know that you aren’t alone in your fears but do not let these fears consume you. This is the perfect time in your life to try those new hobbies you have wanted to try for so long. Hopefully, soon this craziness will end and we can all go back to normal. We all must admit, that even if things go back to normal when this is all over, our realities have changed forever because we were hit by this pandemic but we got through it by being there for each other. Stay safe everyone and be grateful for those you have around you.