Staying Connected

All of our lives changed so quickly, we really didn’t have time to think things through. We are all suddenly forced to stay inside and to not be in contact with the people we saw everyday. I know that change is hard but I am here to tell you how I have been dealing with the whole pandemic and the things I do to keep myself busy.

You have to figure out things that make the time go by or even something to make us not overthink about what is happening out there. Some things I do to kill time are play some lacrosse, work out, play Fortnite, or watch movies with my family. If I’m being honest, I’m kinda getting bored of my phone. Sometimes I even hang out with my friends (6 feet away, of course). We all are trying to find things to make this not seem real, but it is.

This pandemic has made a lot of people’s lives change. Everyone has to stay inside and away from loved ones. People not being able to work and not being able to provide for a family. I went from hanging out with my friends and going to school everyday to doing school inside and also being stuck inside. All stores and restaurants are closed too, which is a big change to everyone’s life also. Everything changed so fast and we were just supposed to deal with all the change.

What me and my friends do to stay in touch is pretty much all mobile like Snapchat, Zoom, and quite a bit of TikTok. But there are also some times when I am able to hang out with them throughout this crazy time. Of course we stay 6 feet apart. We either hang out at the falls or take a walk on the river or even have a sleepover in separate tents outside. This all is so different, but we are all trying to find ways to make it all feel normal.

The way I am helping my community is by staying inside and not being too close to people. Staying inside helps because it stops all of this sooner so people can get back to doing the things they used to. Stop the spread and stay inside so everything can go back to normal again. I hope quarantine and all of this ends soon.

This whole thing is making me realize not to take anything I have for granted because anything could happen and all of it could be gone. This all happened so fast for everyone and we are all learning ways to deal with it. But all you have to do is stay inside and wait till it all blows over.

—Paris

Share your own story here. Sharing stories is a powerful way to connect with other people. Be part of the Teen Health & Wellness Personal Story Project—like Paris did above—and share your story about successfully dealing with or overcoming a challenge.