“I’ve been in Louisville, KY at my parents’ house for all of quarantine. I was abroad in the winter, and I was traveling when things escalated to travel restrictions, so getting home was pretty stressful. However, I was with a friend, and I had contact with my parents, so I was okay. 

I have personal space, a desk, wifi, food, and my dog, so I really think I got lucky. I do miss my friends quite a lot, since I haven’t seen most of them since December. I won’t be able to see many of my graduating friends for a long time, because they’re moving away for jobs and grad school before I go back to Chicago.

In terms of keeping myself connected and not going crazy, I’ve been calling friends pretty often. I do a semi-regular group study call with a few of my friends, where we turn on a zoom call for a few hours and focus together, taking breaks every 30 minutes to chat. I’ve also been involved in some theater projects, including New Work Week through the TAPS department, a friend’s BA performance, and a monologue workshop through Court Theater. Working on theater in those ways has helped me stay connected with friends and ensure that I’m able to think artistically at least a little bit, which has a huge effect on my mental health. I also crashed a couple of Scav meetings for a couple of teams. Other than that, I’ve been watching the Good Place with my family, since my parents like philosophy, and walking my dog almost every day so that I can see the sun.”