Time.

I, for one, have spent way too much of it thinking about how much of it I have lost—hence the never-ending cycle of me switching my mindset between giving up and having hope.

It is exhausting, both emotionally and physically, to stay on task with schoolwork when my mind wanders to every single fragment of loss and depravity in both my own life, the people I love, and even those I hear about on the news.

Sometimes I slip and tumble, crashing down into a hole of old memories and should be opportunities and events. And, with seemingly no end in sight and the uncertainty of what’s to come, I have come to realize that never again will we be given the opportunity of time like this in our lives.

My philosophy: appreciate the quarantine so that I can conquer it and use this time to grow, heal, improve, and reflect.

I go through cycles with this, and, frankly, there are days—weeks—at a time where it is harder and harder to even get myself out of bed in the morning. I fear repetition and there are some days that come with that, but I always try to keep in mind that every day is a chance to try something new—such as a hobby, routine, breakfast, etc.    

Some may view this as optimistic and others pointless, but I think that holding onto hope is the only way that we are going to stay in touch with the part of ourselves that still thinks that this is all worth it and that we can come out the other side of it as the best version of ourselves.