Sunshine in the Rain

Today marks day 27 of self-quarantine for me. I flew home to Boston from Brussels on Friday, March 13, and I got home around 10 pm that night. I live in the suburbs of Boston, so I have been going on runs underneath our power lines, but besides these runs, I have not left my house. I do not want to say that I have it worse than others, but the weather in Boston has really been putting my mood down these past few weeks. The sun rarely comes out, and even when it does, the temperature is still in the 50s, making it hard to actually enjoy my time outside.

Overall, I consider myself a positive person. I try to see the good in everyone while also seeing the bright side of every situation. With all the negative COVID-19 news appearing in the media throughout the United States, I am finding it more difficult to be optimistic.

Almost every night of quarantine my family has watched a movie together. We switch off who gets to pick the movie every night, which avoids us watching Nicholas Sparks movies every night. After our movie ends, my parents like to watch the Boston news for the day, which has been highlighting the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in each county in Massachusetts.

While my parents watch the news for about an hour, I usually scroll through Tik Tok, the app that I have unfortunately become unhealthily obsessed with. Although most of the videos on this app consist of 16 year olds doing dances that I will never be able to learn (no matter how many hours I spend practicing), there have recently been some videos that look into the positive things that have been occurring across the world. While this may sound a bit ridiculous, I think that these Tik Tok videos have been helping me get through the past few weeks with a smile on my face.

Some of these stories revolve around celebrities who have been able to use their platform to attack the virus. For example, Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter, had vowed to donate $1 billion towards fighting coronavirus. This is almost ⅓ of his total wealth, making him the largest single contributor to fight the virus.

Around 7:00 every night, neighborhoods across the world are pausing their day to cheer for healthcare workers. Even though this may seem like a pointless gesture, I truly believe that small acts like these are the only things holding together society at the moment.

On a more economic note, Germany has rolled out a $50 billion (54 billion euros) aid package for small businesses, with an aim to help artists and small-cultural businesses. By providing this money to those who need it, Germany is helping their own economy while also promoting the importance of the self-employed, who can sometimes be looked down upon throughout different societies.

John Krasinski, one of my personal favorite actors, has started a youtube channel called SomeGoodNews. In these videos, he is spreading positive news about different people coming together to support each other during this worldwide pandemic. Krasinski is using his social platform effectively, and I hope that more celebrities will choose to spend their free time doing the same thing.

Times like these are the most difficult for people who like to stay positive. We do not know when the COVID-19 pandemic is going to end, and this can be a scary thought for many. Although I unfortunately do not have any insight or special connections to see when the virus will come to a plateau, I do know that we can see sunshine on the other side of this if we continue to make small efforts throughout our daily lives.

As Mother Teresa once said, we can do small things with great love.