During this time of social distancing, so many people are focusing on what quarantine has taken from them: a semester of school, prom, the Italy trip. I’ve decided to focus instead on what it has given me. Aside from the two big things it’s given me — time and sleep — it’s also offered me some important life lessons.

1. There’s always something to be grateful for.

When I heard that we’d be shutting down schools due to COVID-19, the first thing I thought about was my show production. I feared we would have to postpone or cancel the show that my cast and I had been working on for months. I had a lot of feelings toward this. I was devastated, frustrated, and just all around let down. But that same day, I heard that my cousin, a senior in college, was coming home that weekend for the rest of the year because her school had closed. I started to think about how much harder it would be to miss your last semester of college, knowing that you wouldn’t be going back in the fall and all your friends would be going home, hundreds of miles away. It really put things into perspective for me. Yes, some things important to me have been interrupted, but unlike my college cousin, I still have next year. As the situation in the world has gotten worse throughout social distancing, I’ve tried to find things to be grateful for everyday and write them down in a gratitude log. Some days it’s something as simple as health and safety. Other days it’s a really great phone call with a friend. Whenever I start to feel frustrated that I’m stuck in my house, I remember the people who are suffering either because of illness or loneliness. Looking back on my gratitude log is a great reminder of how blessed I am.

2. Life is unpredictable.

I’m a person who really likes to plan things out. I often flip through my planner and write down events months in advance because it makes me feel in control of my life. When I pictured and planned the spring of my junior year, I never imagined I’d be going to school at home and missing out on a lot of the things I looked forward to about junior year. Yet here we are. It has been a really great reminder to me that you cannot plan anything fully because you never know what life is going to throw your way. The future is a complete mystery, especially during this time of uncertainty, and you have to be ready to accept whatever life gives you. While it’s comforting to plan out your future perfectly, you have to remember that in the end, you’re not truly in control of anything.

3. Negativity doesn’t get you anywhere.

I’ve never been the most positive person. I’ve been known to complain a lot, worry a lot, and stress a lot. Over the last few months though, I’ve been trying to change that, and surprisingly, social distancing has helped me accomplish this goal. By spending time with my gratitude log, I’ve noticed that focusing on what you do have instead of what you don’t have really does make you a happier person. The way I see it, if the worst thing about my day is that I can’t go out to have fun, then I’m doing pretty well. There are people around the world who are going through much worse mentally, physically, and financially. Instead of complaining about how this affects me, I should focus on ways to help those who are more hurt. And the best part was, once I got into the habit of looking for the good in every day, it started coming naturally. I’ve trained my brain to look for the positive and not the stressful or sad things in life.

I hope some of these insights can help you as you navigate your own social distancing journey.

Lucy Stefani ’21, Arts & Entertainment Editor 

21lstefani@montroseschool.org