The past few weeks have been hard for all of us. The rapid transformation of our communities and our lives have thrown us off-kilter. We grieve for normalcy, as the uncertainty of how long this new normal will last, and the fear of what awaits us on the other side stirs anxiety in us.

As my work has transitioned from an office to my kitchen counter, I feel overwhelmingly privileged to have a job that’s relatively protected, as brands try to navigate this crazy time. I’m lucky to work for a brilliant and kind agency that has made the transition to working from home as seamless as possible. Of course, there have been bumps along the way. The first week was very challenging, almost having to learn how to work with everyone all over again. But we continue to figure it out. Each day brings new challenges. But man, I’ve never felt more fortunate to be doing alongside a team like mine.

Living alone right now has its ups and downs. On one hand, I don’t have to worry about trying to accommodate a partner in my space or sort out working from home with others also stuck indoors. But some days are a bit lonelier than others. My heart broke a few days ago when I had the sad realization that I may not hug anyone for a long time, well besides my cat…

I feel for my friends who’ve decided to pack up their lives and move to either be closer to family or out of their small city accommodations. It’s not easy transplanting your life somewhere else, even if it’s only temporary.

During this trying time, I’ve become aware of how lucky I am to have supportive friends and family. In ways, Social Distancing has been a blessing in disguise, bringing many distant friends closer, because it doesn’t matter if someone lives two blocks away or 2,000 miles away, we are all depending on technology like text, phone calls, and video conference to keep us together.

Over the past two weeks, I’ve spent more time catching up with friends living all over the country and all over the world. And one thing I can absolutely take away from each text and conversation is that we are all in this together. There isn’t a corner of this earth that isn’t being impacted by this awful event, and the only way we can pull through is to lean on one another.

Let’s look out for each other and really care about our neighbors, friends, and family.

• Check-in on your people regularly, especially the extroverts like me.
• Set up regular calls and virtual hangouts to give your people plans to look forward to. We all need it after a long, stressful week.
• Share things you love with others, like books, music, movies, etc. We could all use some distraction right now.
• Use this as an excuse to reach out to friends/family you may have lost touch with or don’t speak to regularly.

And lastly, if you can, give to national and local causes to help those suffering in your community. Here are a few causes I think are worth checking out — Holli Fund, Red Cross, and The Actors Fund.

How are you staying connected during the social distancing? What causes do you care about or are contributing to during the pandemic? Share below!