Like many, it’s my first time living through a global pandemic. The coronavirus has impacted every aspect of my life. So far it has taken my job, the quality of my education, weekly trips to TJ Maxx and my desire to wear anything other than pajama pants.

Above all, the most challenging part is the fact that I’m not able to see many of the people I love. My best friends that live 5 minutes away are now completely out of reach. My boyfriend, who already lives far away, can now only be reached by Facetime calls and dramatic letters I send him in the mail that say things like “Don’t forget about me in New York.” Moral of the story; if your relationship wasn’t already long distance it definitely is now.

So, you may be wondering how I’m coping with it all. The easy answer is, I’m not. Instead of being productive and desperately searching for any sign of a silver lining, I spend my days blowing up my significant other’s phone with complaints about the current state of the world and watching TikToks for hours on end. In fact, things have gotten so bad I’ve resorted to watching the corniest teeny-bopper drama ever written; Riverdale. However, I am aware that on the grand scale of things my problems are minuscule, and somewhere in the world, someone is playing a tiny violin in my honor.

With that being said, it still sucks. The fact of the matter is nobody signed up for this. Nobody went into March thinking that by April we’d all be confined to our homes living through the most uncertain circumstances of our lives.

My boyfriend and I have been taking social distancing very seriously. Although, when this all started, I must admit I packed a bag hoping to be quarantined with him rather than being stuck home. It quickly became very apparent that wasn’t going to fly after an entire day of arguing with my mother telling her “I’m old enough to make my own decisions” and her responding “If you weren’t scared to go you would’ve left already!”

She was right. I was scared. As more time went by it became clear that going to visit him, let alone go anywhere, was becoming increasingly dangerous. I haven’t left the house in over three weeks. For anything.

This Sunday is my best friend’s 21st birthday, and the original plan was to get dressed up, hit the bars and well, you know the rest. Now the plan is to surprise her with a quick drive-by where I will drop a bottle of Tito’s on her front porch like it’s a grenade and sprint back to my car so I can honk obnoxiously to wish her a happy birthday. Normally this would be very underwhelming, but after weeks of being stuck at home, I’m suddenly excited to have an excuse to put on real pants.

The real question is how long will all this distancing last? That’s what the world wants to know, and unfortunately, we aren’t getting much of an answer. Some are saying till June and others are predicting the worst, saying we could be in quarantine upward of a year. While I hope it’s not the latter, I am trying to remain realistic. I’m hoping that in the coming weeks, I will be able to find my new normal like so many others are doing.

The truth is, we have it easy. I’d much rather be missing my best friends, then come home from my shift at the hospital and not be able to see my kids. I’d much rather send letters to my boyfriend then say goodbye to my dying mother through a walkie talkie.

Social distancing is hard, long-distance is hard, but it’s the only way we can do our part in making sure we stop spreading this horrible illness. So, my advice to you; stay home, keep on wearing those stretchy pants, and most importantly, wash your damn hands.