“We are truly living in a crazy time.” 

“2020 just isn’t it.”

“What is happening to the world right now?”

These are some phrases that are constantly being thrown around by myself, family and friends. And as dark and pessimistic as it sounds, it truly has been an unprecedented set of events. As we are all fighting a global pandemic, it seems that every day is a new learning experience for so many of us.

I can’t even believe sometimes that I have been in quarantine for the last three months and that there are so many precautions to take if I want to step outside. While only time will tell when Covid-19 can be contained, it is so important for all of us to work together to fight the virus and prepare ourselves when we all can go back to our normal lives. Here are some observations and suggestions that I would like to share with everyone and that I think we all could benefit from.

• WEAR A MASK!

This cannot be emphasized enough. CDC, WHO and many other renowned medical institutions all universally agree that everyone should be wearing masks or some type of facial covering. There are countless amounts of evidence that masks have helped slow the spread and lower the number of infected people. Coronavirus deaths in countries with government policies or cultural norms that require masks had significantly less death rates. In New York, “the daily new infection rate dropped by 3% per day after a policy required people to wear masks in public went effect.” California is also one of the few states that have mandated mask wearing in public, yet I see too many individuals refusing to wear masks every day. The best way to lower the numbers is to slow the spread, and the simple solution is already there. 

Honestly, it is just common courtesy to wear masks because you won’t know if you or anyone that you might run into might have contracted the virus. Why risk it for yourself and everyone else around you?

• Find means to stay even healthier!

Take a walk, go for a jog, stay active! Most gyms and fitness centers are closed, but the outdoors are wide open (with proper social distancing of course)! If you are still hesitant to go outside often, many personal trainers and fitness instructors are also utilizing live-streaming platforms to broadcast various workouts and classes. From yoga, to pilates and dance cardio workouts, the options are growing by the day. 

If you are in the Boston area, one of our partners, Radiant Yoga Boston, is offering over 20 free classes! You can check them out here! They are adding new sessions daily all the way through the end of July, so try some yoga classes. Our CEO Colleen embarked on her own 100-day yoga journey and she loved it. Read up more on her personal journey here; it almost makes me want to try it soon too!

• Try not to over-worry for the future!

I am personally guilty of this too, filling myself with so many what-ifs.

“What if school doesn’t start on time?”

“What if the economy is still struggling when I graduate?”

But!

I’ve realized soon enough that worrying right now isn’t going to help with anything, but that instead I should go with the flow and focus on what I can control day to day. Opportunities will come or they may not, but that’s just the way it is sometimes. Not everything will be easy all time, and the best thing to do is to just prepare myself for when the time is right. 

These are a few reflections from my own time in quarantine. Hopefully, we can work together to bring the numbers down and be ready as ever to go back to our normal lives! Until then, stay healthy (I know, it’s cliché) and hope to talk to everyone soon, face to face.

Minjoon