When I was younger, one of the worst habits I got myself latched onto was the idea of needing to do everything. Be it through scouring online archives for tidbits of information on my favorite bands or feeling the need to be the shoulder to cry on for as many people as humanly possible, my obsession ruined my sleeping schedule and counter-intuitively made me feel burdened. Distancing myself from this pattern was something that came with time, but ultimately was for the best.
I felt myself returning to this stage of my life within the past few days.
Whether I was watching news reports that seemed to keep repeating the same messages every 30 minutes or scrolling through my Twitter feed and seeing countless individuals across the Internet beg for change, I was lost. Hearing how COVID-19 was affecting people — either in harming individuals contracting the virus or inspiring those who’ve lost hold on artistic outlets — created one burning question in my mind: What in the world could I do?
Rushing through my options wasn’t helpful. As a high-school student, I couldn’t offer up any monumental research that would make the situation any better. I didn’t have the monetary funds to relieve the stress of people in my community who felt the need to buy, buy, buy until the shelves were bare in Publix. From my position, the most I could do was stay away from physically interacting with other people.
I imagine many of you are in a similar situation. As much as I can try to tell myself that I’m not technically doing “nothing,” getting the notification on my phone that my screen time is up 38 percent from last week doesn’t really qualify as anything truly substantial.
And as much as it may sting to know at first, I promise you that that’s okay.
In a manner that would’ve felt like a slap in the face to 11-year-old-me, I implore you to do what has always seemed impossible to me: do what, at first, resembles “nothing.” I’m here to remind you that it’s okay to not know everything about COVID-19. It’s alright to not know what to do during this pandemic. It’s fine to feel lost or confused. Your emotions are what make you human, and they’re completely valid — especially during a time such as this.
Instead of writing in an attempt to inspire you to become this generation’s Picasso, I merely ask that you remain steadfast in staying at home, so as to guarantee the health of not only your being, but that of your family and the countless individuals around you. The change that all of us can work toward is flattening the curve of cases across the nation; everything beyond that can come at your own time, whenever you deem necessary.
Making an impact doesn’t mean changing the world as we know it. Instead, recognize that being a difference-maker doesn’t equate to the weight of the world resting on your shoulders. Stay safe. Stay smart. And in the words — or, rather, the lyrics — of one of those bands from the online archives, know that, beyond anything else, “you’re not in this alone.”
Featured image by Kathy Richie