This Is Where I'm Headed Once It Feels Safe To Go Outside

When COVID-19 locked down the world, my family was scattered, quite literally, across the globe. My twin and I were in New York, my big sister was in Arizona, my dad in California, and my mom in India. Eventually we all made our way home to California and I hope that all of you also found your way (or stayed put) with the people you love while all of this is going on.

COVID-19 sucks. Physical distancing is so hard and so anxiety-inducing -- I go outside and feel guilty and scared at the same time, even if it’s for essential stuff. And of course this is to save lives and do our duty to those putting themselves in harm’s way. But we can be honest -- this sucks. People missed their graduations, their proms, and their concerts. Some of you had to take AP exams online or figure out how to learn difficult things virtually. Family members that didn’t quarantine together likely aren’t going to see each other for a while. Selfishly, I turned 21 in quarantine and while my family tried to make it the best it could be, it definitely was not the celebration that I wanted.

Still, quarantine has shown me, and hopefully everyone, how much we should value the little things in our lives.

It’s not the next time I get to travel internationally or take a big adventure that I’m most looking forward to. It’s getting to go to an Indian restaurant with my mom and my twin the next time they’re both back in the city.

It’s sitting at a small coffee shop with people visiting from out of town and disturbing all of the other folks in the establishment with our loud antics. It’s getting surprised by co-workers and friends with the 21st birthday party that I truly deserve at a rooftop bar. It’s going dancing at Pride with a bunch of strangers. The simple things are what make life beautiful.

That’s definitely not to say that the big things don’t matter to me! Every night, I think about the Harry Styles concert in July and how it’s definitely going to be rescheduled. I will do anything and everything to see him in concert when it’s back on with Sahara, our DoSomething Campaigns Manager and the other superfan at the office. I was planning a big solo trip to Argentina or New Zealand after the election and saving the money to afford it. I might have spent some of that on quarantine self-care stuff (read: I bought a new TV and a whole bunch of pretty clothes), but I’m still going to make that trip happen.

I’ve always been a big believer in the fact that you need three things to look forward to, big or small, and quarantine has only made that much more important. So here are my three things and the people that I want to do them with:

1. The Beach (with my sisters): This is the native Californian in me, but I MISS the ocean. And going to the beach with my sisters is one of my favorite things to do. I can’t wait to drive down to Santa Cruz singing along to summer hits in the car with the fam, sit under the California sun, and swim the ocean.

1. The Office (with co-workers): I miss riding around on the scooter in the office, going downstairs for a coffee break in the afternoon, and even riding the subway (crazy, I know).
2. The Harry Styles Concert (with Sahara): I mentioned it above, but seeing Harry Styles in concert and hearing Fine Line, is so important to me. Sahara and I send each other Harry Styles TikToks every day.

Oh the places we’ll go… after this is over! And just like we’re taking the time right now to focus on collective care (i.e., how physical distancing isn’t about taking care of just ourselves, but also all the more vulnerable people that are affected by COVID-19), we should take that same thinking toward all the things we’ll do once physical distancing guidelines are lifted.

Sign up for our Oh The Places We’ll Go campaign to think about all the things that we’ll do when this is over and how we can help each other, especially our loved ones, be safe when we go do those things.