Coronavirus Diaries is a series of diary-type entries written by students and staff documenting the day to day activities and experiences in quarantine. If you are interested in submitting an entry, contact us at [email protected] 

Quarantine has brought many families closer together, for better or for worse. Without a doubt, the past few weeks have brought an unprecedented shift in the border between our families and personal lives, with most of the country under lockdown. It’s truly a blessing to be safe at home, and while I’d love nothing more than to relax and avail myself of that fact, it’s clear that my family doesn’t share the same sentiment.

Despite being small in size, my family makes up for it in sheer chaotic pandemonium. The house never feels empty with the incessant blaring of my sister’s music speakers from upstairs and my mother ranting on the cell phone to her co-workers. Their conversations have always been loud, but they’re absolutely headache-inducing in close quarters. It’s crazy to think how, only a month prior, the house would almost always be dead silent with my sister often away at college and my parents at work. Sometimes I find myself enjoying the nostalgia that their companionship brings.

If you guys are reading this: I love you all, but at the present moment, there’s nothing I miss more than the peace and quiet of being home alone. Also, please lower your voices. Thank you.

Of course, there are good times too. Admittedly, I haven’t spent as much time with my family in the past as I should have, though now I’ve been given the opportunity to remedy that fact. Weekly nature walks have become a well-adjusted addition to our routine. My mother and I have taken to watching American movies into nighttime hours. My father and I worked together to exterminate all the dust bunnies from our house. Also, it’s fun to compete with my sister again on our video game consoles, even if I almost always lose.

We don’t always get along, but I’m incredibly grateful to be able to spend time with my family. Even though we’ve been reunited during the worst of times in history, it’s important to remember the positives of every situation. A few years down the road, with work and college filling our schedules, many of us will be reminiscing on these times of close companionship with our families. 

It can take a toll on yourself to endure your feelings alone, as local news networks report grim outlooks on the following months and several of our friends, relatives and mentors reveal their affliction with coronavirus. Despite our physical distance, we are all going through this together. Our strong sense of community will heal our nation’s divide. It all starts with family, a gift we all can embrace.