We are now officially through week 6 of quarantine, and it’s honestly starting to feel normal now. I still get sad when I get my calendar notifications that I haven’t deleted or when I drive past Southwest, but the daily struggles are subsiding immensely. 

This past Saturday was supposed to be my first Prom, but like everything else in the world, it was canceled. I am not one to give up these kinds of things easily, so I called up my cousins to do my hair and makeup and we went out to take pictures. After that, a couple of friends and I put together a Zoom call for our friend group to have a virtual Prom, “Proom.” We all got dressed up and talked for a couple of hours, playing online games together and eventually watching “Call Me By Your Name.”

This week was also theatre officer elections, and it was strange to have the traditional gathering in the auditorium turned into a digital one in your own home. Of course, the WiFi at my house completely crashed, but I was able to fix it for the time-sensitive vote. I am really hoping that we can go back to school in August so the new officers and I can get to work on planning all the fun stuff for this next year. 

If there is anything I have learned from this week, it is that having video calls with friends is a step higher than texting. I miss seeing all my friends so much, and texting is a good option, but it feels a little more real when you can see their faces and hear their voices. My advice to anybody reading this is to set up a Zoom/Netflix Party movie night. Although we cannot be together in person right now, it is a good way to connect over a common interest. Tonight, my friends and I are getting together to watch “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” 

Although this entry is short, I highly encourage you to take a look at the “Empty Streets” series of photos I have put together. This week, I went to the Haymarket and Railyard areas to take pictures of the once-busy streets that are now empty. It is crazy to me that I was down there six weeks ago, right before the quarantine started, and it was packed with cars and people from all walks of life. Strange, isn’t it? Life drastically changed within a DAY, and it is continuing to change daily.