By Nicole

I chose this picture because I am quarantined with my boyfriend, Dan, and our dog, Bridget. We go on walks around Philadelphia every day to stay sane. We first starting hearing about COVID-19 maybe at the end of February/early March but it didn’t start to feel real until about a week into March. I work for the Delaware Historical Society so the pandemic started to really impact my life once we all began to work from home. Dan is also stuck at home with me, as the restaurant he works at is now closed, and I am so thankful to not be going through this alone and having a cute dog to cuddle with is a big plus. We have incorporated some running and long walks into our routine to keep us from going too stir crazy. We were unintentionally “prepared” to be stuck in our apartment, although I do wish I had stocked up on some puzzles because I finished the only one I had in a few days lol. We have been cooking a lot more than usual, so a semi-weekly grocery store run is just about the only time we get to talk to other people face to face.

I can’t imagine going through this and not having the technology to stay in touch with my friends and family in Delaware. It seems like Delaware is not getting hit as hard as Philadelphia so its interesting to see the differences with how our experiences are. In Philadelphia, non-essential stores closed about a week before they did in Delaware so we were able to give advice to our friends. I’ve been getting my news mostly from social media and late night talk-shows, like The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Late Night with Seth Meyers, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, and The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. I’ve opted to stop watching the real news because it was starting to seem too hopeless, and these late night shows combine parts of the news with comedy. Staying informed is important, but so is my sanity.