Maybe some people think a national pandemic is a bad time for love. But I think there isn’t a better time! That cutie in your Blackboard Collaborate class might appreciate a DM saying you hope him and his family are well. Or maybe he won’t. But he can’t reject you in person, so what’s stopping you?
I interviewed Allison, a twenty year-old GW student about what a “Corona Crush” is.
Her Campus American: “What is a corona-crush?”
Allison: “I think the real definition is that crush you develop when you realize it’s the end of the world. That crush you develop when you’re in quarantine because of COVID-19.”
Que “It’s the End of the World as We Know It” by REM! But should we also be alert for possible long-distance flirting? Catching someone’s eye over FaceTime shouldn’t be diminished because of circumstances. In fact, a little spark could be just what a lot of us need right now.
HCAU: Do you currently have any corona crushes?
Allison: “Personally, I don’t have any right now. Tinder told me not to meet up with my matches,” she jokes.
Now that even meeting up with matches is off the table, what are romantics to resort to? Now is the time to be clever. Zoom dates? Animal Crossing dates? Whatever it takes, I have faith that people will find ways to keep the fire alive even in such desperate times.
Next, Allison and I considered the good and bad sides to having a corona crush.
HCAU: “Why do you think it’s good to have a corona crush?”
Allison: “Because it fills up the time between procrastinating your homework and watching TikTok compilations.”
It is true that group chats have been resurrected and TikTok is taking over. Who’s to say a little crush can’t become another thing to help break up the monotony? Most people can’t leave their houses so we are forced to redecorate our minds to keep life interesting. Catching feelings for someone new or even reviving an old spark can feel like something that can shake up a routine that’s getting tiresome. However, as I discussed with Allison, it’s not the easiest to fancy through FaceTime.
HCAU: Why would it be bad to have one?
Allison: “It’s bad to have a corona crush because sometimes they’re often irrational and all around disheartening. Even if you meet up you have to be six feet apart.”
Songs like “Six Feet Apart” by Alec Benjamin and “Level of Concern” by Twenty One Pilots capture the time and the heartbreak a lot of us are experiencing. Also, in such an anxious time, people may find themselves being irrational. People buy too much toilet paper or text an ex they shouldn’t. But mistakes are bound to happen in times like these, and it’s better if we cut a little slack to the panickers out there.
HCAU: “Do you think now is a good or a bad time to shoot your shot?”
Allison: “It is a good time to shoot your shot because the end of the world seems to be happening. Maybe it’s not the way we imagined it, but go for it, quarantine yourself with embarrassment instead. This is gonna take a while, so shoot your shot.”
HCAU: “What’s the best way to shoot your shot?”
Allison: “Everyone has a high standard of humor from TikTok so you gotta be hilarious. We’re in a lot of disaster, gotta just go with it” she advises.
So there you have it, one girl’s explanation of getting a crush on that cutie on Zoom. There are a lot of positives and negatives when it comes to catching feelings in a cataclysm. Like Allison said, it’s a great distraction. Most people find themselves with more time and not much to do with it. On the other side, with social distancing and the unknowns of when it will end, it is a difficult time for love. Maybe even harder for potential love. Relationships are fragile, but perhaps social distancing gives us time to contemplate. Is that crush a distraction or is there really something there? Overall, it’s good to stay positive in such a hard time and having something small to cheer you up is healthy, especially if it’s harmless. And who knows? Maybe the coronapocalypse isn’t such a bad time to shoot your shot!
Image Credit: Her Campus Media Library