Can we get real for a minute? This entire pandemic has been hard.
Whether you’ve been quarantining with other people, or using all of this as an excuse to avoid everyone (no judgement), we can all agree that this pandemic has been taking its toll on everyone. COVID forced us all to change our lives so fast and that was really difficult to take on all by ourselves. It was a huge reminder that having people in our lives can be so monumental and comforting because then you have people who make you smile when you’re overwhelmed.
Even during a pandemic when getting together isn’t always an option, there are other ways to reach out and remind your friends that you’re there for them if they need you. You can do something as small as a “thinking about you” text or sending a meme of cute cats hugging to brighten their day. That can completely change someone’s day and it’s a great way to remind them that they have you in their life if they need a shoulder to cry on or an ear to listen to them in their time of need. Sometimes all people need is a 20 minute phone call where you catch each other up on your lives, rant until your throat hurts from talking, or ignore everything and laugh with one another about that one time that you did that one thing and it was the funniest thing in the world. It can be a FaceTime where you get ready for your days together so they know someone is there with them on the mornings where getting out of bed is the hardest task of the day.
Not only has the pandemic been hard, but so is starting school again in person and the season beginning to change, which causes seasonal depression. This is all-important to remember when it comes to those we love. Our friends are in our lives for a reason, so we need to remember to check up on them every so often, just as we expect them to do with us. It can be particularly weird for us when we’re all back in person and some of our friends don’t go to school with us, so we just live on texting and calls and we can’t see each other all day every day like we could back at home when everything was online. It’s also really hard when our friends go to school with us but none of our classes line up and the semester gets hard at the same time for us both. It can seem fantastic when we’re all free and can meet up in person whenever we want, but we don’t always have the time.
During times like that, we can go back to what we’ve picked up from the pandemic and we can send a cute little paragraph to our friends to help them wake up with a smile and let them know how much you love them. If getting together in person is too difficult, plan a time to FaceTime and just sit together while you both quietly work on homework. Being there silently can be better than not being there at all, and it can help us feel connected when we can’t be physically together.
If you feel like you’re friends need an extra pick-me-up, you can plan a fun thing for you to do together. Personally, my friends and I love having movie nights or study dates so we can all be together and have a good time. It’s a good chance to clear your mind and feel the love they have for you, and it reminds you that they are there for you just as you are there for them. Sometimes the absolute best medicine can be turning off all of the lights and watching a scary movie to laugh at, because then you’re all together and you’re enjoying yourselves and things don’t feel as suffocating as they can when you’re alone.
With the changing seasons and changing feelings, what really matters at the end of the day is making sure your friends know that you’re always there for them and you’ll always have your back. It won’t always be laughs and good times with your friends, and they may not always ask for help when they need it. That’s why we need to keep them in mind during hard times like this, and we can always make sure that we’re reminding them that they are not alone and we will always be there for them. That way, when they do ask for help they know we’ll be there.