Lemons & Cherries

Growing up, my grandmother had several sayings/phrases she would say over and over. She loved to sing you are my sunshine or i love you a bushel and a peck to any of the members of our family at seemingly random times. But perhaps her most famous quote was one she would always say to me whenever I would complain about something that was bothering me. As a child, and even now, I will tell her about any problem I may be having and to cheer me up, she would just laugh and say: "Oh Alyna.. If life were just a bowl of cherries, why are we in the pits?!" This would, of course, make me smile and remember that whatever problem I am facing, it will pass. There is light at the end of the tunnel! That does not mean that whatever problems I am facing are not challenging.

In case you haven't noticed, the world is undergoing some challenges right now. Most universities in America have shut down for the remainder of the school year, and many fellow members of the Class of 2020 around the nation won't be able to have their graduation, or walk across the stage to receive that stupid piece of paper they just spent four - six years struggling for. So far, my college has not cancelled graduation, but many believe it is only a matter of time. Of course, this is just one small problem compared to the rest of the world. My heart goes out to everyone in the service industry who have lost their jobs for the foreseeable future, which is something that almost feels like a black hole. Not knowing how long this pandemic will last is unnerving and not easy for me to cope with. 

But for right now, school has been moved online, large gatherings of people have been prohibited, many many events have been cancelled, and everyone is being instructed to stay home. Social distancing has become a familiar concept, and I'm not sure if any other extroverts are going crazy, but I know I am. Mental health is something that I am very worried about right now. So, in order to combat some of my own loneliness, I started a blog! In case you don't understand the title, it is a play off of "The Vagina Monologues" an episodic play written by Eve Ensler. So welcome to my blog!

I really hope if you are reading this, you are not feeling too lonely and have people checking in on you. That being said, whoever is reading this: CHECK IN ON YOUR FRIENDS! Extroverted or not, there has never been a more important time to contact your loved ones. As all of my close friends (and my mother) know; my favorite thing to do is FaceTime. I just love it! 

If there is any advice I could give anyone struggling right now, it would be to do what you love. Create joy where you can, and laugh as much as possible. With all of this free-time that I now have, I finally am going to create a place to word-vomit. I have several blog post ideas already, and I am super excited to share the thoughts in my head with the rest of the world. This blog will serve as my creative outlet for combating the uncertainty of COVID-19. When life brings you lemons, make lemonade! I believe that is what my grandmother was trying to get at with her bowl of cherries joke. Whatever happens, no matter how "in the pits" it may feel, there will be a better day ahead.