Items

• 2020-09-29

  So Close, Yet So Far

  When my best friend came home to Florida from school for spring break in March of 2020, we quickly learned that she would have to stay home for the rest of the school year, which was all so bittersweet. Since our families and us created boundaries to keep everyone safe, her and I decided to spend a few weeks together since we were already in contact and would not be able to see each other for a while once we do separate. We spent the first few weeks of the pandemic laying out in my backyard all day, getting our homework done and soaking in the unexpected extra time with each other that we were so grateful to have. I lost my job at my schools on-campus Starbucks and had all online work for the remainder of spring semester, so we both did not go anywhere for the next months to come. We went through an accelerated collegiate high school program together which made us feel like we needed to slow down since we are two years ahead in school and always busy with changes. In a way, we both felt that we needed to take advantage of a horrible situation, making us stop and be present with our lives, each other, and our loved ones. Eventually, we separated after weeks of soaking up each other’s love and company but would occasionally meet up at our favorite park for socially distanced car visits that helped pass the time between our next weeklong hangouts after getting tested. Since the beginning of this pandemic in March 2020, summer has come and gone, the Fall school semester has begun, and her and I are now apart again. Being away from each other at school before the pandemic was difficult, but when we were distanced from each other at home when normally we would be together almost every day, was honestly harder than being our typical 1,300 miles away from each other because we were so close, yet so far.