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Many of us have experienced restrictions on movement and social contact during the pandemic. Talk about any restrictions that have especially affected you.

I think the most obvious and impactful restriction so far is the stay at home orders that we faced at the beginning and height of the pandemic, which we are facing again now. Living in NYC, I thrived on the freedom to walk out of my apartment and go do whatever I wanted.... and sometimes that included doing absolutely nothing, just walking aimlessly around my neighborhood or on the high line. The biggest impact of social distancing is not being able to go out and do nothing for fear of the risk that it could lead to potential exposure. Before I moved back into my college dorm, I felt like back in the city everything I was doing had to have a purpose. Every small errand turned into a journey that I would have to plan for hours in advance. At the height of the pandemic planning on my visit to trader joe's took longer than the actual shopping itself. The next big factor is the lack of social contact. Ever since being a child, I have thrived on being in social settings and making people laugh, sharing interesting stories from around the world, and just being able to talk. With social distancing measures in place, I feel as though there is a piece of semi-opaque glass between me and the outside world. While I may still be able to express myself and behave the same way, the message does not hold the same weight as there exists bigger fish to fry. Covid happened to coincide with other big life changes I decided to make and in all honesty, I think I would be a different person sitting here today writing this pandemic journal entry if one of the many moving parts in my life was a few months off schedule. To that point, I know that the part I play in trying to end this pandemic is something I have been taking serious by staying socially distant, constantly wearing masks, and volunteering at a local hospital hit hard by the pandemic, and the rest is not in my hands. At times it is frustrating seeing my sacrifices being pushed under the rug or cancelled out by the ignorance of others.