anahorvath.com

Category: Life

  • The Final Straw with ProctorU

    I have a lot of issues with online testing, especially those run through ProctorU. If you’ve been around a while, you may recall my issues with the proctoring service last summer! How fun…

    I’ve been taking biochemistry online this summer and our exams have been proctored by ProctorU Live, meaning that I’m proctored in real time by a real person. This person has complete control over my laptop when I give them permission and they force everything to be shut down: from my Siri command to my screenshot abilities to my access to settings. They monitor your eye movement, what your room looks like, and even where your phone is, all to prevent more students from cheating. Most of the time, I understand the precautions that the proctors take and are required to take.

    This past time however, my proctor took it a bit TOO far. In my room, I have a tournament draw that shows my regional tournament from junior year of high school when I won the 2 singles varsity tennis regional tournament. There is absolutely NOTHING on that poster that would or could be used to cheat. I have four clear glass trophies from other various tournaments I’ve won on my desk too. In the past, I’ve showed proctors that there is no harm in any of them and they’ve permitted them to stay at my desk. Most proctors have also understood that people get nervous during exams and it’s nice to have a glass of water available to you. As long as it’s a glass and they can see that you haven’t somehow magically taped some notes to the glass, you’re set. This proctor though. Oh. My. Goodness. She forced me to take EVERYTHING from my walls and desk. Even my ID, which as needed to verify who I was, was no longer allowed on my desk. I had to fully show her the process of me attempting to get my tournament draw off of my wall and then show her where I placed all of my belongings. After all of the rearranging and moving, I still had my glass of water at my desk. She told me to move it and I stood up for myself. I mentioned that I had been allowed my glass of water on past exams and she very rudely told me that she would notate my exam and my request to have a glass of water. She also explained that my exam score may be compromised… FOR THE FACT THAT I WANTED A CUP OF WATER AT MY DESK. Goodness gracious did that do “wonders” for my mental state going into that exam.

    Not only was my proctor absolute trash, but I had struggled to get hold of one in the first place. There is supposed to be a proctor prepared for your exam time when you schedule. That’s the point of scheduling before your exam- to ensure that someone is THERE for you at the TIME YOU REQUESTED. My exam was supposed to begin at 9:10 am but it actually didn’t start closer to 9:30 am because of all the crap I dealt with. I was a total mess during my exam mostly because I worried that my score may not even be counted!

    In the end, I actually ended up doing alright on the exam, but still, the score was not was I studied so hard for. Regardless of that, I am thankful that I had the opportunity to test from home. I recognize that this is a stressful time for everyone and maybe my proctor was just having a rough day. I get that. I also know that there are things that I can and cannot control and the crazy, rude actions of other are something I have ZERO control over and that’s okay! I can control how I respond in situations like where someone is unkind, hurtful, and rude, and be the better person. Remember to be kind but also stand up for yourself!

    If you have to use ProctorU through your university, I’m so so sorry. See if there’s anything you can do to test at a university testing center or find another way to be proctored. That’s what I’m doing for my last biochem exam! I’d be curious to know if anyone else has had major issues with ProctorU… Let me know! Anyway, have a good week everyone! See you next Sunday 🙂

  • The Beginning of a New Journey

    Very few people know this, but I wouldn’t consider myself to be extremely self-confident, especially when it comes to my body and how I appear. I’ve never felt very comfortable sharing just because I never want people to think that I’m just complaining or trying to make the world all about me. I’ve always wished to have the confidence that so many people I know seem to have and I just find it embarrassing that I’m not in that place. I’m also not typically the type of person to share a lot about myself because my entire life, I’ve strived to be perfect and I’ve never wanted people to see a sad, frustrated, or defeated side of me. I’ve been working on accepting that perfection is truly unobtainable, but it’s hard and has been a rough journey!

    I recently decided that I’m sharing my struggles because I’ve decided to invest some time and energy into improving my physical state. It’s not good to bottle up all those negative feelings and emotions and so I’ve decided to do something about it. Being injured throughout high school resulted in a lot of inactivity for me, which was very unusual. I went from dancing competitively, playing volleyball on a competitive team, and also playing tennis at a very competitive level to sitting and doing absolutely nothing faster than you can blink when I found out I fractured my sesamoid. I continued to eat as if I was trying to maintain my three-sport lifestyle but since I wasn’t actually burning all of the calories I was used to burning, I gained quite a bit of weight. When I was finally cleared after my ankle surgery about a year-and-a-half later, I was decently more heavy than when I entered high school and my self-confidence had tanked.

    Yes, I had the ability to play tennis, but everything else had been wiped off the table. Things were slow and in my opinion, they felt too slow. Fast forward to freshman year of college- I was still struggling with my weight but I received the opportunity to compete at the Miss Colorado USA pageant. I saw this as an opportunity to better myself, physically and mentally, and see how much I could do to prepare my body for the competition. There is a swimsuit competition, as many of you know that keep up with the Miss Universe Organization and its pageants, so you would be familiar with this. Even before my freshman year of college, I decided to dedicate my time to working on my fitness. And I did! I worked out a decent amount and ate cleaner (which was hard in the dorms), and I managed to lose about 15 pounds, which I was pretty proud of. By the time the Miss Colorado USA pageant rolled around, I was in a place where progress had been made, but I still wasn’t happy with myself.

    Following the pageant, I still worked out a decent amount, but there wasn’t the same motivation I had for the pageant. I relaxed a bit but was proud to see that I hadn’t gained any weight back. Now let’s move on to the beginning of sophomore year. Same situation. Again, I prepped for the Miss Colorado USA pageant, as I did the year before. This time, I picked up kickboxing and started working out more on a treadmill. I really came to love and enjoy kickboxing actually, so that’s something I’d like to continue to incorporate into my fitness routine. Anyway, pageant time rolls around and I had decided to wear a two-piece suit this year instead of a one-piece. I thought I had made decent progress and so I made the move to wear a cute golden yellow two piece by Gianni Bini. It was a pretty cute swimsuit, but I don’t think I’ll ever truly wear it again.

    As we got ready for the swimsuit competition in the dressing room, I realized how big of a mistake that was. One of the girls in front of me stared down at herself and commented, “Oh my goodness I feel so fat next to all of these-” I looked around and noticed all the toned thighs and tight tummies and shrank into myself. This girl looked up at me and then around the room and that’s when she stopped talking. Me, in that moment, thought that she suddenly felt better about herself because she looked at me and saw that she had much fewer problems than I did. Looking back on that, that was a REALLY unhealthy and sad thought for me to have. I tried to shake off the thoughts I had and when I walked out on stage, I felt pretty good about myself. However, all confidence or self-assurance I had was lost the second I got my pictures back.

    I looked at myself and was honestly disgusted. I started crying. I saw stretch marks on my big, strange thighs. I saw the extra fat I have hanging slightly over the bottoms of my swimsuit. My false lashes looked horrible and my smile looked fake. The person I saw on my computer screen was not the person I had felt like. In that moment, I felt like I couldn’t trust the confidence I thought I was building anymore. Since that moment, I’ve had a really, really, really hard time finding any confidence in myself, especially in the way I appear. I’ve tried to wear more loose clothing to conceal my dislikes and as I write this and reflect on everything now, it’s really sad that I’ve felt like this about myself.

    Things weren’t too great for my self-confidence when we all went into lockdown either. I couldn’t go to the gym and I couldn’t play tennis either. Any work I had done and any progress I had made was seriously lost. Currently, I’m sitting at an unhealthy, overweight BMI and yes I find frustration with it and I’m upset by it and how I appear, but I’ve decided to do something about it.

    I recently found a gym in my area that only operates through personal trainers. After speaking with the director of the gym, he matched me with one of his personal trainers and I start on Tuesday. I’ve been looking for something like this for a while now, because I’m at a place now where I really just feel like I can’t be my own cheerleader and supporter, so I need someone else to be there for me and to help me out. From this, I hope to find confidence in myself and mostly, I hope to be kinder to myself. I hope that I find solutions and build habits for the long-term. I was tired of feeling so upset and frustrated with myself, so I decided it was time to make a change. Let’s hope it’s for the better!

    If you’re interested in following the fitness journey, let me know! I’d love to share the progress (hopefully there is some) and the things I learn along the way. This could be interesting. Be kind to each other and yourselves this week. See you all next Sunday.

  • I MISSED MY OWN BLOGAVERSARY!

    As I was prepping a post for this weekend I realized, I MISSED THE BEGINNING OF JUNE AND MORE SPECIFICALLY I MISSED MY OWN BLOGAVERSARY! To those of you that are relatively new here, hi, and welcome! 🙂 To those of you that have been here a while, you probably recall that I do a yearly blogaversary or blog anniversary post. Things have been so crazy lately and even though I’ve been doing most things from home lately, things seem to be moving so fast, maybe too fast.

    June 7, 2014 was the day my first blog was posted. I was so little then if you think about it. 🙂 Just a naive, little scared freshman in high school. And now here I am, a junior/senior at university getting ready to take a big exam to take me to the next potential chapter of my life. Time does fly! On that day, I didn’t really know where this blog would take me but I did know that I had a love for writing and a strong passion for editing too so I took advantage of the opportunity my dad gave me.

    Since that day, I’ve posted almost every Sunday. That’s so crazy to think that I’ve been doing this for SIX YEARS now! Six years of worth of Sundays are quite a few Sundays if you ask me.

    One of my favorite things to do is look back and see what my writing was like in 2014 or 2015. I’ve removed a few posts just because they didn’t seem relevant to my blog as much as they did when I was 15 but it has been really interesting to also see where the world was at and where I was at then. I was in a boot at one point and then I was getting ready for surgery and then I was stressed about all three of my AP exams and then I was applying to college and then I was getting ready for college and then I was beginning college and all of the sudden I’m here. Crazy, right?!

    Blogaversary

    And so it’s a happy belated blogaversary to me! Haha. 🙂 As I post this, my blog has 13,016 views and 300 posts. Thank you all so so much for your time and for letting me share my life story and also my passion for writing. It’s been a blast. 🙂 It’s exciting to see how far I’ve come and I look forward to the many more posts and adventures to come! If you’ve got any ideas or there’s something you really want me to talk about, reach out! I’d love to hear from you!!

    Thanks for being here on this journey with me. I appreciate you spending time here. Have a good week and I’ll see you next Sunday!

  • Let’s Be Mindful

    My heart hurts for our country right now. It hurts for those affected by the recent events. It hurts for those suffering from coronavirus. It just hurts. Everything that has happened recently has just made me sad, I find it the most saddening that people think rioting and violence will solve our issues. In my opinion, that does nothing. It creates more tension, more hatred, and it discredits those trying to peacefully evoke and promote change. I believe in peaceful protest and the freedom of speech but there is a HUGE difference between that and destroying your lovely downtown to make a point.

    More than anything, I think that the hatred and anger really needs to come to a stop on social media platforms. I understand that social media and technology are an extremely influential and easy way to share information and opinions in our day and age. There are MANY great ways in which social media helps spread positivity and promote change. With that also comes a lot of negatives too. People, myself included sometimes, tend to be a bit more courageous online. People seem to think that there is a barrier between them and the world and that what they say truly has no consequences or repercussions, so they say whatever they feel comfortable saying. There are consequences though! Real people are on the other side of that screen and words you say may not hurt you or that video you post may not bother you, but it may offend others or remind them of past traumas that they’d prefer to not be brought up.

    I know that with recent events, MANY people were posting videos that should not have EVER been shared on social media. I understand the anger and I understand the true frustration but videos like those that many people my age were posting on Instagram were triggering. The intent was good, but the impact was devastating and extremely inappropriate.

    As mentioned before, I firmly believe in speaking your mind. But I also believe in respect, not only for others but for yourself. I believe in being MINDFUL- mindful of yourself and others. The things you post online, whether that be words, a picture, a video, or even a series of emojis, WILL IMPACT OTHERS. Your intent may be something different from how people are impacted so it is important to be mindful of that.

    You don’t have to agree with me on this, but I think that social media shouldn’t be about spreading a political agenda or riling up a bunch of young people to say things that they truly don’t even understand. Social media should build others up and spread positivity. It can raise awareness, but we shouldn’t use social media to “fit in” and we DEFINITELY should not use social media to spread hate and anger, even if that is something that people claim they aren’t spreading. Focus on how that post or that tweet may impact others. Focus on educating yourself on the issues at hand and improving yourself so that we can all make a difference.

    Be mindful, stay safe, and have a good week.

  • Let the DAT Studying Commence…

    DAT
    Photo by Marten Bjork on Unsplash

    This upcoming week is finally the week that things kick into gear. I begin my study schedule for the Dental Admissions Test or the DAT. For those of you who don’t know what the DAT is, it’s basically the SAT or ACT, but for dental school and it’s tough.

    There are four sections on the exam, the survey of natural sciences, reading comprehension, quantitative reasoning, and perceptual ability or the PAT. In total, I believe the exam is 4.5 hours and there’s an optional 30 minute break at some point through the exam (Thank goodness!). The highest you can get is a 30 and most dental schools admit students who average a 20 on the exam. From what I’ve heard, the PAT section is the toughest, and based on my study program, that seems to be the case, as there is a lot of focus on the strategy behind that section.

    For the PAT, there are 90 questions and you have 60 minutes to answer them. The questions on that section are supposed to include keyhole, cube face, folding, and hole-punch problems that all come with their own twists and mind-breaking characteristics. From what I’ve heard, that section is meant to test how you do with visual things but it’s also meant to destroy you and tire you out mentally. Yippeeeee. I’m most nervous for the other sections.

    The survey of natural sciences section is exactly what it sounds like, a survey of all things from basic biology to organic chemistry. The reading comprehension section involves scientific articles and those articles are followed by a variety of questions testing how well you understood the article. The quantitative reasoning section on the DAT is the math section of the exam. As far as I know, it’s supposed to cover algebra through pre-calculus, which is super manageable for me.

    To prepare for the exam, I’m going through DAT Bootcamp. It’s a program created by a student who did extremely well on the DAT and has shared their study schedule as well as a BUNCH of incredible resources to crush this exam.

    I’m nervous to begin this journey but I’m also really excited because I look forward to the progress I make and all that I get to review and learn this summer. You’re all on this ride with me so let’s crush this DAT! See you next Sunday. 🙂

  • This Semester is Finally Over!!

    semester
    Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash

    I never thought this day would come after all that has happened in the past couple of months. I did it, you did it, we all did it! This horribly long and dreadful disaster of a semester is FINALLY OVER.

    This past finals week I was supposed to have three exams: one for my physiology class, one for my organic chemistry class, and one for my accounting class. The final for my physiology class ended up being optional and I was fortunate enough to have a high enough grade that I didn’t have to take the final. For my organic chemistry and accounting classes, that wasn’t the case, but both of those finals were open note, which was nice. Both finals went well and I’m going to get the grades I’ve worked for which is awesome, but I still feel like my organic chemistry grade could have been even better. With that in mind, I’m still thankful for what I got, even though I struggled quite a bit with the online transition for that course.

    I finished everything on Wednesday which was awesome and around this time last year, I was moving out of my dorm and celebrating my first year of college with my family. I was hoping to get to do that this year, but a little virus named COVID-19 definitely put a damper on those plans. It was a bit odd not getting to celebrate all the hard work my sister and I did this past year at a nice restaurant with my family, but a good dinner at home was still fun. Different, but fun.

    With all of the stress that came with my course load and also the switch to online classes as a result of the pandemic, I’ve never felt so mentally exhausted from a semester and I can imagine that many of you are also feeling that way. When I hit that “Submit” button on my accounting final, I just remember feeling this wave of relief rush over me. It was all over. FINALLY.

    Of course I’m still taking a summer class, but that won’t be starting until June. I still get a bit of a break though and I’m hoping I stay healthy and that my family stays healthy and that humanity starts to gain the upper hand on this troublesome virus so that we get a chance to start our normal lives back up again and enjoy some of our summer. I’m also studying for the Dental Admissions Test (DAT) this summer so that’ll definitely be something you hear about as my test date approaches in August.

    I hope you’re all staying healthy and taking care of yourselves! Take some time to celebrate this weekend, whether you just graduated from high school or college or even if you just finished a semester, like me. 🙂 We deserve it. See you next Sunday!

  • A Different Kind of Mother’s Day

    Photo by nikohoshi on Unsplash

    Happy Mother’s Day to all the mamas out there. I hope you feel love and appreciated not only today, but every day of the year. 🙂 This year, since we’re in isolation, Mother’s Day was a bit different. It was still good, but it was just a little different.

    As usual, my dad, sister, and I surprised my mom with roses and some of her favorite chocolates with caramel. My dad also went out and got her some cute cards for us to all sign and a really yummy turtle cake too.

    Typically, we go out for lunch or dinner on Mother’s Day, but we couldn’t do that this year, since most if not all restaurants are still closed because of the CDC’s guidelines. I always enjoy going out for dinner because we really get to enjoy quality family time together in a different environment, and my mom doesn’t have to worry about cooking for that meal! Since we didn’t get to do that this year, it was a bit weird, but my mom enjoyed cooking both a really yummy lunch and dinner. We had coconut shrimp (one of her favorites) at lunch and then grilled chicken and mac and cheese for dinner. Both were great meals and my family and I still got to enjoy some time together! 🙂

    I spent a lot of today studying for my organic chemistry final that’s coming up on Tuesday. Wow am I SO excited to be finishing up this upcoming week. This semester was long enough already and with the isolation, it has just draaaaaagged on. I’m trying to finish strong, so let’s all hope that Tuesday goes well and that my accounting final goes well on Wednesday too.

    I hope you all enjoyed Mother’s Day and got a chance to do something special for your moms this year. They deserve a little extra this year, considering that we’re all crammed in together right now. Hug your mom real tight and tell her you love her tonight! Have a good week and I’ll see you next Sunday.

  • I’ll Never Take it For Granted Again

    granted

    Hi everyone! I hope you’ve all had an okay week and are dealing with the stay at home orders alright. This past week at dinner, my sister asked the question, “After all of this ends, what’s one thing you’ll never take for granted?” It was a really good question honestly and it made me think quite a bit. What is one thing I’ll never take for granted again, after all of the social distancing recommendations and stay-at-home orders are lifted?

    There’s so much I have now realized that I am extremely grateful for with my sister’s question. For one, I’m thankful that I have a home to shelter in and complete my school work in for the semester. I have a family to go through these strange and uncertain times with and I also have friends that I can remain in touch with over FaceTime, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams. 

    As much as I hate it and struggle with it, I have a way to finish my coursework and a quiet place to complete everything for my classes this semester. Online schooling has been absolutely miserable so far, and I cannot imagine the stress that professors are dealing with as we have transitioned to remote learning. I’m honestly not sure who has been more stressed, students or teachers. I’ve felt really grateful to be able to study in my own room at home and know where everything in my room has been and who has been in my room. I know that I can stay healthy and that those around me are also healthy and that is extremely comforting. As mentioned, I have not been a fan of how many of my classes have been delivered for the remainder of the semester, but I’m thankful that I still have the opportunity to learn even in these strange times. My organic chemistry lab has been extremely accommodating and I’m truly thankful for the amount of work that people like my lab TA and our lab coordinator have put into allowing us to finish our semester strongly and also cut us some slack and understand that learning from home is new, different, and weird for most. With the exception of my organic chemistry professor, things have been pretty okay. 

    More than anything, I am truly grateful and will never taking being outside for granted ever again. As a result of this whole lockdown thing, my family has been super duper limited in what we can do and where we can go, as have most of you. My life for the past however many days it has been has included going to the grocery store and taking my dog for a walk. That’s all the outside time I have recently gotten. I’m used to walking to class every day or playing tennis several times a week and this lockdown situation completely changed that not only for me, but for all of us! So many of us are so used to being more active and getting outside, especially here in Colorado. Every little chance I’ve been able to get outside, I take it. I absolutely LOVE going for walks with my family and dog every chance I get during this stay-at-home order and I truly wish I were able to play tennis, but for now, that’s not an option, but when it is, I’ll take it up first chance I get. Fresh air, the warm sun, and a gentle breeze are all I need to be happy after all of this is over. 

    So Allyson, to finally answer your question, one thing I will never take for granted is the great outdoors. No, I am not a super outdoorsy-go-hunting-dig-in-the-dirt-kinda girl. But I am the type of girl who loves to go for walks and spend time outside with family and friends. Any chance I get from here on out, as long as the world gets healthy soon, I plan to spend my time reading a good book, curled up in a chair on my patio, hitting on the tennis court with my sister, and just living life to the fullest under the sun. Sunscreen will of course be worn. 🙂 

    Going into this week, I want you all to think about my sister’s question too. What’s one thing you’ll never take for granted again, after this lockdown ends? If you want to share, feel free to leave a comment or reach out to me at my contact  page! I’d love to hear from ya. Have a wonderful week everyone! Stay healthy and I’ll see you next Sunday.  

  • Some Music Recommendations for Your Quarantine

    music
    Photo by Malte Wingen on Unsplash

    Happy Easter everyone! He is risen today so I hope today is a day for rest and celebration. 🙂 I am so grateful for God and his son and all they have done for us. God has given my family health and security and comfort in these uncertain times and I truly hope that He has done the same for you. This will pass. We will get through this. Spend time with family, talk with friends and distant family over FaceTime or Skype. Stay active and listen to music.

    On a different note, I enjoyed sharing some of my favorite books and movies and TV shows with you all to pass the time as we go through this quarantine and lockdown due to COVID-19. This week, I decided I would share some of my favorite songs as of right now! My taste in music tends to slide more toward alternative, pop, and classic/light rock. I’m pretty open to most music genres with the exception of heavy metal, hard rock, and rap. I can’t deal with that. So if you enjoy those genres, this might not be the list of recommended music for you.

    Whether you’re just looking for some music to listen to while you clean, or as you work out, or even just to create some noise at home, here’s some of the music I’ve been listening to as of now, in no particular order:

    1. No Shame by 5SOS
    2. Nightmare by Halsey
    3. Graveyard by Halsey
    4. 7 Rings by Ariana Grande
    5. What a Man Gotta Do by the Jonas Brothers
    6. Tightrope from The Greatest Showman
    7. Last Hurrah by Bebe Rexha
    8. Paper Rings by Taylor Swift
    9. Lover by Taylor Swift
    10. London Boy by Taylor Swift
    11. Show Yourself sung by Idina Menzel from Frozen II
    12. Lost in the Woods sung by Jonathon Groff from Frozen II
    13. All is Found sung by Kacey Musgraves from Frozen II

    Maybe this list didn’t really appeal to your taste, and that’s okay! I also really recommend anything by Imagine Dragons, FUN, and Half Alive. They’re all great groups with great sound in my opinion.

    There’s also a lot of classical/instrumental music I enjoy listening to. I really enjoy a lot of the music from Game of Thrones, so if that’s a show that you were into, or really enjoy instrumental music, I highly recommend that! I find that instrumental music is great for studying although I typically don’t recommend listening to music while studying since I find it as a huge distraction. If you’re someone that can listen to music and study, then give classical or instrumental music a shot. If you’re just looking to relax a bit more, music without words is the way to go.

    I hope you all listen to some good music and take care of yourselves this week. And as a church in my hometown said, keep praying and wash your hands. And again, Happy Easter! It’s crazy to think that we’re in full swing with spring now and here in Colorado, we’re expecting snow. I mean it is Colorado, but it’s just crazy! See you all next Sunday.

  • Spreading Some Happiness

    happiness
    Photo by Matt Flores on Unsplash

    I hope you’ve all had a decent week. Things have been different and intense and strange but we’re all still here and that’s what matters. This week, I’d just like to spread and share some happiness. We could all use some in times like this. 🙂

    I talked about this a bit in my post last week, regarding all of the negativity I dealt with at the grocery stores and Costco, but just to say it again, please make sure you’re kind to those around you. Please, pay it forward and be a kind person.

    I can speak for Colorado when I say that we’re in a stay-home order, so for most of us, the only people we truly interact with are family members. And it can be tough to see the same people so often in such close quarters. Cabin fever may be setting in, or maybe it already has, wherever you are. If that’s the case, maybe you feel like you’re going a little crazy and you’re starting to feel irritated. I hope that’s not the case but if it is, there’s a couple of things you can do:

    • Talk out what’s bugging you. It’s better to share than ball up your feelings and thoughts. Happiness doesn’t have to be the only emotion you feel, but you also shouldn’t constantly feel frustrated, annoyed, and all of those other negative feelings and emotions.
    • Plan activities with your family. With my family, we’ve been planning walks and movie nights and Just Dance tournaments on our Switch and various other little fun things we can all do together so that we enjoy our time together and have a chance to let loose and burn off any negative feelings or emotions.
    • Find something nice (and genuinely nice) to say to someone or find something you can help with. Cleaning always puts me in a better mood, so if you’re like me, try that! You’ll feel good for sure, and maybe that’ll lift the moods of those around you too. Complimenting and lifting others always improves the moods of others too. We’re here to get through this together, not bring each other down.
    • Going off of the helping thing in the last point, just ask what you can do around the house. If you’re not preoccupied with other things, ask what needs to be done around the house and help take care of it! In times like this, it’s important to be helpful and do what you can to support those around you.

    On a more general note, if you have the opportunity to get outside the house and go for a walk, please remember to stay at least six feet apart from others and cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze. And please wash your hands for at least twenty seconds with warm water and soap too. 🙂 Say hello to others if you get a chance.

    And if you’re not able to go out, hang in there! You’ve made it this far! We’ll get through this together. 🙂

    Read books. Hang out with family. Clean the house. Walk. Exercise. Rest. Do your homework. Smile. This will not last forever. Wherever you all are, I hope that you are well and that you are taking care of yourself and your families. This too shall pass and I really hope we all see the light at the end of this tunnel soon. Stay positive, stay in this together, and we’ll see the end of this soon. Spread some happiness, spread some kindness. See you next Sunday. And also enjoy these cute animals while you’re here. 🙂