My Chosen Quarantine Family — A Photo Story
By Kassidy Haluska
June 12, 2020
BELLINGHAM, Wash. —
My roommates Tatum Eames and Alexis Muniz, both 21, do school work from home now that classes at Western Washington University are all online. With less structure and more distractions, the task of focusing on school proves difficult.
The flowers blooming on the tree outside Alexis’ bedroom window make it my favorite view in the house. I sit on her bed and imagine what this spring would have been like if everything were normal.
We write love letters to our friends and family, reminding them that we are thinking of them. Remembering all the people we love helps us feel a little less isolated.
Tatum looks over letters to her friends and family before she sends them. Her mother replied very enthusiastically about receiving something filled with so much love.
Alexis video chats with her 16-year-old sister Clarissa, who lives five hours away in Moses Lake, WA. They laugh about the TikToks Clarissa has been making in her newfound free time.
My chosen family. After spending all our time together for over a month, the three of us somehow still haven’t gotten tired of each other.
BELLINGHAM, Wash. — Every day at noon, my roommates emerge from their bedrooms. They join me in the living room, where I’ve been sitting and reading for the past hour. We ask each other ‘How did you sleep?’ and pet the cat while we drink our coffee. Having nowhere to be makes for a relaxed beginning to every day, but this ease doesn’t shake how strange we all feel in the middle of this pandemic.
Overwhelmed by Zoom calls, Canvas notifications and impending deadlines, we try to navigate the new world of online school without the in-person support.
Soon the stress of schoolwork sets in and we remember all the assignments we need to do. Overwhelmed by Zoom calls, Canvas notifications and impending deadlines, we try to navigate the new world of online school without the in-person support. With nothing to do but stay home, it seems like we should be getting more done than ever. However, our home is full of distractions and we all feel lethargic, so we never meet the expectations we set for ourselves.
When my roommate Alexis Muniz told me her mental health was suffering, I immediately understood. She misses the little social interactions like coincidental run-ins with friends on campus and chatting with her classmates before the lecture starts.
“I normally study on campus with friends. I realized that it’s a lot easier to stay motivated when you have other people to work with and keep you on track,” she said.
Brent Mallinckrodt, a psychology professor at Western Washington University, said it is important for humans to have many different types of social support to stay happy. These include guidance from experts and connections with others who have similar interests.
Under normal conditions “you don’t have to work that hard at it because life puts you in contact with those people,” said Mallinckrodt. School brings together classmates who share passion and professors who provide guidance. During the pandemic, we are forced to connect differently.
Scattered across my social media, I see people making an effort to fight the loneliness of isolation. They bake treats and leave them on each other’s doorsteps. They serenade their friends from a safe distance in the front yard. They call their loved ones regularly.
They bake treats and leave them on each other’s doorsteps.
After some inspiration from a friend on Instagram, my roommates and I decided to write love letters to our friends and family. With colorful markers and a variety of stationary scattered across the dining room table, we poured out our hearts. The act itself brought warmth. Better yet were the joyful responses, reminding me once again that I’m not alone.
Now more than ever, I feel lucky to live with my best friends. This may not be the life we are used to, but at least we have each other. We take a sunset walk each evening and unload our inner thoughts. They listen intently as I vent about how frustrated I am with my inability to focus on schoolwork. We move fluidly onto lighter topics, referencing the reality TV shows we’ve been watching way too much of and teasing each other about funny things we did the night before. Filled with laughter, I feel assured that things are alright. We are adaptable. We will get through this.