I walked a public trail with a couple of friends, trying to carefully follow the precautions set for us during this present, rapidly changing environment. I saw three bike accidents in two hours.

A man slipped on some rocks and crashed sideways in front of my friends and me as we walked. His friend helped him up and he rode away with some dirt on his back.

A little girl, a daughter, sat lonesome in the grass with her legs bent strangely, crying. Her bike was next to her and I walked toward her wreckage until I heard a shout from her family behind us. They were biking up to her, urgently, making sure she was okay.

A woman collided with the concrete barrier of a tunnel and I heard the sharp smack. She laid on the ground, her eyes looking to the sky, with a gash across her forehead. Her friends appreciated our asking if they needed any help, but they were handling it.

I remember thinking about how violent the world seemed, how everything felt concerning and painful. We talked a lot about our concerns and pain.

My friends were disappointed to leave college, I was angry about being forced to learn biology online, we were all fearful of the isolation.

Were people wrecking their bikes because they're now resorting to going outside to cure cabin fever, and they lack biking experience? Have I been holed up in my house long enough to forget how many people crash their bikes on busy nature trails? Is the world really evil and out to attack innocent bikers, or am I just upset?

During this period of quarantine, I have spent more time inside and alone than I would like to admit; so has everyone else. The concern for others' health and safety has become more important than the want to be surrounded by people.

Have I forgotten the simple pleasures of the sun on my back as I read a book? Have I forgotten that I entertained myself for hours in my childhood by coloring my driveway with chalk? Have I forgotten what it's like to read a book and feel like the characters are surrounding me?

This isolation has led me to believe that I am incapable of being alone, a thought that I cement in my brain when I am saddened by the world and others and myself. This misdirected insecurity that I am only truly happy when I am with anyone else but me.

I am trying to change this headspace and trust in myself that I am plenty enough company during the quarantine, that group video chats exist, and that my mom is always down to watch a movie.
During quarantine, try to change the disdainful attitude you have toward yourself as we all navigate how to be alone for a little while.
Focus on speeding up the recovery process that the globe is participating in by staying out of public places, being sanitary, and practicing happiness with oneself.