Hi, friends!!! Well, here we are--we have officially made it through week 5 million and 1 of quarantine and social distance. Really, this week is just going to be a reflection on how I am navigating this new normal that we are all living in. In all honesty, I am completely all over the place and this has been nowhere close to an easy journey for me. I miss my people, I miss my job, I miss my work family, I miss my apartment, I miss the Mount, I miss my adventures with my closest friends, and I miss my life.

Since day one of my blog journey, I have prided myself on authenticity and being real. With that said, when I left for school in August of 2017, I really never looked back, and really have not ventured back to Jersey since. I have worked very, very hard to create a life for myself in Maryland, and that is exactly what I did, which is why I stayed in Maryland over breaks and the summers. However, I quickly found myself back in Jersey after the Mount pretty much shut down. Long story short, my transition back to life in Jersey has not been an easy one, add to that transitioning to remote learning, "homeschooling," and taking care of my aunt's two children, and it just has not been a very easy journey, but my faith has made it a little better.

However, now that I have had some to time to adjust and adapt, since we are about 7 weeks into this now, I am doing a lot better than I was in the beginning and I am doing my best my to just make the best of this situation. I finally have myself and my cousins on a routine, which has truly made all of the difference in the world. On the bright side of things, I am finally getting to spend time and be there for my cousins, which really was never the case before.

One of the other biggest things that I have done is finally accepting that it is ok to not be ok right now. It is ok to be up and then down and it ok to be crying one minute, then laughing the next. It is ok to not have all the answers or be at my best right now. Now is certainly not the time for perfection, but it is the time to be offering yourself a lot of grace and checking in with yourself regularly.

Lastly, and probably most importantly, I have tried to keep things as normal as possible and have tried to hold on to as much of my life as I possibly can. I have been talking to my favorite people each and every single day, that I am used to seeing every day, and they are truly the ones who are getting me through this. I have done at least a little bit of work every day, I have walked with my puppy every day that's been nice outside, I have gone for rides in my car, grocery shopped, I have made dinner almost every night, and I have worn "real" clothes almost every day.

In conclusion, I do understand that all of our guidelines are in place for a reason, and I do understand that this is serious, I just really miss my life and hope things are back to normal soon. Have faith, friends. Better days are ahead and joy comes in the morning!