Stay informed, but not scared.

Many people have told me recently that they have stopped watching the news for the reason being it's scary and overbearing. I can see why some would think this way, but I believe staying informed now is more important than ever. Whether you only watch the local or national news or just read various articles on your phone, I encourage you to continue to stay informed in some way. Being in touch with reality makes you more aware of what is going on around you and you will be better prepared to stay safe. Most of the time, reality is scary and running away from it seems like a good option. However, being uninformed just puts you more at risk because you won't know what's really happening. In order to stay safe and healthy, you need to know what is going on around you and to hear any updates you can.

Live your life.

Over the past few months, everyones lives have changed in some way. For months people have been staying home, social distancing and so on. However, in the state I live in, more businesses are opening up again and more people are going out. Each state is opening in different ways so please take this information with a grain of salt and apply it to your situation how you see fit.

Whether you want to go out more, less or the same as you normally would, I encourage you to still live your life in this uncertainty. That might involve doing things a little differently, but still making an effort to return to some sort of normalcy. Like I said before, it is good to be informed but not fearful. You can not let fear consume you and prevent you from doing things. As for me, I am making more of an effort to live my life even if it's a little different.

It's okay to take a break from it all.

Staying informed and educating yourself is important, but so is taking a break and putting your phone down. Everyone needs time for information to sink in. If you are constantly reading and watching the news, feeling overwhelmed is inevitable. You just have to find the right balance for you between knowing what's going on and taking a break. Choosing to take a break is not a bad thing. I have had many professors tell me that taking a break is good in order to process new information. Your brain will process information without you even realizing it and you will probably go back to your reading or writing feeling more informed and refreshed. With everything going on right now, there is plenty to learn and study, but resting is just as important.

It's okay to be confused. 

With so many news outlets reporting more information daily, it is okay to feel confused or to not know what to do. Since the beginning of 2020, I have felt this way at times. While staying informed and wanting to help, sometimes I wouldn't know what to do or I felt like my efforts weren't enough.

Throughout this time, I have learned whatever efforts you make do make a difference. Trying to do the right thing will pay off in the long run, even if at first it is hard to believe. So yeah, a lot of things are still very confusing and there's a lot up in the air. But if you continue to try to help in whatever way you can, just know your efforts are worthy no matter how big or small.