I think I can speak for most of us when I say that living life in a pandemic has not been easy. Especially during stay-at-home orders, it's easy to start to feel lonely and isolated from the outside world. From one fellow loner to you, here is a few of the ways I stayed connected with my friends and family during a time where driving to their house to visit or catching a quick bite at a local restaurant wasn't an option.

1. Family Dinners

My family came up with this idea when we realized that we weren't going to be able to gather for our usual Easter lunch/dinner. Each of our families cooked their own Easter feast and at a set time, we gathered via Zoom to eat together. Even though we weren't physically under the same roof, we were able to keep our tradition of spending Easter together alive, and we even had some family members from out of state join us for the first time ever! Even though Easter has passed, cook a meal and start a meeting.

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2. Trivia Nights

Toward the beginning of quarantine, it felt like there was nothing to do except eat, sleep, and watch TV. My grandma eventually suggested that we play Beat The Parents, a game that my cousins and I always play when we go over to her house, via Zoom. With my grandma asking the questions and my family competing against my aunt's family, we had a great time. As a matter of fact, we enjoyed it so much that we invited my best friend and more extended family to join the party and still do it today. Some family friendly competition makes for a great pass time and a good stress reliever.

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3. Kahoot Competitions

During the Ohio stay-at-home order, my friends and I did biweekly zoom calls where we would catch up and just enjoy speaking to somebody who didn't live in our own household. One night in order to spice it up, we decided to try a trend we had seen other people doing. We all made a Kahoot about ourselves and them Zoomed and played them to determine who knew everyone the best (it was me by the way) . Personally, I highly recommend doing this because it brings lots of laughter and may even teach you something new about your besties.

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4. Movie Nights

Another thing my friends and I did to spend time together virtually is have a movie night. None of us had seen Frozen 2 yet and because it was on Disney Plus, we grabbed some popcorn, got on a meeting, and screen-shared the movie. We were able to make our own snarky comments we normally would in person through the chat feature and ended up having a great time.

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Although it may not be ideal, many things can actually still be done virtually and can help you stay connected with the people you love. So, pull up Zoom and make some memories. I promise you won't regret it.