How to Stay Sane in Quarantine

April 1, 2020April 1, 20208 Comments

Hey. I’m back. I know, it’s seems like forever since I’ve written. To be honest, it was so long, I forgot my WordPress password. I almost didn’t renew my Ampersandblog.net domain (& did at the very, very last minute). It’s not like I intentionally stopped blogging for any particular reason–it sort of naturally happened. I wasn’t feeling super inspired by anything & was doing a lot of writing (offline ;)). And I didn’t want to force it you know? Blogging has been a hobby and I didn’t want to feel stressed out by it.

But we’re here now! Amidst all the things going on the world, I’ve been drawn to comforting, easy, familiar things (as we probably all have), and I felt like I wanted to blog again. So thanks for bearing with me, for those of you who asked if I still blog, for reading anything I write at all. We’ll see if this becomes a regular thing!

We’re all in quarantine, doing the social distancing~ thing so figured I’d share some tips that have helped me stay (somewhat) sane during the past two weeks. By no means an expert (& always looking for new tips!) but hope this helps even a little bit!

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Bittersweetness

September 8, 2019September 8, 2019Leave a comment

It only takes a few ingredients to make bittersweetness. A twinge of sadness, a pinch of happiness, a definitive ending & a hopeful beginning. Add some tears, a little laughter, wrap it all up in a deep sense of gratitude and you have a nice cup of bittersweet.

Bittersweetness might be the most complex emotion. The waves of sadness and sweetness are perfectly equal even though it seems impossible to be washed over with both at the same time. But I think it’s also the most beautiful way to feel truly alive, right here, right now.

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When did we become so afraid of everything?

March 21, 2018March 20, 20182 Comments

I find that some of the best conversations occur after midnight.

The other weekend I was hanging out with two of my friends, casually drinking beers & having deep life chats (one of my favorite pastimes). We got on the topic of meeting people & the concept of “no new friends.” Fortunately, we all left college with a solid group of amazing friends & found ourselves feeling anxious when we had to interact with new people. My one friend said she legitimately tenses up when having to make small talk & I admitted I’ve found myself feeling skittish when meeting new people.

That surprised me.

For one thing, I would not describe myself as “skittish.” I don’t think I’ve ever been skittish or avoidant of any social situation in my entire life. I’ve been an extrovert since I’ve been five & habitually over-confident (sometimes edging on cocky). And yet there I was admitting that I felt skittish when meeting new people.

You know what I realized? I’m scared. And it’s not only me–we’re all pretty scared. Somehow, slowly, we’ve become a generation of cowards.