Like, How Dense?

I read something last week.

“The spread of Covid-19 is based on two factors:

1. How dense the population is

2. How dense the population is.”

And that’s my gateway into my second subject in the Quarantine Series. PEOPLE. I don’t know if you figured this out by now but this virus is not about the virus, this virus is about the people.

Never in our lives have we analyzed people around us and all the little intricacies that come with them, as much as we do during this lockdown. We didn’t care to think too much about people around us before this happened; as long as they were pleasant enough. And then the Quarantine happened. All of a sudden, you got stuck with someone. Whatever your life was, at that moment when the world said - STOP!, this was going to be the person you’ll be stuck with.

Someone your life might even depend on.

A quality person, or a flawed one; we didn’t care as much, but all of a sudden, all their little habits, tics, opinions, or views became extremely important to us. Your quarantine experience will depend on the people you got stuck with, by accident or on purpose. Who will you spend the possible scariest moment in your life with?

If you got stuck with someone that thinks Corona is just the flu, it’s no biggie, everyone’s exaggerating, I don’t need gloves, and please don’t tell me to wash my hands and leave my shoes outside, it’s all just Bill Gates and the 5G, there’s no need to stay locked up, congrats! You gotta fight the flu and dumb together.

Whether it’s your husband or a boyfriend, wife, friend, roommate, or roommate’s boyfriend that decided to ride the quarantine with her (you), a stranger you were banging a few times before this happened and had the brilliantly suicidal idea to ride this together; my condolences! Don’t worry, I’m there up there somewhere in the mix with you too; depending on who you’re riding this with - is how you’ll end up. Your anxiety. Your sanity. Your health. Maybe even your life.

Were you ever linked to someone like this, were you ever out of control like this, were you ever more helpless than this, having something so important, something that could kill you, depend on utter imbeciles? Not just the ones in your house, but the ones on the outside too.

Friends and acquaintances refusing to understand the severity of the situation. The ones that think self-isolation is an opportunity to create social media content, go to the beach, hang out with friends in quarantine, together, make quarantine parties; completely removed from all sense of logic, empathy, reason, social and moral obligation.

Seeing friends and acquaintances refusing to let go of their lifestyles, trying to squeeze their quarantine into their routines, instead of the other way around.

No wonder everyone’s losing their minds.

But DON’T.

Can I tell you something?

This is your challenge. This right here. The virus is scientific. You read about what it does to you. You got prepared. You read all the info, you got all the things you need in case you get it. You have done all that you can. But PEOPLE. People are your actual challenge. Struggle. BATTLE.

And you can battle them if you reprogram your brain, and accept this is the challenge of your situation. Some people are struggling at home with the virus, coughing their brains out. Some people are in the ICU trying to breathe. Trying to live. And your battle is the people around you. People you got stuck with doing this; willingly, or by accident. You can win them. You can adjust. Overcome, survive.

How?

By adapting. By analyzing these people, locating the problem areas, try to talk, explain, and reason. Then demand, pointing out the social obligation to the people around you. And if still not through, locate the problem areas in them that can not be reasoned with, and adjust your side of their problem.

If they refuse to follow the rules and are very apathetic in endangering you, remove yourself, and adapt to their inadequacies. I know it’s HARD. But this is your challenge. Remember, you got the easiest challenge - enduring people. You don’t have the virus at home, and you are not fighting to breathe in the ICU. Your challenge is to make yourself safe and sane AROUND the virus of people. Remove your body from common areas, do your part, and demand the changes you are forced to make be respected. Stand your ground.

If stuck with partners, husbands, wives, boyfriends, and/or children, that is also your challenge. The difference is, those are YOUR choices.

I know it’s hard for you to see any positives right now. We’ll cover most of your challenges in the Quarantine Series. We have time. All we have is time. Someone very smart said the other day: “Never waste the crisis”.

Don’t waste this crisis. Use it as an opportunity to improve yourself and to see all the weaknesses exposed; in your life, career, marriage, friendships, love life. Locate issues. Work on solving them.

Don’t ever forget what you have learned after this is long gone. Don’t forget how you acted, how people around you acted, who you really are, who they really are, and proceed accordingly.

Make every minute, every struggle, every single anxiety, and someone else's death - count.

Don’t waste this! Make it COUNT.