We are not meant to live in isolation. What makes us healthy and whole are the connections we form with one another.  With our families. Our friends. Our colleagues and our community…  The thing we need the most to feel healthy has become harder to get.

After more than 30 years in the field of social work, I know one thing to be true. We do not need to be victims to our situation. We have choices to make, each and every day about how we want to live our lives. How we choose to show up for ourselves and each other.

One of the hardest things about this time for me has been the loss of travel, the opportunity to explore. If you know me, you know I love to travel. Give me a passport and a seat on a plane or in a car and I’m on my way, ready for what comes next. I thought it might be fun to travel, however virtually, around the US and yes, even abroad, to visit with people and hear how they’re doing during this difficult time. Over the next few weeks I’d like to bring you a glimpse of what life is like for our friends and neighbors in other places.

Today we travel to New York City, the epicenter of the pandemic, to meet Annabella.

Welcome Annabella! Tell us what life is like in New York City. New York has been the center of the pandemic for the last 2 months. At the beginning the streets were empty and the city was very quiet. It was strange walking around. It felt as being in a movie set with fake buildings and streets as everything was so empty and quiet. 

How have you been affected by the pandemic personally?   I have been lucky enough that I’m healthy and have not been infected by the virus and also my close loved ones are healthy. I do have friends who have been infected, but they are all healthy now. I am very sad to hear about other friends and family of friends who have not been as lucky.

As a single person living alone, the quarantine/stay at home order has been a big change to my lifestyle as I’m usually someone who’s out and about with friends in the city or traveling some place. I am able to work from home so at least there has been no change there, although I sometimes miss being in the office with a routine and a schedule. I now have a new routine and it has worked well. I even started intermittent fasting as now I can have late breakfast and early dinner because I have nowhere to be! The craziest thing that has happened during the last 2 months is that I moved to a new apartment that I remodeled right when the pandemic started. In the end everything went well and I’m very happy in my new place. 

If you were to ask me, do you want to be isolated from your family and friends, even co-workers, for an extended period of time? I would have never done so voluntarily, or so I thought. Up until mid-March I sometimes chose a lazy Saturday or Sunday, where I would decide that I just want to stay home, on my couch, binge watching a show in my pajamas and seeing no one. This all changes once we’re stripped down from our choices and make it into an obligation. It loses the main objective, which is: I chose to do this, and I do it because I can. It used to be my happy day with no commitments, fixed schedules or obligations. Now it’s my day to day.

This year, 2020, was going to be EPIC! I am an ultra runner and between March and August I had 3 trips planned and paid for for races, including one in the Azores, Portugal. I was also going to go back to the Camino de Santiago (where I met my dear friend Suzanne!). I only managed to go to the first one, Antelope Canyon 50 mile race in Arizona. The rest, as expected, has been cancelled. I guess now it’ll be 2021/2022 EPIC years to look forward to :) 

What has been the hardest thing for you to deal with?  I’m not going to lie, this unexpected isolation has been hard. Being confined to 4 walls has been challenging. I really think that the hardest thing has been the move - the packing and unpacking was very stressful as I was downsizing to half the space and going through it alone was challenging. My parents were supposed to come and help but of course they could not make it.  Going through it alone was not fun although I had the moral support of all friends and family from afar.

What have you appreciated during this period? The little things - it doesn’t take much to make me happy and although I have not been able to travel as much as I want or hang out with friends, I appreciate technology to connect with everyone. What has mostly kept me sane and happy these past few weeks has been the daily video calls with special people, family, friends and loved ones.  Reconnection with old friends and random check ins have been a gift. Virtual happy hours and brunches have been amazing. 

I also appreciate the celebration of our front line workers. In NYC at 7pm we thank them by cheering outside our windows with cowbells and the like. Running on empty streets has been a good surprise as well!

What are you doing to keep yourself emotionally healthy during this time?   Definitely taking one day at a time and staying extra positive. It’s been nice to actually slow down for a while as life can get very hectic! Thinking about the future new normal makes me anxious so I try not to think much about it and just live day to day. Keeping connected with friends and family has been key as well.

As a runner, I have been able to keep running and doing virtual races and zoom workouts with November project and Team for Kids, my two main workout groups. I now signed up for the Great Virtual Race Across Tennessee 1000k that I have until the end of August to complete. This will keep me motivated for a while. Running is what I now call mental health training as I am not training for anything right now (no in person races for the foreseeable future!).

All in all I am grateful for everything and everyone - these have been difficult times but I cannot complain. I miss my family and friends and traveling but we will all get through this together and will see each other very soon.

Thank you Annabella for inspiring us today.

Would you like to be featured in our guest interview posts? We want to hear from you! Email me at suzanne@suzannemaggio.com.