When the Coronavirus outbreak first began, I don’t think any of us could have fully comprehended the consequences it would bear. To many people, kids especially, it seemed far away and distant; we, of course, felt sympathy for the initial countries hit, but we didn’t feel the fear ourselves. But slowly, the virus crept closer and closer to home, to the point where it is now knocking at our door. As of yesterday morning, there have been 16,058 confirmed cases of the Coronavirus in the U.S, 219 resulting in death. Even scarier, Florida is responsible for 520 of these.

This brutal reality is incredibly difficult to comprehend, as we’ve never lived through such an intense crisis. We are the post-9/11 generation; we have never experienced a draft, a fuel-crisis, or an extreme wave of violence. We’ve never seen our economy fall into panic and disarray, as we were only toddlers when the stock market crashed in 2008. Instead, we have grown up on The Walking Dead and Bird Box, where the idea of a widespread crisis is fictionalized and isolated from reality. We’ve read The Maze Runner and The Hunger Games, where the good guys always win against the threat, no matter the size.

But that’s not how it really works.

A pandemic-turned-crisis does not discriminate who it affects; our most beloved celebrities have come down with the virus. Restaurants are shut down. Schools are closed. Our nation is running out of medical supplies, and we are told the only way to guarantee safety is by self-quarantining

Right now, we feel scared, confused, and unprepared.

And that’s okay.

It’s alright to drop our tough-guy personas. It’s okay to admit that we don’t have all the answers. It’s okay to cry and scream and feel whatever we need to feel; because this is real, and this is scary. We’ve never lived through anything even remotely close to this.

But during this time, there is one thing we have that a virus can never take away: each other. While we may not get to be with one another face to face, we are fortunate enough to live in an age of social media and technology, making every person you care about only a text away. We still have our relationships with people; our friendships, family, and mentors. The love we have for one another has the ability to be far more powerful than the virus.

This is our time to show how much we care about each other. We’re all struggling in some way, but sticking together is how we come out on the other side. Be patient with one another. Tell your friends how much you love them, just because.

Many of us are missing our favorite places like school, church, a cafe, or even not being able to go to a friend’s house. While this might seem like the hardest part, it is only temporary. A time like this is especially hard for someone who doesn’t have a good home life, as they are isolated in that situation.

So if you know someone who this applies to or someone who is simply feeling down or scared; don’t be afraid to tell them that they’re not alone. Loving and caring about people is the best thing we can do right now. It is one of the few things we do have control over.

We still have each other, and together, we’ll get through this.

Stay safe everyone.