They say there are five stages to grief, but I believe that applies to our situation right now. Denial and isolation are the first of those steps. I am officially out of the denying phase of our “new normal” as people have been calling it. Isolation doesn’t count because, unironically, the whole world will be on that step for a while.

Anger is the next step and its something that has reared its head into my life these past few days. Believe it or not, you will in fact get in arguments with your family and get frustrated with the media as you watch the world fall apart on your TV screens.

Bargaining is an interesting one that I have yet experienced though I have seen everywhere on social media where my fellow class of 2020 seniors says they would give anything to go back to school and for things to be normal again.

For me, it’s not about missing our last few months of the senior year since senioritis already hit me like a truck months ago.

It’s the future I am upset about missing out on.

I have already been full steam ahead for college next year but it’s hard to look forward to something that is shut down from journalism conferences, the student admit day, and college visits I planned on doing are now down the toilet.

Depression is the fourth part and now on about day 10 of this whole world shut down thing, the depression comes from the lack of things to do. I tried to pick up old hobbies like video games and comic book reading but I found filling your day with that makes you feel like an unproductive potato.

Honestly, it’s insane just a few weeks ago with work, school, and practices filling up my life and having little to no free time but with one swift hit, COVID-19 has managed to get rid of all of that at once.

Acceptance.

Or the final step.

Or why I am writing this now.

These days have all been molding together if you asked me what I did yesterday I probably wouldn’t be able to answer. This “new normal” truly is a bummer but like I keep hearing from people and what I have come to terms with is for now there’s not much we can do about it.

School now best-case scenario won’t reopen till May 4 which is six weeks from now. Restaurants and most businesses have shut down and now rumors have begun to spread about maybe our state falling in line with what some other states have down which is a full shut down.

To be frank that wouldn’t bother me too much because really, I haven’t left the house in a week. As I look at my March and April calendar which I just had to recently update now to be completely blank I think about all the days there are to come and how many unknowns remain.