Here's to the lonely ones

An open letter to the lonely ones:

I see you. I see you trying to put on a brave face while friends and family share pictures and videos of happy times gathered together. I see you when someone complains about needing a haircut and you haven't been in the same room as another person in months. I see you glaring under your mask on your one day out a week at people not wearing masks, holding hands, and otherwise being dumb. I see you posting 5 pet pictures for every friend that shares one of their kids. I see you trying and struggling and trying again and never giving up. I see you... I am you.

There are many people in the world right now that are quarantined at home... alone. They don't have a significant other, child, parent, or roommate that they're home with. Maybe they have a pet, but that does not substitute for human interaction. We are lonely. We grasp for any kind of interaction we can get, when all we really want is a hug, to sit in a room with another person... to feel like we're not the only person on the planet.

Because that's what it feels like. 

And I don't mean this in a self-centered "I'm the only one that matters" kind of way. I mean this in a "I haven't left my apartment in 2 weeks. Do other people still exist?" kind of way. This is what happens to your brain in true SELF-isolation. There is no one to talk to, no one to watch tv with, no one to comfort you when you're having a bad day.

I see people meeting up with friends and say, "It's ok, we stayed 6 feet apart!" Alright, good for you. I haven't been near another human being in over 2 and a half months.

So to anyone else that is truly alone, this goes out to you. I see you, I am you, we're going to be ok.

- Danielle