Corona She Better Don't

By Luis Grant

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Okay, I know I cannot be the only one that is struggling to wrap their head the whole corona virus pandemic. I legit never thought I would be living through something like this. I know some of you are just getting started on social distancing, but for me, today marks one week and here’s what I have been doing to stay sane.

CREATE – make something, anything! I learned early on that spending the day watching Netflix gets boring… fast. Plus, I’m no scientist, but I’m pretty sure that can’t be good for your brain either. I am definitely no artist either, but who doesn’t enjoy expressing some creativity? One day I whipped out my fabrics paints and customized an old pair of jeans. The next day I pulled out watercolors and literally just started blending them on paper. No, my shit will not end up in a museum or at our next pop up (shameless plug) but I enjoyed doing it and it got my mind off of the chaos that’s going on around us for a few hours. There are so many different art mediums I am sure you can find something to make, photograph, or customize.

DANCE – If you follow Gather on twitter you have probably seen my crazy ass headbanging video, so you know where I am going with this. But those of you who haven’t, get yo ass up and dance. Dance like nobody is watching, cause literally NOBODY is. Don’t mean to get all technical on y’all, but it has been scientifically proven that dancing helps with anxiety and depression. When you dance you release endorphins in your body that trigger happiness and comfort. LIKE, COME ON… WHO TF DOESN’T WANT THAT AT A TIME LIKE THIS? At first it might feel a little awkward, but I promise once you get into that Beyonce backup dancer mode it feels amazing. Plus, what else do you have to do?

STAY ACTIVE – If dancing isn’t your cup of tea, you’re fucking weird. Okay no I’m joking. But you should still be dedicating some time to keeping your body active. I would be lying if I told you I know some good at-home workout plans, cause I don’t…. but YouTube does! I have been watching different home workout videos and phewwww! Some are intense. There are so many different kinds of workouts you can do too. Dance workouts, HIIT workouts, target workouts, Yoga, literally anything you can imagine. You might have to funnel through a bunch of different ones until you find some that are at your level, but you’re definitely able to break a sweat at home. Don’t let these gym closures stop that summer body from happening cause who knows, maybe we’ll be back on these streets by July *nervous laugh*

Now don’t get it twisted, I still spend a good amount of time binge watching RuPaul's Drag Race by myself but incorporating these three things into my day adds a feeling of productivity and accomplishment into my day while I’m off from work. It is super important you don’t let yourself get into a dark place. We can all agree this situation sucks, and while I would rather be with the Gather team planning our next event, I know I can’t be right now; and I have accepted it. Instead of spending my day being sad over it, I am filling that void with other forms of productivity. You can to! Social distancing is important right now so please do your part and stay your ass home! There may never be another time in your life where you are forced to stay home, so make what you will of it! Have fun with it, stay busy, and most importantly stay healthy! Love you guys.

-Luis