3/18: Writing this blog is super helpful after 4+ weeks of staying home

Having goals keeps the anxiety and overthinking more at bay...

Helen Huang

Mar 18, 2020

Total Recovered Globally: 82,104+

(2000+ more than yesterday, according to Johns Hopkins CSSE, 9:36AM March 18, 2020)

Daily Positive Headlines

Check out the #caremongering on Twitter for some wholesome content 😊💖
No visitors means that the penguins are let out of the pen 🐧 #punny
Stores around the world are now setting aside dedicated time for seniors (or any “at-risk” shoppers) to come in and browse with more confidence 🛒

Happy birthday Mack! 🎂

Socially Isolated Shannon @Shaady78

This is my son Mack, who is autistic. Hes turns 22 on Friday and was supposed to go out for a family dinner. He doesn’t understand all the reasons why we now can’t, and it’s been a challenging few days. He LOVES birthdays, especially his! 💙Feel free to send him bday wishes!3

Honestly, I’ve never been much of a Twitter user until recently. But now that I’m ~embedded~ within the ecosystem (aka been a user for about 3 weeks), I’m realizing the power of community and the human spirit.

And I’m sure that’s just one small piece of the pie. There’s so many other communities out there, both online and offline, that are really coming together right now to be there for one another. I’m sure this was all happening before anyway, but now that a lot of us are at home, we’re actually tuning in and paying attention.

Every single one of us makes a difference, and united, we are strong. Even when it’s just a simple “HBD” tweet, Mack’s story has made it to this blog, and it’s reached your eyes.

Thanks for reading through this work in progress?

I sort of mentioned this in my previous post, but writing this blog (and working on a companion podcast for it) is actually really helpful on a personal level.

On Feb 21st, I had to make a trip to the ER. I got super sick the following days after I got discharged, and so I stayed home from work. Days after, Microsoft (where I work) sent out guidance to work from home (WFH).

At this point, I want to acknowledge that I’m super grateful and lucky to even be given this option. Shout-out to our first responders around the world, and everyone else that makes our lives run smoothly right now (garbage collectors, grocery workers, cooks, mailpeople, etc etc)!

Anyhow, it’s now March 18th. That’s almost a month now of being at home in semi-self-quarantine. Seattle is under strict social-distancing (no groups bigger than 10 people), but so far, we’re still able to take a stroll ourselves to a grocery store or something, as long as we don’t congregate. This isn’t something I take for granted, because my family members in China can’t even, and have not been able, to do that for approximately 2 months now.

Anyhow, I don’t want to ramble too much. My point is, thanks for reading this blog. Hope this reaches someone out there and makes even the slightest difference, because simply writing it, and focusing on the 'good’, is helpful for me mentally. Thanks for giving me a goal and helping me look towards the future. What do you think about it so far?

Send me your stories!

So, I’d love to hear (and share) your personal stories as well! Or if you’re willing to help me source some good news, that would be extremely helpful. Either comment on one of the posts here, email me at helenlyhuang@gmail.com, tweet at me @herenhuang, or send me a message on Instagram.

If you want to hear some funny (and still uplifting) anecdotal stories, check out the podcast I’ve created to accompany this blog series.

If you’re looking for more even more good news, check out this curated Twitter collection I’ve got going on.

Don’t forget to share this with your friends too! :)

Have a great day,

Helen.

hello helen 🙋🏻‍♀️