For the past two months, the world has been a little different. We recently surveyed YWA members about their COVID-19 challenges, how they’ve been staying busy and managing anxieties, and what they’re most looking forward to once we return to more precedented times.
The responses we got were equal parts heartwarming, inspiring, and really, really funny. (And personally, they made me want to give you all big, happy air hugs.)
Let’s dive in.
What Does Life Look Like Right Now?
Conforming to social distancing guidelines has us spending more time at home. Here’s what home looks like right now:
Your biggest social distancing challenges.
- “mentally battling being a socially responsible citizen with going to the park with my friends… then being upset when i see other people out being irresponsible social citizens.” — Vinova Deniz
- “I turned 30 during this pandemic and that was hard.” — Natasha Fuentes
- “Not being able to see my parents and friends regularly.” — Liz Rubio
- “Missing human interaction and spending time with friends/traveling.” — Virginia Moore
- “The uncertainty about what comes next” — Brittany Anne Sharkey
- “My home starting to feel like a prison when it’s usually my safe space.” — Heather Stout
- “I have still been going into work during the week so balancing that and social distancing as well as everything going on has been wild.” — Elise Karstens
- “Simple pleasures like going to Central Market – which was always been my favorite weekend hobby. Everything is so different and I can’t make a lunch out of it with all the samples. :(“ — Katy Mabee
- “Actually sticking to it” — Jessie Shepherd
- “Missing my friends and family! I went from being crazy busy to total isolation so quickly.” — Sarah
How you’re staying busy and keeping it together — and you are!
We aggregated the results and crunched the numbers (read: I made a very simple pie chart from a Google Sheet), and there were a lot of common themes. The two biggest threads were keeping or improving your healthy routines and connecting with people virtually to replace in-person contact.
“I’m also really leaning into my faith during this unprecedented time.” — Liz Rubio
“trying to have a routine and set weekly goals that don’t have anything to do with work” — Virginia Moore
“picking up ALL the hobbies” — Vinova Deniz
Highlight Your Biggest Wins
YWA is an organization chock-full of talented, motivated, active Austin women. So it’s no surprise that staying home has been a challenge. But it’s even less surprising that this group of overachievers has been turning lemons into lemonade as best they can.
- “i learned how to sew! and do a rubik’s cube! and learned a bit of chess theory! subscribed to a ton of niche-y magazines! started a small lil covid fundraiser! life is good!” — Vinova Deniz
- “I love getting better at basketball. When I’m feeling bummed out, nothing turns my mood around faster than shooting hoops with Mark. He’s been a great teacher.” — Katy Mabee
- “This has been a big week for me, I have prepped for and given 2 talks over Zoom, one about fear and one about dating in quarantine” — Jessie Shepherd
- “I’ve completed two fitness programs!! I also wrote my first ever blog post that was shared by the Austin Young Chamber.” — Liz Rubio
- “I’ve gone into a super deep dive on learning how to deep clean my house thanks to the @gocleanco instagram account” — Virginia Moore
- “I put down some turf builder in my yard and have quite literally been watching grass grow!” — Sarah
- “I have made several loafs of sourdough bread! It’s not perfect, but we love it!” — Natasha Fuentes
- “I’ve taken the equivalent of a college semester’s worth of French lessons!” — Brittany Anne Sharkey
- “I finally disguised all the cords hanging from my living room tv!!!” — Heather Stout
- “Staying home majority of the time” — Anonymous
- “I have been reading a ton and have gotten a new puppy!!” — Elise Karstens
Congratulations, Elise! I know what the rest of you are thinking: “I sure which we had a picture of your beautiful new pup!” Well, reader… I have good news.
What’s the First Thing You’ll Do When This is Over?
You probably won’t be surprised, but some very, very clear trends emerged from this data.
In your own words…
We’re all ready for a little adventure.
“Get together with all of my friends! Hoping my summer birthday party will be a rager.” — Sarah
“I just want to go to a party honestly!” — Jessie Shepherd
“tip my bartender” — Vinova Deniz
We’re missing our favorite Austin establishments.
Summermoon, Chuy’s, and The Little Darlin’ all got specific shoutouts. Love the local Austin love!
And we really need to get our hair done.
I just cut my own yesterday so… things are getting real.
