I don’t know about you, but to me, the first quarter of 2020 feels like it has lasted an entire year. It makes me miss the late-December days of 2019 when everyone was more than ready to enter a new decade.
In January, the US confirmed its first official case of COVID-19 and since then, it’s been a whirlwind of fear-mongering, a president that blatantly lies, shutdowns, job losses, and quarantines. It’s put a microscope on everything that is wrong with the government, this country, and our broken healthcare system. And just when it feels like you think things can’t get worse, the next day shows up to prove you wrong.
I am exhausted and I know I’m not alone.
So, to anyone else out there who could use some good news, I give you 10 amazing moments of humanity that have occurred since COVID-19 took over the world.
1. Musicians Serenaded Neighbors In Barcelona
In Barcelona, everyone is on lockdown. No one can leave their homes except for “extenuating circumstances,” according to HuffPost. So, to provide a little bit of hope to his neighbors, pianist Alberto Gestoso sat on his balcony and began playing Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On.” As people gathered on their own balconies to listen, neighbor and saxophone player Alexander Lebron Torrent joined in the song and everyone got an uplifting moment of love. You can watch the sweet video on Instagram (if you’re sensitive like me, grab a tissue to dab your tears).
2. Medical Dramas Are Donating Their Prop Surgical Masks
Grey’s Anatomy, along with other TV medical dramas like The Resident, Station 19, and The Good Doctor, are giving the world more than just entertainment, they’re giving them actual medical supplies. The shows are collecting their gloves, gowns, masks, and anything else they can to donate to hospitals to help offset the shortage of medical supplies.
3. New Yorkers Started a Fundraiser To Help People In Need
In New York, volunteers with the nonprofit People In Need have started a fundraiser to buy supplies for at-risk and struggling people who may otherwise not have what they need to get through the pandemic. In less than a week, they’ve raised over $5,000 (and counting). If you have a little to give, you can donate on their GoFundMe page.
4. Celebrities Come Together To Sing & Inspire
Gal Gadot became a real-life Wonder Woman this week when she took to Instagram during her quarantine to talk about how inspired she felt after watching a video of an Italian musician playing “Imagine” on his balcony. Then, she casually sang the lyric “Imagine there’s no heaven” before the video switched to Kristen Wiig, then another celebrity, and another. Together, they collectively sang the most beautiful version of “Imagine” to provide a little inspiration. You can watch the video on Instagram.
5. A College Student Started A Free Grocery Delivery Service For The Elderly
While the media is busy calling college kids selfish for going on spring break despite the pandemic, one 20-year-old skipped her spring break to start a free service delivering groceries and essentials to the elderly during this risky time. She and a group of other students started Shopping Angels, and the movement has since gone viral and grown all over the country.
6. Retired And Private Practice Doctors Show Up For Humanity
If more than a decade of watching Greys Anatomy has taught me anything, it’s that working in private practice is cushy compared to working in a hospital. And, if life has taught me anything, once you’re retired you’ve earned every right to kick back on your couch and watch Netflix day in and day out. Even so, in New York, more than 1,000 private practice and retired doctors have shown up to help the physicians in hospitals as they fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
7. The Golden State Warriors Aren’t Hoarding Tests
The shortage of COVID-19 tests in the US is despicable, and the fact that celebrities, athletes, and politicians have seemingly unlimited access to them is nauseating. So, when a player on the Golden State Warriors team tested positive for coronavirus, it was a (refreshing) shock to hear that the rest of the team would not be getting tested. The team’s manager said,
“We’ve been told that testing’s in short supply. We’re treating ourselves like people, which is what we are. We’re not better than anybody. We’re not worse. We’re just a basketball team. I’ve been told by our doctors that we shouldn’t be testing asymptomatic people in California.”
8. Local Businesses Are Still Helping Those In Need
Small, local businesses are the heart of so many towns and cities across the US, and they’re getting hit the hardest (financially speaking) during this crisis. Even so, one local pizza restaurant in California, where the virus is widespread, is staying open to deliver meals to elderly people within the community — for free! Once neighbors heard of the restaurant’s mission, the owner said he started receiving thousands of dollars in donations to help fund the meals.
9. A High Schooler Helped 150 Homeless People
After learning of the pandemic, a 15-year-old in California went out with her parents to buy enough hand sanitizer, antibacterial soap, lotion, and face masks for 150 people. They weren’t hoarding, they collected these supplies to package up and ultimately distributed them to homeless people in the community.
10. Landlord Waives Rent For Small Businesses So They Can Pay Employees
As businesses close down, a lot of employees are left without paychecks. Knowing this, a landlord in Arkansas, who owns property where several restaurants lease space, told his tenants not to worry about paying rent and to focus on paying their employees instead. Greed didn’t win this round.
If you’ve been feeling down with all of the negative news lately, I hope this lifted your spirits a little bit. Things are tough right now, and with nothing else to do but watch tv or browse the internet, it doesn’t take long to get bummed out. Remember to take care of your mental health as much as your physical health through all of this — whatever that looks like for you.
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