Last week, I reached out to a friend of mine. She lives in Minneapolis, and we have been friends since third grade. I reached out to her regarding wedding information; however, we ended up talking for much longer. The week after, she called me again, and we ended up talking for almost an hour. Whether our conversation was about wedding stuff, anime, or playing The Sims, it was refreshing to hear what was going on in her life. It’s sad because the thought that went through my head originally was “she’s probably busy, and she won’t answer”. My assumption was incorrect. This post serves as a reminder to check in on your friends.

I was watching the news with my fiancé this week, and I saw a news story that made me sad. Mental illness is skyrocketing in the pandemic. This is unsurprising. It’s a stressful time of trying to stay quarantined, not seeing older family members, and avoiding events or groups of people. I find myself longing to attend conventions again. I miss being around people and cosplay! I haven’t planned any cosplays in a while because I have no place to go. I’m an introvert to a certain degree, and even I find myself feeling lonely or missing old aspects of my life.

My friend and I are set to hang out sometime today, and I can’t wait. I’m hoping we will play Sims, watch anime, and play with her new puppy. This is my reminder to you to reach out to anyone you haven’t seen in a while. Send them a text, Facebook message, call, or DM them on Twitter. It doesn’t matter if it’s been six months since you last reached out. It feels good to receive a message from someone I haven’t spoken to in a while.