John, a new constant on my family’s quarantine walks.
By Alexis Angelus
Today I read an article about how quarantine is forcing young adults to think about what they think of as home. For comfort, college students and recent graduates might return to childhood homes, or even quarantine with friends or significant others. I am lucky enough to be at home with my family in our home in the Chicago suburbs. My boyfriend, John, who is pursuing his PhD at Northwestern, isn’t as lucky. A Richmond grad originally from New Jersey, his home during this quarantine is my own childhood home. This factor of quarantine has led to an adjustment in mindset for both of us; he feels as if he is joining a second family, I feel as if I am gaining a new member.
Quarantine forces us to think about and define our relationships in a more rigid way. As our contact with most people is limited, we must strictly limit which people we will be closest to for months on end. This means, to a certain extent, that we have to choose our families. For John and me, it has made us think about the consolidation of our relationship and our families. For me, it seems to be the merging of the past and the future.