When I was growing up, I didn’t think about having a family too often, which in my eyes is a level most children don’t even come across for years. I always knew that it wasn’t going to be easy, but it will be the most rewarding and wonderful ride of my life.

I am beyond blessed to have a beautiful fiancé and a wonderful daughter who changed my perspective on everything when she came into the world. Now throw in raising a family, going to school full time and working a job and you get yourself to a place called “adulting.”

Obviously, that’s not the only criteria that gets you into adulting, but each aspect has taught me so much and I’m grateful for it. With the birth of my daughter and attending college, I have had to grow up quickly but that’s not the full focus of this column.

Unless you live under a rock or were on a 12-day no technology trip like Jared Leto was on recently then you have heard about the spreading pandemic of COVID-19 or coronavirus. The situation has escalated faster than anyone could have imagined and now the United States is playing “catch up” as the government has implemented social distancing.

The United States has not had to deal with something of this magnitude on an economic level since the great depression in the 1920s. For people in a situation such as myself, this virus has impacted many aspects of my life and so many others in a negative way.

The biggest issue has been my financial stability, millions of people are struggling due to being laid off from their jobs making budget cuts out of necessity. I never had to worry about this happening until now, over 60 people have been laid off from their jobs in the past 3 weeks and there could be more soon. With the fear of being laid off, there are also our hours being cut as my job has brought it down to 24 hours a week.

This is a team effort with all of us having to pitch in and find a way to keep pushing each other to our goals. For myself, I always lean on self-motivation to get through hard times, this situation being no different. At the same time, it can be a downfall, which leads me to my main point of this column.

All of us need to stay positive in a time of crisis such as the one we are in now because we are all we have. There are no if’s, and’s or but’s about this, positive mental support for each other is one of the main things that will get the world through this terrible time.

Keeping a positive mindset while focusing on your own personal goals will also be a huge help since self-isolation appears to be a perfect time for it. Personally, I’m using this extra time to spend with my daughter, fiancé, and family. It can be useful in terms of catching up or getting ahead of classwork, doing projects around the house or catching up on those shows you haven’t had time for.

Creating new helpful habits or re-budgeting bills is another good way to pass the time. In my opinion, a helpful task for yourself or learning a new skill a day is a way for personal growth to ease the struggle mentally for a portion of the population.

Hopefully, in the future, we can look back on coronavirus and realize that there was a lot of tragedy but in the end, it can bring us together. In the past, whether it be wars, depressions, recessions or epidemics we have always come out on top. This pandemic is no different and eventually, society can bust through the other side with our heads held high ready to kick the door down and push forward to a better world.

I hope everyone is heeding the advice from CDC by social distancing, staying home and practicing good hygiene. Be the change that you want to see in this world because you never know who is watching. To all of my readers; stay safe, healthy and positive!

For any more information on what to do if you feel like you are showing symptoms of the virus or just need questions answered you can visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html