Coronavirus (COVID-19) brought many changes to our lives.

Among tragedy, loss of lives, chaos, and panic, colleges shut down and students had to move back in with their families. This pandemic has affected me in its own unique way, but I can thankfully say I have been lucky enough to stay healthy.

As a college freshman, I had to deal with the many changes coming my way, one of which was moving back home to the suburbs. Many of my friends, as well as my significant other, lived out of state, which meant having a long-distance relationship. Although hundreds of miles away, I still feel like we have found ways to make our moments together special and memorable.

This May 4 was not only our six-month anniversary but Star Wars Day. As fans, this was something we were really looking forward to, along with milking every Star Wars pun we could. Since we were unable to celebrate in person, we had the idea to dress up as fancy as possible, cook pasta together over FaceTime, and watch Rian Johnson's masterpiece "Star Wars: The Last Jedi."

For us, this was simple and special enough to make us feel close, even though physically, we are very far. I put on an old Homecoming dress and my boyfriend put on a lovely suit and bow tie (OK, it was a clip-on, but still quite snazzy). Like the master chefs we are, we boiled up some water and added some Barilla *chefs kiss.* After adding our own little twist to our pasta dish, we awkwardly sat in the kitchen as our families came in and out of the conversations we were having.

I am so glad my boyfriend got to meet my father over FaceTime as he was making a baked potato.

After eating a romantic dinner together from our respective kitchens, we set up our movie night. Sadly, there aren't many apps that work too well with syncing up screens for movies, so we counted down "3, 2, 1, play" to make sure we were watching at about the same time. Yes, there were a few times when it wasn't fully in sync and there was definitely a recurring echo, but that didn't matter over the commentary we had about every scene. We reacted together to every moment in the film as if we were sitting right next to each other. I am happy that my boyfriend and I could still be the (annoying) couple that makes comments during a movie, even during a global pandemic.

Though it's not sending each other letters by carrier pigeon, we sent each other some notes/cards through the lovely postal system. Within a day or two, we were able to read each other's letters and now we have them to cherish. I am so thankful that I have a significant other who is not only willing but excited to go along with my crazy date ideas.

For anyone struggling to connect with even just a close friend during this time, planning something like this to do with that special person really makes the distance seem insignificant. Not only are you learning to connect in a brand new way, but you are saving lives. You can have a date or party that (somewhat) helps save lives. How awesome is that?

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