“… A beautiful day for a neighbor,

Would you be mine?

Could you be mine?”

In the big scheme of things, COVID-19 is an extremely devastating and catastrophic event that has been inflicted on everyone around the world. People of all ages—including our loved ones—have been significantly affected by this contagious virus, there will no vaccine for a long time, and many conflicting issues have emerged since quarantine was enforced. However, in a time of chaos and gloom, it is increasingly important for everyone to follow the safety guidelines and stay optimistic.

For me, the only thing keeping me sane during quarantine has been taking weekly walks with my parents. For those who haven’t taken the opportunity to stroll along the sidewalks of your neighborhood, here are some interesting experiences I have had walking around mine amid all of the COVID-19 chaos.

“It’s a neighborly day in this beautywood,

A neighborly day for a beauty,”

Throughout my childhood, I would always see this very observant man standing outside the white gates of his house. He lived on the opposite end of my street, just a few blocks away where he could clearly see my house from. In my young ignorance, I was frightened and grew an immediate dislike and discomfort whenever I encountered him.

At this point, I should let you know that this story is not a scary one, in the case that you suddenly looked behind you or became instantly wary of your surroundings from my eerie descriptions.

After a while, I didn’t see him do so anymore and hardly saw him at all. That is, until quite recently. A few days after I started walking around my neighborhood, I saw him stand outside his door frequently as he once did before and always observed what was going on in the neighborhood. My childhood fears came rushing back and I became deterred from walking again. I never told my parents why because they would have laughed and told me I was insane.

One day, my parents returned home from a walk with a basket of fruit saying that they got it from him. Turns out my parents had noticed him standing outside again and asked him the same questions gnawing at the back of my thoughts. They told me that there was an accident a few years back when one of his neighbors in his old neighborhood got robbed. Since then, he’s always been cautious of any strangers walking into the neighborhood and apologized if he came off as strange or creepy. I realized my mistake and internally yelled at myself for being so insensible. If it wasn’t for Dave, I would have never continued my walks nor would I have baked and hand-delivered banana bread to his wife while he was busy inside.

“Would you be mine?

Could you be mine?

This next one may not seem that great, but in the moment, it really made me laugh. It was a little later in the day when the sun crossed the horizon that I took my walk. As I was walking past a house, flashing bright colors among the neutral toned houses caught the corner of my eye. I recognized those lights as LED ones that TikTok brought back as a trend. I could already imagine someone doing the Renegade dance or making POVs inside. Seeing that, I had a brief moment of contentment and relief as I knew that six other teenagers living near me were all living the same lives: spending eighteen hours on TikToks everyday.

“I have always wanted to have a neighbor just like you,

I’ve always wanted to live in a neighborhood with you.”

I saw a few stray cats wandering around and lazying about on some dry, brown front lawns. I knew I shouldn’t approach them but that never stopped me from giving them the chance to approach me. I would look at them directly and get close to the ground so that they knew they had nothing to be afraid of. Unfortunately, my plans never came to a success. That was until I saw the stray cat that always rested under the car of my neighbor who lived directly opposite my house. It was mostly white with some yellow-orange spots along its back. I named her Mochi after Hiro Hamada’s cat in Big Hero 6. The first day I saw her I tried what I had tried with the other stray cats and a miracle happened: she approached me. She let me pet the fur along her back, something that I had not been able to do in weeks. As I crouched down on the soles of my feet, she circled me and rubbed her cheek on my clothes. I visited Mochi under that white Toyota Highlander every week since then.

“So let’s make the most of this beautiful day,

Since we’re together, we might as well say,

Would you be mine?

Could you be mine?

Won’t you be my neighbor?”

By the end of this writing, I hope you understand why I am now genuinely and sincerely imploring you to go out and enjoy a walk around your neighborhood, if not right now, then sometime soon! I agreed to take a walk with my parents one day after they finally got to me after earnestly asking everyday for two weeks and look where I am now! I’ve met so many new neighborhood friends—in both people and pets—and got to know the people I’ve lived near my whole life a little more than I would have without quarantine. This just goes to show that it is never too late to start getting to know your community. Plus, who knows what other strange, intriguing things you might encounter?

And, as always, remember to wear a mask and gloves and maintain a six-feet distance!