To be 20-something during the Covid-19 pandemic

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The day before Thanksgiving is among the biggest day for outings at clubs, bars and lounges. In fact, according to Womply, a commerce analysis platform, “Thanksgiving Eve” is the third busiest weekday for bars and lounges.

The busyness of the day can be attributed to college students coming home, people visiting their hometowns and families coming for the holiday. But for many of Glen Cove’s young adults, the day will not be same.

“I would usually do a Friends-giving or something with my friends, people that usually wouldn’t be here,” said 24-year-old Glen Cove resident Breanna Cruz, a teacher’s assistant at a local daycare center. “I have a really big family, so I know this year is going to be really different and it’s depressing in a way, that we can’t all be together.”

Antwan Brown, 25, of Glen Cove, said that he’d usually be heading out and catching up with family at this time. “I have family that lives down South so when I would go down there we would go out, so it really just depends on where I am,” he said. “More then likely I would be out an about.” 

Fellow Glen Cove resident Sydney Zaremba, a Hofstra University student, said that around this time she would usually get together with her group of friends who would be away at college. “It’s different this year because a lot of my friends are around because they’re online and virtual, so it’s really not much as a need this year to reunite after a semester,” she said.

Zaremba, 21, said that she has been spending time with a small group of friends who live together, having movie nights and wine nights. Since going out to bars or clubs is also a no-go this year, Zaremba said her friends have been crafting their own experiences. “We try to make it as fun as possible,” she said. “We’re still having theme nights like we would if we were having a neon party or a wild-west party. We still try to do those things just among us. It’s definitely made [this time] a lot easier and it gives us something to look forward to and to get outfits to wear. It definitely helps.”

Brown, a concierge at a senior care facility, said that he’s over the nightlife scene for now, but his heart goes out to those who have just turned 18 or 21. “I’m not happy about it, but I’m happy I got the experience,” he said. “There’s kids who just turned 21 right now, that just turned 18 and they’re just trying to get their first foot in the door of adult life.”

Like countless others, Zoom and Facetime has been a way for Cruz to connect with family and friends, but of course, it’s not the same as in-person connections.

Socially distant hangouts have also been one way to socialize. “When the weather was nicer I actually met up with my cousins,” Cruz said. “We met up in a parking lot and we all sat in our trunks with blankets and music. We got to hang out, but you know, at a distance.”

“I thought that was really cute,” Cruz said. “I really liked it.”

To connect with family during this time, Brown said that he’s done a Zoom call to celebrate his brother’s birthday and a car parade for his grandmother’s birthday. “We’re just doing what we can,” Brown said. “Zoom calls, Facetime, social distancing, small gatherings, things of that nature.”

When asked what it’s like to be a 20-something during a pandemic, Zaremba said that it’s just hard. “I said to my parents, ‘Selfishly I want this to be over because I don’t want to live my 20s only being able to hang out with my friends in a house,’” she said. “I want to be able to do things.”

Cruz said that little things like in-person interactions will not be something she takes for granted in the future. “Getting to go to new places, going to new restaurants, that’s what my friends and I used to do,” Cruz said. “Now I feel like places, like that gives me so much anxiety.”

Brown said that he misses the normalcy of pre-pandemic life. “It’s just weird now,” he said. “We got to a point now in life that if you see somebody in a pizzeria or if you see someone in a restaurant or supermarket without a mask on, it’s like . . . that’s just weird.”

Zaremba said she was looking forward to going to the city once the pandemic is over, going to parks, doing bottomless brunches and shopping trips with friends and once again enjoying night life. “I’m hoping that by my birthday in May it will be safe.”