As the world enters Day 4,030(?) of quarantine and social distancing, I think it’s safe to say that we’re all struggling to get a little bit of normalcy. And for many of us, social media has become the destination for that normalcy. No offense to Facebook and the others, but thank goodness for Twitter. Where else can you get memes and gifs for every occasion, hear the quarantine struggles of your favorite celebrities, and reminisce about your favorite shows from childhood? Today I was lucky enough to experience 2 out of those three things, thanks to Sesame Street‘s hashtag initiative #CaringForEachOther, and the always adorable Rosita.
As can be seen in the tweet posted above, Rosita talks to us about a great way to keep calm during very stressful times: “belly-breathing”. She relates that she too is feeling frustrated, because the playground is calling her name and she’s stuck in the house. Of course, “stuck in the house” is the safest place to be right now, but that doesn’t stop Rosie and other little ones from getting restless. She explains that, in times like this, her mama has taught her to belly-breathe; deep breathing to steady yourself when you have what Rosie refers to as “big feelings”.
I don’t know about anyone else, but Rosita’s advice really struck a cord with me. In my mid-20s, I have “big feelings” all the time, and constantly have to remind myself to breathe. Especially in times like this, when everything is so uncertain. I can only imagine what it must be like for little kid; who are used to being in school 5 days out of the week and seeing their friends and teachers. Especially for those who are too young to understand what’s going on.
Who better to try and make things make sense than their friends at 123 Sesame Street? Regardless of how tough the lesson is, Sesame Street has always done it’s best to make very complex, very scary situations easier for children to understand; and did so without undermining the gravity of the situation. I’m so happy to see that that has not changed.
Personally, I’ve struggled with severe anxiety since I was a kid and I know that seeing a video like this, especially from one of my favorite shows, would’ve made me feel much less self-conscious. I truly hope Rosita’s advice can help both the little kids who have emotions that can feel all consuming and the parents who have to work through those feelings with them.
If you aren’t already, please go follow @SesameStreet on it’s official Twitter account. Not only is it still the cutest show in the world, it’s still teaching life lessons, even to us grown-ups.
E. Watches T.V (and Movies) 