Finding Hope in the Digital Space

We are just a few days into our quarantine, and the days are already starting to feel long. And when you don't know what to do with your time, it is easy to spiral. No app or video can take the place of therapy if you are experiencing a serious mental health decline due to recent events. But if you just need something to brighten your day, here is a beginning list of media that have been helping me find peace in the long days.

1. This short song by Tom Rosenthal:

This song is less than a minute long and has been stuck in my head for the past week. Tom Rosenthal is the perfect balance of quirky, genuineness, and human resilience. Here is a playlist of some of Tom Rosenthal's other hopeful songs.

Speaking of Tom Rosenthal, he just announced that he has created an email address where you can request a mini song be sent to someone who needs it right now. The email address is alittlesongforthoseinneed@gmail.com.

2. Broadway stars washing their hands

Theater Mania has challenged Broadway stars to post a video of themselves washing their hands and singing for 20 seconds to raise money for theater creators who are losing money during shutdowns. Just look for the hashtag #broadwayhandwashingchallenge on Instagram or Twitter. Here is an article about the project from ABC along with links to some of the currents posts: Enjoy their beautiful voices, and please remember to donate to organizations like the Actor's Fund to help their cause!

3. Portlandia

Alright. I know I'm late to this party. If I'm looking for comedy, I usually just turn to my standards like Parks and Rec. But now that I have found Portlandia, I am certain I will be rewatching it again and again. This light 20-minute sketch show is a hilarious reflection the hipster vibes from a certain Oregan city that shall not be named. You can watch the entire series on Netflix.

4. Jessica Kellgren-Fozard

Vintage fashion? Disability awareness? LGBTQ+ representation? Jessica Kellgren-Fozard has one of the most versatile and engaging channels on YouTube. Her positivity and humor are absolutely life-giving during these tough times. My personal favorites are her series on LGBTQ+ and disabled historical figures or her Quakerism videos. But her most topical video his her video coronavirus myths.

5. Bon Appétit

Speaking of YouTube cinnamon roles too good for this world, Bon Appétit is full of them. Watch on Bard on "It's Alive" ferment and mispronounce everything imaginable. Or, if you like your cinnamon roles a little more type A, watch Claire on "Gourmet Makes." Regardless of which series you watch, you are sure to leave smiling and very hungry.

6. The Anthropocene Reviewed

Sometimes, it's easy to forget how weird humanity is and how much we impact the world around us. John Green's The Anthropocene Reviewed is a bittersweet review of pieces from this new age of human-environmental control. Whether it be scratch and sniff stickers or cholera, John is able to remind me of both human's destructiveness and also our resilience.

7. Anne with an E

It is a travesty that I have still not finished season 3 of this beautiful adaptation. The show adds a dark and highly contemporary flair to the beloved children's classic, Anne of Green Gables. In a time like this, we are owed characters as wholesome as this cast. Anne is the sensitive yet strong female character of my dreams, Matthew Cuthbert is an actual human teddy bear, and Sebastian . . . oh, Sebastian. Watch the whole show on Netflix.

8. Polygon

Admittedly, I thought paint by numbers was the stupidest excuse for art until I found this app. Polygon is a beautiful color-by-numbers app with hundreds of geometric pictures for you to color in and gawk over. The art? Stunning. The feeling after you finish one? Incredibly satisfying. It is all intoxicatingly therapeutic.

9. Ours Poetica

You may think poetry isn't your thing, but I have the belief that there is a poem to speak to every person. You just need to find it. Ours Poetica introduces you to a variety of poems read by poets, YouTubers, authors, celebrities, and sometimes the writer of the poem themself. Here is one of my favorites that has a timely and darkly hopeful message.

10. Incidental Comics

Have you ever tried to describe the mind of an introvert? The fickleness of inspiration? The phenomenon of "reader's block?" Grant Snider's comics are able to provide shape to the experiences of all of us as both creators and consumers of art. He is endlessly thoughtful, humorous, and of course, hopeful. You can find his art on his website, his Instagram, or his book, The Shape of Ideas.