The truth is, a lot of us are not OK.
With death, depression, and uncertainty running rampant through the country, our mental health is fragile and a government-mandated request to stay away from the ones we love isn't making sh*t any easier.
While social distancing has made Sunday brunches and girls' nights a thing of the past, checking in on your homegirls for a weekly FaceTime call might be what you both need to get your spirits all the way together.
And while I think that this is the message that Tia Mowry attempted to relay on social media, unfortunately, it wasn't well received. In a since-deleted tweet she wrote:
"During this pandemic, you really see who your real friends are. Who's checking up on you? Making sure are okay? Remember that when all this is over?"
While Tia's message was well-intended, some users thought that her tweet was insensitive and noted that under our current circumstances, many of our friends may not even be emotionally equipped to communicate with us and tbh, I felt that. Madame Noire reported that one user wrote:
"During this pandemic check on your friends, family, colleagues. Everyone is going through tough times and this is not the time to test who is checking up on you. People are worried about jobs, incomes, kids, health, and least one can do is simply set aside self and check others."
Earlier this month, Tia said that although the social distancing order has really taken a toll on her emotionally, she's coping and staying connected by making FaceTime calls mandatory.
"Of course, I get to see my family, my husband and my children but—oh no, I'm about to cry. But not being able to see my dad, my brothers and my sister has been pretty hard because we're all pretty close. But we handle it pretty well with FaceTiming each other."
During this time, it's important to feel loved, but it's even more important to share love and Tia stressed the importance of checking-in with the ones you love, even if it's just to see what they cooked for dinner:
"It's crazy how we're getting excited about the simple things, like, 'Look what I made for dinner. I'm constantly checking up on [my brother's] well being, like, 'How are you doing emotionally?' Especially with my dad and my mom because they're older."
This time may or may not show us who are real friends are, but it is an excellent opportunity to be a real friend.
Featured image by Instagram/@tiamowry.
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While speaking to xoNecole, Eva shares that she’s a lot like the beloved 1994 character in many ways. “Lyric is so me. She's the odd flower. A flower nonetheless, but definitely not a peony,” she tells us.
“She's not the average flower you see presented, and so she reminds me of myself. I'm a sunflower, beautiful, but different. And what I loved about her character then, and even more so now, is that she was very sure of herself.
"Sure of what she wanted in life and okay to sacrifice her moments right now, to get what she knew she deserved later. And that is me. I'm not an instant gratification kind of a person. I am a long game. I'm not a sprinter, I'm a marathon.
America first fell in love with Eva when she graced our screens on cycle 3 of America’s Next Top Model in 2004, which she emerged as the winner. Since then, she's ventured into different avenues, from acting on various TV series like House of Payne to starring on Real Housewives of Atlanta.
Je-Caryous Johnson Entertainment
Eva praises her castmates and the play’s producer, Je’Caryous for her positive experience. “You know what? Je’Caryous fuels my audacity car daily, ‘cause I consider myself an extremely audacious woman, and I believe in what I know, even if no one else knows it, because God gave it to me. So I know what I know. That is who Je’Caryous is.”
But the mom of three isn’t the only one in the family who enjoys acting. Eva reveals her daughter Marley has also caught the acting bug.
“It is the most adorable thing you can ever see. She’s got a part in her school play. She's in her chorus, and she loves it,” she says. “I don't know if she loves it, because it's like, mommy does it, so maybe I should do it, but there is something about her.”
Overall, Eva hopes that her contribution to the role and the play as a whole serves as motivation for others to reach for the stars.
“I want them to walk out with hope. I want them to re-vision their dreams. Whatever they were. Whatever they are. To re-see them and then have that thing inside of them say, ‘You know what? I'm going to do that. Whatever dream you put on the back burner, go pick it up.
"Whatever dream you've accomplished, make a new dream, but continue to reach for the stars. Continue to reach for what is beyond what people say we can do, especially as [a] Black collective but especially as Black women. When it comes to us and who we are and what we accept and what we're worth, it's not about having seen it before. It's about knowing that I deserve it.”
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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Feature image by Leon Bennett/WireImage
