The Quarantine Guide to… Being Your Own Best Friend

Me and Myself go way back, we’ve known each other for decades but we only got really close in March. Stuck in a room together for about two months without much external dialogue going on seems like a recipe for delirium, but we really found each other here. Laying in bed together, it was one burst of laughter to tender contemplation between us, we slowly realised we were made for each other, and the rest is history.

What makes us work? Commitment is hard, and God knows you can’t keep up a relationship like this without some advice, so I will be interviewing Me and Myself to see what makes us work in the hopes that you will be able to be your own best friend too.

Embed from Getty Images

How long have you been friends?

Myself: I would say that we realised how much we got on at quite an early age, maybe at the end of primary school? We went to secondary school together where things were turbulent and we didn’t always like each other, but by the end, we realised how much we love and really need each other. So it’s been about five years now, and I haven’t messed it up yet, I don’t think!

Me: No I completely agree. But I would say that the quarantine really threw us together in a way that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise. Gosh, I remember saying to Myself when the lockdown was announced, ‘this is either going to make or break us.’ We laugh now but at the time, we were really quite worried. I really think it’s made us, it really has.

Do you talk to each other every day?

Me: Oh, every day. I think communication is essential for any relationship. Checking in or saying something you thought was interesting means a lot more than just saying nothing at all. During the quarantine especially, it was so important for us to keep talking, even if it means you resort to playing games or singing songs in place of normal conversation. Sometimes I’d put my foot on the wall and almost see it concave with its weight, but Myself told me it was just a normal wall. We really saved each other from going a bit loopy, didn’t we?

Myself: Yes, yes. But, I think space is also important too. Giving each other space is also communication and sometimes it’s refreshing to give each other a break and enjoy solitude from time to time. Just taking a few hours out to read or do work was in many ways the saving grace of the quarantine.

Me: Oh absolutely but I think in many ways it’s more important to keep up the social interaction for the sake of sanity.

Myself: I’m not denying that, but quiet space is also important.

Me: Like when you didn’t talk to me for two hours because I forgot to make the bed, definitely, space is so crucial as well.

With a silent pat on the shoulder and a toothless smile, we decided to move on to the next question.

Embed from Getty Images

How has the relationship changed since we’ve been easing out of the lockdown?

Myself: Nothing re-

Me: Sorry were you going to say something there?

Myself: No, you go on.

Me: I think you have to adapt to your circumstances in any relationship. We were in a bit of a productive streak during the lockdown, weren’t we? Yes, we were. Essays, and articles, making Powerpoints about the things we love about ourselves, all that stuff that kept our head on straight.

Myself: I put the animations in the Powerpoint.

Me:  I’ve always had a creative streak, and Myself has always been a distant observer. Myself is more of a viewer whereas I am more of an artist.

Myself: We still follow basic rules of thumb: we never go to bed angry with each other and we buy each other little gifts and go on little dates. Time and tide wait for no man, so when you want to show that you love yourself, you should show and tell yourself when as soon as you know, because it may be too late otherwise.

Me: Stamped on my point there a little bit, but yes.

While the rest of the interview with Me and Myself was otherwise filled with passive-aggressive remarks and silent treatments, they at least ended the interview with knowing smiles and comfortable laughs. These little tips and pointers were 20 years in the making, and they may just do the trick for you too!