“I felt a bit more immune to the panic that was buzzing inside me before, as if the gummy was a little anxiety vaccine.”

Just then, my neighbors asked if I wanted to go on a walk with them and their adorable dog—while staying a healthy six feet away from each other, of course. The gummy was giving me a nice “take the edge off” feeling, without a really noticeable high. I just felt a bit lighter and more relaxed, and eased into the outside world like it was a pool I was gliding into on a summer day.

Walking around in the sunshine, I felt a bit more immune to the panic that was buzzing inside me before, as if the gummy was a little anxiety vaccine. We slowly took a tour of what shops were open and closed, getting a lay of the land. It was comforting to feel like I had a small posse, like the kind you need to survive the zombie apocalypse, or maybe just a regular one. I started to imagine how this little group would fare in the classic “end of the world” battle. My neighbor is a drummer, so he would obviously be the muscle, and great at hitting things. His wife is a nurse, so she’d be amazing at helping us stay alive and healing our wounds. And their dog is pretty small, so he’d be great at sniffing out the infected, and distracting them with his cuteness. I was obviously the brains of the operation, as it was about this time I finally figured out that yes, I was actually a little high.

I decided to grab a bite to eat and support a local small business. I settled on a burrito from Machos Tacos, and we were on our way to the lovely Barnsdall Park (this was before parks were closed). As I wolfed down one of the best burritos I’ve ever had, we looked over the city through the clear, smog-free air. Hollywood looked peaceful and sunny, almost like the world hadn’t ended at all and was indeed, still right here.

“ I was feeling creative and loose, and my brain was flowing with the moment instead of stressing about the future.”

As we walked down what seemed to be 9,000 stairs to get out of the park, I was feeling both relaxed and buoyant. Everything was just a bit floaty, and moving my body felt easy and fun. My head wasn’t quite a “euphoric” kind of high, but things were definitely lighter in the back of my brain. Some weight had certainly, and thankfully, been lifted. Being more connected to my body made it easier to focus on what was right in front of me, like sunshine and grass, and made the existential worries in my mind feel miles away.

The walk and the gummies helped me shake the anxiety I had while sitting inside my tiny room in my tiny apartment. The sunshine and human + canine connection, however socially distant, helped me feel like the world wasn’t even really over, it was, like the rest of us, just going through a little rough patch.

About a week later, I tried another gummy to see if it was as uplifting indoors as it was outside. An hour or so after consumption, I was fully absorbed in rearranging my furniture and art, not even remembering I had dosed until my phone reminded me. I was feeling creative and loose, and my brain was flowing with the moment instead of stressing about the future. I didn’t feel “stoned,” but I did feel extraordinarily chill. I was in a much more relaxed mood while still being physically active and alert.

These 1:1 gummies helped balance out the tension in both my body and mind, and added some sunny silver linings to my quarantine days. It really helped me come to terms with the current situation. Like that moment after a breakup when you finally realize that it isn’t really the end of the world, it’s just the beginning of the next chapter, whatever that is going to be.