Life during a pandemic has been strange, to say the least. The hardest thing for me is that I haven’t had anything to look forward to. That’s what keeps me going, normally: seeing friends, going to concerts, going to conventions, checking out museums, etc. Without that, every day is exactly the same.

My boyfriend, Dane, knows how important it is for my mental health to have things to look forward to, and he also knows how much I love music. He asked me for a list of albums I wanted on vinyl (I assumed they were just ideas for future gift-giving holidays) and he’s been giving me a few records about once a week so I have something to look forward to. It’s the sweetest gesture! We’ll spend an evening listening to them, and it makes for a really nice, relaxing night.

Here’s what he’s given me so far! It’s a great mix of albums. Many are deluxe editions with extra tracks, which is super cool.