People not respecting social distancing rules in the supermarket make me feel anxious. I cringe when I watch people in movies or TV shows in social settings. My hands have aged from washing them too much. Seeing people not wearing or wearing a mask wrong gets me annoyed. This week I had a dream about me getting vaccinated. Today marks a year since the WHO (World Health Organization) declared a pandemic.
It was the beginning of a trail of death and suffering, the start of a succession of lockdowns across the globe…
The New York Times
Life as we knew it suddenly changed
As we went into lockdown, we fear the unknown and each other. People rushed to the store to get cleaning supplies and canned goods. For a while, toilet paper, masks and hand sanitizer were hot commodities.
From one day to another life as we knew it, suddenly changed. Companies told us to stay home. Students started remote learning. Leaving schools and offices happened so fast, that we didn’t have time to say goodbye. Two weeks of lockdown became three. Then four. Those first couple of months were arguably the worst of the pandemic. Hospitals exceeded their patient capacities across the globe. It became clear that the “temporarily quarantine” had turned into our new normal.
Our favorite restaurants closed, so we started making their recipes at home. Reportedly, a lot of the population started suffering insomnia. We turned to books for comfort and podcasts started to be a thing. Some relied on social media and others (like me) had to part ways with it. Then, of course, there was Zoom, beyond work and school meetings, it became the medium of fitness clases, celebrations and church gatherings.
We miss the random little things
Today, a year after this pandemic started, we miss the random little things that we were taking for granted. We miss human contact, it’s been a year since we were able to hug each other freely and while some of us are not big huggers, there has been times when we have needed just that, a hug.
With entry banned or restricted by some countries at the beginning of the pandemic, we miss packing, jumping on a plane and looking forward to a place. Traveling feels like an old practice that will take years to go back to normal.
We miss the experience of grocery shopping, browsing through the isles in the search for new products. An experience that changed as we shifted to online shopping or we do it in an utilitarian way to get in and out as quickly as possible.
We used to crave home-cooked meals and hated not having the time to prepare them. We often ended up in restaurants because it was easy or convenient, but today we miss a conversation over a meal with friends and family.
We miss our regular entertainment. Walking into a movie theater, the smell of fresh popcorn and watching movies. Waiting for the band to come out, everyone excited, the lights dimming and the guitarist striking a chord.
While some of us never imagined saying it, we miss gyms and indoor fitness clases and other random things like going to the saloon to get our hair and nails done. In general we miss our freedom of choice. We lost the feeling that we are the ones who decide where and when we want to be.
Human nature, a reflection
The past year will undoubtedly go down as one of the most critical times in world history. None of us could have ever expected to live through a pandemic that literally stopped the world. I hope the experience it’s not for nothing.
In the middle of everything we learned so much about human’s nature and how diverse opinions can be on something as simple as the reality of the virus, the effectiveness of masks or the importance of vaccines. While everyone is entitled to its own opinion, future generations might remember most how – in some cases – humanity’s best instincts were overshadowed by its worst.
As we reflect on the losses of the past year, we have to also appreciate the gains. It’s rare to receive a true opportunity to reset, and that’s what our world needed. We learned to slow down and enjoy life’s simplicities. We no longer take things or people for granted. I hope that we honor the lessons we learned and use this experience as a catalyst for greater.
So, between 2020-2021 your grandmother lived through a pandemic and while I don’t know what you will get through in your own lives; kids let me tell you, few things will ever surprise you more than humans resilience and ability to adapt.
Unapologetic Thoughts 