Covid-19 Impact on Life

The past 2.5 years of the pandemic have illustrated that when people are forced to be apart, they truly come together. COVID was hard on everyone, whether you lost your job because of tough business or you had to work unpaid overtime as a first responder. Although we all struggled, we found ways to cope together. It’s been a time where we’ve all been united, even though we were forced to stay six feet apart. When we are ripped away from each other, we come together by finding ways to connect, learning new skills, and celebrating each other.

Staying connected to friends and family can be difficult even when we aren’t in isolation, so it was really interesting to see how people became closer than ever during this time. We discovered online meeting areas like Zoom to keep up with work, we utilized our open spaces to see each other in person when we could, and we even helped each other cope with the loneliness by chatting over FaceTime. At the beginning of the pandemic, I remember being so upset about not being able to see my friends, but as the quarantine continued, we figured it out together. I remember talking online during our lunch in online school, because it was our only time to socialize. Also, weekends were crucial during the CoronaVirus. We played board games online, had birthday parties in big, open spaces, and made sure to share whatever new bread or handbag we had made.

Another benefit of having a plethora of hours to ourselves was learning new things. I remember scrolling through the web, bored, and seeing all of these people making sourdough bread and leaving the loaves at their friends’ doors. This inspired me to learn many new skills. I made bath bombs and chapstick, I got better at sewing, I even learned how to play the ukulele! Doing these things took a lot of time, but due to the quarantine, I had a lot of time available. Although being away from my friends wasn’t fun, I discovered new skills and hobbies that I still love to do today. Although resources were limited, we managed to find things to benefit us even outside of our solidarity.

Lastly, we learned to celebrate each other. During the period of isolation, people had a newfound appreciation for mail carriers, first responders, and small business owners. Jobs such as mail carriers or garbage collectors are usually frowned upon, but we learned how crucial they were in quarantine. They were people that couldn’t work from home, so they were quarantined whenever they were at their houses, forced away from their family. Also, first responders were only seen as people who knew first aid, but they were some of the most important people during the CoronaVirus. They had to work in an overcrowded environment, while being understaffed, while also suffering minor injuries from the harsh chemicals and masks they had to wear. Even though these jobs were brutal, the community gave back. Many places all around the world had celebrations for these people, appreciating their hard work. Whether it was gift baskets, socially distanced parades, or even just a social media shoutout, they all showed that they cared.

Therefore, people don’t truly come together until they are forced apart, and they do this by connecting in new ways, learning new skills, and celebrating the unrecognized people. Even though COVID is much better than it used to be, the commonality of these things have kept skyrocketing. Although quarantine wasn’t fun, make sure you see the silver lining of times that aren’t your favorite, as good things came out of it too.