More than a year ago, we experienced a global pandemic to the virus known as COVID-19. In the middle of March of 2020, everything was shut down, all in-person institutions moved to an online alternative for schools and most businesses. At the time, I thought everything would go back to “normal” within the next couple of weeks, but unfortunately, that was not the case. When weeks turned into months, that is when we knew that this virus wasn’t going away anytime soon.
Before the pandemic, I was in a rough situation already, I was living on my own, deciding what college to go to, balance work with a social life, do well in school, and try to continue to do the things I enjoy. When the pandemic hit, I was at first very relieved because we had a chance to have more free time at home and not be rushing around to go anywhere. But when the pandemic went on longer than I anticipated, I started to wonder if life will ever be the way it was. While being trapped at home for months, I realized how severe this virus is. We heard on the news of families losing loved ones and people suffering through this pandemic. This is when I started to take the situation seriously and do my part to stop the spread.
During the first three months of quarantine, I mainly stayed home for the majority of the day. Of course, there were times where I have left the house to get fresh air, go to the grocery store, and go for a run. Other than that, I mainly isolated myself because everything else was closed, and wanted to do my part and keep as many people as I could safe. During this time, I tried to maintain my mental health by doing things I enjoy. I focused a lot on my schoolwork, attended Mass online every Sunday, and did a lot of cleaning around the house. I remember there was a time when I was very bored and I took the time to clean up a room that has been messy for years. I also tried to spend more time in prayer, which had been difficult because there was a lot on my mind. I remember I was constantly worrying about, “When will everything get back to normal?”, “Will I be able to see all my friends again?”, “Will I be able to attend Mass (in person) again?”, “Will I be able to have a spring track season before I graduate?” Those questions kept running through my head, and sometimes was all I could think about. I have come to realize how unhealthy that mindset was, but at the time, I was lost in the moment. From that experience, I’ve realized to not always think about what may or may not happen. Thinking of “what if” something will happen or not isn’t going to make it better. I’ve learned we don’t always have control over what we can or cannot do all the time, but we can control our outlook on what is happening. Before the pandemic, we took a lot of what we did and had for granted and did not realize how we should be grateful for everything we’ve had before the pandemic.
Now it has been over a year, and as of right now, things have gotten better. Cases have been going down, and now we have a vaccine ready for the general public. Of course, many restrictions have been lifted and we can participate in in-person events (while wearing masks and social distancing). In order for us to continue doing this, we do need to continue being safe and know that we all need to do our part to slow down the spread as much as possible. It is very crazy to think we have been through this pandemic for so long and there has been so much in our lives that have changed. Many of you know, I have graduated from high school and started my first year of college during the pandemic. This has taught me, even though we are in a pandemic, that doesn’t mean that life won’t continue. When everything was shut down, we thought time stopped and felt like we were still in the month of March 2020. But the truth is, life does not stop and we have to keep moving forward. Even though everything we do is limited, that doesn’t mean we have to stop doing things we enjoy. From what I said earlier, we have online alternatives that can still be as enjoyable as being in-person. Of course, online is not the same but it’s better than being totally isolated. I am so thankful that even though we went through the tough year of 2020, it really taught us to be appreciative of the blessings we have in our lives and we can continue to live happily through any obstacle.
Before the pandemic, I was in a rough situation already, I was living on my own, deciding what college to go to, balance work with a social life, do well in school, and try to continue to do the things I enjoy. When the pandemic hit, I was at first very relieved because we had a chance to have more free time at home and not be rushing around to go anywhere. But when the pandemic went on longer than I anticipated, I started to wonder if life will ever be the way it was. While being trapped at home for months, I realized how severe this virus is. We heard on the news of families losing loved ones and people suffering through this pandemic. This is when I started to take the situation seriously and do my part to stop the spread.
During the first three months of quarantine, I mainly stayed home for the majority of the day. Of course, there were times where I have left the house to get fresh air, go to the grocery store, and go for a run. Other than that, I mainly isolated myself because everything else was closed, and wanted to do my part and keep as many people as I could safe. During this time, I tried to maintain my mental health by doing things I enjoy. I focused a lot on my schoolwork, attended Mass online every Sunday, and did a lot of cleaning around the house. I remember there was a time when I was very bored and I took the time to clean up a room that has been messy for years. I also tried to spend more time in prayer, which had been difficult because there was a lot on my mind. I remember I was constantly worrying about, “When will everything get back to normal?”, “Will I be able to see all my friends again?”, “Will I be able to attend Mass (in person) again?”, “Will I be able to have a spring track season before I graduate?” Those questions kept running through my head, and sometimes was all I could think about. I have come to realize how unhealthy that mindset was, but at the time, I was lost in the moment. From that experience, I’ve realized to not always think about what may or may not happen. Thinking of “what if” something will happen or not isn’t going to make it better. I’ve learned we don’t always have control over what we can or cannot do all the time, but we can control our outlook on what is happening. Before the pandemic, we took a lot of what we did and had for granted and did not realize how we should be grateful for everything we’ve had before the pandemic.
Now it has been over a year, and as of right now, things have gotten better. Cases have been going down, and now we have a vaccine ready for the general public. Of course, many restrictions have been lifted and we can participate in in-person events (while wearing masks and social distancing). In order for us to continue doing this, we do need to continue being safe and know that we all need to do our part to slow down the spread as much as possible. It is very crazy to think we have been through this pandemic for so long and there has been so much in our lives that have changed. Many of you know, I have graduated from high school and started my first year of college during the pandemic. This has taught me, even though we are in a pandemic, that doesn’t mean that life won’t continue. When everything was shut down, we thought time stopped and felt like we were still in the month of March 2020. But the truth is, life does not stop and we have to keep moving forward. Even though everything we do is limited, that doesn’t mean we have to stop doing things we enjoy. From what I said earlier, we have online alternatives that can still be as enjoyable as being in-person. Of course, online is not the same but it’s better than being totally isolated. I am so thankful that even though we went through the tough year of 2020, it really taught us to be appreciative of the blessings we have in our lives and we can continue to live happily through any obstacle.