One year reflection of the COVID-19 Life
Hello my loyal readers! Can you believe it is already March? How is this year flying by already? I don’t know about you but I am excited for the month because Spring will be here soon.
Like so many people right now I am reflecting on where life was a year ago, and what all we have endured since then. I felt it was important to spend time reflecting on this worldwide phenomenon known as COVID-19.
“Like so many I had no idea we would still be dealing with it one year later.”
At the start of March 2020, we had heard about the pandemic, but it was far from us in North Carolina. I remember discussing it with my co-workers and not thinking too much of things. It was the busy time of year at work with the second largest event at my small community college that was held through my office. We finished the week long events and I took a few days off to recover during the schools spring break.
By the time I returned to work it was mid-march and the world as we knew it was about to stop.
March 18, 2020 was my first official day of teleworking from home, and it is where I stayed for nearly ten weeks in 2020. This was during the “stay at home” order in North Carolina.
I hardly left my house or saw anybody besides my partner and our two cats. My best friend and I would get together a few times a week, and we would walk and talk about how everything was going. Other than that my interactions with the outside world were very limited.
After memorial day I returned to work in the office on a part time status, and spend the rest of the work week at home. This was my primarily schedule throughout the rest of 2020.
With everything Covid has brought I feel like I have handled it all well. However, last month was very hard for me and I believe it is because I hit the Covid Wall.
I was sad and overwhelmed by everything over the past year. Normalcy and consistency is something I wanted in my life again. My capacity to “do my part” and to be sympathetic in avenues of my life had reached its peak. I just felt and still do feel done with it all.
So many of us are feeling this way, some more than others. All we can do is allow ourselves to feel and grieve, so we can move forward and heal.
In this post I wanted to try and find the silver lining amongst the crazy Covid has brought to life over the past year. Upfront I will say I am lucky and have been very fortunate throughout this past year, and have experienced a lot of privileges throughout this pandemic. I know so many people are not able to say that, and my heart goes out to those of you who have truly suffered throughout this.
What I have learned about myself
Since Covid-19 hit our world I, alongside many others, have been in a constant state of learning.
Learning new technologies, approaches, lingo, and the role I play during this crazy time to the students I serve.
One of the biggest things I learned about myself throughout all of this is how much structure and consistency plays in my overall happiness in life, as well as how important my social life is.
When the stay at home order came, I thought I was going to love being a hermit and staying home all the time. However, after the first four weeks I was ready to see and interact with people again on a regular basis.
“Even the most introverted person needs human interaction.”
During my tele-working experience last year, I felt like I thrived. I slept great and did not have too many restless nights. I accomplished all my major work projects I had said I was going to try and tackle during the work from home time. I read professional books that had been on my shelf for five years or more. However, as time has gone on throughout the pandemic, I have realized it is getting harder to thrive during my work from home days.
This is a very important observation to make so that I make informed choices in the future regarding employment as well as retirement plans. It will also help me make the most of life and living it overall after Covid is somewhat a thing of the past.
What I am thankful for
The biggest thing I am grateful for is how I have not lost any loved ones to this deadly virus. Thankfully, I have also not had too many people in my circles get Covid-19, which I am very thankful for as well. I know many people and families don’t have the privilege of saying the same thing, and my heart goes out to you and yours if you fall into that boat.
I am grateful for the time and ability to work form home during this time. Not every profession is as lucky to have that privilege. I was the only one in my immediate family who was able to work from home during this time. Somedays it left me feeling guilty because mine and my fiancé families were on the frontlines throughout all this.
I am also grateful for the time at home with my loving partner and our two cats. This is something I probably would have never experienced otherwise, unless we decide to have children, so to me this was the biggest silver lining of it all.
My two kitty boys! José (top row) and Butters (bottom row)
What I hope we keep doing after Covid-19 is behind us
It is hard to think about what to hope we keep doing because of Covid-19 when all of us just want to get back to the world and life we had prior.
“The thing is, there is no going back to life before. There is only moving forward.”
In my profession of higher education I hope that we keep being accessible to students, by offering more online and having better delivery methods through a virtual capacity. At my institution there have been a few things to come out of this pandemic that I do not think we would have discovered, or work hard to establish if it were not for the circumstances we were in.
I also hope that we keep some of the three w’s mindset during future cold and flu seasons. I will say the best thing of the pandemic and safety measures in place is how little I have gotten sick over the past year with my quarterly colds. It has certainly been one of the benefits for me.
I hope that restaurants and businesses keep the carry out and take out mindset. I love eating and dining in at my favorite restaurants. Throughout this past year I have rediscovered the beauty of picking something up and bringing it home to enjoy, or taking it to a favorite picnic spot. Some of these things I want to keep practicing after Covid is behind us, and I hope that restaurants and businesses keep providing the same level of accessibility online.
The biggest thing I hope I, and all of us keep doing after this pandemic is over, is being intentional with who we spend and dedicate our time with. Both in person and in a virtual capacity through social media outlets. During this past year we have either not seen certain people at all, or have only been around a select few. I think it is important to assess and prioritize relationships in our life on a more regular basis, and put the time and energy into the ones that matter the most. This is something I have observed throughout the pandemic, and is an ongoing process for me as well in my own life.
This past year has been one of the most unprecedented events in our history. To see how it will be talked about in future history books, and if we should or could have done things differently, is something I look forward to reading.
Know that if you are sad, angry, resentful, regarding everything this past year that you are not alone. Allow yourself to grieve all that we lost over the past twelve months. However, I want to challenge you to try and find the good. It is hard, I know, but it can be uplifting to your spirits during a time of grief.
Even though we are not out of the woods yet, and there is still so much uncertainty, I believe we are closer to the other side of this. We all must keep doing our part, including practicing the three w’s and getting vaccinated if we are able to.
We will get through this and we will be better for it.
Until next time,
