Obviously the pandemic has changed all of us in many different ways. It forced us to take a hard look at ourselves and reflect inward. As difficult as it was, I think it really opened our eyes to the vulnerabilities that lie within our lives. As we (hopefully) move past the pandemic, I’ve gathered a few of the lessons I’ve learned from this past year for you below.
Life is short
I think this is an obvious one but still needs to be said. We tend to take our lives for granted and never think that bad things will happen to us. Even though we see it happen to people around the world. That’s until it actually happens to someone close to us or us ourselves.
Knowing that people close to me had the potential to die was a huge wake up call for me. It changed my perspective on what I was doing on a daily basis, and what I was spending my time on. With more time to focus on myself, I reflected on what I wanted to achieve in life. It pushed myself to be courageous in doing the things I’ve always wanted to do like (re)start this blog and my Etsy store. Life is short so cherish it and spend yours on something that fulfills you.
There are assholes in the world, don’t be one
When the pandemic hit, and even now, it gave people the opportunity to show their true colours. We ran to social media to express ourselves and to feel a sense of connection to our community. We saw how people were quick to judge others for their actions and the cause of the virus. Through mask mandates, we saw how people were selfish and blamed others for slight inconveniences. With the CDC and health guidelines, we saw people reject scientists’ hard work and instead trust someone on the internet for answers. With every step of the pandemic, we saw the assholes of each side, the ones who were selfish and unkind to others.
As someone who has always held a positive lens towards the world, it was hard to see the reality of what we succumbed to be. It was hard to accept the fact that these were the thoughts and feelings that people had all along, they just decided to express them now. While it was disappointing to see, it also reminded me of how much we need to be kind right now. Amidst all the negativity and hate, we must continue to be good people (even if we make bad choices). We need to stand together and be good citizens of the world or else the assholes will get to us and break us down.
Be kind, you never know what they might be going through
On a similar note, we also saw much everyone struggles. Whether it be “first world problems” or actual life or death struggles, we all experience it. I think during the pandemic, our own struggles that we were facing came to light more-so because we had more time to spend by ourselves. With those realizations, some decided to share their stories and struggles, while others battled in silence. As the world has become harsher and more judgemental, I think it’s important to acknowledge that everyone struggles, but not everyone shares it. So next time you’re about to be judgemental or make a rude comment to someone, take a pause. Think about how they might be feeling and if your comment really is justifiable. The last thing we need is more hate.
Your health is all that matters
Directly related to the pandemic, but in more ways than one, I realized our health should always be our top priority. We saw that at first, those who had weaker immune systems were suffering worse from Covid. Now most of us have probably experienced our health, whether that be physical, emotional or mental suffer too during this time. It’s so easy to neglect your health in favour of other things your life like work or success. But at the end of the day, you’re going to be the one suffering from your neglect. You’re only given one body and mind, so please take care of it.
With more time to myself, I realized how much I was neglecting my mental health. I always favoured working on myself physically but didn’t put in the time to care for my mind. Even doing just a little bit of work can make a huge impact. Please take care of yourself.
Relationships require work from both parties
Without being able to hang out with people in-person, friendships and relationships have been tough. I think a lot of us can say that our friendships used to be nurtured by going to places, experiencing new things and just spending time together. Now that we don’t have that option, our friendships rely on our abilities to make virtual gatherings or modify in-person gatherings to be socially distanced. It isn’t as easy as calling someone up and asking to go get food anymore. It takes a lot more time and effort. With this, I realized that you must nurture your friendships even when it’s difficult. You have to put in the work or else they will easily fall apart.
I recently felt like I was distancing from a group of friends and that I didn’t know what was going on in their lives. Setting up a virtual hangout fixed that easily. Even though it’s harder than before, it’s not impossible. Put in the work to nurture the relationships that matter to you.
Your voice matters
As we’ve lived primarily on social media this past year, and the explosion of TikTok, it’s clear that everyone has a voice. I think it’s easy to say that simply sharing a post on social media does nothing for the larger issue at hand, but I would disagree. A lot of these issues are systemic, and it boils down to how we are raised, what we surround ourselves with and what we’re taught. Even though sharing your thoughts and information on social media doesn’t directly help the problems at hand, I think it contributes to demolishing the larger issue.
Through educating our communities, friends and families, we aim to spread the right message so that it doesn’t continue happening. Voicing your opinion enables you to open a discussion with your community to talk about these hard issues. This in turns helps us move forward with the right information and actions to take in the future. We must educate ourselves on what is right and how to act like a good citizen in order to enact further change.
We must adapt to change
As we’ve heard multiple times throughout the year, we’ve experienced unprecedented times and have adapted to change. At first I thought, like everyone else, that this would be temporary. Once I realized that this would last a lot longer than we planned, it was time to think long-term. This also applies to our lives, on a regular basis. Nothing will ever stay the same. Or else you will never progress and move forward with your life. Change will occur, some which you can control and some that you cannot. It’s up to you to determine how you will accept it and adapt to it. Your reaction to it will affect how you approach your life, so be open to change and embrace it. Whether it’s a good or bad change, make the most of it and soon, it’ll be your new normal.
Healthy habits will change your life
This whole pandemic has thrown a wrench into what my whole routine used to be. We were so used to running around and moving from one thing to a next. Then, suddenly we were forced to stay in place in our homes. It really changed my perspective on what I cared about doing on a day to day basis to take care of myself. I realized that even though our lives have changed, our daily habits don’t have to.
Even though we’re not seeing people regularly in-person, we can still get dressed and ready for our days. We can still eat well and move our bodies. We can continue to have social interactions with our friends. Small habits in your days will carry you forward, no matter how your life changes. These small habits will shape you and bring you towards your goals, because it’s you taking care of yourself on a regular basis. Continue to keep building these habits so you can be your best self and focus on achieving your long-term goals.
Conclusion
Those were eight of the many lessons I learned during this past year. It’s been a tough one to go through and I couldn’t be more grateful for the amazing support system that I have. My heart goes out to everyone as we long for a sense of pre-pandemic normalcy. I hope we can all reunite soon again when it’s safe to do so. I’d love to hear the lessons you learned during this year or if you had differing thoughts on mine! Leave a comment, email me or slide into my Instagram DMs.
