Right around this time last year, our country went into a national lockdown — and our lives haven’t been the same since. For a lot of us, including myself, it was a year of heavy self reflection. As the pandemic started, my senior year of high school ended. I did not get to experience the traditional senior prom, senior sports day or the graduation that my older friends had.
Nevertheless, I decided at the start of our lockdown to focus on myself for (what I thought would be) the next five or so weeks. Little did I know that these five weeks would turn into a never-ending cycle of outdoor dining, social distancing and months of school work behind a computer screen.
Even though COVID-19 has turned my life upside down, I can’t say that I haven’t learned a thing or two from this unusual year. Here are just a few things I have learned about myself and about the world around me.
- It’s important to have a hobby.
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This was the very first thing I learned when quarantine began. Everything in NYC was shut down and neither my friends’ parents nor mine allowed us to step foot on the pavement. As the days slowly went by, I realized that it was boring to live the same school-Netflix-eat-sleep cycle every day. I eventually started picking up on small hobbies to occupy my free time, something that I had so much of. I learned how to bake, picked up on nail art and even started driving lessons with my mom on the eerily-empty streets of Brooklyn. Having different hobbies allowed me to understand more of my likes and dislikes and gave me something to look forward to every day.
- You are what you wear.
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To put it shortly, I lost my sense of style throughout my years of high school, even though I was very passionate about all things fashion. As I grew older, I cared more about what other people thought about me rather than wearing what I wanted. This ultimately led to daily outfits with hoodies, sweatpants and maybe the occasional jeans. However, once quarantine started, I slowly but surely grew more confident in what I chose to wear and how I presented myself. I must say, this was mostly because of two very popular apps: TikTok and Pinterest. A lot of girls that I saw on my “for you page” or my Pinterest board were exuberantly confident in their fashion sense. I took inspiration from these outfits and started dressing up again—and for myself—because I was not able to leave my house for months.
- Exercising makes me feel good.
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I was a member of my high school’s lacrosse team for four years, so when my very last season was canceled, I was devastated. In the past, my one and only motive for working out was to improve my strength and stamina, so I would always be prepared when lacrosse season rolled around. Once I found out that I was not going to have a senior year, I told myself there was no reason to exercise anymore. As weeks passed, my body physically did not feel as strong as it used to. I used this as my reason to start working out again, but this time, my motivations were solely intrinsic. I noticed that the more I worked out, the better I felt, both physically and mentally.
- It’s ok to not be ok.
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With the lack of social interaction, the pandemic has left a lot of people dealing with mental health issues. I have accepted that it is perfectly valid for me to feel down every now and then, especially as we adjust to this new normal. I have also come to terms with the fact that it is acceptable to be upset, no matter how big or small the issue is. For example, I was upset that I would not be able to have a senior prom or graduation, even though other people may have been dealing with something bigger. I have the right to be upset and so do they because at the end of the day, our feelings are not up for competition.
- Life is short.
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I think we all saw this one coming. I never realized how true this was until I saw my acquaintances posting about the loss of a loved one due to COVID on social media. I took this lesson, and now, I take every chance I can to tell my loved ones that I appreciate them. At any given moment, something unfortunate can happen to any of us. Knowing this, I will be sure to cherish the moments I have with the people around me in the years to come.