When the world went on lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was a strange but enjoyable time in my opinion. We were all locked away, but in my experience, I thoroughly enjoyed it for the most part.
Now hear me out. This transition from college to back to home via zoom was very hard on my mental health. Just as I was getting used to the college atmosphere and living without my family, the pandemic hit. This wave of depression came over me that I could feel getting worse as the pandemic kept getting worse.
After getting my mental health back up, things started to get better. At this time, I was doing classes via zoom, which was hard, but it made me feel more connected with my professors and classmates. We were all going through this transition from in-person to video call classes, and it was like we were all there for each other in a sense. We were all going through the emotions of this new virus and having to navigate it together and brought together a sense of community. I thought it was so much fun to have your classmates and professors readily available at the touch of a zoom call. It was interesting to hear everyone’s perspectives on the virus and see what some classmates’ hometowns were doing when it came to restrictions and managing the pandemic.
One of my favorite things during the lockdown was the connection users on TikTok created. A sense of community began to form when the app gained much higher usage during the lockdown. It was so astonishing to be able to relate to everyone around the world knowing that we are all having to deal with such a hard time. We were all able to view funny content, learn some new dances, make whipped coffee and spend the day scrolling. TikTok was a good escape from thinking about the negativity that continued to grow as the virus spread its way through the world.
Now that the pandemic has nearly come to a close, I reminisce on the times where it felt like the world was all connected as one during that period of the lockdown and I truly miss it. It was during this lockdown that our country of America was becoming more united than ever. It was so amazing to see the stories of front-line workers doing everything they could to help our country, teachers adjusting to virtual, and so much more. I miss the feeling of everyone coming together to better the country. COVID-19 showed us as a country that we can come together if we really want to. It is scary to know that with today’s political climate, we may never be that united again.