Considering the Past, Present, and Future During the Quarantine Days
Hello Dear Reader, I hope you and your loved ones are and will stay healthy and happy during this pandemic-crisis.
I thought about what to write for a long time and decided to confront what I have on my mind: I am thinking and evaluating my past, present, and future during these “new-normal” quarantined days and will elaborate on each shortly. I aim to make you evaluate yourself questioning what you believe in and what you are planning to do about the rest of your life.
It is not an easy objective to achieve, but I will try to do that by sharing my thoughts and feelings with you. Consequently, I would be happy if this writing helps you to think about your past, present, and future also.
THE PRESENT
When we think about the present, it is not easy to ignore the Coronavirus nowadays. It has become a part of our lives and shapes how we live.
What is happening throughout the world in terms of Coronavirus?
As an analytical person, I will examine the Coronavirus, statistically:
As we all know, this pandemic first started in China and then spread all over the world. However, when we look at the total cases; 70% of all proven cases are experienced in North America (35%), and European countries (35%) but as of May 4, 2020, only 4% of them are experienced in China and India combined[1], which constitutes 36% of the total world population.[2]
Has this situation resulted from China's and India's governments’ great political and social measures towards COVID-19? Or are these two states not transparent enough to disclose the real numbers? These are two important questions. I believe they need to be answered. Transparency about the coronavirus statistics is a responsibility not just for China and India, but for every state in this borderless and distance-less world, after all.
Secondly, the ratio of total deaths to total cases demonstrates a significant point for us: European countries show a substantially higher death ratio in terms of total infection case numbers. You can see some of the exemplified countries below:
This can be explained in many ways such as; easiness of traveling between European countries which led quick spread among the countries, the intensity of elderly population in European countries which causes high mortality rates (10–16%) resulted from Coronavirus in many of the European countries, compared to the World Average (7%).[3] Furthermore, taking relatively late political and social actions may also count as one of the reasons for failure to prevent the quick spread of infection throughout the continent. There may be many other reasons, however, it is what it is in Europe now, and the situation is not better in the USA which has 1/3 of all cases in the world.
What we are doing in quarantine nowadays?
Besides my daily working life, I am exercising at home, walking around the neighborhood when allowed, reading books, watching movies/TV series every day, videoconferencing as much as possible with my family members and friends, thinking about the importance of time in all lives. Nowadays, I started thinking about the importance of time even more. I asked myself: “Are you satisfied with what you have done in your life up until today? Are you satisfied with how you are living now? What are your “must-dos” in the future?”. Our current way of living led me to think about my past and future.
THE PAST
When I consider my past, I prefer to refer to the last decade, from 2010 to 2020, if you are older than me, you may want to adjust the time for yourself to see what have you experienced in a certain period.
Relativity of Time
10 years is a very long and a very short time, and this thin line between them changes based on your perspective. It is very long when you consider what have you done, and what were your milestones of the last decade. On the other hand, feels like a very short period when you realize your favorite team’s last success in Europe was 20 years ago, your favorite movie’s release date was 2001, or your baby cousin turned to 15 years old.
In other words, while you achieve some things in your personal life, the outer world does not stop counting, and evolving either just as you do. Time does not stop passing while you are dealing with your daily routines. “Relativity of time” is the name I use to explain how we describe the very same period (10 years) as both long and short.
What did I do in the last decade?
10 Years is long as we mention, but even longer going from 19 to 29 as I have.
· I voted in an election for the first time in my life.
· I went abroad, traveled, and lived outside of Turkey for the first time in my life.
· I fell in love for the first time in my life.
· I graduated from University.
· I got my first job.
· I got married.
· I graduated from my second University and got a MA Degree.
· I completed my compulsory military service.
· I changed my job and felt much closer to accomplish myself.
Now, I would like to make you think about your milestones of the last decade (2010–2020), by asking the same question to yourself: “What did I do in my life in the last decade?”
THE FUTURE
What am I planning to do in the next decade?
I am planning to fulfill my desires. and live out my dreams. My desires refer to what I want to do or to have in my life. How much time I spare and how much effort I would show for each, varies from one to another. For example, I would like to learn a new language, to play a new instrument, to improve myself in chess, and to learn more about my profession. Achieving in all these is totally up to my ambition, capacity, and time.
However, my dreams are more subject to external factors, and they are not dependent on me. Some of them are; to become a mentally complete person who has inner peace, to become a flawless parent who raises a decent child, to travel all the countries around the world.
I set my desires and dreams, and I know that I will live for them.
When was the last time you thought about your plans for the next decade and the rest of your life? Don’t you think it is the right time to set your desires and dreams?
Because as I said, a decade is a very long and very short time based on how we perceive and how we live life.
[1] https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
