How the Coronavirus Outbreak Taught Me to Be Grateful for the Small Things
Living through a pandemic has changed my perspective.
The idea of a global pandemic shutting the world down seemed impossible. Now our new norm consists of sanitizing everything we touch, wearing masks, hanging with friends 6 ft. apart, and attending classes on Zoom.
We are living through history as COVID-19 continues to impact all aspects of our lives. It shut down all in person contact whether it be at businesses, universities, restaurants or beaches. By the time we accepted the severity of the virus it was too late.
According to The New York Times article from May 5th, 2020, “Coronavirus in America now looks like this: More than a month has passed since there was a day with fewer than 1,000 deaths from the virus” and strict stay at home restrictions. “Almost every day, at least 25,000 new coronavirus cases are identified, meaning that the total in the United States is expanding by between 2 and 4 percent daily.”
All this time at my house in California makes me appreciate what really matters in life. Before the pandemic, I took for granted the small things like spending time with my family and walking my dog. The virus took away fun distractions outside of the house, like restaurants and parties. With strict stay at home restrictions I was forced to adapt and create a new norm. And because of that I’ve learned how lucky I am.
It made me realize how social interactions (whether they be 6 ft. apart) are more intimate than ever before. We may have to keep a distance and refrain from touching each other, but the constant noise from the outside world is eliminated. Getting out of the house for an hour to sit across from my friend on her driveway is the most important part of my day.
“Millions of Californians answered the call to stay home and thanks to them, we are in a position to begin moving into our next stage of modifying our stay at home order,” California Governor Newsom said an official statement.
I don’t know if I’m ready for California to slowly turn back to normal because a guilty part of me has enjoyed the quiet time. My self-isolation made me see that the necessities I have are blessings. I started to value on a deeper level the nature that surrounds me, the roof over my head, and my alone time.
Sitting alone in my room makes me appreciate the time I allow my mind to recharge. It also makes me think about my friend who is a personal trainer and is financially affected by this. Also, my friend’s mom who lost her job. The shutdown of the economy is affecting the community that I live in. Although it may not affect me personally, it affects the people I care about.
The Daily’s “Voices of The Pandemic Podcast” sheds light on all the people who are struggling due to the global crisis. “We lost our job, so she just went ahead and went and that put me in my car with my cat,” Donna Danahy said.
I feel this sense of guilt because I’ve been fortunate enough to quarantine in a house with my family while other people are seriously struggling. I haven’t been naive to this and I know this has been going on long before COVID-19 but this free time is giving me the motivation to do something about it.
I want to support the people in my community because I’ve never felt closer to them than I do right now. The coronavirus is affecting us all, so it is up to us to work together to help each other out. I am doing as much as I can to check on friends, stay at home, and wear a mask. Sometimes even the smallest things help.
