2020 is the year that I was supposed to make up for trips I’ve missed in the last two years. I thought I started the year right when I spent a week in Dubai in February. A birthday trip to Bali, a second visit to Dubai. I had it ALL planned.
On the 16th of March, the Luzon region was placed under an enhanced community quarantine, which is effectively a total lockdown. That was the weekend I was supposed to be in Baguio with my friend, Ella. We both needed a “creative retreat”.
This is the part where I say “I’ve made plans but 2020 had other plans.”
Now what?
Obviously, the Bali trip in July isn’t happening. Aviation experts say the inconvenience of travel during the pandemic is likely to extend until 2023. Think extra hours for check-ins, disinfection in airports, and jacked up airfares.
No one can say what happens next. Things are uncertain now. Events can be frustrating.
The only thing we could expect is change.
Some of us have lost friends and loved ones to COVID-19. Others lost their jobs. Many businesses are on the brink of shutting down if they haven’t already. This pandemic taught us that life is unpredictable. One minute you are having a life, the next you could be fighting for it.
Catastrophic it is, but we can’t let loss and misfortune render us motionless and overthinking. Easier said than done but do we have a choice? Would you rather sit your ass the whole day, analyzing why you were shit-canned after five years with the company? Or you’d see it as an opportunity to start over, veering away from the same old jobs that kept you stuck.
Change, of course, is not necessarily pain-free, not to mention inevitable.
The New Normal
COVID-19 has left thousands unemployed and struggling. We keep hearing nowadays “brace for the new normal”. The term actually refers to a financial crisis following a global recession. This time, it refers to the aftermath of the virus outbreak.
To me, the new normal means a change of perspective and attitude. In a world where people are judged according to social and financial status, perhaps this pandemic is a reality check. It reminds us that we are no better than anybody else. The virus does not distinguish between rich and poor, the educated and the unschooled, or the able-bodied and the handicapped.
I came across the story of Thai actor Amp Pheerawas online. His paid appearances and filmings were canceled during the lockdown. He wasted no time. Amp worked as a Grab delivery driver while Thailand’s lockdown was in effect. No egos, no entitlements, just low key. He simply decided to survive.
Two months of quarantine made me appreciate home-cooked meals, eight hours of sleep, and decluttering my closet. Life, really, doesn’t need to be grand. You just need to embrace even its mundane moments. The lockdown proved to us that we don’t need weekend Starbucks meet-ups just to keep our friends. Group chats can be fun too. Sunday trips to fancy restaurants aren’t necessary to bond with family. This pandemic reminds us that going back to basics also means living your best life.
Source: Pexels
Thank you, this is such a good reminder of what this time has given us instead of only what it’s taken away. It caused me to realize the things that I enjoyed and what parts of it I could do without if it came down to it. In some sense, it brought more peace to my hectic everyday life.