As I sat down to write this column, trapped in my house and still feeling the sting of the email that Stevens sent out last week solidifying the rest of our semester online, I struggled to find anything to say about this whole ordeal. It just feels like every time I open social media, things are getting worse. People try to make memes and TikToks to make it all a little less insane, but that can only distract people for so long. One thing I keep noticing is posts about all the things we’re going to do once quarantine is done, all the get-togethers we’re going to have, and things we’re going to do. And that’s when I realized… maybe after all this, we’re going to be thankful we got stuck in quarantine.
Now, for those that are severely affected by the coronavirus, I want to be sure not to downplay their symptoms or effects. This is an extremely serious issue that has the possibility of permanently changing the lives of people around us. But what I do want to address is the vast majority of Americans that will be able to go back to life when all this is over. I keep finding myself saying that I can’t wait for things to go back to “normal” and it’s going to be nice when I can have “normal” classes again. To be honest, though, I’m not sure things are going to feel normal again after this. I’m not sure things are going to feel normal for a long time — and that may not be a bad thing.
After being in quarantine for so long, we’re all going to appreciate life so much more than we did before. Every time we get to hug our friends, go out to see a movie, or even just hang out in a group is going to feel like a treat. We’re probably going to keep hand-sanitizing and washing our hands like crazy out of habit, but there’s going to be so many opportunities to do things that we couldn’t do for so long. It won’t be so chaotic at supermarkets, malls will be open again, and everyone is going to want to do as much as possible. It’s going to be a huge celebration of all the things we love and enjoy. Not only that, but it’s going to feel even more special because of all the time we spent trapped inside.
The other side effect of all this is the strength of our bonds with friends and family. Not too long ago, I wrote about a “near-death” experience I had at Stevens that allowed me to really identify who my true friends are. Now, we’re all getting that chance to see who’s closest in our lives. Because we’re all going through these stressful and potentially dangerous times together, we’re forced to rely on each other. By the end of this, we’re going to see who our true friends are, as they’re the ones who will have gotten us through this tough time.
So, while this quarantine absolutely sucks, make sure that we don’t forget this happened. When all this is over, it’s going to help us appreciate so much more of our lives (and the people in them) than we did before.
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