HAS the pandemic changed you? I posed this question on my social media account, and out of hundreds who responded, a staggering 80 per cent confirmed that they have changed significantly as a result of the Covid-19 virus and the subsequent pandemic.
This does not surprise me at all, as I can certainly say the same about myself.
It's not just about lockdowns, which have caused me to begin having conversations with my plant, or that I am now one of those people who spends weekends at home making body oils out of boredom.
It's not even because the pandemic has forced me to watch YouTube videos on how to give myself a haircut. Which, in case you're wondering, is much harder than it looks, and I can't wait to give my hairdresser a big hug of appreciation.
More than just physical changes, I find that the past year and a half has transformed me innately, in both good and bad ways.
EYE-OPENING
I can't remember the last time I've had so much free time, with nowhere to go and no place to be. Lockdowns have presented me with a lot of open gaps in my schedule, and free time has caused me to spend more energy thinking about things.
I used to never have time to really read the news, but now it's all I do. At the same time, the pandemic has shifted our country into extreme conditions it has never faced before, and what this has done is highlight elements that may not have been glaring previously.
This haze of chaos and insecurity has opened our eyes to the capabilities of our leadership, the social gaps in society and the suffering so many Malaysians are going through.
During adversity, long overdue issues have come to light, and this, directly and indirectly, is bound to change our perspectives on environment and society.
Being stuck with what feels like an eternity of ordeals, financial challenges and isolation, would certainly negatively impact us as well. An Internet friend explained that it has caused her to lose inspiration, while another commented that he is gradually losing morale at work.
For most of us, our enthusiasm to face our workload is often motivated by the idea of some kind of reward. For example, a vacation after finishing a project, or at least a nice dinner at a good restaurant at the end of a busy week.
The inability to see light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak, causes demotivation and the inability to get much of anything done these days.
POST-PANDEMIC
What will the world look like when all of this is over? I'm not sure anyone has a full grasp of that just yet, but I can say with certainty that I will not come out of this the same.
First of all, I would certainly be more appreciative of my plant, as "he/she" has had to listen to many of my deepest and darkest secrets over the past year. But aside from that, I think that this period has forced us to see things that we have either not noticed before or chosen to not pay much attention to, like political issues, economic struggles of lower-earning communities and even the realities of immigrants within our society.
These challenging times have also caused me to rethink my priorities in life and how I perceive my career, and taught me to be more self-reliant and independent.
Mostly, it has made me realise that there were a lot of simple joys in my life that I barely appreciated until they were temporarily taken away from me — like taking a walk outside or the freedom to visit my parents whenever I wanted or sitting in a bakery with a friend while enjoying the smell of oven-fresh food. I don't think I'll take these for granted anymore after this.
