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Abstract

ve been mandatory attire here for almost two months now, I still have to actively remind myself to make sure I’m carrying one with me at all times when I’m out in public.Another thing I’ve noticed a considerable change in is my attitude towards groups of people gathering together.Here in Ontario, we are currently allowed to have a social circle of 10 people. That means that we don’t need to stay six feet apart from those within that social bubble. Yet the idea of social distancing is so ingrained in me at this point that any time I see people standing too close together, it makes me uncomfortable.I honestly hate feeling this way. Humans are inherently social beings — we need that connection with other people to thrive. That should be our normal.What’s even stranger to me is watching tv shows or movies made before the pandemic happened. My first reaction every time seems to be “they’re standing too close to each other” or “they’re not wearing masks.” These observations tell me one thing — I have accepted our current way of life as the new normal. Anything that doesn’t fit into that perspective feels strange to me now.<h2 id="8b00">Burnout</h2>We’ve been dealing with this current pandemic for roughly six months now. In that time, I have watched people’s behaviors slowly adapt. They are more actively aware of germs. They are sanitizing everything much more frequently. Most people are more hesitant to be in close physical proximity to others. Grocery shopping used to be a fun, leisurely activity, but no

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w it’s just a necessity to be accomplished as quickly as possible.The biggest thing I’ve noticed at this point is that people are tired. Everyone is over all of the rules and restrictions put in place over the last few months. They are yearning to bring back concerts, parties, and any other number of large social gatherings.I get it. I’m tired of it too.We all understand and support the restrictions, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have our breaking points.However, just because we’re fast approaching (if we haven’t already surpassed), the burnout stage doesn’t mean we can give up and go back to the old normal. These rules and restrictions were put in place for a reason — to stop the virus from spreading so quickly that it overruns our hospitals. We’re doing something right because this has not happened yet. Our overall case numbers have remained low in comparison to other countries.I think the biggest question that needs answering is this:Will we ever go back to our old way of life, or is this new normal going to be permanent?Unfortunately, we’re not equipped to answer that question yet. We don’t know what the future holds or how this will all play out. All we can do is wait and see.I, for one, will try to remain positive. I’m hopeful that someday soon, we will be able to look back on this virus as a distant memory. Hopefully, our lives will also regain some sense of our old normalcy.Frankly, the Universe owes us one.</article></body>

Welcome to the Pandemic Life

How living through a global pandemic has altered our perception of “normal.”

Remember New Year’s Eve in 2019?

Everyone thought the idea of entering the year 2020 was going to be fabulous. I remember a friend saying, “how cool is it that we’re going to be living in the 20s?” We were expecting things to shift and exciting things to happen.

I guess it’s true what they say though — be careful what you wish for.

I don’t think anyone was truly prepared for what 2020 had in store. It feels like there’s this dividing line that exists now. There’s the “before COVID times” and the “after COVID times.”

There is no denying that life as we knew it has entirely changed at this point.

The only question is, will these changes be permanent?

Is this the new normal?

Before the pandemic hit this year, the checklist for leaving your house included things like keys, wallet, purse. Now we’ve also added things like hand sanitizer and masks to the list. These have become essential items that we must make sure we have before leaving the house. Even though face coverings have been mandatory attire here for almost two months now, I still have to actively remind myself to make sure I’m carrying one with me at all times when I’m out in public.

Another thing I’ve noticed a considerable change in is my attitude towards groups of people gathering together.

Here in Ontario, we are currently allowed to have a social circle of 10 people. That means that we don’t need to stay six feet apart from those within that social bubble. Yet the idea of social distancing is so ingrained in me at this point that any time I see people standing too close together, it makes me uncomfortable.

I honestly hate feeling this way. Humans are inherently social beings — we need that connection with other people to thrive. That should be our normal.

What’s even stranger to me is watching tv shows or movies made before the pandemic happened. My first reaction every time seems to be “they’re standing too close to each other” or “they’re not wearing masks.” These observations tell me one thing — I have accepted our current way of life as the new normal. Anything that doesn’t fit into that perspective feels strange to me now.

Burnout

We’ve been dealing with this current pandemic for roughly six months now. In that time, I have watched people’s behaviors slowly adapt. They are more actively aware of germs. They are sanitizing everything much more frequently. Most people are more hesitant to be in close physical proximity to others. Grocery shopping used to be a fun, leisurely activity, but now it’s just a necessity to be accomplished as quickly as possible.

The biggest thing I’ve noticed at this point is that people are tired. Everyone is over all of the rules and restrictions put in place over the last few months. They are yearning to bring back concerts, parties, and any other number of large social gatherings.

I get it. I’m tired of it too.

We all understand and support the restrictions, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have our breaking points.

However, just because we’re fast approaching (if we haven’t already surpassed), the burnout stage doesn’t mean we can give up and go back to the old normal. These rules and restrictions were put in place for a reason — to stop the virus from spreading so quickly that it overruns our hospitals. We’re doing something right because this has not happened yet. Our overall case numbers have remained low in comparison to other countries.

I think the biggest question that needs answering is this:

Will we ever go back to our old way of life, or is this new normal going to be permanent?

Unfortunately, we’re not equipped to answer that question yet. We don’t know what the future holds or how this will all play out. All we can do is wait and see.

I, for one, will try to remain positive. I’m hopeful that someday soon, we will be able to look back on this virus as a distant memory. Hopefully, our lives will also regain some sense of our old normalcy.

Frankly, the Universe owes us one.