What Comes After Living Through a Global Pandemic?

Will life ever be “normal” again?

You’re awake.

You’re a bit groggy. 6 A.M. already? You feel like you just went to sleep. You snooze the alarm that will bother you again in 10 minutes because you’re not alert enough to hit the right button.

You get out of bed, complete your morning routine and get ready for work. You brush your teeth (kind of), get dressed, and grab your bag.

You get in your car and drive into work, sipping your coffee and listening to the radio along the way. The alarm goes off again and you reach over — you finally hit the right button this time so it’ll stop bothering you.

You’re half-listening to the radio, half-overthinking what you need to do for the day.

You finally arrive at your building, pull into the parking lot, and un-click your seatbelt. You feel it slide across your chest, freeing you from the vehicle. You reach to grab your bag when you realize — your car is the only one in the lot.

Where is everyone?

Your mind races. It covers hundreds of possibilities in seconds —

A bank holiday?

Is it Sunday?

Daylight saving time?

Is everyone sick? — Oh wait.

You… forgot.

You’re working from home until further notice.

In most places across the world right now, there’s a strong chance you’re reading this from home. You might even be on a mobile device outside in an effort to:

• Soak up some sun
• Get some exercise
• Keep sane — if that’s even possible

If you’re considered essential, you might even be reading it on your break.

If everything went back to “normal” tomorrow, what would you do?

Many places are going back to a new level of normal by following safer-at-home or social distancing measures instead of stay-at-home or shelter-in-place.

Is it going to be exactly how it was once we phase out of that, too?

Today my friend asked me “Do you want it to stay like this for a while? Do you feel like we’re not ready to go back? …Not from a health standpoint, but just… to stay like this for a bit?”

Hearing that question sort of made me feel like I was in a giant department store at night with all the lights turned off — you get to do whatever you want within that space, but there’s only so much you can do.

This is most definitely not a novelty — but in a dark way, it kind of is. When on earth would we ever have imagined that we’d spend a very, very long metaphorical night in the department store called 2020?

I thought about my response to her question and couldn’t quite come up with a solid answer — because I think in a weird way, a lot of people need to work through some things right now. It’s different for everyone, but it’s there all the same.

I’m not sure how to keep doing this, but I’m also not sure how to leave.

I can’t imagine going to school and teaching a class full of kids at one time with who knows what flying around in the air, with 30 voices at once, with 100’s of kids in the halls. I miss them — but I can’t imagine how I’ll do it.

I also can’t imagine going to the grocery store without a strict list, without waiting outside, unmasked and unhurried — leisurely shuffling around the store deciding what I want.

How does one picture any part of normal life after this?

Will you be the same person when you go back?

We’ve experienced a “once-in-a-lifetime” global crisis. My 88 year-old grandmother is still shocked on a daily basis, and she lived through World War II and everything since.

It’s kind of like when you skip a Friday to go to a weekend event out-of-town, but so did everyone else, and you all texted each other while trying to get work done anyway.

Is everything the same on the next Monday as it was on the previous Thursday?

Try that, but times…COVID-19.

You can go back, but you won’t be exactly the same — but who will you be?

More importantly, who will you choose to be?

You have a chance to re-invent yourself. Like a very strange, apocalyptic 1980’s teen movie, you can come back from this as a new person.

It might be melancholy.

It might be solemn.

It might not feel okay to do this because of everything that’s happened.

It might feel selfish.

You know what? It’s not.

It’s not selfish because by re-thinking who you are, you’re leading by example that mental and physical health does matter.

It is important. It’s something you can do right now, even if it feels scratchy.

The catch is that… only you can do it.

There should not be a stigma that doing well for yourself means you’re not doing something for society.

It’s exactly the opposite.

By actively thinking about who you will be on the other side of this by processing it now is so incredibly healthy.

It’s scary, and it might be easier to block it out — but giving it a couple minutes of your time will help you think of what you can do now to prepare yourself for who you want to be.

Do you want to:

• Be 10 pounds lighter?
• Write every day?
• Improve your relationships?
• Read a book that you’ve been putting off for…years?
• Learn to cook a new recipe?
• Start a new habit, like writing in a journal or not twisting your hair?
• Clean out your closet (even though you really don’t want to?)
• Learn a few phrases in a new language?
• Create a better routine so that when you do go back, it feels good?
• Learn how to ride a unicycle?

Everyone is saying we have all of this time, but somehow it feels busier than ever.

Looking at the list might be overwhelming, but it can start with the little things:

• Set a timer once an hour to get up and walk around instead of sitting in your chair for 4 hours straight by accident
• Start writing notes of ideas that pop into your head on your phone… they’ll add up
• Text the person you’ve been thinking about
• Read a few pages before bed each night
• Buy ingredients for your recipe at the store next time you go

Just… start something. Spark that fire. Stoke the flame.

You’d be amazed at how much you’ll feel with even a small bit of change — and what it will spark for you in the grand scheme of life.

Right now none of us can see anything but the next day’s horizon, but imagine what a strong, resilient, curious, determined person you’ll be when you go back to normal — whatever that looks like.

Thank you for reading!

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