What Do You Miss the Most From Pre-Covid Life?

24 responses to a viral question asked on Reddit.

We’ve officially reached the point where we segment our memories and experiences between “pre-covid” or “post-covid”. Yuck!

The omicron variant has swept through the world rapidly. The good news is that the wave will disappear just as fast as it came, as we’re beginning to see with some data with South Africa, where the variant was first detected, and the UK.

However, our lives have forever changed with the pandemic. After March 2020, the way we see the world, interact with the world was severely impacted, whether folks realize it or not.

On Reddit, a viral post recently came to light with the prompt, “What do you miss the most from pre-covid?”

As of this time of writing, the post received over 33,000 comments, 54,000 upvotes, and a treasure trove of nostalgic memories and grievances for our past lives.

After reading through many of the comments, I’ve compiled this article to summarize what people are saying on the Reddit thread about what they missed the most before the pandemic changed our lives.

Source: Reddit Post, Asked by u/Underneaththeshade

Making Plans

COVID has impacted our ability to be spontaneous or deliberate with our plans. Whether the plans are as detailed as making travel plans or as simple as visiting a restaurant, second-guessing and extra steps are part of the norm.

“Not being able to book things long in advance because you have no idea what the situation will be like in a handful of months. You can sure as hell buy the tickets for a gig that’s happening months from now but is it actually gonna happen when it’s supposed to? Who tf knows 🤷‍♂️”-eggshitter

“I guess I miss not having a stack of inconveniences that have to be dealt with in order to do public things. It’s not that any one inconvenience is too much, but it’s just so many little things.” -CarpeNow

“Easy travel. Pre-covid I used to head either overseas or interstate often, with minimal planning needed. I renewed my passport December 2019, so that was a unessary cost considering.”-DrakeAU

Optimism

The battle against COVID hasn’t been good on our hope for the future. Because of the pandemic, optimism for the future has been low among some people.

“Being excited about the future” -zcrnkd

“Seeing people smile or laugh.” -taraisthegreatest

My optimism for my future. -Altruismisyourfriend

Life

COVID has made it harder to live life. Some people described that life is less about living now, but merely just letting time pass by.

“Really living. This feels like just existing. I’m stuck with this overwhelming feeling of ennui. Bored with food, bored with TV, bored with social media, bored with books…😕”-theneen

“Working from home and rarely leaving the house has me losing track of time, find myself having trouble recognizing the date or day of the week.” -captvirgilhilts

“My work life is more exciting than my regular life now.” -Defias_Bandit

Routine

The pandemic has uprooted everyday life, including schedules and routines. There are day-to-day uncertainties with the pandemic, whether it’s kids getting infected at school or companies trying to get people back to the office.

“Not living in a constantly changing system. Pre-covid, everything was scheduled: School holidays, places were open to visit… But since Covid, everything that has to do with the government is constantly changing. I just miss being on stable ground.” — Elasp

“Making appointments of various kinds (medical, dental, renewing driver’s licenses and such, and especially vet appointments) seems like a huge hassle now and sometimes the next free slot is weeks/months out” -ethottly

“Not having to talk about the same damn thing all the time.” -KDsmackeroni

Perceptions of People / Society

Has the pandemic warped your perceptions of society and people, in general? For some Redditors, this couldn’t be more true. There seem to be perceptions that we’ve been faking it all along, kindness and knowledge. Has the pandemic brought out people’s true nature?

“Not feeling like society is a joke, honestly. The pandemic really hit home that we are all just making it up as we go along and no one knows what they’re doing.” -skulloflugosi

I miss the very beginning of covid when people/society were coming together (like when Disney plus was free to help boredom, and people were making make shift food pantries in their neighborhood). I feel like it quickly shifted from the pandemic bringing people together to pushing them so far apart. -IndependentRoad3

“The illusion that our society isn’t as fragile (to an extent I was aware of many issues but covid really, really brought them to light). Also some of these things I’m glad I’m aware of and that others are aware of because it can bring forth change to outdated systems. Thinking there were more compassionate intelligent people capable of critical thinking” -cactusmoosecat

Relationships

COVID has impacted our relationships greatly. Maintaining relationships through visiting family, dating, and hanging out with friends can be quite inconvenient for many people. Constant video calls haven’t been a replacement to build connections for some.

“My sister. Not seen her in person since the start as she works abroad. Sure we video chat, but 2 years is a long time to not see someone in person.” -stoatfoxbadger

“My friends. I went from the most socially active person on the planet, to a lonely asshole. Some got engaged and disappeared, lots of them went away for work, others simply disappeared and knowing new people is hard as hell nowadays, these things all happened even before, but pandemic really got them bigger. God only knows how bad I’d go back in time” -Lonely-Tumbleweed-56

“Socialization. It’s so hard to make friends right now. i feel very isolated.” -Safe_Theme_4126

Health

Mental health and physical health are critical for one’s happiness. COVID hasn’t been easy in these two areas for many folks.

“My waistline.” -millymoggymoo

“Freshman fifteen ain’t got nothing on the covid forty 🙃😖” -TarnishedGalahad

“more mild depression. i have severe depression now and getting a therapist is bassicaly impossible because everyone has depression. in addition of maybe having other mental problems… id love to have the abbility to get therapy now, instead of in 2 months, and then i go there without being accepted.” -Beneficial-Medium109

Coughing Normally

Have you felt the need to cough in public, but you worry about what people around you would think? You’re not alone.

Being able to cough in public without people looking at me like I just murdered a child.” -Cab1230

“I have chronic, but mild, reflux, irritates my throat causing me to feel the need to clear it. Every other week it’s been “is this cough the normal cough or covid?” >_<” -p75369

“Not directly thinking about the worst thing ever when I hear someone cough” -Acceptable_Arm4413

Do any of the comments made by Redditors resonate with you? Did you find relevance in what people are going through during these times?

What are some things that you miss from life before COVID? Leave your responses below!

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