What parts of the pandemic did you actually like or find helpful?

22 comments

1. i liked that they started cleaning places throughly in my city and added extra hand sanitizers everywhere. they should’ve been doing that before … other then that nothing. i hate masks , i hate not being able to go out with friends, hearing about it on the news everywhere was draining, the internet has now gotten worse. it suck’s

2. People wearing masks when sick, and staying home when sick. Oh and ubiquitous work from home for those who could. I spent two years not even getting a cold.

3. I was like two months pregnant when the pandemic started so I spent most of it uncomfortable and stuck indoors afraid covid would cause pregnancy complications. But I ended up being home instead of working and I put a lot of effort into myself so I could be a good mom

   I was never around kids growing up, never babysat, never changed a diaper before I got pregnant and I’m just generally kinda a mess of a person so like there was a lot to work on and learn. I read more books in those 9 months than in the 10 years prior

4. There was a lady in my town with really bad mental health problems. Nobody had seen her outside the house since she had a breakdown in 2002. Then the pandemic hit and she started going on walks around the empty town with her husband. I really liked that.

5. We built a really solid home gym set up. I ended up gaining just shy of 15 pounds of lean muscle over the time spent at home. I look better at 33 than I ever did in my 20s

6. Hand sanitizer everywhere, wearing a mask that would hide my facial expression or if I had lettuce in my teeth after lunch), many things going digital or remote (for example, able to take the GRE and a certification exam at home), not getting sick for two years.

7. I would say the insight into how poorly the schools are run, forcing changes. Also, the pressure from companies to come into work sick doesn’t seem to be there as much anymore.

8. The streets were quiet. It was nice not having someone crazy screaming on the corner every other day.

9. The advancement of treatment for FIP (feline infectious peritonitis, a type of coronavirus in cats). Before the pandemic came along, FIP was pretty much fatal. But now, as a result of the pandemic, drugs that can be used to treat FIP are legal (in the uk at least) and cats are surviving many years after a diagnosis.

10. The fact that everyone was in the same situation. People were checking in on everyone, nobody was left out of things like the zoom activities that everyone took part in. Now everyone is (rightly) bush with their own lives we’ve lost that again.

11. I liked how I didn’t need to go to large venues with crowds like convention centers or restaurants. I prefer getting takeout and eating at home or the park. And I haven’t gotten a cold or the flu in 3 years and never had COVID thankfully.

12. I really liked having my kids home for an extra 3 months

13. Things being accessible online. I really enjoyed the sermons of this one pastor near my university, but wasn’t able to attend that church after moving away. Now they have a youtube channel and I can watch whenever I want.

    With online lectures, being able to replay certain videos to review was also helpful.

    And the possibility to work from home is also really nice.

14. The first winter of quarantine was the first winter of my life I didn’t spend constantly getting sick. I know it’s not quite as effective if everybody’s not doing it, but I’m going to stick to masking in public, sanitizing, and extra hand washing every winter from now on.

    I also loved telemedicine visits. Some of my doctors are still doing them, but others have stopped.

15. I had the unique opportunity to live alone during the pandemic.

    Spending a lot of time alone really helps you learn to do things truly for yourself and not for others.

16. Telehealth appointments. So convenient!

17. Working from home

18. My relationship with my now husband (then boyfriend) benefited substantially. We had just moved to a new town about a month into 2020 (only having lived together for 6mo before the move) so our social life was null and the transition crazy. But, we were forced to spend all our time together and we adopted our two cats. It was honestly some of the best days in our relationship up until that point. It was like marriage boot camp and we came out so much stronger.

19. Takeout margaritas

20. Not having to commute to work and therefore gaining an extra 15 hours of me time each week was pretty amazing.

    I also liked the quiet streets – I don’t think I’d realised how stressed out the pace of London had made me. I went for some amazing long walks along the river during that time and barely saw another soul. It felt magical, and I don’t think it’ll happen again.

21. I divorced my husband very early in the pandemic, and the pandemic gave me a lot of quiet space to regroup and work through some big stuff.

    I found the space for introspection and creativity in the pandemic, and I needed that for strength and healing.

    I learned patience, and how to slow down.

    I eventually started dating someone who required my patience and slowness, and I may not have been able to offer that previously because I was so amped and triggered all the time. More importantly I needed patience and slowness to deal with myself as well.

    I’m a better person on the other side of the pandemic, and my life is more intentional and loving.

22. I liked that people socially distanced. I liked going to the grocery store when they’d only let a set number of people in at a time. I liked not being sick for 3 years because we were all masking up and I didn’t even catch a cold. I liked the solitude.