I want to talk a little bit about this global pandemic that we are going through.
I started writing this now - 1:17 pm - July 3rd, 2020.
The quarantine started at the beginning of March. So that's 3 - 4 months ago. Don't get me wrong, I didn't stay at home, because I was working all the time. I didn't stop. So this is not to complain about "staying home." This is to talk about the advantages of quarantine.
I got to know myself better. I renewed my beliefs in many, many things.
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Then I stopped there.
Now, at 7:00 pm - December 20th, 2020, I'm going back to this post with more variables at hand. To talk about the changes that we have been through and the events that had happened this year.
First of all, the reason that makes me say in the subject it's "the experience of a lifetime" is that it is. Whether you know it or not. Whether it's a negative experience or a positive one. So many weird things have happened this year. The type of things that one day you will tell your grandchildren, and they will be in awe by what they are hearing.
For most people, the pandemic's painful thing wasn't the quarantine itself as much as not knowing anything. Not knowing the when of it all. No specific date for the normal life that we were used to before this whole thing started.
This year, the year of 2020, has been very odd. It seems to represent a different thing for every single person differently.
When I go around asking people, what do you think of the year 2020? Was it a good year, was it a bad one, or was it just simply neither? A year like any other?
And the most interesting part of this is that I get a completely different answer from each person I ask—even my own family, who live (almost) the same life, under the same roof.
Some people say that it is the worst year they have been through because they either lost a relative, a loved one, or lost a work opportunity or any other personal reasons.
Some say that it is one of the best because they got to stay home with their families more, had the time to learn new things that they wanted to learn for a long time, because they met their life-partner because of the pandemic, or even had a wake-up call towards their health and what better things they could do to take care of it, and many other reasons that I myself will share in a few paragraphs.
Others have said that the year 2020 was no different than any other year because they're not much of travels, or that nothing serious had affected them personally or anyone close to them - praise be to Allah.
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For me, personally, the year 2020 has taught me so many things.
I am very thankful for being safe and to have all my loved ones safe and well.
I had spent more time self-reflecting and learning how many opportunities I wasted when everything was open and available for me to explore. And, oddly enough, that's not a bad thing. The word "wasted" could be interpreted as a negative thing, but here, it's not. It's actually a very positive word for me in this specific context.
Because learning about those things, and getting that wake-up call, made me get up and make something of what I have got. It made me stand on my own two feet and take action towards my goals to go a step further towards my life ambitions.
Moreso, it made me go through more life experiences than I ever did before the pandemic.
The time I spent self-reflecting has helped me realize my worth more. Had made know who do I need to remove from my life to detoxify it. To be healthier: emotionally, mentally, and energetically.
I gained weight during this pandemic (which I'm planning on losing because it's unhealthy). But I have also gotten a lot more confident. Learned how to stand up tall and proud. Learned to embrace my differences. Learned to appreciate the person that I am.
I met new people. I became closer to some of the ones I know and a lot more distant from others.
I learned to make my own decisions without letting anyone affect them. And, hopefully, a few months from now, I will be able to write about those decisions that I so proudly made.
During the pandemic, I went down low, and I went up high. I laughed, and I cried. I learned to be more thankful for the smallest of things.
I learned that there are many wonderful things in my country that I didn't know we had before. So many choices available for us to experience.
Last but not least, a month and a half ago, I officially turned 28. I am officially 28, walking my way to 29. And I had the most beautiful day I could have ever imagined that day.
With my closest friends. November 9th of the year 2020 was a day filled with laughter and joy.
My birthdays are normally just fine - but this one was special, and I am very thankful to have spent it close to the people I love.
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Now it's 6:00 pm - December 21st, 2020.
Last night, we learned that the pandemic/travel restrictions will continue at least for the first two weeks of January 2021. Some speculate that the pandemic will continue until the middle of March 2021. (Which would make it a year since the quarantine has started)
And the thought alone that we were promised that we will be able to at least travel by the beginning of 2021, and then get that taken away from us, is extremely frustrating.
However, now that people have gone through the experience, they know what measures they need to take and what they could use or do best to occupy their time.
May we all spend this added time wisely.
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The most important lesson of 2020, which I think is something that everybody agrees on:
Never take anything or anyone for granted.
Because it's safe to say that nobody ever thought in their wildest dreams (or nightmares) that any of this would happen. You never know what might happen in life. You never know what is hidden in the future.
And you should always, always, appreciate the things you have between your hands - here and now. Because the happiness and pleasures of life are found where least expect it to be; within yourself.
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I hope from the bottom of my heart that everyone (reading this or not) is safe and well.
Be safe.
Take care of yourself. Mentally, emotionally, and physically.
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Yours truly,
Lulwah
