As February draws to an end, it’s pretty easy to reflect on where we all were this time last year. Despite the biggest events of 2020 starting at different times, most people would say the new standard of “normal” began in March. Jokes and memes about March being the never-ending month feel less funny and more real as the new year’s March is about to begin. In some ways, it feels like things haven’t changed.
Whether you loved it or hated it, practically everyone in the world underwent quarantine as a response to the unknown and fast moving COVID-19 virus. What began as a temporary solution soon became an everyday as people were finding ways to stay safe and adapt to spending more time at home. Trends on Instagram and TikTok passed in phases as people began baking bread, experimented with new hair dyes and styles and of course, binge-watched Tiger King. Along with learning new ways to entertain themselves, people were also developing the best ways to stay in touch with friends and family they may not have been able to physically see. Zoom movie nights, multiplayer games like Animal Crossing and Amongus and just standard FaceTiming were a few of the methods that a lot of people used as a way to fight the loneliness of quarantine.
Of course, this burst of trying new things, both with yourself and with your friends, can easily begin to lose its appeal as time goes on. Masks are now as necessary to an outfit as shoes or pants are. Zoom and Skype lost their fun as they turned into the apps used for college and high school classes. Not only have most reported that online school is more difficult than normal school, but it also makes the opportunity for making new friends or catching up with old ones even harder.
Feelings of restlessness, boredom and the sensation that life is passing by without you is very normal right now, and something that most people feel as well. This last year and even parts of this new year have been some of the hardest, most unexpected times in a lot of people’s lives. It’s normal to feel a little apprehensive about this upcoming March, especially after seeing how uncontrollable life really is. But remember that good things came from this time too.
A lot of people learned to focus on the people they could physically see, growing closer with immediate family, friends, or roommates. The never-ending time alone during quarantine enabled people to spend time with themselves, which is something that’s extremely important to do to learn independence. 2020/2021 has been really rough, that’s true, but it has also been a time for learning, not only about the world around us, but about ourselves. So with this upcoming March, remember to prepare for the unexpected, while also staying hopeful about what the future can bring.
