We Survived 2020, In 2021 We’ll Still Hold On

 Oyez, Oyez, Oyez! The already rigorous tide cannot be changed, therefore we must swim against the waves of despair for the duration of these grueling and arduous times. Not a soul was ever prepared for the health crisis that overshadowed all of our plans and dreams which have been doomed since the beginning of this gobbledygook lockdown. Nonsense, did I just say? How insufferable was I to have fingers that could type such obnoxiousness in this testimony of my advice to the general public whom are currently reading this per se, genteel treatise. Let me unwrap my statements of support in a fashion that majority of my beloved addressees would reasonably be au fait with.

    Welcome to the 21st century, a time where everybody desperately wants to be a social media influencer and where people spend about an hour sitting on the toilet with their smartphones held tight in their grasp. Humanity has already been stuck in a trance with the internet and technology even before the Coronavirus pandemic even threatened to wipe the human race as quick as the stock of toilet paper became scarce in the market in 2020. It must be right to say that majority of us made the whole situation much like a laughing stock at first, but COVID-19 will never be a title of another comedy film. It all started in China which then spread to parts of Asia, and the rest of the world followed suit like this virus was a trend that our friends and family would always see on Facebook or TikTok. Well, it did become quite a big superstar when the World Health Organization announced this malignant virus as a pandemic which meant that it has affected the majority of the populaces’ respiratory and immune system, but nobody really wanted anything to do with this notorious fiend so we all locked our doors from each other. The lockdown part of this whole bad ordeal took a toll on all of our holistic selves—physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual. Nonetheless, I will be sharing some of the ways, I believe, have helped me cope with my melancholy and even my bottled up excitement during the pandemic. 

    Sadness involves itself in my daily agenda during the pandemic. Like, I would occasionally throw myself a pity party inside my room just because I have been counting my days of being cooped up in my house. I always conceptualized thoughts so negatively. I would remember doing absolutely nothing with thoughts so blank that I would ask myself, “When will this pandemic stop?” A few months of that, and I learned to adjust to what is in the now. I asked my parents and brother if they ever felt the same way, and I have had more and more meaningful conversations with them. They, too, felt saddened about the whole situation. Needless to say, I have learned to become sympathetic, patient, and understanding. The endpoint here is that no matter how much our ego wants us to be, a little bit of humility can ground us tenfold. 

    Turning eighteen during the pandemic was not something I envisioned as a little girl. Back then, I would always imagine myself magically being this secret agent-princess or a superhero, but unequivocally never have I ever imagined any chance that I would live a day so special like my eighteenth birthday locked up in my house during a pandemic. My birthday celebration was one happy moment, though never truly ruined, but it still is an occasion I see as truthfully unexpected. Honestly, to properly cope with such changes for a special day in one’s lifetime is important. I wanted to be happy, but I also caught a glimpse of the rest of the world still struggling with the virus. So I did not throw a party, nor did I invite anybody over. At the end of the day, making the right decision for the betterment of all is what’s best. 

    Opportunities come and go, and oh boy did I wish my horoscope told me other predictions for 2021 that did not say “you will have an abundance of opportunities this year, go and seek and do not be meek.” For a distasteful nonbeliever of one’s astrology forecasts, this would have just easily entered one ear and exited another. Unfortunately, it was hard for me to let go such kind compliments from such statements because I kind of believed and put into heart everything I read about my horoscope. I ventured my way among many opportunities that involved the next phase of my extraordinary life, higher studies. Now, as a graduating senior high student of the class 2020-2021, the “perfect finish” would not be something to describe an end to my taxing twelve years of my formative studies. I am grateful to anticipate my own graduation, and grateful all my other graduating comrades should be as well. Going overseas was part of my whole college choice scheme that has plagued my mind over and over since the start of 2020. Alas, chances of even catching a plane during these times must be a pain in the butt and I have recently come to an acceptance that it is best to play safe and smart. What I have learned from drooling over missed opportunities is that the best opportunities will come to all of us at the most deserving time. 

    Here lies our negative minds, our fearful thoughts, and our repugnant judgments. Let me be the one to remind you, that one day all will be well and we will be favored. I am not telling my readers this for the sake of my essay being turned into a PSA, but I am revealing my own personal experiences as to how things were—and I am enlightening what will be. This is real life, this is not a simulation. If we did successfully (or maybe barely) progressed through the hardships of 2020, why not be your own testament of surviving many challenges of both mind and body. Self-motivation will forever be the key to persistence. For now, I must bid adieu and hope the best for me and you.

💛