When thinking back to the year that it has been living under the pandemic there are definitely a lot of positives and negatives that come to mind. To begin with, the hardest part about this past year was getting used to the new way of life. A year ago, I was forced to go back home after living in the City College dorms for seven months of my freshman year. Having to go back home to an environment that I had intentionally escaped in order to work on my mental health, going back home felt like a huge step back in the progress I thought I had made. However, after months of being in quarantine, it showed me that I am only stronger than I thought I was. After a couple of months of working hard I was once again able to move out of my house, this time more prepared than the first time around.
Considering myself a very sociable individual, having to be indoors was definitely something that I struggled with. Even just having to study on my own was a challenge itself. In the past, I had made my room a place made for only rest and hanging out. I have suffered from insomnia in the past which is why I would intentionally do school work in libraries and cafes so my body naturally associated my room with only rest and free time.
Quarantine, however, did help me become closer to my true friends and have a stronger relationship with my siblings and mom. Although at first we were all thrown together, in the end, we were able to understand each other so much better and have a deeper connection. Additionally, I did lose some friends who did not understand that this pandemic was bigger than them and that by staying home they were only helping save lives. In retrospect, however, I see this as a positive.
Being forced to be home for those couple of months did allow me to relax and take some time for myself. I was able to for the first time in years just focus on my studies and not have to worry about going to work and paying bills. It made me realize that I did not always need to be so busy all the time and taught me to be ok with being by myself at times.
