I never imagined I’d live to see the world ground to a standstill. The world as we know has changed. Since a few months ago, we have entered into a new normal – social distancing, mandatory wearing of masks, distance learning, working from home, etc. In consequence, the world economy came crashing down, families broke apart, mental health issues arisen, lifelong plans fell through…
It has been a tough first quarter of 2020 and we are rolling into the second quarter with more questions than answers. There is still no cure discovered against Covid-19 and there are speculations of a second wave. Sometimes, I still find myself perplexed regarding the strategies implemented by each country’s government to alleviate the repercussion of the pandemic but that’s a whole another debacle.
Flights were cancelled, meetings were postponed, restaurants were shut, gatherings were prohibited, shops were closed, everyone’s locked down or worse, apart. Nevertheless, everyone’s on the same boat and had a fair share of this global dilemma. But while I spent a fair amount of lockdown time in 2 countries, just like tons of people, I realized there are lessons that I learned the hard way during this pandemic giving me the opportunity to see things from another perspective.
- Family plays an important role for my sanity
The crisis of the pandemic has reminded me how important family is. Today, I no longer run against time or turn to see the clock in the monotony of a world that competes for everything. Today, I am only concerned with knowing that my loved ones are healthy and safe. I have become more human, more sensitive, and loving. My family, especially my husband, gives me the strength I needed to get through this difficult time and I am forever grateful for all the things my family has done for me to keep me at ease while I struggled with my inner demons.
- Save for the rainy days
The pandemic has not only hit the world health-wise but as well as everyone’s pockets. Savings are crucial, now more than ever. And, I am glad I listened to my husband on how to protect my income. Now, I know very well that my mindset, spending patterns, and behaviors, all affect my financial management. While I can’t give up traveling completely, I have resorted to significant measures to save some money, make smart investments and have something on the side when difficult times like this arise. Remember, there is always a reason to save, even more so in times where the economic outlook is not very encouraging.
- Never set anything in stone when traveling
The pandemic has taught me that things can change very quickly and without any warning. So, the only best way to keep traveling is to be flexible. I learned to prepare for any changes in our travel plans even down to the last minute. So, when such an emergency happens, I can easily cancel the trip and come back home safely or reroute it to some place safe. This is how we ended up in New Zealand instead of Papua New Guinea. I couldn’t imagine ourselves stuck in PNG where accommodations cost an arm due to the scarcity of it.
- Peel your eyes for the latest, reliable news
We are living in such a period where we get lots of fake news especially on the pandemic matters. Eventually, it can misguide us. It is always important to be informed and updated. It is advisable to stay away from fake news, rumors, and to make every effort to keep yourself informed and up to date from multiple genuine sources. This helps a lot with the decision making.
Ultimately, this pandemic has taught me to re-center my priorities. I will never be the same. The way I see the world, travel, consummation, solidarity and my mental health has taken another level. This global crisis made it clear to me that we are all vulnerable, especially the elderly, people with underlying health problems, and people with few financial resources. However, caring for each other altruistically has led us on a path of solidarity the world has never seen before. It served as a wake up call for people who were stuck in a rut, or those who were procrastinating to make things happen. It served as a sign for some people to make life altering decisions to make their lives better.
I know it is deeply horrifying and disheartening to lose a great portion of the world population against this pandemic, however, in another perspective, it encouraged me to take a step closer towards my goals, my dreams, my aspirations.
It made me cherish the borrowed time that I have in this world.
It made me appreciate the people who were there for me when I needed them the most.
It made me grateful just to be alive.
Travelosio 
Great points! The pandemic has brought a lot of life lessons for many people.
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The pandemic has made us all rethink what we took for granted. Thank you for sharing
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Indeed, it is time to rethink our priorities and focus on what really matters in our life.
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The pandemic taught me that I don’t enjoy cooking AT ALL lol
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Unfortunately, it left us no choice but to cook for ourselves because the restaurants are close in some places…
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Great post and you’re right, we’ve learned a lot from this pandemic! I now love cooking and working out, who knew?
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Good on you! It’s great to find new passions in difficult times like this. Keep it going!
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Hope this pandemic ends soon! I am lucky that i live with my parent, i would have gone crazy if i was living alone
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Good for you, it’s good to be surrounded by people you love.
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These are all great lessons. In fact, this pandemic is really teaching us a lot of things. I just hope that we come out wiser and better humans from this…
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Hopefully so. Unfortunately, we can’t deny the truth that there are bad things happening due to the pandemic.
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These are all great points. This time of pandemic, I also have a lot to realize and teaching us a lot of thing. Hope the everything gets to normal. I really missed everything.
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In due time, everything will be back to… almost normal? I guess and hope.
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“Peel your eyes for the latest, reliable news”
Amen! I just go to one news source that I can trust and I know they are reliable. But, I also learn not to take in too much news. I don’t even watch the news every day now.
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Sometimes, not reading the news can help us keep our mental balance but it is still advisable to keep ourselves updated from time to time so as to prepare us for may come.
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This pandemic I realize a lot of things that money doesn’t matter if you don’t have a healthy life you cannot buy whatever you want because of limited. Then also not what you see and what you heard it’s true just like posting fake news on social media.
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Exactly, health is wealth after all…
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The pandemic has made appreciate a lot of things that we took for granted. Thank you for sharing, hope everything gets back to normal.
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Indeed, we must look at what and who we have to appreciate things. Hoping for soonest recovery of the world.
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Wish this were fake news hit me here because this covid has caused a lot of trouble to everyone yet it made us really learn a lot too
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Unfortunately, covid is not some fake news. With its economic and health impacts, one can only wish it were.
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True! Family will be our number 1 support when it comes to preserving our sanity. And indeed, we should always be aware of fake news.
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It’s good to be surrounded by people we love and love us.
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absolutely agreeing to all your 4 lessons learnt above, also remind myself savings remain important no matter what
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Savings are what’s going to help us get back to our feet due to the economic repercussions of this crisis.
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Thanks for sharing this very informative post about what you learned during this Pandemic.
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Hey Sarah! I hope you’re well. The pandemic is an eye-opener for the world. And I agree that family indeed plays a important role in keeping us sane. I live in my own home but after the second week, my siblings and I decided to move back temporarily to our parents’. Hoping for a better day ahead. Love the article. ❤
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Good move. It’s great to have a support system around us especially in this difficult time.
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I agree. 🙂
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Such a relevant post. Even I have understood the value of Family. I am all alone and my family is in another state, I wish I were with them.
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It can be scary to be alone in this time but sometimes we have to be strong and brave it through.
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Saving for a rainy day is already my lifestyle for years. Maybe before I’ve experienced tough times before, and in the Philippines, there are always (literally) rainy days and typhoons.
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It helps to be prepared for adversity that will come.
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I have learned at we have an infinite capability to adapt when we dont have any other choice.
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Indeed, we become strong when it’s our only option.
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I would definitely say my lessons on COVID are pretty much similar. Especially on family and saving for rainy days.
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These two are probably the most common yet sometimes we take them for granted or neglect them. This pandemic definitely is a wake up call for all of us.
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The pandemic gives us many things to ponder, and made us appreciate more all simple things.
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