The pandemic has been quite the experience, huh? I experienced a range of emotions throughout this whole time, from worry and concern to frustration and irritability to more recently, hope and excitement. No one could have predicted the journey of 2020 and 2021, and I think that’s what caused so much anxiety amongst us as a people.
It felt like it took a really long time for us to arrive at this place where we can start living somewhat “normally” – on the other hand, when I stop and think about it, it’s pretty incredible that we were able to understand the virus and develop a scientific solution to it in less than two years. We’ll continue to feel like the effects of COVID-19 in various ways for the years to come, but for now, while I write this from my Manhattan apartment, I’m enjoying myself for the first time in months. I’m seeing friends more often, and I’m doing activities that I hadn’t done in over a year, like attend concerts, go to bars, and experience indoor activities.
While these restrictions that are lifted are providing people hope and the reminder that our lives are close to going on as normal, it’s still important to be safe and think carefully with everything you do. Even though I’m fully vaccinated, I still bring a mask with me wherever I go because I know that some people have varying comfort levels. I know some people that are not vaccinated, and I know people that have contracted COVID even AFTER they received their vaccination. In other words, it never hurts to be extra cautious. Here are a few recommendations that I can share with you as a fellow New Yorker.
1. Keep bringing protection
Again, even though I’m vaccinated, I still always have my mask on me. When I go into stores, most still require that you wear a mask. I’ll wear my mask in a restaurant until I’m seated at my table. I also always carry around my sanitizer – I know that we, as a world, started to take cleanliness and hygiene to a new level when this all started, and that should be something that we continue when it’s all over. You have one body – please do what you can to protect it and others. As we continue to hear more and understand these new variants, it’s important to stay diligent and responsible, even as we get stronger and healthier as a world.
2. Respect others
We all have our personal opinions and beliefs – we’ve arrived at these stances from personal experiences, which should be a reminder that the same is true for everyone else. There are some people that are not comfortable with receiving the vaccine, and some that are all for it – regardless of your position, it’s important to stay respectful. I feel very strongly and in support of the vaccine, but when I listen to friends and family members that are hesitant, I have to respect their decision, even if I may not agree with it. Please keep this in mind as we continue to move forward.
3. Take a second to appreciate life
At the end of the day, we lost thousands of lives to the pandemic. Whether you were personally affected or if you were one of the lucky ones, it’s important to keep perspective on the entire experience. As I said earlier – you have just the one body. It’s up to you to take care of it, to be mindful and careful, and to treat it with respect. If putting on a mask is a rule for a business, just put it on – it could save a life.
2020 will go down as one of the most difficult years of our lifetimes. As much as we’re all excited to put the year behind us, we also have to do what we can to keep it close, to learn from it, to know how we grew as a people. I’d imagine that this won’t be the last global pandemic in mankind, so we must do what we can to learn from this experience so that future generations can learn from us and use the 2020 pandemic of an example of what to do. It’s up to us to now shape the future of human health so that our children and their children and their children can avoid a repeat experience of last year.