What I’ve Learned Living in a Pandemic
I remember watching “online church” with my family on the first Sunday after the initial COVID-19 shutdown, and my pastor ended the sermon by telling the story of a lady who had recently been diagnosed with cancer. This lady was talking on the phone and sharing her recent diagnosis to someone who then asked “Are you thankful yet?” right after she shared her devastating news. That phrase immediately stuck with me and started to shift the way I viewed the shutdown.
At this point in time, I was a high school senior who had been looking forward to MANY upcoming events including prom, graduation, summer vacations with friends, and soaking up the last few months walking the halls of the high school I loved. I thought taking “two weeks to flatten the curve” was going to be the longest period of my life and the biggest inconvenience ever! Almost a full year later, we are still in the midst of the pandemic, and I have been changed for the better because of it.
I’ve recently decided that I am a very extroverted person, and I realize now that I have lived my whole life trying to be “best friends” with everyone in the room. I found my happiness in making others happy and doing whatever I thought was the right thing to do. I have struggled with anxiety my whole life because of this and was in the midst of a big battle with my anxious thoughts when quarantine first began.
The first few months of the pandemic were extremely tough on me. I was finally forced to spend some time alone instead of making myself busy by spending time with others. I ultimately learned about who I am and became a better, stronger person because of it. But, when your whole life revolves around proving to others and yourself that “I am enough,” spending time alone can be detrimental to your mental well-being. In these moments, I found myself spending a lot of time in the Word because I truly needed it, not because I thought it was what I should be doing. My relationship with the Lord has been strengthened because I solely had to depend on Him. There was(and still is) absolutely nothing I could do to fix the world around me. Although that can be disheartening and scary sometimes, living in a pandemic showed me to trust in the sovereign Lord’s plan for my life.
Because I learned how to manage and be pleased with alone time, I think I was much more prepared for the transition into college. Throughout my senior year, I had a lot of anxiety about the transition from high school to college because I was content with who I was in high school, and I was surrounded by an amazing community. The pandemic took away my full schedule and constant access to friends. I had been nervous for all of the free time in college and the process of making new friends because I am not one who loves being pushed out of my comfort zone. But,I now realize that all of my anxieties were unnecessary because college and more specifically, Chi Omega has given me the greatest friends and constantly provides fun events, silly meals with friends, and HOURS UPON HOURS of just sitting around the house with girls in each and every pledge class. Chi Omega has gone above and beyond to make sure that everyone still is finding community amidst the pandemic, and I am so grateful for that.
Living in a global pandemic has not always been glamorous, but I have become a much better person because of the challenges that it has brought for me to overcome. I now understand what my pastor was talking about that Sunday in March, and yes, I am so thankful for this pandemic.
