In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb

Crazy to think that we are only about 7 months into this massive pandemic with no real end in sight. Being stuck at home and not really going out has affected different aspects of my life in many ways, but not all of it is necessarily bad. I figured that the double entendre of this blog post's title is rather fitting, not just because it describes the month of March which is when the lockdown first started, but also because once the smoke is cleared I, and mostly likely everyone else, will come out of our shelters and return to society as completely different people. In fact, as I am writing this I can already think of three ways that the pandemic has affected me.

Relationships

I'm sure it should surprise no one that I, like everyone else, don't really see as many people anymore. I mean the whole point of social distancing is to keep the virus from spreading after all. Surprisingly I was against the idea of quarantine initially because even though I personally identify as an introvert, I still loved going to bars, travelling, and hanging out with my small circle of friends. You know, just typical young people/millennial bullshit. But nowadays I can't really do these kinds of things like I used to. And it's really got me thinking about all the different people that have been a part of my life.

One major aspect of this pandemic that I've accepted is that some people are not really my cup of tea after being apart from them for so long. Sometimes you have certain people in your friend groups that you just don't like as much as your other friends, but you still see them anyway whenever your whole squad gets together, or maybe there are people that only ever talked to you whenever they needed something from you or vice versa. Hell, even the kinds of people that you would avoid talking to whenever you saw them at a party or out in public. I think the pandemic really made me think about some of these kinds of people. Since nowadays we can't really see each other as much, it's pretty much come down to the point where I have to really think about how badly I want to see some of these people. And a lot of times you eventually have to come to terms that there are just some people in your life that you really never liked as much as you thought.

Despite the tough decision to burn some bridges, not all of the relationships I've thought about were bad though. There are some people that I decided to reach out to in a long time, some of whom I haven't seen since college or even high school. I'm not exactly sure what motivated me to reach out to these people, either I was just curious to see what they were up to or we just naturally drifted apart for some unknown reason. Regardless I decided that now was the best time to extend an arm out to talk to some of these people and see what they were up to. And looking back I am really glad to hear back from them again. One of my favorite things about seeing someone again after a long time of being apart is that there is seemingly an endless amount of things to talk about since you guys have been apart for so long, while simultaneously interacting as if you guys just saw each other yesterday. In the last two months alone I reached out to at least three people that I haven't seen since last year. And it honestly felt pretty good to hear that they were just as excited to hear from me again after we've been apart for so long.

Money

I guess another major impact that this pandemic had on me is definitely the way that I spend my money. Since going out and socializing has become more of a luxury nowadays, naturally I've been spending much less money than before. In fact, I don't think I've ever really spent this little money on things since I came home from India now that I think about it. It is definitely a great feeling to be able to open up your bank account and see that very little has changed over time.

But it's not just the fact that I've been spending less. I've also been using this time to rethink my finances and prioritize what's important. Ever since I spent nine months living in India, I developed a greater appreciation for travelling and experiencing different cultures. It was during this time that I realized the importance of spending my hard earned money on experiences as opposed to material possessions. I feel like this is a much better way to be using my money since I am still very young, in my early 20s and that the experiences of going out to bars with friends or travelling to new places is something that will soon become less available as I grow older. While it is nice to spend money on new electronics or clothes, these things have taken a bit of a backseat for me in recent years since they slowly lose their sentimental value over time. However, the experience of trying something new, whether it's food or experiencing a new place or meeting a new person, is something that will never be taken away and will be great in the long run. Material possessions will soon lose its appeal over time, but the feeling of experiencing something new and incredible is something that will always stay with you forever.

Hobbies

This has got to be one of the biggest things that has happened for me since the lockdown came into effect. As the pandemic has kept me to be solitary for most of my time, it also allowed me to revitalize old things that I was really into as a kid, as well as find new ways to pass the time. 

For starters, I have always been a huge advocate of working out and staying physically fit since my freshman year of college. That's how I became committed to going to the gym everyday. But since the pandemic started all the gyms around me were shut down, so I had to find new ways to stay in shape. I ended up getting into running, since that was the only real workout I could do in solitude. I started out running through my neighborhood, and then I moved up to going to the track behind my high school, and now I run at least 2-3 times a week. Cardio in general has always been an exercise that I stayed away from since I used to lack the endurance to last for long periods of time, but over time I forced myself to push through. Now I feel the adrenaline everytime I finish a run, and it feels pretty nice to be honest.

Another hobby that I started since the pandemic would have to be this blog now that I think about it. I'm not entirely sure what inspired me to write this, I guess I was mostly just super bored. Since I don't really see many people on a weekly basis anymore, I wanted to turn to some sort of outlet to get my thoughts out. And I guess that's how this came to be. I've always been much of an introvert so I never had the opportunity to speak my mind to others, but this blog is a perfect way to get those thoughts out.

I also discovered back in college that I may actually be pretty decent at writing, which is a major contrast from my time in high school, as I used to hate writing essays. But now I realize that as long as I am writing what I love, it actually isn't so bad after all. My ideal job would to hopefully be able to travel the world one day and just document my adventures in a blog for others to someday read, but I know that it is something that for now can only remain a dream. But if I could get paid to travel the world and experience as many things as possible while also meeting as many people as possible then I could die knowing that I lived an amazing life.

These are just some of the many things that I have worked on during the pandemic. I'm not exactly sure as to when things can get back to normal, but one thing I know for sure is that when they do I will be a different person going back into the real world.