Is 2020 the reset year we all needed? My reflection on COVID-19 and 2020
By: The Shell View
Tags: Covid 19, Coronavirus, 2020, Reflections, Covid Diaries

My calendar was filled with meetings, and commitments right before COVID-19 lockdown was announced. As soon as the lockdown news came into effect, my empty calender was riddled with the uncertainty of what the future holds.

In these past 3 months in Canada, I have witnessed growth, resilience, compassion, and adaptability in ways I did not know was possible. I worked in a food bank non-profit organization and with COVID-19 in air, our client pool could not access food services. But that did not stop this non-profit organization. As a team, we came up with a way to deliver food, and make sure no one has to leave their home, take public transportation, potentially expose themselves to the virus just to access their food needs. This is just one of my own lived experiences.

The whole experience of COVID-19 has taught me that sky truly is the limit. If the circumstances call for it, any event or commitment big or small will get canceled. With that being said, we are the basic levels of Maslow's hierarchy of needs and we must prioritize our physiological and safety needs. So a lesson to take away from this — prioritize your health and needs above all.

Coronavirus has also left some damaging effect on our economy that will take years to recover from. But with that being said, this was a traumatic extreme event for many people. Some people lost their loved ones, some lost their homes, jobs, business, and others are struggling to maintain their mental health. While these are experiences many people experienced first hand, we now have the background and starting point to fathom the amount of stress anyone could be feeling. Not only has COVID-19 given us the universal trauma bond but also, it forced us to slow down and reflect on what we see.

Perhaps one of our hardest-hit groups is our elderly population in addition to vulnerable and marginalized populations. Within this elderly group, there is a large number who are in senior homes and some who may not be technology savvy. This makes them vulnerable to loss of family connections and the resulting loneliness can be an isolating state. In my own community, I have witnessed my healthcare student friends who set up zoom calls to engage with elderly members at senior homes. The shared experience of COVID-19 is drawing us to experience and reach out to help.

With all of these being said, my purpose was to express that perhaps we need to look at COVID-19 differently. It tied us all together with a shared experience of struggle and feeling of fear. We all had to pause our work and bring our own expertise to support our community to get out of this challenge together. COVID-19 also created cracks in our societal system to show the injustice that goes on and challenge our leaders to show how they would protect the citizens of the country. While some leaders have shown exceptional leadership by leading with their hearts, other leaders continue to spread misinformation and do absolutely nothing to support their citizens. Furthermore, our lives will never be the same again and I say this with confidence. Being able to sit and work from home, as well as reflect in the safety of our homes is a privilege. Recognize that countries like Bangladesh continue to suffer especially in slums or homeless individuals everywhere generally. Being aware of my privilege and being in a position of financial stability was enough of a reason for me to volunteer, look to donate to charities as well as set up charities with friends to support the vulnerable members of our society.

In light of the ongoing history-long challenges that the Black community has been facing, I have come to wonder — What role did COVID-19 play in the Black Lives Matter movement? From my perspective, if the color of my skin determines my basic human rights on a regular non-COVID day, then COVID-19 is just another inconvenience to protesters. When human life is being compromised by the protective members of our society such as the police force, COVID-19 truly introduced no new obstacle.

I also believe that the universal pause from COVID-19 gave us time to reflect and recognize our privilege. Social media or the internet generally is our main form of information transmission/consumption and if BLM is all over the internet, TV, social media, we have to pause, engage and learn about it. We see the news of George Floyd and other black individuals who suffered from the police right into our main news. Again, COVID-19 created the cracks in our society, and that crack allowed us to see the injustices in our society.

The optimistic side of me believes that COVID-19 will eventually run its course, but the lessons we have learned from 2020 will forever live through our veins and shape the way we live our lives.

I welcome any ideas you would like to share! Thank you for reading!