It’s so crazy to think that two years ago on March 13th (literally down to the day in my case) life started to change as I knew it because of COVID. Everything seemed uncertain and unreal except for the fact that I would be going to Gulf Shores for spring break with my friends the next day. Our study abroad got canceled, the Georgia Tech Housing Department was sending us emails to prepare for the worst and make arrangements to move back home, and all that could be seen on the news were headlines on the damage this mysterious virus had already done.

I’m incredibly blessed to be able to say that the biggest loss I experienced from the pandemic was part of the ‘regular’ college experience, and my heart goes out to the many people who had worse circumstances. However, I sometimes still find myself missing the five-or-so months of Quarantine. How simple everything became from the world basically shutting down, and the way that we were all forced to accept boredom over busyness. Although we may have not realized these implications at the time, we were provided with the rare opportunity to take inventory of and focus on the most crucial aspects of our daily lives.

Looking back, I wouldn’t be who or where I am today without Quarantine. It was the first time in my life that I had enough time to sit down with myself. To assess my values, belief systems, state of mind, moments of the past I was clinging too tightly to, and realizing that I didn’t know who I was anymore. It was then that I decided to take conscious action to become everything I was searching for outside of myself. To purify the motivating forces behind my actions, dream of where I wanted to be in five years, and question everything I thought I knew so sure about myself, all the while soaking up as much knowledge about the unseen dynamics of the world and life as I could. It was magical, scary, and liberating all at the same time.

Sometimes I wish I had more time in my days to be able to do this much introspection as I did during Quarantine. Ironically enough, the more I think I miss those times, the more the message that I walked then so I can run now seeps in. We went through those times so we can all be stronger and better off than we would’ve been if we were willing to see it that way.

A reflective question I like to ask myself inspired by @jennazoe on Instagram, that maybe you can think on too, is “what would you be secretly relieved to be told you don’t have to do today?”. Yes, there are inevitable responsibilities that are a part of life, such as having to do the laundry or completing an assignment in school. But, we can use those mentally arduous moments to our advantage. They can be the very thing that guides us to recognize what we want less of in our lives so we can ultimately live at peace instead of despising the precious moments we have in this life.

Thanks to Quarantine, now whenever I’m in a rut or feel massively overwhelmed I don’t push myself to my limits like I used to. I’ve learned to take a break, re-assess, and pivot if needed, and most importantly ask myself the question, “if I had the same amount of time I did two years ago, what would I be doing now?”. I hope that everyone has a great week ahead and remembers that it’s okay to take a step back when you’re feeling like burnout is around the corner – everything is unfolding exactly the way that it’s supposed to:)

💘 Hanna