What Do We Look Forward to When the Nation Reopens?
The thought of going “back to normal” is very exciting…but, also very terrifying
As summertime in America approaches, many of us are wondering exactly what this Summer will look like in the midst of a pandemic. Instead of experiencing the traditional summertime fun that we’re all so accustomed to, our summer plans will look a little different this year — they’ll be a bit more tapered back, a bit more cautious, and a bit lonelier.
We’ve had to cancel pre-planned vacations, parties, weddings, and a number of other events that we were so highly anticipating when this year first started. We’ve watched the days go by slowly, one by one and though the presence of COVID-19 may finally be flattening out, there’s still no certainty in whether it will strike back or when. Because of this, many of us are hesitant to plan for anything for the time being.
The thought of COVID-19 being completely eliminated is still a fairy tale that we fantasize about coming true and as sweet as it may sound to think that things will be going “back to normal” soon, unfortunately, that’s likely not going to be the case.
The “normal” that we once formerly knew isn’t going to be the same normal that we’re familiar with. We have to get used to the “new normal”, the one where we acknowledge that COVID-19 has in fact significantly impacted our lives and may continue to do so for the unforeseeable future.
So, when all of this is finally over — when the nation can fully reopen — what exactly should we be looking forward to? As exciting as it sounds to return to the outside world, it’s also a somewhat terrifying thought.
How can we fully enjoy our lives if we have to sleep with one eye open? How do we properly live when we can’t get rid of the feeling that our health and safety is on the line every time we step outside?
These are the questions I’ve been asking myself and these are questions that I’ve learned other people are asking themselves as well. Because how can we not be concerned about what will happen next?
The thing is, we can’t live in fear for the rest of our lives.
Although we may be hesitant to start full-on party planning or putting events back on the calendar again, there are things that we can look forward to.
We can look forward to the little things.
We can look forward to the small victories such as spending more time outside again or finally walking into a coffee shop to buy a cup of coffee. We can look forward to seeing our family again. We can look forward to seeing more faces than we saw when we were in quarantine.
These may not be the extravagant, exciting plans that we had before the pandemic happened, but with the way things have been lately, we have to count these small victories as big milestones.
Things may not be the same as they once were, but we can work towards getting to that point little by little. And when that day comes, we can look back to see just how far we’ve come.
Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this article, check out “What the Pandemic Has Taught Me About the Human Spirit”
