First, think. Second, believe. Third, dream. Finally, dare. – Walt Disney

First, we hear that it exists.

Second, we hope it was a dream.

Third, we don’t want to believe it.

And, finally, the virus proved that it was able to conquer us!

In March 2020, I was living my normal life I always had around this time of the year: going or coming from a warm place. But the announcement that we received at work on March 17, 2020, set in motion a chain of events that would soon change everything, things that are still in action a year after.

“We understand there is a lot of uncertainty at this time, and this can make many people feel more anxious than usual. I want to emphasize how important it is for us to support and to look out for each other throughout these extraordinary times. We are a community, and in times of crisis, communities stay strong by supporting one another.

Remember that you are not alone. We are all in this together. If you are feeling overwhelmed, ask for help. If you think someone is overwhelmed, please reach out and offer help.” This was a part of our President’s message to all students and employees.

And health officials began implementing a series of measures. We started with the first lockdown, we implemented physical distancing, and working from home became the norm. Soon after, travel restrictions came into effect, events after events started cancelling and mask-wearing rules became enforced. Furthermore, the most challenging part hit us like a tsunami; we were asked to avoid seeing anyone, even the one we loved the most, and so we remained isolated from friends, family and co-workers.

A lot of families have been deeply affected, particularly by job losses. I consider myself lucky; I have a great family, unlike many of our single friends alone or isolated with small children in care. And like a domino effect, financial fears and uncertainties about the job market have contributed to greater stress, and many of us have seen our mental health suffering.

The emotion rollercoaster started the engines! Working from home was not as easy as expected and soon, we felt emotional exhaustion. Seeing the same people over and over, and maybe no one in person in some cases, kept distancing us from our circle of friends and coworkers. From pyjama to pyjama, without a need to put make-up on or a bra, we ended up developing a negative self-image about ourselves. Depression was showing signs despite of the fact that we don’t want to admit. Our fuses became shorter and shorter and we saw a decline in empathy all over social media. 

WORK- RELATIONSHIP – LIFE was a balancing act day by day!

News were invading our lives, and between good and bad, it became harder and harder to disseminate the truth! The numbers of people that died start growing in almost each and every country and as the digits were growing, our fear was following. The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. Fear, hate and division started defining us! We feared for our lives and the more we dipped in fear, we started creating scenarios and imagining things that may not happen, but we couldn’t keep off our minds. Some managed to leave the fear aside and try to follow a normal life with the restrictions imposed by the government. Hate rose as people around felt that what they were doing will just increase the cases and the nightmare would continue. For that reason, the fear of repercussion made some hide parts of their lives.

I have experienced a huge earthquake, an extensive revolution – the fall of communism and a pandemic. I am looking back and try to see how each and every major event as changing our life’s trajectory. In 1977, the earthquake killed about 1, 580 people, wounded over 11,000, and destroyed a few thousands building. A state of emergency was imposed throughout the country and the years that came after were not as simple at all: lack of food, new diseases and other socio-economic factors affected everyday life. In December 1989, when the revolution started, the socio-economic impact affected the entire population. Due to lack of contracts, factories after factories were closing, people started being sent home without a social service in place and the gap between the rich and the poor started increasing. Fourteen years after, while at a peak of my career, I decided to emigrate while being unable to see any improvement in my home country. Not my monkeys, not my circus!

And here I am in 2020 going over a pandemic in an era with information overflow, with hundreds of news channels in a strongly developed country. Was it an easy transition over that one-year period? No! Was my family or my life in general negatively affected? Yes, like I am sure any other families.  But I am trying to keep myself mentally positive and look for the light at the end of the tunnel.

What were you doing a year ago today?

How you are doing a year after?