Do you remember March 11, 2020? Remember watching the world shut down before your very eyes? Remember going to Walgreens and wondering why they were all out of water bottles and toilet paper, and who could forget opening that email that said for the rest of the semester classes would be held over zoom and thinking, “what the hell is ‘zoom’? Wasn’t that a kids show from the early aughts?”
To say that the last twenty months have been sad, scary, and frustrating would be the understatement of a lifetime, but in my own selfish way, I’d like to think that some good has come of this.
If you’re an introvert, like me, the last twenty months have been an anti-social paradise, and as we approach what one twitter user has called, “junior year of COVID” I’d like to make a list of some COVID era trends that I think we should hold onto, post pandemic.
1. Masks
Wearing a mask has allowed me to think out loud to myself, as I always have, without having to worry about if other people are looking at me and thinking, “wow look at that weirdo talking to himself.” As someone who does a lot of thinking out loud, I fully intend to keep wearing a mask until they’ve once again become fully irrelevant, and maybe even a little while longer.
2. Social Distancing
Do you know how many strangers I’ve accidentally run into or have run into me in the last twenty months? None! As my mom always says “there’s a place for everything and everything should be in its place!” Having the six foot markers in public has been amazing! No longer are we literally breathing down each other’s necks or ramming into each other like bumper cars. Having to be in crowded places is dreadful enough as it is, but at least the markers help maintain some semblance of order.
3. No contact delivery/curbside pickup
At the beginning of the pandemic I was working as a delivery driver. Being able to simply leave a prepaid order at someone’s door, without having to wait for the customer to come to the door, makes things a lot easier on both sides of the transaction. Not to mention, requiring orders to be prepaid all but guaranteed that I would receive a tip. Something that was never guaranteed pre-pandemic.
4. Remote jobs
Having to spend 1-2 hours a day commuting to a job you hate is easily one of the most soul-crushing experiences in life. One of the good things about the pandemic, is it proved just how many jobs could easily be done from home. Knowing now that this is an option, needlessly requiring people to dress up, waste their gas commuting, and spend upwards of 10 hours a day away from their family just seems archaic.
For me, the highpoint of the pandemic was being able to trade in my wearisome fast-food job for a less stressful work-from-home job with better pay and more stable hours. I don’t know if you’ve ever quit a job over text with no two week notice, but I highly recommend it. (Warning: do not try this without another job lined up.)
As we continue to inch our way back to our pre-pandemic lives I think anyone who is able to work from home should be allowed to if they so choose.