5 Things I Have Learned About Myself During The Pandemic

Photo by Adam Nieścioruk on Unsplash

Well, well, well… I am writing this in late August. The pandemic was officially identified as one in March. I remember everyone expecting this to be cleared up in June the latest. Boy, were we WRONG! So, it has been more than 5 months since our lives as we knew it, ended. So many changes, so many restrictions, and so many unfortunate losses. None of this could have predicted this at the beginning of 2020. I’m sure we all thought this was going to be OUR YEAR! But wait, it still could be. Even though our travel restrictions are limited, money has been tight, and most of us don’t even leave our house now-a-days except for the essentials, there is still opportunity (I would honestly say even more opportunity now) to learn new things about ourselves.

I have written up a small list of things that I have learned about myself during this time. It was actually very refreshing to discover how much I have changed in the past few months.

1. I love being home: In all fairness, prior to the pandemic, I did consider myself a bit of a homebody. To be honest, I barely got antsy being home so often in the first place. Dating back to April, when the report of cases were soaring, I was more than happy to stay home. Coincidentally, at the beginning of Covid, me and my fiance just moved into our new place where we, for once, had full privacy. It was a very nice transition considering we were expected to spend most of our time at home, anyways.
2. I was super unhappy at my job: Fortunately for me, between March and July, I had about 10 weeks of time off, which was all paid. Prior to the pandemic, I had become super accustomed to working full-time, and this was a nice change of pace for me. I really got to learn more about myself and what I want out of my future. I knew where I was at wasn’t it. I had returned back to work for good in July, and one week later I put in my two weeks notice. My job wasn’t bringing me any fulfillment, I did not see a future advancing with the company, and I really began to see the ugly side of the daily customers and the corporation at large. I decided enough was enough, and I have yet to regret that decision. It honestly may have been the best decision I have made all year. I truly don’t think I will regret leaving, ever.
3. I am creative – a lot more than I ever thought: Maybe I’ve just been selling myself short all these years – or maybe it was simply because I didn’t invest my time to truly explore. I remember YEARS ago (dating back to high school and prior), I always did very well in English class, especially when it came to writing. It was quite simple for me to just keep writing and writing, especially when I had an idea come to mind. My mom always used to tell me I should write more and actually keep a journal, which of course I never actually did. I wish I had, however, as a way to track how I have expanded in my writing. My creativity isn’t limited to writing however. I appreciate many forms of art, and I intend to keep experimenting and learning new techniques to express myself! During this time, I have taken up making resin art, and I find that so fun and relaxing! Not to mention, very visually pleasing! I’ve even considered opening a shop and selling these items I’ve made.
4. I need to respect myself more – and I actually want to: Self-respect shows itself in many forms, including but not limited to, the way you allow others to treat you, the food and drinks you put into your body and your overall environment. When you tie up all of the factors of self-respect, there is one common denominator, and that is YOURSELF! There are many ways to show yourself respect. As an example, I felt like I was not respecting myself by staying at a job with customers who treat me like crap and a corporation that could replace me immediately – which is exactly what they did when I left. I knew I was worth so much more than that job, and out of respect for myself, I left. Every day I am working on and figuring out new ways to respect my body, my mind, and my soul!
5. I can do whatever I set my mind to: That’s exactly how I ended up here writing this blog! No lie, I definitely doubted myself. I spent way too much time being concerned about what others would think reading my content. It’s always been a desire of mine to really put myself out there for the world to see. I now acknowledge that it is not worth my mental or emotional energy to care about what others think about me.

This short list is just the tip of the iceberg! It has been a long past few months, and I fully intend to open my mind even more and grow and continue to learn once this pandemic is a thing of the past (if that ever happens).

Tell me, have you learned anything new about yourself during this worldwide pandemic?