Thank God for the Internet. That’s something I found myself thinking this morning.
Visualize yourself; a hundred years back, decades before the internet became a thing, in the middle of a deadly pandemic, especially one caused by a virus as wicked and tenacious as COVID-19, struggling with quarantine rules, the highlight of your daily entertainment being your radio, and on top of all these, dealing with the almost inevitable impact of a full-blown pandemic on your interpersonal relationships?
One word that comes to mind when I imagine this? Horrendous.
So as I said, thank God for the internet.
The question is: What is this pandemic doing to your social relationships? Is it bringing you closer to your friends and family? Or driving you further apart? Are you going out of your mind from being stuck at home? Or are you settling into it and finding peace in your daily routine?
Doubtless, not everyone will relate to or identify with these pandemic-induced strains on their relationships/friendships. And if you’re one of the lucky ones whose social connections to the world remains intact regardless of whatever, I think that’s impressive. Two hands up in the air for you.
But if, for example, you’re just like me, and you’ve been made to adjust from getting to see your friends just down the hallway from your room or everyday in class to relying on calls and texts to keep in touch, chances are your connection to your friends and partners is dwindling.
In my opinion, there are only two sides to this coin. It’s either you decide to;
a) Be the Pro-active friend. Be more intentional with how you reach out to those you care about. Spend quality time with them over calls, text, whatever. Show how genuinely interested you are in how they’re faring.
Or,
b) Be the chill friend. The world is overwhelming enough with quarantine, so you’re not going to add on the rigor of figuring out what to always talk about with your friends. You love and miss them but you prefer to pause, accept the distance and wait till all is normal and you can see them directly before reconnecting 100%, because, afterall, you cannot come and kill yourself.
We can all agree this period isn’t one that’s going to be forgotten anytime soon. And while we’re getting used to our new normal, how do you deal with the covid effect on your relationships, if any?
Are you team Pro-active?
Or team Can’t Kill Myself?
You can reach out using ihemegozirim82@gmail.com
