World Health Organization on 11 March 2020; officially recognized the existence of a deadly infectious disease epidemic and announced it to the world. With the arrival of COVID-19 in our lives, the everyday things that we have seen as guarantees have undergone a greater change than we all initially imagined, teaching us bitterly that we should not take anything in this life as ‘certain’.
Most of us have developed unique methods in order to survive the extremely difficult 1.5 years we have been under the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic, without deteriorating our mental balance: While some of us are evaluating this process to improve themselves in the things that they are good at, some of us always want to start it and say, “There is no time. We saw it as an opportunity to realize our dreams that we never dared. However, there are some habits gained by the pandemic that we think are commonplace for the vast majority, if not for everyone. So what are those things that COVID-19 has taught us? Let’s see together.
7 helpful things the COVID-19 Pandemic has taught us:
- To teach to wash even those who do not wash their hands after toilet
- The importance of the mask
- The existence of such a thing as personal space
- Comfortable clothes such as sweatpants can be worn outside.
- It is possible to spend quality time alone at home.
- Adapting to the changes experienced
- Nothing in life is guaranteed
Teaching handwashing even to those who do not wash their hands after the toilet
rightly; Before COVID-19, hand washing was something most of us considered unnecessary if there was no visible dirt involved. The pandemic has taught us that microbes are ‘everywhere’, not just in the seemingly filthy things. Unfortunately, knowing that the COVID-19 virus, which we cannot see, can be on the door handles, on the sofa we sit in the cafe, and even on our phones that we cannot put down; He made sure that everyone who values their life at least a little, wash their hands regularly or disinfect them out of nothing. Even the ordinary flu, which we see as simple, can have very serious consequences and that COVID-19 is not the only virus that can cause death; When we think that diseases that threaten our lives already existed long before this, this actually does not sound like a much worse habit.
The importance of the mask
Even though its widespread use around the world started in this way, the use of the mask in daily life did not actually start with the COVID-19 pandemic. Although not very common, some people living in countries with poor air health, such as some countries in Asia, used the mask, which entered our lives as a necessity at one point, in their daily lives. It seems like it will be just as difficult to get rid of the mask, which I guess we all have a hard time getting used to. Let’s say tomorrow they announce the end of the COVID-19 pandemic: Who can comfortably enter very crowded and closed areas such as the subway or bus without a mask from now on? When we think that the mask is like a part of our body, it seems that we will continue to live with masks for a while even when the pandemic is over. After all, once a habit is gained, it is very difficult to give up.
The existence of such a thing as personal space
When you think about it, personal space has always been there, and it’s pretty important to some of us too—except for the folks who were breathing down our neck at the grocery store. Let’s be honest; Which of us hasn’t been bothered by the people we don’t know standing at the bottom of us even though they can stay further away when there are so many alternatives? Or that unknown person who came and sat in the seat next to you when there were so many empty seats in the movie theater? Thanks to the social distance rule, we are less likely to encounter such situations now; however, it would be much better if there was no need for a deadly virus that can easily be transmitted from one person to another at close range in order to gain this habit.
Comfortable clothes such as tracksuits can be worn outside.
We are aware, tracksuits were worn in daily life long before COVID-19; however, it is an undeniable fact that with the pandemic, there has been a serious increase in the number of people wearing sweatpants we see on the street, in the cafe or here and there. Before the personal or mandatory quarantines we entered due to the epidemic, many of us found it sloppy to go to meet with friends in sweatpants, but we are so used to wearing comfortable clothes at home that it doesn’t seem like you went too far with a little care nowadays? We can see the effects of this situation very easily even when we browse the shopping sites or stores a little; because there is an increase in the clothes sold in this direction.
It is possible to spend quality time alone at home.
Yes, we missed traveling freely as we wish, without feeling constantly at risk; however, we had to stay at home for a very long time, especially when no COVID-19 vaccine was developed and the epidemic was more dangerous. What would we do if we went out? shops, cafes, restaurants, parks – in short, every place where we could go out and meet with our friends was closed for a while. I passed these too – if you remember, we were allowed to go out only during certain hours. As such, we have all developed ways to spend time at home without getting bored.
While some of us spend these times by finally starting the series that they have wanted to start for a long time, watching the movies that have been on the watch list for years, and reading the books that they could not find the opportunity to start; some of us have taken up various new hobbies such as knitting, painting or improving their cooking skills. It is a fact that the negative effects of the pandemic far outweigh the positive effects; however, being alone with ourselves, albeit by necessity, also enabled us to allocate time for things that we could not spare in the midst of the busy life rush, and to discover aspects of ourselves that we were not even aware of.
Adapting to the changes
Adapting to things we are not used to is often quite frightening to us; Even if we know that good things will happen as a result of this adaptation process, stepping out of our familiar borders and stepping into the unknown has always been a concept that requires courage. However, there is something that should not be forgotten that it is not possible for us to make progress unless we give something of ourselves on the way to development; This has been the case since the beginning of humanity. With the pandemic, we had to go beyond the limits of what we are used to and adapt to a new order.
Thus, with COVID-19, we have learned once again that adaptation is often not an arbitrary situation, but a necessity. However, this is not necessarily a bad win. Throughout our lives, we will have to adapt to innovations that occur many times due to different reasons, even if not due to a pandemic. Therefore, we can look at the glass half full and assume that we have successfully passed a difficult test and think that we will adapt more easily to the smaller changes that will take place from now on.
Nothing in life is guaranteed
From the moment we are born and thrown into life, some things take such a place in our lives that we naturally fall into the thought that these things will always be like this. We assumed that when we went to the market on our street, the same person would always greet us at the checkout, that we could always go to our favorite cafe and have a cup of coffee when we went out, or go out for fun with our friends whenever we wanted; however, the COVID-19 pandemic unfortunately taught us the hard way that this situation can change very easily.
Those who hated going to school before the epidemic began to beg for schools to open, and those who preferred to stay at home rather than go out began to look forward to the days when they could go out again. Not being able to see our friends and family members, whom we are accustomed to seeing every day, for a long time made us understand once again how valuable they are to us. And perhaps most importantly, COVID-19 tells us how much of a social creature a human actually is; taught us how much we need each other to survive.
Although we want the pandemic to go away from our lives as soon as possible, we hope that we do not suddenly forget the useful things we learned in the process as everything returns to the way it was.
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