An opinion about the Covid-19 Pandemic

We knew that the 21st century would not be for amateurs. In the face of so many wars, natural disasters and accidents caused by human error, what nobody expected was a pandemic that would kill more than a million people worldwide. COVID-19 took people by surprise like a tsunami. The whole world had to reinvent itself and adapt to this "new normal". What many people did not understand was that, for this to happen, it was necessary to put limits. Not just in a political way, but within homes and families. Limits of all kinds, mainly to understand that the more people denied this virus and did not protect themselves in the right way, they were not only putting their lives at risk, but also the lives of the people with whom they live.

Many people reached the end of 2020 with the feeling that nothing happened or that it is not the end of the year. The most difficult thing is to believe that, of those 365 days, we spent half or more than half of them locked inside the house in isolation, doing our part to prevent the circulation of the virus. What we did not expect is that a large part of the population would not take it seriously, even with all the indicators showing the dangerousness of the disease.

We have to understand that this year was a year for learning, even though many people have not learned anything. What we cannot do is judge, but try to understand why. Many people lost their jobs, went through financial crises, were isolated with toxic and abusive people. We cannot say that it was a year of resilience. It was a year of survival. Especially for frontline people, these health professionals, who never gave up on their patients. It is impossible not to have a breakdown when you do not have a perspective in a year like 2020. The anxiety and panic crises have increased, fear and uncertainty of what is to come have made people believe that the end of the world is near.

The fact that we are locked at home, makes us lose track of time and many people ended up working overtime without even getting paid for it. Even worse, people keep changing their schedules because of the noise that exists during the day or any other factors that disrupt during the day.

What we didn't know is that, during this dark time, technology and the internet would come to save lives. Many people chose to try to control crises and keep mental health to a minimum by doing yoga on apps or on YouTube, in addition to the gym teachers who updated their social media pages with short classes in smaller spaces for people to adapt. In addition, social media was a great help to be able to relax with musical entertainment: many artists did concerts online and for free on Instagram, Facebook or YouTube. Even virtual festivals were designed so that people could at least have a little of the year they had planned. Obviously, art in general helped a lot during this chaotic 2020. The streaming services made life a lot easier and many of the films that would go to the theaters ended up debuting on these platforms, — as the case of “Mulan" live action remake.

Empathy was a big deal too. Between one concert and another, a sporadic meditation, a breakdown here and there, there were some people that showed concern and that it is still possible to do good. Especially for people who are at risk and who were in isolation alone. Neighbors who, even from afar, ended up keeping company for the person who could not leave the house.

This was a year that marked the world in many ways. We will never forget the day when, in a village in Italy, people sang and played instruments on the balconies of their houses together. The boy who climbed the wall of a hospital every day to see his mother hospitalized with coronavirus in the West Bank. The Day that Pope Francis walked through St. Peter's Square without any devotees to give the blessing and plenary indulgence in a square where thousands of people visit every day. Only the Pope walking alone. In silence. Images of shallow graves being taken in one of the states of Brazil and relatives being unable to make funerals and to say goodbye to their loved ones and so many other images that have traveled the world.

These are days that will be forever marked in the memory of all the survivors of 2020. What we learned about this is that every minute matters. Every minute with yourself, with your family, your friends. Some will leave this pandemic seeing a new world, with more caring and sensitive people, others will leave without faith in humanity and wanting the world to end. In this situation, we cannot say that A or B are wrong, we can only try to look at each other's perspective and understand that the pandemic was difficult for everyone and will leave many scars. What we really know now is that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and I hope it is closer than we all think.