When the clock struck midnight on new years eve, many of us had hoped that we would blink and realise 2020 was just a dream. But, heading towards march we’re slowly accepting that this past year has been utterly uncanny, our lives have been distorted beyond measure and it feels like we're sleepwalking through life. Living through a global pandemic has been a moment in history that no one could have foreseen, and the concept of total freedom will never be taken for granted again.
Having had our lives turned upside down, the opportunity for reflection and change is upon us. Reevaluating what is truly important in life and stripping back to a simpler, more balanced way of living is looking more and more attractive as the days tick by.
Admittedly, as a 22-year-old, I have been affected by the modern dilemma of social media and the anxieties it brings along with it. Feeling drained from constantly comparing yourself to influencers online is perhaps the most demotivating and damaging aspect of modern-day living for me. Analysing your life against someone else’s measure of success and happiness is something I find myself doing daily, and losing sight of what is important to you as an individual only seeks to steer you down a lonely and isolated road.
When the first lockdown was announced in the UK, I had mixed emotions. For a brief moment, it was exciting, watching the announcement on TV and trying to comprehend what was happening seemed to be more like a movie plot rather than real life, but it quickly sunk in. Even though this was affecting everyone, it felt like it was only happening to me, but after weeks of feeling sorry for myself, I began to realise I was content with my life, and who was in it.
Up until this moment in time, young people have taken risks in life with the mindset of ‘I’m too young to die’ or ‘it won’t happen to me’, but being confronted with a pandemic and the realisation that life was changing at a pace I couldn’t keep up with had me smothered by anxiety and overthinking.
After weeks upon weeks of complete and total lockdown, the thought of returning to normal life felt more alien than the virus itself. The nights of overthinking and anxiety about returning to work and seeing friends again, all the while knowing the pandemic was lingering in the background and could take it away from us all over again.
But with the pandemic came clarity. For the first time in my lifetime, it felt like I was watching my life from the outside, and I was judging myself for the way I was doing it. You spend your life constantly looking towards the future and wishing for things, not realising that the thing you had once wished for was happening to you right now. The loved ones I had taken for granted and stopped appreciating became the biggest priority in my life and becoming happy with where I am in this moment because this moment is all we have.
When you reminisce back to some of your favourite memories, do you remember if you were truly happy in that moment? Or was your mind elsewhere, and you didn’t appreciate it until it was over? As a human race, we tend to romanticise the past and overthink the future, never completely present in the moment.
In 2021, I hope to take note of how I feel in the moment and limit the distractions around me. Realise that you are your most admirable and attractive when you are being yourself, and not trying to fit into what society wants you to be. Appreciating life as it comes at you, and changing your outlook; view some of the negatives as lessons and accept that some things are out of your control. The only thing you are 100% in control of is yourself.
Imagine it’s your wedding day, you have planned every detail... but it rains all day. Are you going to spend your day agonising over the rain, or are you going to laugh and just be happy that you’re marrying the person you love?
That’s just a trivial example, but one that summarises what I am trying to iterate. Don’t miss the best moments of your life as they’re happening, and make the best of bad situations. Yes, we have all been spending more time confined to four walls this year, but the day will come when this is all behind us and if reflection is the very least that we can take from this time, grab it with both hands.
It has never been a better time to readjust and prioritise. Look after your health, hold your loved ones closer, and ignore the white noise around you.