Where do I even start? To the world it may have been boring, productive, infuriating experience, to me it was a learning experience. I was always a person who depended on other individuals, put others before myself and got influenced by people who had never wanted me to move forward in life.
The pandemic forced me to stop that. It taught me that I had to prioritize myself. I learnt who my real friends were, realized the importance of self love and body positivity, learnt how working out can be fun not just a means to loose weight, I learnt it was okay to have anxiety and talk about it, and most importantly I learnt the true value of myself.
At the start of the pandemic I lost a friend I considered the closest. I thought they were my constant and all time supporter but the universe had other plans for us, ones that definitely changed my perspective on friendship. Not everyone who calls you their friend truly means it. I was lost for the first, but now I look back at it and realized it was the best thing that happened to me. You loose some, you gain some, what really matters is the ones that remain are faithful and true.
I really thought I would miss being out and about, roaming with my friends, but to my surprise I was so happy being home. I was around people that always supported and loved me. I was in an environment where I was growing and progressing, and still continue to do so till date. I wasn’t alone, that was my fear at the start-being lonely. I was in solitude and I loved it.
The thing that surprised me the most, and the people around me too, was that I was a very vocal person. Before the pandemic, due to peer pressure, I never really shared my views or participated in conversations, but now I would not miss that chance at all. I realized how I could be vocal about my feelings during a conversation, with my now closest friend. It was one of the most difficult conversations ever and the time I stopped letting people’s opinions affect my life. We spoke about how I was gullible and let people use me for their benefit as they put me down while choosing to ignore the obvious slander of my potential.
The best thing I would say happened during this pandemic is joining a dog rescue group. I spent my time mostly with animals. Working with this rescue group I made friends who saw my potential and always wish the best for me, I learnt how beautiful the relation between a rescue and human can be and I learnt what a group of supportive friends are like. To me this was the best year I could’ve ever asked for. I started off being a girl suppressed by the people I held high in my life and ended up rising above it all and unleashing a version of myself I am now immensely proud of.
Jessica Ignatius Antao – Reposted from youthof2020stories on Instagram, a humansof2020 initiative.
Did you know humansof2020.com is a self-publishing platform? The stories are not curated and open to everyone to share their experience. Join the community and post your experience today.
English