Writings of 2021 #1 - Dear pandemic, what you've allowed me

It took me 15 years, without the pandemic, it could’ve taken me more, to realise that the best time to be happy was now.

Being under lockdown and within the comfort of the people I trusted and loved the most allowed me to see how fortunate I am with distinct clarity.

Before all of this, I have been too busy being caught up in the hustles and the back to back pacing of life that has never once allowed me to slow down.

Before the pandemic, I had only been in a position of envy when I heard of someone discovering their dreams and taking action of their passions.

When the lockdown happened, I had so much more free time. Time allowed me to ponder on my meaning of life, what I wanted to do with my life before everything expired.

When the lockdown happened, everything slowed in time. I’ve never been able to practice meditation successfully, but for once I could finally hear the beauty within the chirps of the birds and the rustling of the leaves that thousands of meditation gurus have talked about. It made me realise how beautiful of a world I lived in, and how happy I am living in it.

It made me realise the specifics of my routine - and the beauty of it all. Having a routine blurred the sense of time for me. I was no longer focused on chasing an assignment deadline or feeling like each week was one installed for me to chase another deadline. The ‘mundane-ness’ of the week actually allowed me to pursue the thoughts I was always curious about. Prior, I felt I had no time to be thinking of all of this, it was time to focus on the next task on my to-do list. Now, with everyday becoming identical to the next, it blurred that feeling of chasing and therefore subdued the hindrance of pursuing the thoughts and ideas I had.

In reality of it all, the increase of personal time I had was not significant, less than an hour at most. But being isolated from the general speed of society allowed me time to think.

And I know I come from a very privileged position to be saying everything that I have said, to have gotten the opportunity to even see the pandemic as something that brought value to my life, when there are countless others suffering from it, or had their lives disrupted from it.

I’m not denying this. But taking this into account now has made me so much more grateful, and made me realise how happy I truly am with life. The pandemic has allowed me space to think, to reflect. In the span of a year, I have gotten my goals in line more than I ever would throughout the past 15 years of my life. I have a clear vision now, one that has been realised through the gap of time.

29th May 2021

Note: Dear reader, I've recently started an initiative 'By Students For Students', where we provide free tutor sessions to those of which paid tutor sessions are inaccessible by financial means. Check out the By Students For Students' Instagram - @bystudentsforstudents_my for all other details.

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Writer's Note: Welcome to 'Writings of 2021'! Here, I share snippets of my writings and thoughts I've accumulated over the months for the purpose of remembering my thoughts in the future, for my own reference, but I figured it'd be meaningful, to both you and I, if I posted them here on The Young People's Finance.