The idea of ‘normal’ has been one of the most longed for feelings since the start of the pandemic. Googled phrases involving ‘normalcy‘ reached their peak in April of 2020, so it’s fair to say that throughout this whole ordeal, the wish to go back to ‘normal life’ was at the top of people’s minds. As mask restrictions are slowly lifting and the vaccine rollout is in full swing people are starting to wonder: is life finally becoming ‘normal’ again? No. Life as we once knew it will never be the same; the COVID pandemic has drastically altered our lives. As the pandemic fades, the ghosts of COVID will continue to haunt society forever. Although I understand the feeling of longing for our pre-pandemic existence, we must come to terms with the fact that post-pandemic life will be drastically different. The quicker that we can all realise this, the easier it will be facing our new lives.

One of the first steps we need to take to accept our ‘New Normal’ is to stop romanticising pre-COVID ‘normalcy’. When people look back at their lives before COVID, it’s easy to romanticise it and look past the fundamental faults. COVID has provided us with an incredible amount of hindsight, and in reality, there was a lot wrong within our society before COVID. Within the troubled times of the pandemic, we have been lucky enough to be given a chance to reevaluate our community as a whole. The Black Lives Matter protest near the beginning of the pandemic is an excellent example of this, but even just the change of perspective on Mental Health and overall cleanliness are some, hopefully permanent changes we have gained driven by COVID. Although pre-pandemic life didn’t involve a literal pandemic, it wasn’t all that great to begin with; the pandemic opened up a way for us to see that our society needed change.

The hardships and difficulties of the COVID pandemic cannot be understated, but the pandemic has gifted us with many positives. For me personally, the pandemic allowed me to spend quality time with my family and it made me understand how important school is for my mental well-being. Although it may be easy to wish for life to revert to normal after the pandemic, COVID has allowed for many incredible and positive changes in people’s lives. Now, do I think I will feel nostalgic for this COVID era? No, definitely not, but I do envision that there will be a strange sense of reminiscence that I will feel when I think back to this time of my life. What exactly holds for us in a post-pandemic future, I couldn’t say, but to properly move forward into the next era of this COVID journey, it’s essential for us all to accept that COVID will be a part of our new everyday lives. However bittersweet that realisation is, it is crucial as we shift into the ‘New Normal’.

There is no doubt in my mind that this next big transition into a more normal world will have its many hardships, but if there is anything that the COVID pandemic has taught me, it’s that we all have the ability to persevere even in the most difficult of circumstances. And, as this insane school year comes to a close, I wish you all luck in embracing your new (mostly) COVID-free lives.