Enlight 21

How has the coronavirus changed my life?

Author: Jake Kim | Category: Lifestyle | Date: 04-01-2020

The coronavirus, or Covid-19, has affected my life in many ways, both good and bad. While there are some benefits that came along with the pandemic, I hope that this will be a once in a lifetime experience, as the cost of every other aspect heavily outweighs the benefits.

I would say the biggest change to my lifestyle is the shift from regular to online school. I wouldn’t say this is a good change, for a number of reasons. First, I’m forced to stare at my laptop or phone for hours every single day. While this seemed ideal before the outbreak began, I’ve begun to notice all of the flaws in online schools. Instructions for assignments are vague a lot of the time, and it takes much more time and effort to get things right. Also, sitting down all day and staring at a screen is very unhealthy. I experience frequent headaches and eye pain because of the excessive usage of technology. Even after finishing all of my assignments, my habit of constantly checking my phone has not helped when it came to lessening the technology-induced strain on my body. Also, online school has deprived me of meeting my friends, which is understandable, as social distancing is the whole point of all of these changes. While it is beneficial to society due to the decrease in the spread of the virus, it has definitely taken a toll on my mental state, as everyone is just so distant now.

Another big thing that changed because of the virus is the lockdown. The lockdown has its pros and cons. Starting with the pros, it has increased the amount of time spent with family overall. While it still is possible to contact friends through video calling and texting, the increase in technology usage has made me sick of staring at screens for any longer. Also, my brother came home from college, adding one more person to see everyday at home. However, increased family interactions has also made me feel a little sick of them in some aspects. I think my lifestyle before coronavirus had a nice balance of everything, which has all gone downhill after the outbreak. Also, the lockdown gave me a bit of claustrophobia and has made me go slightly insane even though I have more than enough room for me to enjoy. This is actually one of the things that encourages me to leave the house more, and I think it applies to many other people as well. Every time I leave the house, I see an abnormal amount of people in the streets and in parks.

Lastly, the virus has encouraged me to improve upon my habits and lifestyle. The most obvious habit that I have attained is my new obsession with being clean. I make sure I wash my hands an unnecessary amount of times throughout the day. I even reorganized my desk and closets, even though that doesn’t have anything to do with the sanitation of my house. More importantly, the virus has given me a lot of time in my hands, allowing me to organize my lifestyle as well. Throughout the past couple of weeks, I’ve noticed that I do things without any sort of schedule. This caused me to procrastinate a lot and forget some of the things that I was supposed to do. The excess time provided by the virus has allowed me to organize my educational and workout schedule.

All in all, the coronavirus outbreak has definitely affected me in many ways, but I sure hope something like this does not happen ever again.