Twelve days of my 20s - Day 8


I have written about “the pandemic” on this blog before, but today I wanted to focus on the direct impacts I have experienced. This post is not to justify actions or play a game of “my pandemic was worse for you than me” - we all suffered, and by we, I mean humanity.

At the time, I was living in a comfortably sized flat in Manchester City Centre. However, I quickly realised that a lack of outside space, heightened by the illegality of going outside (outside of certain exemptions), was a missing necessity; this immediately plied on stress. Then work got busy, as we managed to build something everyone wanted in a pandemic, a platform to work from anywhere! More stress ensued.

The result of stress pinnacling in a heavy drinking regimen to ensure I stayed sane, something I now regret, has shown me that I needed to manage without alcohol to “be sane” (as it wasn’t a sensible solution). This reality check is something I will be eternally grateful for.

The pandemic ruined quizzes for me, as I imagine it did for most people suffering through another family game. However, these forced quizzes showed me the value of family time and the need to socialise with different groups of people. I’m happy to say: my Aunt, Uncle, partner, and I now play Bridge almost weekly; I have joined a Choir; and spend more time seeing loved ones. This real human connection was missing for me long before the pandemic.

The wrecking of the economy is still something we’re all suffering through, and I still struggle to see an end in sight. Luckily my sector (DevOps/Engineering) has seen some of the most insane wage growth in its history, balancing out years of under-investment. The market will have to pop eventually, so I am getting everything out of it now.

Some features of the world are better now, but I have a nagging feeling that we won’t be out of the chaos of the lockdowns for many years. At the risk of sounding like a millennial (as I am one), my overriding feeling is a loss of my youth, coupled with a lack of prosperity for the future.