What does the world look like 30 years after the end of the coronavirus pandemic?
I walked through the streets, crossing the occasional masked person, towards a modern and fancy building. I was healthy, both physically and mentally, but my therapist still insisted I see her. Apparently, in the year 2020, when the world was locked down, many people became very mentally unhealthy- whether it was anxiety, depression or some kind of disorder. And since she existed during such a time, and lost someone to it, she was very particular about being mentally healthy. The worst part is that both my parents agree with her, so here I am, wasting my Saturday morning, instead of sleeping and playing on my Xbox. I entered the air-conditioned building and felt my hair being whipped back. After the unbearable heat outside (thanks a lot, global warming), this was no less than heaven.
“Hello Alberto. Good morning. How are you on this fine day?” Ms Jane said as I entered her office.
“Fine” I reply
“What are you doing this evening? It’s Saturday, surely you have something planned,” she asks. The worst thing about these sessions is that she doesn’t just get on with the ‘talk about your feelings’ part. She always asks what I’m doing later, how school is, and how my family is.
“Nothing. Just watching a movie on my computer”
“Alberto dear. You should go to parties with your friends at this age. You should value the freedom you have that your parents, and even I, didn’t get when we were kids. When we were young- “
“I know I know. Everything was locked down and you couldn’t meet your friends or do anything fun.” It’s true, I did know what she would say. Always the same thing. Be happy that you can go out whenever you want. Be grateful that you can meet your friends. appreciate this liberty- not everyone has it.
“well, yes. I know that I’ve told you this probably many times, but it's to make you realise that not everyone had the same privileges back then as you do now. Kids of all ages were trapped inside their house for months on end. You should appreciate that this is not the case for you and take full advantage of it.” She responded defensively.
I finally managed to escape from her after saying I had to “study” for a test. I exited the building, and breathed a sigh of relief. Ms Jane would have made me party with her if this went on any longer. She’s very adamant like that.
I reached home and slumped onto the couch. I could hear my sister yelling from her room, and my parents taking in the kitchen. I could make out snippets of their conversation and it went something like this-
“have you heard about Roberta’s startup? It's doing fantastic, considering the time period she started it. that girl has heck of courage!” Mom exclaimed.
“yes it's absolutely mind-blowing. the world was shutting down and she was starting a company! ha! im frankly shocked she survived with how the economies were crashing in those years.'' Dad responded.
“It's probably due to the fact that companies in those days had to prove a real test of character and strength, that they would be able to survive possibly the biggest lockdown ever” Mom said thoughtfully.
“you’re absolutely right. companies in those days truly had to prove themselves and work in what are possible the worst conditions for some industries.`` Dad responded as a-matter-of factly.
“yes and now because of that, Roberta’s company is doing so well. who knew that a world-wide lockdown could do some good” Mom concluded.
Lately, it feels like the pandemic has taken over my life completely, even though it happened more than 20 years ago. All everyone talked about was the long lasting effects of it. Either it's Ms Jane saying I should enjoy my “freedom”, or my parents saying I should take care of my body and brain properly, and now it's taking over all the conversations we have.
I turned away. While one can say that the pandemic is over, it’s far from truly gone.
