By Vasiliki Theodosiou,
Summer 2021. You close your eyes. A light breeze is hitting your face. You can smell the sea, the salt and your sunscreen. At the background a happy beat from the nearest beach bar is constantly playing. Some people next to you randomly decide to dance to this beat.
Social distancing is not a thing anymore. Masks? What is that even? A thing purely associated with theatre and carnival that has no place in this summerish scenery.
Back to today and to our very own eyes and hands. Scrolling through this article. Wondering if we are ever going to be able to experience something like this again. How soon is it going to be until we can see the ones we love, go to that vacation that we had been planning with our friends, since like forever, or endlessly dance to our go to song in a club?
Patience. Better days are ahead of us. This situation is definitely not pleasant but if we were to take something positive from it, it is the following, and make sure to remember it no matter how cheesy it may sound: it is extremely important to appreciate the people that we love and that love us. It is important to appreciate the smallest things in life that we used to take for granted.
Next time we will be questioning whether we should take that one impulsive decision and take a weekend off with our friends, next time we will be wondering whether we should go out or stay at home, we will have this pandemic as a constant reminder to seize those moments. And, no, this is not a statement that was taken directly from a common motivational YouTube video on how to live your life. It is rather a lesson learned after a year full of lockdowns and restrictions that have not been easy on anyone.
And it is not only about appreciating people and moments but also about appreciating places and habits. Watching a movie or a play in a theatre. Experiencing a live concert from our favourite artist while screaming at the top of our lungs and socialising with fellow music lovers. Eating our usual meal in our “spot” be it a restaurant or a bar. Even taking multiple trips to the supermarket on the same day because we forgot to buy certain things during our first visit or simply walking on the street without having to be mindful of our distance from others.
To cut a long story short, from small walks to the mall for a pure “shopping therapy” to a chill beer night with our closest friends, we should always remember what corona taught us: and that is to take nothing for granted. Yes, we are living and breathing but this will not always be the case. 2044 years ago, Horatius was telling us to “carpe diem”[1], what later became a cliché phrase suitable for inspirational captions on social media. Never would we ever think that this phrase would hold true once again in our modern world. Never would we realise the significance of a hug, of a night out, of our friends and family.
Horatius continues: “quam minimum credula postero”, meaning put little trust in the future, in tomorrow. If anything, this pandemic demonstrated how tomorrow might not even arrive. So let us make the most even during these days. Text the ones close to you. Check in on your course mates, your colleagues. Be supportive, express your feelings and spread positivity hoping that the days of “normality” are not as far away as they seem.
[1] Horatius, Odes 1.11
