What will life post quarantine be like?

It has been about two months since the stay at home orders for COVID-19 brought me home from school and drastically altered my spring. Today my county has began to open up a bit, still following social distancing. We have only had one case in my county, which was reported over a month ago, so we have been very lucky, but we still have been quarantining. During this time of quarantine there have been many hardships. People are losing their jobs, our healthcare system is overwhelmed, and the economy isn’t doing so hot, but there are still some positives. With all of the people staying at home and off the roads, air pollution has been going down! cities in China and India have both seen dramatic decreases in their air pollution since lockdowns have been initiated! These changes aren’t sustainable if we go directly back to business as usual post quarantine, but they show us that dramatic changes can be made if we choose to prioritize the environment and focus of addressing pollution and climate change.

With my county opening up today it makes me think of how we are all going to act when we can go back to our “normal lives.” Are we going to listen to the information that we were given about how we can address environmental issues and have a major impact, or are we just going to pass it off as a positive side-effect of this time when there have been so many negative ones? What are we going to take out of this time of reflection and contemplation into our normal busy lives?

Personally I will remember how sad it can be to stay stuck inside all day. I will spend more time appreciating what I have instead of dwelling on what I could have or used to have. Most importantly, I will remember just how big of an impact we are having on the planet. We have been blessed with this time of reflection and we should take advantage of it to identify how we want to live our lives going forward.

What do you want to take with you from this time of quarantine and reflection?