Coping With Corona

By Seneca Moraleda-Puguan

The COVID-19 Pandemic has brought the world to its knees. It has thwarted plans, shattered economies, halted travel and tourism, and upset normalcy. Many government leaders have called for quarantine and social distancing to prevent the spread of the virus. Everyone has been encouraged to stay home as much as possible or if not, limit social contact and avoid gatherings.

With the community quarantine in place and families forced to stay home, people everywhere have found ways to adjust and cope with everyday life while the coronavirus lurks around. Here are some of the things that people have been doing to beat the monotony and boredom that staying home for a long period brings.

Binge-watching. This pandemic has given many people extra time to catch up on their favorite series in Netflix and YouTube. There are a lot of Facebook posts asking for recommendations on what to watch on Netflix and what Korean dramas are good to indulge in.

Tiktok. It’s a social media app used to create short videos. People, of all ages and cultures, share their TikTok videos of short dances and lip sync comedies to bring joy and laughter to our anxiety and grief-stricken world.

Zoom Meetings. As social beings, it is in our nature to connect with other people and when circumstances don’t allow us, we make ways. Companies use apps like Zoom to hold meetings. Family and friends catch up with each other online. Churchmates meet online to pray and encourage one another. Thanks to technology, we can reach out to the world from the comfort of our homes.

Facebook Concerts. Just recently, our family had so much fun watching and singing with Gary Valenciano, a famous Filipino singer, who held his anniversary concert on Facebook to raise funds for frontliners and affected communities. Several celebrities and famous personalities from all over the world have been doing online performances to entertain the quarantined world. Theater shows are also streaming for free.

Online Church Services. In many parts of the world, churches are discouraged to hold church services in order to prevent transmission of coronavirus, but this didn’t stop congregations to listen and be encouraged by the Word of God. With the help of Facebook and other social networking apps, churches are still able to gather and worship together.

Homeschooling. Schools around the world have also moved the opening of classes. Parents have found ways and still finding ways for their children not just to laze around but still be able to learn and catch up with classes despite the closure of schools.

Pursuing New Skills. Cooking new recipes, baking, creating ‘dalgona’ coffee, painting and drawing artworks are some of the skills that people now have all the time in the world to pursue.

Rest. COVID-19 has caused the world to slow down. With no train or bus ride to catch, no traffic to beat, many have been given the opportunity to simply rest and relax, catch up on sleep and laze around.

Quality Time with Family. This pandemic has given families the gift of time to spend with each other. Despite all the setbacks that this brutal virus has caused the world, this season has been and is still is a great time for families to catch up with each other, share stories, laugh with each, and pray together. This may not be the case for some, but for many families around the world, COVID-19 has caused relationships to be stronger.

COVID-19 may have forced everyone to be apart but it didn’t break the human spirit and ingenuity to still virtually come together and make the most of the circumstances. With the help of technology, this pandemic has caused the world to even grow smaller.

As much as we love our families and want to enjoy every precious moment with them, we long to hug our friends, hang out with our colleagues and classmates, and meet new people. We know that there is no place like home but our lungs long to breathe fresh air, our eyes crave to see new sights, and our feet desire to wander and explore new territories. I know that all of us can’t wait to get our lives back again. But while we wait and continue to hope, home is the best and safest place to be right now. While our frontliners sacrifice their lives and time away from their families and those affected by the virus fight for their lives in isolation, the rest of the world who are called to stay home or work from home can continue to binge- watch, record and share TikTok videos, have meetings with friends and colleagues over Zoom, watch concerts on Facebook and YouTube, attend online church services, pursue new skills, and simply rest and enjoy time with loved ones. In this way, we are doing our part to hopefully flatten the curve and eventually etch COVID- 19 in the annals of history, lingering like the flu but already beaten.