Q: How has COVID changed your life? 

A year and approximately 2 months ago, the World Health Organisation declared the then emerging COVID-19 situation a pandemic. How has that affected the lives of our interviewees since? We asked them. 

Jessica, who has Crohn’s Disease:
I lost my home of 14 years, almost became homeless. We lost everything cause of the pandemic in 2020.

Caren Robinson, who survived a major traffic accident:
It has made things much tougher financially as my husband lost both of his jobs for several months. It has made me apprehensive about leaving the home due to my autoimmune disorders. My kids have been doing online school since Spring of 2020 and they are home all the time now. This has been hard on all of us. It has completely messed up my routine and has forced me to adjust how I do everything in the household.

On the other side of it, it has been a mixed blessing because I have a lot more time with my husband and my kids now in a time when I am aware of it. I feel that surviving a Polytrauma and Brain Injury has prepared me to get through a Pandemic virtually unscathed mentally. I believe it is because I am already used to isolation, losing contact with friends, losing a job, and all the changes that people around the world are now experiencing. I am hoping that the Pandemic experience will make Healthcare providers and society in general a bit more sensitive and able to somewhat understand people who have invisible injuries, and limitations they cannot control.

Pamela Ellis, who survived an ectopic pregnancy:
Because of Covid, I had to do the ultrasound, hear my baby’s heartbeat, go through the surgery, and recovery at the hospital all by myself which was scary. It was the first time I ever had surgery so doing it alone was awful. For my day-to-day life, I’m fairly introverted and reclusive already so the social aspect hasn’t affected me too much. I do miss taking the kids to the museums and parks around the area. We have stayed away from large gatherings this entire time. My oldest son is high risk so we don’t want to take chances. We also don’t see our loved ones as often as we would like. The kids have been doing online schooling and they absolutely hate it. I do too. LOL. They miss their school friends. Other than that we have been very lucky. My husband is an essential worker so everything has stayed the same for us other than the kids’ schooling and doing fun activities outside of the home. Money isn’t as abundant as it used to be either. 

Tiffani “Oling” Lim, esports professional:
It honestly hasn’t made much of an impact since I rarely leave the house in the first place, I can’t bear to be apart from my gaming rig/home office, and I’ve always been a bit of a germaphobe anyway. Only difference is that I’ve had to stay in Singapore for most parts of 2020 and I think that’s the longest I’ve gone without seeing my mom. It’s made me realize how much I’ve taken travelling freely for granted in the past.

Jack, who moved from China to Cambodia in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic:
My wife and I have always been homebodies. It has made us appreciate our lifestyle much more. We are content with staying home and slowly exploring the city of Phnom Penh and Cambodia. We are moving at a pace that I’m much more comfortable with.

Dr Bob Rich, author of many books:
I am very fortunate. Australia, my country, has done well in minimising damage from the dreaded bug. Social distancing and masks haven’t bothered me any. Being a loner, I haven’t found lockdowns to have caused me any grief. Probably the major change is that I have been attending 2 or 3 times as many meetings as previously. You see, being an environmentalist, I minimise car use, so often in my life I have declined to attend a meeting. Now, everything is online, or at least there is an online option.

Oh, why the meetings? Other people have a terrible habit. Whenever I express interest in a group, they twist my arm to go on the committee. So, I belong to a political party (Australian Greens) where I have 3 or 4 official roles at any one time. I work with a refugee organisation, belong to a cooperative, help to save the local environment of my little town, and belong to a wonderful group who help people down on their luck. Then there are the many groups over the internet….

The only real negative effect of the pandemic on me is because I have too much empathy. OK, I’ve been safe, but I feel the pain of those who have suffered, in one or more of many ways. I know many such people, but since I consider all of humanity my family, there is a risk that I’ll cry for them all. So, I need to use my Buddhist tools flat out to stay sane.

Choo Bin Yong, game designer who runs solo:
I think there is both positive and negative changes. On the positive side, my mobile games have gotten more downloads and exposure. On the negative side, I feel more restricted as in not able to go out as much as before.

Sy, founder of LUCK-IT:
I really miss travel, concerts, events, commercial karaoke, dining with large groups of people,  people-watching, being able to get in and out of buildings conveniently, being able to be out without being paranoid about touching surfaces, fresh air against my cheeks and of course being able to enjoy the services of certain businesses before they closed down… but at the same time there have also been opportunities that a person in my situation would never have been able to get without a pandemic, so I would say this has been a very emotionally confusing time. 

Joan, a minimalist:
It taught me to be more deliberate in living a focused life and to enjoy my own company a little bit more.

The Amateur Trader, self-employed occasional trader:
Put my 2020 experience to good use and may that help me be mIt showed me, based on the pivoting that I did, that it is actually possible to make a reasonable living without doing my previous job. To an extent, I didn’t miss my previous job that much too, as much as I liked it a lot. 

What about you? What did you go through during the COVID-19 pandemic? Tell us in the comment box below and we’ll add it to the list.
More questions for you to answer in The Wisdom of Crowds series here.

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