Positivity and gratitude can light up a pandemic life

How many of us have felt discouraged or weary by the lack of normalcy in the past year and a half? As a new mother, I certainly felt it. Taking the children to parks and playgrounds or indoor activities on playdates seemed like long-ago myths. Or, at the very least, aspects of life that were foreign to us.

At the beginning of 2020, we had just reached a point in parenting where we were coming up for air. We had vowed to take the weekends to explore our new hometown. And, then, came lockdown. In the midst of routine and increased family time, it sometimes felt like Groundhog Day. No reprieve. And so, the ideas that I had heard – and witnessed as a non-parent – began to take on mythological status. 

Even now, when most of life has reopened, we – as parents to three under age 2 – remain cautious. Anyone under the age of 12 remains unprotected and at risk, and those who are immunocompromised, or live with someone that is immunocompromised, find themselves in a conundrum. 

How do we protect those whom we love most? Many of my friends with young children have again begun isolating. The effects of, for instance, long COVID on kids show alarming repercussions of contracting COVID-19. And so, we remain cautious.

It takes its toll. On the one hand, the pandemic has heightened family connections – at least, immediate family within individual households. On the other hand, it has sown discord: severed friendships and tenuous communities. Public health has become a matter of politics, and thus polarization.

In my latest composition course, a few students chose to research and analyze how technology has been impacted by COVID-19. One student, perhaps unsurprisingly, chose to analyze Zoom and the effects of virtual synchronous learning. While teachers strive to use Zoom (and other technologies) as a way to build community, students don’t always view it that way. Instead, many students that were surveyed indicated the opposite: disconnection, a feeling of being severed from the campus community or a more general feeling of apathy.

Analyzing these effects, my student resolved to take the problem of disconnection and attempt a resolution. Everyone, my student argued, needs to hear that they and their work are significant and important. In a world of weariness, we deserve to have the good highlighted. 

The power of positivity took hold: for birthdays and holidays, my student made a point of reaching out – of sharing a more heartfelt and connected message. He reached out to teachers that he knew were working overtime to meet students’ needs to show his appreciation. The same was done to those workers deemed essential.

The results? At first, my student admitted feeling awkward, especially when he was unable to see a clear reaction behind a masked face. But over time he became more confident – more certain that instead of disconnection, he was building connection. In acknowledging the good, he broke out of the Groundhog Day cycle. 

It’s easy to question our value, our worth, whether we’re doing things right, in times of polarization and intense critique. Simply being acknowledged removes that weight, that burden, and offers a light in a period of darkness.

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