Reflecting on the commencement of the year 2020, I anticipated it to be an excellent year. This is because my youngest brother was about to graduate from high school to junior college, while my eldest brother was getting ready to begin his dream job to start working at one of the largest telecommunications firms in the country. We were all thrilled to get through the year and look forward to the beautiful events and holidays that lay ahead. Then things started to shift as the emergence of COVID-19 in the first part of the year caused widespread alarm worldwide.
What I remember most is how this highly contagious pulmonary and vascular illness spread over the world and transformed society from the way it was before. For example, in March 2020, our youngest sibling, who had started junior college, was sent home since all educational institutions had switched to an online learning program. Furthermore, my elder brother, who had recently begun working, was ordered home to work remotely, transitioning to at-home work to reduce the risk of disseminating the easily transmitted sickness (Shukla, 2020). We were all expecting the disruption to be temporary. Furthermore, most anticipated the outbreak to last just a few weeks before everyone returned to their regular lifestyles.
Unfortunately, as the situation worsened, the government was forced to implement harsh measures, including the lock-downs in some regions. As a consequence of the circumstances mentioned above, people continued to become infected with the virus. Some were hospitalized, and others died in great numbers due to this plague (Shukla, 2020). Despite this, there were some significant moments to remember and appreciate. This is because, as a family, we found ourselves spending practically every single hour together. Every evening, we looked forward to the home-bound family meal sessions.
We still have fond recollections of game evenings, movie nights, as well as the extended family’s late-night poker games. Thus, the COVID-19 period encouraged us to make the most out of family time. We were also able to employ routines to improve family health and wellness, and we also learned how to stay creatively interconnected with others. This occurrence also taught us how to resolve family disagreements in constructive ways. As a result, the family has grown and remained stronger and united than before, thus, making the year 2020 a memorable one.
Reference List
Shukla, A. (2020) Coping mechanism during COVID-19. Towards Excellence, 12(2), pp.178-183.