Basically for most of my adult life I’ve struggled to have a life that I truly wanted. Not comparing myself to anyone else, but going from job that let me go to job that let me go. Not making ends meet. I never felt “normal.” I always felt like an anomaly.
Then the pandemic hit; while everyone else was panicking and not sure what to do for me it was–at worst–a mild inconvenience; and at the time I was working a retail job (at last feeling like I wasn’t going to get fired at the drop of a hat, which was a weird feeling). I was tech freelancing on the side, too, which is where my skill set was.
Then suddenly freelancing took off (I think it was because of the freelancing sites I was on “rotated” me to the top). I was able to quit my job, do freelancing full time. I was able to go on actual dates (since I want to get married). I moved out of my parents place. It was awesome. For once I felt “normal.” Again, while everyone was panicking I felt like I was finally going in the direction I had planned, with ease.
Then when everything was going back to “normal,” I started to lose the success that I had gained. The clients that I worked for during the pandemic didn’t seem interested in continuing working. I’ve since had to fight every day to get back to what my normal was (which was everyone else’s unusual season).
Anyone else feel this? Pre and post pandemic was chaotic, and the pandemic for me felt like I was finally getting somewhere in life. I realize a lot of folks died because of COVID (and many more families split because of it), but it just angers me whenever people talk about the “new normal” when there wasn’t a “normal” for me to begin with.
Dude honestly pandemic time was great for me. Like I feel terrible for everyone who lost loved ones and got sick, but pandemic/lockdown time was absolutely the best time of my life.
I was getting paid 60% salary to teach one online lesson per week, learned a new language, started eating better, worked out, and made some friends I’m sure I’ll know for the rest of my life.
Weird but hey when life gives you opportunities, you take them, regardless of what is happening around you.
I feel you. I quit my job at the end of January 2020 due to a health issues and… well, you know what came right after. Focused on getting my health right and then had a job lined up that fell through due to pandemic related terminations and suddenly I qualified for unemployment.
Got to relax for 6 months for the most part and destress, and in June 2020 got interviewed for a “dream job” at a company that was a long term goal for me. Hired on, started fully remote in August 2020 and have been doing the thing since.
Wife and I are already extreme introverts so this worked out swimmingly. Big pay bumps and bonuses, bought a fairly cheap home in the rurals and I’m living comfortably.
Pandemic times have been pretty good to me honestly, and wearing a mask to go out and stay safe is really no big deal.
I feel the same way! Although the beginning of the pandemic was rough.
I get swooped up in my emotions pretty easily, and so the first month or so i was in a serious state of panic. I stopped reading the news daily after that, which helped a lot in stabilizing. And then i realized that my social anxiety issues were getting the space i needed - quite literally. Social distancing made grocery shopping much more doable for me, people didn’t want to meet up, and large crowds … just weren’t a thing. I miss that a lot.
Yeah the pandemic improved my life for sure. My daughter was born literally right when everything locked down. I was able to work from home for the last few years and consequently I was able to be a much bigger part of my kids’ lives.
The improvement in my work-life balance was so huge that now I’m considering leaving my job since they are insisting on forcing people to come back to the office. I managed to get permission to delay return to office for a while, but it’s still scheduled to happen.
Mine was more towards the end. When my previous employer started talking about people coming back to the office, I started job hunting.
I found a fully remote role that paid an extra 30%. Within a year of working for them, they have me a promotion that was another 25% on top.
In the middle of all that I met my now-fiancée.
So just in the last two years, everything has gotten better.
