Lessons Learned During Covid-19

By Jayashree Sitaraman

PROMPT—During Covid-19 ...

We can all agree that life was difficult during Covid-19. I am sure we have all learned a few lessons and become wiser after the pandemic. Here are the lessons I learned during Covid-19:

Control (or the lack thereof)

The first thing I realized after coronavirus struck us was how little control we have over our lives. If a minuscule, invisible, virus can bring powerful people and governments to their knees, and literally grind life to a halt, then we are just mere puppets being played around by an unseen force.

Being in the moment

We don't know what life will bring in the next moment. Remember the time before the pandemic when we made plans for the summer? Little did we know then that our carefully laid plans would come to naught. All we have is this moment. If we can just be mindful of this moment with the realization that things may change in the next moment, then we can adapt to changes that come along the way.

Accept, adjust, adapt

Any situation can be turned around by accepting the reality. Though the situation itself might not change, our attitude to it changes in a way that will give us more peace. With acceptance comes adjustment. If we can't go to Hawaii for a vacation, then we can do a stay-cation. If we are ready to adapt, there are endless ways of coping with calamities.

Never take things for granted

Six months back, we would not have given a second thought about going grocery shopping or going to a mall but now, even those mundane activities fill us with dread. We are at a time when even the most routine activities make us anxious and worried. Even with all the stuff that we had in life before the pandemic, we had some control over life as to doing things that we liked. The most important lesson to remember when all this blows over, is that we should never take life for granted and be grateful for whatever we are able to do on any given day. We don't know when change will come that will knock us off our feet. I guess that in two years from now, when we have a bad day, we will be mature enough to think that it could be worse.

Ultimately, what matters in life is being there for others, showing our love and appreciation for others before it is too late, realizing that everyone is human, because we never know when the next disaster might strike us personally or collectively.

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Jayashree Sitaraman is a scientist and a passionate writer. She enjoys writing about nature, travel and life in general. Her work has appeared in The Voices Project, The Voice of Eve, and The Beacon newspaper (print and online) where her poem won second prize in the DearReader contest, 2025. She writes from Rockville, Maryland.