Finding Happiness During a Pandemic

Title

Description

I describe my experiences during the pandemic. I talk about how the pandemic has been beneficial for my mental health. I also talk about how some of the things I've learned during this time. This was done as an assignment for Dr. Cheryl Dudasik-Wiggs' ENGL 1100 Foundations of College Writing course in Spring 2021.

Coverage

Raleigh, North Carolina

Creator

Domville, Payton

Date

2021-04-15

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Finding Happiness During a Pandemic

Payton Domville
Department of English, East Carolina University
ENGL 1100 Foundations of College Writing
Dr. Cheryl Dudasik-Wiggs
Spring 2021

Finding Happiness During a Pandemic

I remember the last day of high school as the first day of the pandemic. The weeks
leading up to that day were full of fear and growing tensions. Some people believed that Covid
would continue spreading and become a problem; others thought it could just be chalked up to
something comparable to the common cold. However, I don’t think anyone could have predicted
how much it would eventually affect them, whether they contracted the virus or not. It is clear
now that this pandemic will become part of history.
Covid has changed the lives of hundreds of millions of people. This pandemic will be one
of the most eventful parts of people’s lives and will continue to have an everlasting impact on
them. I know personally my life has changed tremendously during this time. However, I do not
contribute this change solely to Covid. Just a couple of months before the pandemic, I met my
significant other and have been very happy with life since. This is extraordinarily important to
me and has skewed my opinion on how Covid has impacted my life because my significant other
has always been there for me. I believe that the fear and anxiety I would have developed because
of covid isolating me, was extinguished before it grew out of hand, due to the fact I had someone
to talk with during quarantine.
Sadly, many people do not have someone to confide in during these times. This has bred
a disturbing amount of depression and anxiety amongst individuals during the pandemic. There
has also been an insurmountable increase in civil unrest, especially after the deaths of Briana
Taylor and Geroge Floyd. There has also been an insidious development of false information
being spread amongst people, aswell as simple irresposble actions, like not wearing masks in
public, which leads to avoidable deaths. Fear and anger are growing, and there does not seem to

be any slowing down. During this time, I have become increasingly grateful for the people
around me. I believe that a lot of people have also learned the value of human companionship
and interaction during this time.
Additionally, through the extensive free time available to me due to covid, I have also
learned about my passion for different subjects. During my free time, I would study new topics
that were of interest to me. I would explore many things at an unprecedented time. During the
past fourteen months I started learning more algebra and calculus, Mandarin Chinese, stock
options, physics, electrical engineering, and art. Online school has given me the freedom and
flexibility to study beyond my classes and current curriculum. This is a precious thing to me as it
has also allowed me to create healthier habits. I have also learned the value of online courses and
will take more in the future, and who knows, maybe I will continue taking online courses on and
off for the rest of my life.
Looking back I am still unsure how Covid would have impacted me if I never met my
significant other beforehand. I also do not know what it feels like to fall in love when there is no
global pandemic. This is a very peculiar thing; however, I would not trade that experience for the
world. Before the pandemic, I struggled with a fair amount of anxiety. At this point, I’m the
happiest I have been in years. I wish this were the case for most people, although it seems that it
is indeed the opposite. I believe that I will come out of this pandemic a mentally more robust and
healthy person due to my strong personal development during this virus.
The greatest lesson I have learned through all of this is that having someone to talk to is
vital to happiness. It is a weird feeling to have gone through something like this for so long;
sometimes it is hard to remember what things were like before Covid. This may lead many

people to feelings of isolation which would be compounded if you have no one to talk to. Even
though this has been a time synonymous with illness, death, and isolation, I will look back at this
time with fondness as a period of love, learning, and introspection.

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