what i learned this april

Month two of the COVID-19 pandemic is complete. Even though I’ve been mostly stuck in my 450-square foot apartment, I still managed to learn a few things.

I have learned that working from home everyday is harder than you think. Before this pandemic hit, I would have jumped at the opportunity to work from my cozy, yet wonderful, apartment every day. Working from home has forced me to create and enforce boundaries to maintain work and home wellbeing, but it has also taught me that there can never be clear borders between the two. Your work doesn’t instantly disappear at 5 PM, just like a fight with your boyfriend doesn’t get resolved by 9 AM. At the end of a pandemic day, there’s just life, not work and home life.

Just as WFH has been harder than I anticipated, it has reminded me that so much is harder than we think. For example, brainstorming sounds really easy and even fun. In my profession, I am required to be creative and innovative all the time and I have yet to have a brilliant idea hit me in the shower. Brainstorming requires more than just sitting in a room with creative people, it needs research, reading, interviews, observation and much more. Most things aren’t as simple as they seem.

The pandemic inspired my boyfriend and I to re-watch one of the best shows of all time, America’s Next Top Model. Besides the sashaying, strutting, fierce showdowns and Ms. and Mr. Jay, I have concluded that the key message of the show is important for all of us to know. This message is that the biggest weakness and threat to our lives is lack of self-confidence. Lacking confidence holds you back from the runway of life, it forces you to stumble instead of catwalk, shrink instead of pose, hide instead of shine. Confidence boosts every aspect of your life: career, relationships, health. Thank you Tyra Banks and her model squad for proving that to me.

Lastly, April has motivated me to examine my “normal” and “pandemic” lives. When we can go back to “normal” will I want to go back? Do I want to change how I was living my life? Can I cut aspects of my life out that chip away at my self-confidence or happiness? This pandemic has showed me that in my life, work will never stop and it will always be there. So will music, books, fitness, my boyfriend, family and real friends. The magic that makes my life - restaurants, travel, parties, bars, picnics, shopping - can all be taken away and I want to keep the magic alive for as long as I can.