2020 has been the year of the pandemic which taught us new words like social distancing and made us use words we never thought we would use such as quarantine, lockdown and pandemic in everyday jargon. There even was a time where the earth did stand still as the whole world went into a lockdown grounding flights, shutting down businesses and schools, cancelling prominent social events like award shows and movie premieres and forcing everyone to stay at home. Whilst the world is still battling it we have also been forced to carry on with our day to day life with added precautions. Here are a few signs that we are indeed living in the new normal.
You literally can’t leave home without it and it has become an essential part of your attire especially if you mix and match accordingly.
Finally the time has come for you to dress like you’re homeless in public and not be judged for it. Why? Because no one can recognize you with that mask.
Foundation and lipstick have taken a backseat in the makeup world and today no one will know if you’re wearing either besides even if you do it’s only going to end up all over your mask. So you might as well make your eyes, the only part of your face that’s visible, glamourous. So go crazy with that eyeliner and eyeshadow.
Remember the good old days when we’d soldier on for work, school or an exam with a cold or cough and maybe even a slight temperature because staying at home wasn’t an option? Well now it’s mandatory! Admit you’ve been in the best shape health wise because you’ve taken extra precaution in being healthy these past few months and as a result have forgotten how bad a cold can be. So there is a silver lining to this pandemic.
Remember when we were in kindergarten and were taught the importance of washing our hands accompanied with a song and then we forgot all about it? Well look who’s laughing now because that is exactly what we are doing now, making sure we wash our hands properly and for an appropriate amount of time.
Another added accessory in everyone’s purse is a sanitizer bottle. Earlier, only used by the ‘Monica’s’ of the world has now become a global need.
When we are forced to do adult things we always think of the most irrational fears. For instance during security checks our minds wonder as to whether we might actually have a gun on our person or when we go to the bank that our ID might not match the details given all of which are ridiculous fears.
Getting our temperature checked is of a similar scenario. Although we have no fever, what if it does show our body temperature to be high. Gone are all the ‘I’m too hot’ jokes and instead it has been replaced with 10 seconds of pure dread.
Those four months where we were forced to stay at home relying on video calls and online games for our social interaction made most of us promise to never say no to another outing no matter how tired we are or ‘not in the mood.’ While for a select few they loved being at home and even now continue to do so.
The newest short form to graze our conversations: Work from Home. What would have been considered a strong no in the work arena has now become an accepted option and rightfully so as it proves to be more productive in most instances. Microsoft has even gone the distance to make it a permanent option in the future.
As Hollywood and Bollywood are bearing the brunt of the coronavirus most movie releases are being delayed and no new movies are being shot which is quite sad for die hard movie fans as 2020 had several highly anticipated movies coming out. Artists are also having a tough time recording new material without access to a recording studios, hence a lack of music videos too.
Further we see award shows such as the Emmys and the VMA’s take a whole different turn as it is being held virtually and you long for the red carpet moments because you too turned into the fashion police at that point.
Grocery shopping was indeed a challenge with having to stand in insanely long queues for hours just to buy your daily essentials (while maintaining the social distance) or having to keep an ear out for grocery trucks that came down the road. In these instances choice wasn’t an option and we all made do with what we managed to get even if we hated a particular vegetable. We also learnt to ration and not indulge in unnecessary purchases which is exactly how they survived in the hunger games.
Even online delivery was a challenge as most sites only accepted a certain number per day giving new meaning to the phrase ‘first come, first serve.’
Being unable to see and meet each other those four months meant relying on phone calls, video calls and messages and even gave way to more virtual dates and family gatherings which was a real test to any relationship.
That being said welcome to the new normal and chances are we will be stuck in this state for quite some time so try and make the best of it.
