The things I miss
2019 seems like ages ago. I have almost forgotten what was normal before the pandemic. I remember being so optimistic that I will get to see my friends after a few months at most but now it has been 2 years. The effects of the pandemic still limit our movements.
I know that some countries started easing their restrictions. Some have already conducted face to face classes. Some are even allowed to go without a face mask. However, in our country, the same can not be said.
The hope was once there but due to some circumstances, the cases started rising again. Stricter measures are introduced once more. It was a bitter taste in my mouth because a step closer to what was once normal was so close and yet it slipped away again.
Enough about feeling bitter about things that are out of my control though. I might as well just share the things that I missed doing without fear.
Hugging my friends
I miss this a lot. Now, I can only hig my friends when we are hanging out at our respective places. We used to hug each other when we meet but this has been limited a lot.
Hanging out without masks
I miss being able to talk to the people I hangout with and see their full face. It is kind of hard to communicate while walking since I cannot pick up on cues like their smiles to see if they hear me. We need to eat before we can even see each other's faces
Eating and drinking while walking
I like to walk home from the university even though I have money for transportation. It was my preferred mode of staying active. Sometimes, I would eat when I am walking. I can not do that anymore since I feel too anxious to lower my mask while walking even with food.
Eating without social distance on restaurants
I miss being able to just be close to people. Also, I miss eating at convenience stores. I like eating there before as it was convenient.
Seeing different shades of lipsticks
I miss seeing the make up of the strangers I see. I am not really fond of wearing make up myself but I like seeing how it looks on others. I appreciate the amount of time and effort put into it. So I miss seeing what shade of lipsticks or liptints strangers wear on tbeir daily lives.
Seeing my classmates in person
I never thought that I will miss my classmates. At first, I was not fond of them as they are so different from my classmates from Science High School. But now, I really miss how chill they were and how I find myself laughing at their antics during hell weeks.
The noises and laughs of strangers around me
I was not fond of excessuve noise but now, I find myself missing those noises. The silence gets too loud sometimes and I just find myself wishing that I could surround myself with the cheerful sounds of strangers laughing with each other.
Feeding some stray cats and dogs when I am out for a walk
Sometimes, I would feed some strays that I see when I am walking home. I miss doing that as well because I barely got out since the pandemic started and even then, it was usually commute from one place to another so I had no time to walk and feed some strays.
Having random hangout with friends
I miss thetimes when class just ended and then my friends and I will have an urge to go to the mall or to eat unli wings. I just miss those since now we have to plan things out before we can go out.
Coughing freely when I choked or gagged on something
This is the last one for a reason. I am usually gagging on something when I am eating, I do not know why. Even when I slowly eat I would still experience it. Anyway, I miss being able to freely do that (mouth is covered while coughing even without pandemic, of course). Now I usually just try not to die when I choked on something.
I am pretty sure I forgot to mention a few things. Forgive my sleepy mind.
Is your country one of the few which has losser restrictions now? Are you guys back to normal?
For those who are stuck in the same situation as me, what do you guys miss?
Thank you for reading this article!
If you want to read some more articles of mine, I have monthly summaries here:
December 2021 Articles Summary
November 2021 Articles Summary
September 2021 Articles Summary
To show my appreciation for the support that I have been receiving, please accept a small gift I prepared for the first reader.
Actually we all are missing those things who used to do before and like you I'm also missing my friends I hope this pandemic situation will end soon.