People Are Sharing What They Missed About Quarantine In 2020, And It's Pretty Interesting
2020 was a hard, strange year, for very obvious reasons. But as we get some distance from the quarantine period of the COVID-19 pandemic, it's clear that there were elements of the experience that people have some level of fondness for.
U/Sweethereaftertime recently asked the people of Reddit, "What do you miss about quarantine in 2020?" The answers might make you reflect on your own experience during that time — and if not, they're fascinating regardless:
1."The traffic. There was none. It was glorious."
2."Working in a psychiatric ward, I obviously didn't have a home office.' But I loved the post-apocalyptic feeling of driving to work through my nearly abandoned hometown. It felt like I Am Legend."
—u/TwawkiTeo
3."The lack of a need to be accomplishing anything. We were all stuck inside. There was no FOMO, there was no 'You need to be advancing in your career, get those gains' bullshit. It was just, 'Hey, we can't go anywhere for a while. Hang out, do what you can to stay sane, watch some Tiger King, and get into botany.' It was a worldwide catching of our breath (and, yes, I see the irony in that statement)."
4."Working from home. When things calmed down, they decided to let me keep working from home, and it feels like I have way more free time even though I'm still working."
—u/cvill--
5."I didn't need any excuses to not go outside."
6."Not having to interact with people."
—u/GrimmButter
7."I miss feeling connected to everyone and that we were all in this together. (Also, it was a good feeling knowing that everyone at least sanitized their hands.)"
8."No social expectations. I hate feeling like a bad friend because I'm too tired to attend every social function people I know invite me to. It was nice having my time to do as I pleased, with no expectations from anyone else."
—u/dameon5
9."Once it became clear that being outdoors was relatively safe, I would take long walks with friends or my dad as a way of socializing."
—u/rybl
10."It was okay for me to hide my face."
—u/boi69lolhi
11."I miss the vulnerability of it all. People seemed more open to talking about their challenges and were learning to be alone (or going crazy trying)."
12."I grew a rat tail. I started it at the beginning of the pandemic, and cut it when I got vaccinated. It was about nine inches. It was so disgusting. I miss it so much."
—u/Jackburtoni
13."We live in a tourist town, and there were no tourists in peak tourist season — so we got to walk to the beach (within the allowed radius of our house) and go for a swim in beautiful weather with no one around."
14."The six-foot space rule. I’m mainly talking about checkout lines here. Now it seems like people are breathing down my neck when in line."
15."I actually really liked online school. I thought it helped me learn a lot better."
—u/AV8ORboi
16."Spending lots of quality time with my very pregnant wife, and being able to be with her and my newborn son for way longer than the two weeks I'm allotted as a father."
17."Flight attendant here — I miss the empty planes. We'd go to work just to fly on empty planes and watch movies or read. The few times we did have passengers, we wouldn't have a beverage service inflight, we'd just give them a goody bag (with bottled water, a snack, and sani wipes) during boarding. Good times."
18."I got back into my favorite cartoon and did fan art again the first month or two of lockdown. While I was watching the show again, I’d have my dog next to me in bed, right against the window. I was still in school, but work was light and I spent a lot of time playing happy hobbit music as I drew and my dog looked outside. It was really peaceful, and surprisingly I recall it as very happy. I miss that. I didn’t feel much pressure about my future because i was so present in that time."
19."I found out I was pregnant in January 2020. I had my whole pregnancy and first months of motherhood during the full lockdown. It was awesome — I didn’t have to try to go to the office while nauseous or anything. I got to do my whole pregnancy in yoga pants and my husband’s T-shirts. I gave birth in the hospital with no one but my husband and no visitors, which just let me bond with my daughter. My husband and I are starting to consider a second one, and I’m already dreading having to be pregnant in public."
And lastly...
20."Absolutely nothing."
Agree? Disagree? Have your own additions? See you in the comments!
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.
