The New Normal

People on the news and in the media have been talking a lot about the “new normal” lately. What with lockdown restrictions lifting and changing around the world, we find ourselves going back out into a world which looks the same but is essentially and fundamentally changed in ways that we could not appreciate or understand.

The new situation raises so many questions: do we go back to what we identify as normal? Should we air on the side of caution and keep ourselves isolated? If we choose the latter option, what effect does that have on our relationships, our lives, and our mental health?

It’s not an easy thing to call, and I’ll be honest in saying that I don’t have answers for any of these questions right now. Part of me wants to get back to living, but the other part of me is quite scared of what lies ahead for me as an individual and the global community as a whole.

And this “new normal” we’re supposed to adopt and adapt our lives to fit? There’s no textbook example to follow, so how are we supposed to know whether we’re making the right decisions and keeping ourselves and our families/friends safe?

The biggest uncertainty for me currently maps along my return to uni in September. My second-year housemates and I had a call about a week back to discuss how we were all feeling about returning to uni. Obviously, we won’t be able to social distance from one another, but we naturally want to meet up with our friends. Is that even feasible?

I reflect back on the last time I saw my university friends. It’s strange to think that at that time, I didn’t know that was going to be the last time I’d see them for like six months. I didn’t even say goodbye to some of them properly. I figured I'd see them in a couple of days, so there was really no need.

There’s another friend of mine who I didn’t even get a chance to see before I left Exeter, and all I want to do is give him the biggest hug when I see him in September. We used to see each other nearly every day, and I've missed him so incredibly much. Now I wonder what our first meet up is actually going to look like.

There are so many decisions to be made, and honestly, it’s boggling.

So, this week, I took a step back from all those worries and decided to take my own steps towards getting back to normal. I’ve been reaching out to my various friends and re-connecting with them, trying to organise meeting up in the new situation, which I’ll admit has been challenging but also really exciting and hopeful.

You may wonder why "hopeful"; for me the pandemic has made the world feel a little lacking in hope, and I'm a firm believer that we all need to keep hope in our hearts to keep going. It feels as if the world is a little less strange when you can say that you're meeting friends, or going out for a drive. I feel a little less isolated, and that's been really good, giving me hope that the next few months are going to be better.

At the beginning of the week, I saw a close friend of mine for the first time in nearly a year. Neither of us could believe that we had let such time elapse, but as we reflected on the last year, it’s been a hellishly busy one for the both of us.

I’ll admit that before we met up, I was a bit nervous. So much has happened for me in the last year, and equally a lot has happened for her too, that I worried whether we would be able to find that common ground we had always shared.

After a few minutes, we were naturally back where we left off, falling into step with each other for a few hours of catching up on every part of the adventures we’ve both been on in the past year.

At the end of our meeting, as we were discussing mutual friends and who we’d managed to stay in contact with, we agreed that fundamentally, we’re both the same people we always were. We’ve been friends for nearly ten years, and that kind of friendship is easy to fall back into, even after a long break.

I think that’s how we need to view the world right now. Maybe it’s a bit scary, maybe there’s a lot of new stuff to get used to, and maybe we’re just trying as hard as we can to keep ourselves physically and mentally safe. But, we need to get back to “normal”.

I’ve never liked the word normal personally. It attempts to restrict things, and I find that normal is too small of a world to encompass all the vivacity, vibrancy and diversity of this world.

So, instead of saying let’s get used to the “new normal” like everyone else, I say let’s get back to the crazy, amazing, beautiful world out there, with a few new additions :)

P.S. Tomorrow I’m releasing some book/film quote wallpapers on my Instagram – I’ll be putting them in a highlight so you guys can access them when/if you’d like, but make sure you’re following me to see them - @roxyelle01

Also, if you have any book/film quotes that you’d like turning into personal wallpapers, message me on Instagram or drop a comment and I’ll make them for you.

#newnormal #adjusting #socialdistancing