Ladies I know it seems like we are in year ninety-five of lockdown due to COVID-19 and honestly, does anyone know what day of the week it is? Asking for a friend. The days and weeks may seem all discombobulated and uncomfortable as we live through the worst pandemic since the Spanish Influenza of the early 1900s, but the fact you are still alive to read this article is a blessing. Just as the Spanish Flu, this too will soon pass and it would be a shame for us to come out on the other side of this thing, without a fresh perspective on life. Here are some lessons we should all consider walking out of quarantine with.

1. Good Money Management is Actually Important

According to a survey conducted this January by the First National Bank of Omaha, 49% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck and 53% do not have an emergency fund to cover at least three months of expenses. Living paycheck to paycheck may not seem like such an absurdity until the whole country shuts down and there stops being a steady flow of paychecks coming in.

Good money management is not just using all of what you have to keep you afloat for the month, it is truly saving up for an emergency (like the one we are living in today). The worst part of all of this is we don’t know when we will recover and it should really make us reflect on our old spending habits. Was all that fast food really worth it? Did we really need all those shades of Fenty Lipsticks? Have we been good stewards with what we were blessed with? If the answer is no then we need to use this as a learning opportunity to do better and think smarter. That may mean saving an extra $6 every day by brewing your own coffee at home or skipping out on that one function with your girlfriends every so often. Sometimes you need to make a sacrifice today in order to live comfy tomorrow…  or whenever another crisis like this happens, God forbid.

2. Your Health Should Always be a Priority

To date, more than 727,000 people have recovered from COVID-19 according to Business Insider. “Eventually, if all goes well, your immune system will completely destroy all of the virus in your system,” Tom Duszynski, director of epidemiology education at Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis, wrote in The Conversation. This pandemic is a huge wake-up call to learn to treasure and nourish our bodies to be in better shape. Our immune system is our strongest defense and it is our duty to do all we can in order to keep it that way.

As Corona gained popularity so did many new drugs and vitamins that promised to help us do just that. There is nothing wrong with taking those vitamins now, but let’s not make a habit of waiting until the last minute to try to get healthy. Continue to take your daily vitamins even after this is over, eat your fruits and vegetables, and work out even if it’s just a thirty-minute power walk.

Having a Job is a Blessing, Even Though You May Hate it.

Yes, that’s right, so no more complaining. More than two million Americans lost their job in the last three months alone. Sometimes it takes losing something in order to realize how much of a blessing it was. Yes, it was hard waking up super early to get ready. Yes, it was a drag to square up with traffic every day. And yes, that one coworker who just loves to chat your ears off was a pain to avoid. But now that none of those things are there, don’t you just miss it? Don’t you wish that somewhere in the midst of these dreaded days you had the opportunity to do that routine all over again while also securing the bag?

Maybe you were an essential worker that was fortunate enough to keep your job during this whole thing. That too is a reason to be thankful. Many people are at home wondering how they will be able to make ends meet to pay the bills and feed their families and they would love to be in your essential position. When all of this is over, we don’t want to hear it. Rejoice at your alarm clock, smile at your fellow traffic sufferers, and gratefully endure your coworker’s chatter, as annoying as it may be. Appreciate every opportunity that you get to work, get out of the house, and make a living for yourself and your family.  

Make Every Moment Count 

Finally, we should learn to not take anything for granted because as we can see, it can all change overnight. Oh, how we long for those days where we were able to freely hug our dear loved ones without the risk of a deadly disease being passed too and fro. Zoom parties and Instagram lives are cool and all but oh how we long being able to go outside and enjoy socializing at real events with people. I’m sure even you introverts reminisce about those good ole days when you were able to venture out beyond the front lawn. 

When this is all over, cherish every moment with your loved ones while you can; you never know when it will be your last time seeing them. Hug your friends and tell them how much you love them. Take the vacation and make positive memories that will last you a lifetime. Take breaks from your normal routine to simply enjoy life, guilt-free.

Corona sure did a number on humanity as a whole. I hope we can all take this time to press the reset button on our lives and apply these lessons learned to our daily lives far after social distancing and quarantining is still a thing. Yes, this is going to be the new normal, but a better normal that can bring us all closer together.