Isolation

“No one can live entirely on their own, nor can any country or society exist in isolation.”

-Daisaku Ikeda

The quote above rings true and I’m sure of people haven’t felt it yet, they will within the weeks to come.

Classes have been moved virtually, the whole of the country is on lockdown with no one able to go out unless completely necessary. As an introvert, I feel quite happy to stay home and enjoy my time on my own or with my husband when he gets home from work. Since I’m pregnant, it’s given me the opportunity to “nest” and I have to say, or flat has never been more tidy.

But what effects does a pandemic have on a society? The economy has/is/and will see damage, going to the shops is unsettling as you watch people turn on the survival mode part of their brain, and those at home will slowly start to be affected by the isolation.

As social animals, the impact of isolating has a significant effect on our overall wellbeing. Although I said I am an introvert, it doesn’t mean that seeing this doesn’t have an effect on me. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not originally from the U.K. and being away from family and friends at a time like this has been unbelievably hard. My husband and I even had a flight to Florida to visit my family in April before I became too heavily pregnant and couldn’t fly anymore. Although it looks like that is no longer an option. I haven’t been home since last summer and having the only opportunity to go home be taken away from me in this way has shaken me. I don’t know when I will go home again now, I imagine since I have research this summer, followed by the birth of a baby in September, the earliest wouldn’t be until 2021.

And with all of these thoughts rushing through my head I have to keep up with assessments. Which at this point just seems silly, but life must go on.

All of my assessments for the rest of the semester have been changed to suit this new lifestyle that we will all have to have for the next 3 weeks, minimum. But what happens after? It’s surreal to me, as someone who is working on her masters in microbiology, to watch a pandemic like this unfold in my lifetime. I’m equally fascinated and horrified to see the ignorant responses from the general public as well as public officials.

But only time will tell.

And I guess now this blog has become my own little isolation diary.