The pandemic has changed us all and hopefully for the better. Seele Contributor, Shefali Karani shares the ways the pandemic has impacted and changed her life

Having been confined to the house for almost a hundred days besides going out when necessary until recently, I learned a lot from the pandemic. The world has changed.

Feeling grateful about everything I had was one of the first lessons I learned from this situation. Since I was at home most of the time, I had to look for things that I appreciated to keep my spirits up. It’s important to appreciate what you have because it’s not good to ever take anything or anyone for granted. Last year, I lost my maternal grandfather unexpectedly to cancer. No one knew till the final stage that he had cancer and neither did he. The way he fought till the end was heartbreaking to see. But, we all knew he survived so long only because he always looking at the positive side of life and was blissfully unaware of his illness despite of the internal pain. That is true resilience.

Another lesson that came up during the pandemic was tolerance. Most people who personally know me know that I’m a third generation American that has stayed in three different countries. But that’s not to say that I haven’t experienced racism. I’ve had people tell me to go home even though I already am at home. Better yet is when someone I meet asks me where I’m from to which I reply I’m an American staying in Dubai or something like that, and they then again ask me “Where are you REALLY from?” to which I just ignore (this might happen even after I say that I’m Indian American which means I’m American but my ancestry is from India). In such a situation, I mentally forgive the person since I know that this is a pretty racist question to ask and I understand that if you do ask such a question, you’re expecting my answer to change when it’s not going to. I’ve learned to tolerate and forgive such people.

An alternative lesson that I learned during the pandemic was to take care of my health. I gained a few pounds at the start but who hasn’t? I managed to maintain my weight after that through virtual exercise sessions and eating well. I’ve actually grown to appreciate these few pounds that I gained initially as I now feel like this is my true weight.

During the pandemic, I grew closer to my friends and family. Although they were staying in various parts of the world, I used the telephone and other means to communicate with them. It was also during this time that all of my travel plans and events stopped due to the lockdown that came up then. It was also at this moment that it suddenly dawned upon me that life has so many meaningful relationships to offer and to keep such relationships strong.

While working from home, I also learned to communicate better with my coworkers. I did this through phone calls, virtual meetings, and other similar means. During my work meetings, I learned to communicate quickly and to the point. I also let others talk when needed.

As for my public social media pages, I used that to inspire others. I only shared positive posts and was sure to mention that whatever pictures I had posted online without a mask are from events before the pandemic, and that I’m currently following the safety measures implemented. It’s a wonderful feeling to remind others that the world may be going through a tough time now, but there are brighter days ahead.