Part 8 of our series: What I'm Grateful For From 2020
COVID-19 has been the latest in a string of challenges for UNE Senior Lecturer in Chemistry, Dr Erica Smith. The death of her father, the return of her mother's cancer and tragedy in her friendship group meant she's been able to confront the pandemic with a real sense of perspective.
"There are things we can influence in our lives and things we can't, and I've long been trying to foster that attitude. Personally, I've had the worst five years. But COVID has brought home to me that I just need to live my life, and that things co
uld be much worse. It's actually been a blessing in disguise.
“When UNE's intensive schools were cancelled at the beginning of lockdown, I took two weeks' leave. My daughter and I filled the house with food and didn't interact with anyone. We made some pyjamas from scratch and banana bread every day, and cooked all this yummy food and slept half the day and stayed up all night watching movies. It was fantastic. I loved that time with her.
“No-one deserves to get COVID, but it was like the planet saying, 'Stop! There's too many of you and I've had enough'. I think the human race has dropped the ball, and I think people are realising that some things have to change. We just can't afford to revert back to how we lived before.
When everything was cancelled, it provided me with valuable time to breathe and think. It made a lot of people stop and question, 'What am I doing in this crazy circus wheel?'
“I've always thought I was an optimist, but my level of optimism this year has surprised even me. Just having a job is enough to be grateful for. I found that once you step back and take time and enjoy your weekends, you actually achieve more during the week; you're far more productive. We all need mental downtime and that's what COVID has given us. We should all be able to do our work each week, then go home and not think about work. Ours should be a collaborative society, rather than a competitive one with people trying to crawl over one another to get ahead.
“The year of COVID was surprisingly positive for me; it was the straw that broke the camel's back. I realised I needed to lose some weight, stop drinking so much wine, and get fit again. I am now back in the pool and back on my bike, and I've done a couple of mini triathlons. I'm feeling a million bucks. It's been a year of personal growth for me; the challenge is in continuing it and not just falling back into old habits."
Also in this series:
- Part 1: 'I won't go back to what I was doing before'
- Part 2: 'My workmates gave me strength when I was on my knees'
- Part 3: A new appreciation of the essentials - the people around us
- Part 4: Back in the arms of family after months of separation
- Part 5: Adventure vs the quiet life: Lifelong traveller ‘lucky in lockdown’
- Part 6: Regional life: A gift in the year of lockdown
- Part 7: Meditation, exercise, family ... and wi-fi
