Post-Lockdown Reflections: 5 Years Later and What’s Next
March 17, 2025 |
| Our socially distanced team meeting set up just before everything went virtual - March 2020 |
Good morning, beautiful people—and happy new week to you,
This morning, a throwback photo popped up in my photo app, sparking this reflection. This week marks five years since the world shut down. March 2020 changed everything for all of us—and for me, it marked the beginning of a painful but necessary unraveling.
Initially, I planned to dive into all the things that happened, all the unraveling. But as I continued writing, I realized those things no longer hold as much weight as they once did. Of course, some things—like the death of loved ones—never fully go away. But I’ve chosen to make this reflection less about the past and more about what lies ahead. I’ve already shared a lot of what happened in the past five years throughout this blog, directly and indirectly.
Looking Ahead: Dreams for the Next Five (or Ten) Years
My dream for the next five (maybe ten) years is simple: to continue pursuing my academic curiosities and experience the world while doing it. Not the catching flights type of experiences, I want to do something similar to what this US experience has been - of course without a pandemic and unraveling. I want to be lost in the crowd that is a new country, and fall in love with me as I navigate my way through the crowd. To make it happen, I need to get my entrepreneurial ventures in order (I have learnt the hard way that scholarships are good, but they are not as flexible). So if this blog feels like it’s leaning toward entrepreneurship lately, it’s because I’m working on building a solid foundation before stepping into the second leg of my journey as I chase my Professor dreams.
I know the pandemic affected everyone differently - it is okay if you don’t have a “turnaround story” based on the global pandemic.
Maybe what locked you down and distanced you from your social circle happened way before the pandemic, maybe it happened after, maybe it is happening now…or like some of us, maybe it happens a lot more than you care to count. Whatever the experience, I pray you take time to process it, alone, in therapy, in community…and after that, I pray that you are able to pick up your mat, and keep dreaming…keep walking.
I also pray, that wherever you are in your journey, that you do not let the fear of starting over paralyze you, or shame you into hiding. Starting over is part of our journey on earth…and it is perfectly fine if your journey requires you to do it a couple of times.
Sending lots of love and light,
Sitawa
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