Separate Ways, Worlds Apart

 (I have nothing else to blog for now, so here, this was the feature article I wrote for our English subject)

I am an ENFJ-T among the 16 personality types—an extroverted being, to be specific. I prefer activities that has something to do with socialization. I'm fond of making friends, and interacting with people. I enjoy the companies of diverse people I've been with. And to be honest? I am closer with my friends in the outside world more than I am with my family at home. My friends? They bring joy and happiness into my life that my family could ever do. Eyes shining because of glee? Wrong. More like eyes glimmering because of tears. But then, things happened, the happiness I'm talking about has come to an end when something took the world by surprise.

Our most awaited JS Promenade was approaching, everyone were excited and looking forward with it. Even the school's preparation was grand and superb. Little did we know, in exchange of the enthusiasm and anticipation we're feeling is a pandemic waiting for us at the edge of the pavement. Sure, the prom wasn't postponed, but it doesn't make less of a struggle because what's about to happen is something that we've never experienced before. Us, studying at home—through online modality or modular learning—all by ourselves, not being able to communicate face-to-face or have a personal and direct chance to express oneself. Yes, it's the New Normal.

There's a saying, "Things may never go back to normal. You may need to create a new normal. And that's okay."

Source: Pinterest

It's been almost 10 months since our last conventional classes, and two months have passed since the classes in the new normal started. I'm still in the process of absorbing this change. I can say that this is a continuous progress, little by little, we're getting used to this system. You know what? I actually think that this obstacle that we're facing today isn't really that hard, if only we acknowledge the silver lining of this situation. Come to think of it, during this pandemic, I got closer and more open with my parents, in which made me realize that the boundary that was formed between us was because of me and the distance itself. I set the gap, unintentionally, for being at school always and unconsciously ignoring their presence everyday because of school works even if I'm at home. I also learned how to start enjoying whatever little fragments of happiness I can find. I even discovered my hobbies that I haven't done when I was always outside with friends—I found out that I really enjoy listening to music, in fact, it feels like a presence that I need when I'm alone. I also tried various activities such as doing a podcast, writing stories on Wattpad and writing blogs. And I know, my friends are enjoying their lives at home as well while we're studying together through virtual class. We have learned to thrive in our new normal by means of having the mindset and the resources we need to adapt. After all, we humans are resilient. Separate Ways, Worlds Apart.