Yay! 2021 is here. Are you still in lockdown? well... I am! and guess what? there hasn't been just one lockdown – we all have had our own experience back from 2020... Some people were forced into months of unbroken solitude, others trapped for weeks with an estranged spouse... some saw it as a positive experience – a welcome opportunity to slow down, to go out for walks and chilling with a loving partner, or simply enjoy quality time with the children. But whichever way the lockdown was played out by you, there has been one near universal aspect to the past months: it abruptly disrupted our daily routines and living arrangements in ways that would not normally occur. Will this strange time have left its mark on us, not just superficially, but deep down? As we venture out tentatively, do we do so with our personalities somehow altered? And if so, how will our new selves cope as we begin to mix and travel once again?

Anecdotal evidence seems to suggest that we are not going back to the way we were... I know that I’ve been feeling less stressed due to less rushing around at least in some respects, but also I have felt more withdrawn and introverted... Friends of mine (also not too adversely affected) agree they feel different – more reflective, perhaps, but also less sociable (and easily irritable).

But while many of the experts agree that the pandemic, and the accompanying lockdowns, have already changed our personalities, they also noted that it’s very difficult to say exactly how much people will have changed and in what ways. But I am sure that if you look around, you will see that evidence is crystal clear. In my very own case (as a teacher) I have struggled with the indifference. Firstly it goes around with some parents that had no clue on what their children were doing during the whole academic year and they even had the nerve to complain against us (even knowning that there is clear evidence of the countless times we tried to reach him/her out). Secondly... The irritability of our bosses (no matter where you work), has certainly turned upside down our perception towards work-time during lockdowns. I mean, it's not okay only seeing the dark side of things and not pulling out those great things we have managed to convey with our role through difficult times. Being particularly a teacher under has been totally demanding, missunderstood, and simply unappreciated! (I must add). Thirdly, The senseless ideas carried out by governements specially in non-developed countries like mine, where the ministry of education hasn't understood that conditions for face-to-face education with children are too far to be reached out, but yet they keep pushing teachers to their limits and schools to do things that are certainly unreachable and where thousands of resources are needed and they barely take such responsibility. And last, but not the least: The indifference of some of our students. Don't get me wrong, I know exactly that many of them are doing the things very nicely and I couldn't be prouder of them, but there is this little group of bright-minded souls that hasn’t understood that education changes and therefore, you need to find a way to take the best off online lessons although the process might look difficult. But the one thing that hurts the most is that they barely interact with us... Teaching is a process that needs continuing feedback, you might get it by talking, by chatting, by asking or simply by raising a "digital hand", but we barely experience such participation. I know that I should consider myself a gifted-teacher, as students with me try so hard to do their best, but it is certainly not repeated with the rest of the subjects. So "are they really aware of the damage they might cause when this comes to an end?" believe me, I have tried to let them know it countless times, but only a few got the message.


Anyway, I think that for people with a supportive partner, whether you might be a student, a teacher or someone working from home, then the intense period of the lockdown might have offered a welcome opportunity for personal growth. By contrast, for people stuck indoors for months in an unhappy relationship or being harassed by their families, the effects on their personalities are sure to be have been negative.


If we have been changed somehow by lockdown then as restrictions around the world are eased, a natural next question is whether and how we can change back again? Can we return to our old selves? Do we even want to? or do we feel okay with this new "US".For my part, I’m definitely feeling less inclined than before to socialise, even at a safe distance, but totally empowered to not let others sidetrack me from where I want to go, or simply not accepting bad words in a world that already seems to be so hurtful. I do appreciate the fact that I have learned to value myself, my work and those around me even more than before, and I have lost sympathy to those who see the dark-side of things and who are not even capable of accepting their own faults but to see the faults of others with capital letters.

To make the long story short, if you are reading this... then I invite you to look for the beauty in simple things of your everyday lives, to look for the smile of those who are happy to have you around, or simply be happy of not being part of the group of people that have lost a beloved one and yet they are still coping with the pain. Life is about choices... and I already took mine when I decided to look for the beauty in dark times.