Here I’m writing this from my apartment that I haven’t left in days in NYC still thinking this lockdown is all a dream and waiting for someone to pinch me to wake up from this. I know this has affected everyone, but living in a place like New York City this feels completely different. You know what they say about NYC, “it’s the city that never sleeps” and now it actually does. Streets are empty, shops, cafes are closed and only some restaurants open for take out/delivery. It’s so crazy to see New York City this empty and quiet.
I know we all need to stay positive and all, but I do want to share some thoughts about how it is like living in NYC during this lockdown. I feel like we have taken so many things for granted before like going to the gym, heading to the cafe or meeting up with friends. Now all these are like a luxury for us. Don’t get me wrong working from home is not bad at all, but the feeling of being stuck at home that’s what makes it so difficult. You can be working from home, but then heading to the gym or doing other activities but now we don’t get to do any of those activities everything is just limited to what we can do at home.
I think one of the worst things being quarantine in NYC is the space. Unlike most people who are quarantined in their homes across the country, most of us in NYC have a very small space. We don’t have an outdoor space, pool or even a balcony in most cases. So it definitely feels claustrophobic. Imagine living in a shoebox I mean we all are used to it at this point, but imagine not leaving your apartment for days and living in a shoebox. It just gets crazy.
We just need to get used to this new normal for a better future although we don’t know when it’s going to be. It’s very uncertain, but that doesn’t mean we should fall off the wagon. I know it’s very easier to say than done, but we can really take advantage of this time. Think about it when was the last time you had this much time? Pick up a hobby that you wanted to learn, connect with old friends or just do something that you have been putting it off for a while. This all be over soon so let’s use this time to work on ourselves.