As more Americans are fully vaccinated and long-term quarantine and lockdown restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic finally ease, what have we learned? Were any of the changes we were forced to make during the COVID-19 Great Lockdown(s) actually good? Are there silver linings from this terrible time that we can hope to maintain as we re-emerge from our cocoons? Our correspondent Abbie Martin Greenbaum reflects on 10 COVID-19 practices that actually made our lives better and that we hope to continue as we collectively define what life in the New Normal will be.
did COVID-19 quarantine actually have some silver linings?
It will probably be a long time before any of us are able to fully process the events of the past year. After so many months of fear, and the losses experienced by so many of us, it is difficult to imagine “returning” to life like we experienced it before coronavirus.
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But as the vaccines bring us a step closer to a COVID-safe United States, we wanted to take a breath, a pause, and a moment for a little gratitude.
Though there are very few positive things to say about the last year and a half, we wanted to highlight a list of small silver linings that made quarantining a little bit easier. Many of these quiet joys were thanks to people’s resilient pandemic responses.
We hope to bring many of them into the future with us – whatever that future may look like. Here are some of the COVID-19 quarantine practices and silver linings that made our lives better during lockdown that we hope to continue into this New Normal.
COVID-19 quarantine practices and silver linings that made our lives better that we hope to continue.
10 COVID-19 Practices That Actually Made Our Lives Better
1. Accessible Events
We start our list of COVID-19 quarantine practices and silver linings that made our lives better and that we hope to continue with a shout-out to accessibility. And the democratization of arts and culture.
Before COVID, if you wanted to attend an event, convention or festival, you needed to take time off work, figure out transportation, and find a place to stay. And of course, find a way to pay for it all.
Thanks to our new virtual world, those kinds of difficulties are no longer an obstacle: if there’s a panel you want to watch, or a film you wish to see in-festival, all you have to do is buy a ticket. Entertainment and conversation have become that much easier to consume, regardless of time-zone or a person’s ability to travel. Though of course we cannot wait to return to safe and in-person events, we hope that organizers remember that it is possible to make their content accessible for everyone.
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2. Virtual Content
It wasn’t only ticketed events that moved online. Museums posted their collections to their websites. Zoos set up cameras so that visitors could check in on the animals. Musical artists played to at-home audiences via Instagram live. Once again, of course, these things are no substitution for the in-person versions, but they did allow us to explore the world from the safety of our own homes. We found it touching that these favorite institutions made an effort to reach us through these hard times, and having such a surplus of excellent online content gave us a much-needed distraction from reality. We hope that these activities remain online, to help educate and entertain people at-a-distance for as long as necessary.
The best positive silver linings from quarantine: Virtual Content. Courtesy Photo.
3. New Ways to Connect
Of course, most of us are now suffering from severe zoom fatigue, but there was a moment when many of us used the platform to connect with long-lost loved ones. Who didn’t spend a virtual holiday with someone who, had celebrations been in-person, wouldn’t even have been able to attend? For sure, this new intensity of connectedness during the COVID-19 quarantine is one of the practices and silver linings that made our lives better and that we hope to continue. Though virtual connection definitely has its downsides, the pandemic gave us both the time and the tool to reach out to those who were far away. Even if we want a break from zoom, we’re grateful for the opportunity to connect with friends and family across the globe.
COVID-19 quarantine practices and silver linings that made our lives better that we hope to continue.
4. Gourmet Meal Kits and Luxury Take Out
In spite of the fact that the restaurant industry was one hit the hardest by the pandemic, it responded with admirable invention. We were thrilled to see the quick and delicious shift in culinary offerings, which included everything from make-at-home meal kits to delivery from Michelin-starred restaurants. Having these new options of how to consume our city’s best food was a gift in these dark times. We hope at least the meal kits survive into the next phase of life.
The best positive silver linings from quarantine: Meal Kits. Courtesy Photo.
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5. Outdoor Dining
Even more than DIY food boxes, we loved the proliferation of outdoor dining. Thankfully, at least in New York City, it looks like it is here to stay. These tents, houses, and glass bubbles add an energy to our streets and sidewalks that will meld seamlessly into the city’s future. In a time where articles prematurely proclaimed the city’s death, the vibrancy of our many resilient eateries shows that our city is very much alive. Outdoor dining feels so natural. It seems like we always should have had it, and we’re glad that now we always will.
6. A Greater Appreciation for the Great Outdoors
And it wasn’t only dining that we learned to love doing outside. With the news that the virus is less easily transmitted outdoors, many of us made more time for walks and hikes in 2020 than we ever thought we would. After fourteen months staring at the same walls of our homes, the presence of the natural world felt like a gift. We have left the last year with a greater appreciation for it.
COVID-19 quarantine practices and silver linings that made our lives better that we hope to continue.
7. A Chance to Get Nostalgic
In moments of crisis, there’s nothing more comforting than your old favorites. In addition to the rise of old-school gems like drive-in movie theaters, the pandemic also brought months’ worth of virtual reunions between favorite TV show and movie casts. If there’s a piece of pop culture you enjoyed ten or more years ago, chances are the people who made it got together for a chat on Zoom. Though these conversations didn’t solve anything, they gave us a little reprieve from the present when we needed it most.
8. New Hobbies
We will never forget the sourdough craze of spring 2020. And even though it’s possible many people have since given up their breadmaking, we’re sure that there are others who are now esteemed bakers. And of course, we also saw the trends of plant propagation, jigsaw puzzles, and banana bread. For many of us, our usual routines do not allow a lot of time for hobbies that are separate from work or socializing. One thing the last year gave us was the chance to play and try things out. Hopefully, we get to take those things with us into the new normal.
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9. Remote Work (and Comfy Clothes)
Though remote work presented its own problems – especially for parents whose children were in homeschool – it also had its advantages. Many of us appreciated the increased flexibility and freedom – and that includes the freedom to work in whatever we wanted. The future of working in the office may now be in question. Many people have seen how easy it is to get the same, or even more, work done at home.
10. Creative Solutions
Almost everyone in every industry had to be creative and thoughtful about how to proceed forward – whether it was in moving interactions online, building COVID-safe spaces, or simply figuring out how to stay connected through these many months of isolation. Teachers, especially, are a great example of people who had to adapt in real-time and find solutions to problems as they were appearing. And even though we hope none of us ever have to solve these kinds of problems again, we hope to take with us the silver lining that all of us are capable of more resilience than we imagine.
COVID-19 quarantine practices we hope to continue
That’s our take on the handful of COVID-19 quarantine practices and silver linings that made our lives better during the Great Lockdown(s) and that we hope to continue as we figure out life in the New Normal 2021. How about you, dear reader? What are you hoping to maintain from this lockdown life?
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For access to insider ideas and information on the world of luxury, sign up for our Dandelion Chandelier Newsletter here. And see luxury in a new light.
Abbie Martin Greenbaum grew up in New York City and currently lives in Brooklyn, where she drinks a lot of coffee and matches roommates together for a living. At Oberlin College, she studied English and Cinema, which are still two of her favorite things, along with dessert and musical theater. She believes in magic.
