COVID Lessons Learned
Photo by: Samantha Hurley
Last year was one heck of a year with COVID...
With COVID taking place, businesses were closed to the public, kids had to switch to home schooling, and all of us had to learn how to work from home... it was definitely a learning experience. Unfortunately a lot of jobs were lost and if you still had one then you had to learn to become accustom to online video calls instead face to face meetings. COVID just came in and completely changed our lifestyle and way we live.
Sending my love to all the ones who lost their job or loved ones because of COVID. It's a scary time when you don't know how you are going to provide for your family or what you are going to do for work. I hope most if not everyone has either found a new job or like a lot of us, became entrepreneurs and are enjoying life even more than they did before COVID.
Although it made life difficult and very scary at times, we have also learned so much. I am honestly thankful we were and still are apart of this experience, mainly because it showed us what is really important in life.
The Best Lessons COVID Has Taught Us:
See The Good In Every Situation
COVID has been severely heartbreaking with so many people being put out of jobs, tons of lives being lost, and having to live in fear for our loved ones and ourselves. We could make a mile long list of all the fears COVID has brought and continue to bring but then again, we can also see so much good it has brought.
The Importance of Family 
Photo by: Samantha Hurley
Going from a normal day (before COVID) to a day of life during COVID wasn't an easy transition. We'd see each other for a little bit in the morning (before school and work) then after school/work we'd see each other for a little bit before bed- and that's if the kids aren't at their friends house, doing homework, or off doing their own thing. Of course, there are weekends but there is always stuff going on so we never really made time to connect.
Then... COVID hit... businesses were closed to public, our homes turned into our kids school and our home became our new work office. Oh lord, there was yelling, fighting, crying, and so much chaos... but you know what else there was? Time to slow down. Time to spend with our family. Time to really learn what is going on in everyone's life. Time to make memories and even some Tik Tok videos. We learned how to connect with our family in a way we haven't done in a long time (if ever). I don't know why our culture has created this ideal that to be successful we need to keep "grinding", work faster, and do everything we can to make the most money. We place the highest importance in making money for our family that we lose time on connecting with our family. Don't get me wrong, I completely believe in hard work and having enough money to live comfortably with a savings, but what's the point of working so hard if it means we lose out on the most important thing, family? That brings me to the next lesson...
Find New Career or Work Life
A lot of people that lost their jobs knew that they had to find a way to make money on their own and for some people, they simply didn't want to stay in fear of losing their jobs so they decided to create their own business. Brainstorm ideas, write out a plan, and put it in action. I am one of those people. I decided to create a different life path. COVID made me realize that I don't want to go back to how we were living before. I don't want to rush through life and stay in a state of constant anxiety about missing out on memories or fear of losing my job. I want to watch my kids grow up, I want to be there for my family, and I want to always have time for them. Hints... that is why I created my blog and online store. Although, it is a lot of work and still stressful, at least I get to be wherever I want. I get to be home when my kids get back from school, I have the time to make dinner for the family, and my energy is so much better than it was before COVID hit.
Importance of Technology
There are so many more lessons COVID has taught us both good and bad. COVID came unexpected but it has been a huge eye opening experience for us all. COVID was the slap in the face we (or at least I) needed in order to slow down and get closer family. Our COVID days aren't over yet though... so please stay safe and remember to keep your family close.
