Looking Ahead

You’ve probably seen a few posts and memes leading up to today pointing out that March is approaching once again. And now that it’s here, you might be experiencing a shock to your system upon realizing that it’s almost officially a year since “these unprecedented times” began. 

No matter what level you have been directly affected by the pandemic thus far, and no matter how much you’ve done your best to adapt to these new routines and lifestyles, you may be feeling some sort of negative feelings. This could be loss, frustration, or even just general sadness. Anniversaries of traumatic events can bring these emotions back to the surface, even if those events are still occurring.

It’s incredibly easy and completely understandable to get caught up in these sad and depressive emotions. The posts on social media, whether they’re memes joking about how March has the audacity to come back or the more serious posts reminding you of just how much loss and grief has occurred, are unlikely to be of much help either. And while it’s completely okay (and encouraged) to take a break from your routine (or the “new normal” routine) and feel the pain you may not have realized you were even feeling, it’s important to remember that there’s still a light at the end of the tunnel.

Knowing that this isn’t forever, vaccines are about to become substantially more available, and the weather is getting warmer, thus allowing us to do way more activities safely are all things that we can look forward to and frankly be excited about. The future may not be 100% perfect, and you may be going through a hard time right now, whether it’s COVID-related or not, but even in the deepest pits of negativity, even in those realizations that things are still horribly the way they are, it’s important to remember that it doesn’t mean that the future is guaranteed to look like that too.

How are you feeling now that it’s March? What are things that you’re looking forward to? Is there any good news that you want to celebrate?