ECQ or Enhanced Community Quarantine has considerably affected people's lives these days. Frankly speaking, on a pessimist's perspective, ECQ brings no good to mankind as it brings a whole load of problems to those who cannot go to work. This situation can be really stressful, but we have to think positively. Thus, personally, after a few weeks under ECQ, I have made a few realizations.
First, because of curfews and travel restrictions, we are less exposed to pollutants. As far as we know, pollutants are everywhere that can affect our well-being . Unavoidably, the moment we step out of the house, we are already exposed to many of those kinds. Thanks to ECQ, we now have a reason, not to go out. The less we go out of the house, the less exposed we are to any contamination.
Second, because of ECQ, shops are closed. As a result, I tend to save some money. I'm not saying that the amount I save is big but at least I have set aside some amount...thing that I don't usually do on a normal day without ECQ. I might have spent my money on some trivial things already.
Third, I’ve improved my cooking skills since most restaurants are closed. So, in order to save myself from starving or to avoid spending hefty amounts on fast food or food delivery services, I opt to cook my own food. Humbly speaking, in terms of cooking simple dishes, I'm not that bad at all. But it’s something that I can continuously work on. Thanks to the recipes on Google and also to the step by step tutorials I watch on YouTube.
Lastly, because of ECQ we have more than enough free time. Before, most of us complain that our rest days are just so short. But now that we have a lot of free time, we complain again. But for me, I don’t nor get bored. Instead, I choose to learn something new through some online resources. Thanks to ECQ, many schools/institutions have started offering free online. Taking advantage of these free programs is a great way to divert my attention from being lonely or being bored. Learning is a never-ending process. So we have to feed our minds once in a while. I actually find it quite addictive in a good way. Maybe you can also find some courses that you'll love, too.
Those are some of the few things that I have realized this ECQ period. Though this number is incomparable to the number of discomfort ECQ has brought, there are still things we can appreciate around us. Amidst this pandemic, we can still see some rays of hope even when are just contained in our respective homes. Complaining is not useful at this time and we can always change the way we think over things. Always remember that there's a rainbow after the rain. Just think of it as a long nightmare and that we will be waking up anytime soon. Just persist a little longer and all will be well.