i am in 12th class tomorrow is my asl and my topic is things that you missed during lockdown
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I miss a lot of simple things: hugs, high fives, movie theaters and smiles unobstructed by masks. I miss all the cliché things that are supposed to come with your senior year of high school and freshman year of college. I miss the peace of not worrying whether my friends and family have contracted a dangerous virus since I last spoke to them. One silver lining to this pandemic, however, is that I will make sure I take more time to appreciate all the things I used to take for granted.
The thing I miss most about pre-pandemic life is going to the movie theater. While it’s starting to get back to normal on that front — I’ve already seen "Tenet" and "New Mutants" since theaters have reopened —, I still miss going to a packed theater with some friends and all laughing, crying or just being thrilled by the magic of the movies. The traditional movie theater experience is for sure the thing I miss most and I’m hoping it gets back to normal sometime in the near future. "Dune" is around the corner, and take it from me — that’s one we'll all want to see in theaters!
It feels impossible to pick one thing I miss most from pre-quarantine. There are tons of obvious ones — going out in public without a face mask, going to restaurants and bars without a second thought, attending concerts, movies and plays — but for the most part those are all manageable. What hits hardest is the absence of all the little things: hugs from friends, sitting on the crowded parade ground when the weather is nice; the little moments that make your day without you even realizing it.
I miss a LOT about life pre-pandemic. Throughout the lockdown I have learned what actually matters in life and not to take the little things for granted. I miss walking to class and catching up with friends. Another thing I definitely miss is not having to do a double-take to make sure I have a mask every time I leave my house or car. I am grateful that we are slowly starting to open back up. Eating inside a restaurant for the first time in months is something I never thought I would be excited about, but here we are. Being able to attend church services is also a blessing because I know in some states that is still pretty restricted. I am hopeful the end of all of this is near, and I try to remind myself this too shall pass. Fingers crossed it's sooner rather than later.
Before lockdown, I regularly scouted out flyers for academic presentations across campus, marked down anything that seemed mildly interesting, then wandered through unfamiliar buildings until I found the right room. This nerdy pastime brought me to museum chats in Foster Hall, Spanish-language film nights in Prescott, documentary showings in Coates and guest speakers in the French House, all of which fed into a long-standing fascination with academia. I can still attend these events over Zoom, but it's not the same — I miss anonymously slipping into a seat right as a professor began talking to a room of 10-15 people as though they were all close friends, the excitement for their discipline palpable.
I took live events and in-person entertainment for granted. I never noticed how much serotonin I'd get from concerts, karaoke and theatre. Nothing in quarantine really feels the same as mingling and dancing with sweaty strangers does.
The thing I miss most about life before lockdown is going to the movies!
I'm simply nostalgic for a time when seemingly reasonable people didn't consider public health guidelines oppressive. While extremist reactions to public events are unavoidable, the pandemic has exposed a basic lack of compassion in America, and a sense of community won't return easily as COVID-19 cases subside.