By Hermes Joy Tunac
For someone who’s relatively young and hasn’t experienced a global health crisis as huge as this pandemic, 2020 surely gave me more than just a taste of it and how it could upend our lives and turn the entire world upside down.
It was December 2019 when news of COVID-19 first spread in the Philippines. At that time, people were still skeptical whether or not the virus was really that contagious. Even I was in denial at first. In fact, I was still able to travel to Thailand last February with my family. Looking back, I wasn’t aware of how dangerous the coronavirus was. After a week in Thailand, the pandemic had worsened to the point that my office had asked me to undergo a 14-day home quarantine right after I arrived from my trip. Come March 16, a few days before the end of my quarantine period, President Duterte announced that the entire Philippines would have to undergo an enhanced community quarantine. “Hard” lockdown or ECQ, in other words.
And the world, as we Filipinos knew it, was never the same again.
Scrolling through Facebook during the earlier days of ECQ, I’ve observed how people were panicking—some were expressing their fears of not surviving, while others were looking for ways to make the “work from home” setup efficient.
Personally, watching the news and seeing the rising number of COVID cases and deaths by the day led me to experience a series of anxiety attacks. In my mind, I was overthinking the what ifs—what if I get infected? What if I lose one of my loved ones because of COVID? What if, like unfortunate businesses that didn’t survive the financial challenges brought by the lockdown, our company shuts down? These were just some of the thoughts going through my head during those scary, early days. And it got worse when I thought that I myself was carrying the virus last July.
Being a COVID suspect
After recently feeling under the weather that time, including experiencing classic COVID-19 symptoms such as sore throat, I finally decided to step out of the house for the first time since ECQ to face my fears. The hospital’s ER was the last place everyone wanted to be in, but there I was having myself tested for COVID-19. Waiting for the RT-PCR test result was easily one of the scariest experiences I had to go through in my life.
During that time, I tried to assure myself that with my active lifestyle and “intuitive” diet, I could easily recover from COVID-19 should I test positive. I know I have a strong immune system. At least, that was what I liked to believe. But just the thought of testing positive made me weak since there was still a chance, even if slightly, for me to go through untold suffering, even die from this novel coronavirus. Three days after my test, I felt an ultimate sense of relief to learn with finality that I was COVID-19 negative.
This whole experience of being a COVID-19 “suspect” has made me realize that health, despite the cliché, is really indeed wealth. The experience also made me more appreciative of life and humbler of the privileges I have.
As I leave this year behind, I choose to focus on things I’m grateful for. I just recently turned 24, and I’d like to believe better days, months and years are ahead of me–of us! At 24, still young, but old enough, I’m grateful for the gift of life, for the opportunity to hopefully witness another year filled with blessings I have yet to discover.
Onto the next chapter
In the new year that is 2021, I’m grateful for the chance to continue to work with PeopleAsia. Not all companies were able to survive this year, and not all employees got to keep their jobs until the new year. My heart goes out to them.
That’s why having this job—amidst the countless challenges we continue to encounter along the way in putting out our bi-monthly magazine—makes me thrice as grateful as I am the first time I stepped inside the office to officially become part of the PeopleAsia family.
In my yoga practice, I usually end my sessions with a Sanskrit mantra that says, “Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti,” which translates to “May all beings be happy and free. Peace, peace, peace.” For 2021, this is what I’m manifesting—a world away from any pandemic, with people full of love, kindness and happiness.
Happy New Year!
