Double Edged Sword

Everything has two sides. I am an optimistic person, so I often try to find some positive things in any bad situation. At the end of 2019, the world was invaded by an unknown new epidemic. It was COVID-19. People did not expect that their lives would change so much in the next three years because of this epidemic. Many people lost their family members and lives during that time. In order to protect the health of the people, the Chinese government released China’s epidemic prevention and control policy. This policy limited people from going outside. People had to stay at home all day for almost three months at first. Because of this policy, my life had changed dramatically. 

At the beginning, the relationship between my parents and me got better. My parents and I had always lacked the opportunity to communicate comfortably. I had been working out of town in 2021 because of my job. My workplace was far from my home, and it took me three hours to drive back to my town. Due to China’s epidemic prevention and control policy, I had to go back to my family and stay with my parents. Our home became a jail. To make our time not boring, we started to try some group activities. We played puzzles, mahjong, and sports together. It was such a grest time, and on the contrary, I found that my parents were not difficult to get along with. Maybe it was a lack of time to talk between us which made us always fight a lot. We shared secrets that we did not know before. Our heart-to-heart talks had become a daily course.  

Furthermore, I had more private time to do my own personal things. I used to set a lot of plans for myself, including read three books a year, lose ten pounds, learn how to cook, and get a puppy. In the past, I was always concerned about work, so I was never able to accomplish these plans that I set. I had to stay at home all the time, so I decided to use my extra private time to accomplish these plans. It was a good time to keep fit. I chose the easy and quick way to continue my fitness program, which were jumping rope and running in place. My backyard became my gym where I could spend an hour exercising. At the same time, I started to learn how to have a healthy diet. My cooking skills also started to improve. I used to go out to restaurants or order take out, but during that time I learned how to cook vegetables and make soup. I also lost fifteen pounds at that time. 

What's more, my view on money has changed. I used to buy anything I liked without considering its price. Because of China’s epidemic prevention and control policy, I didn't work for three months, so I had no source of income. I could only spend my limited savings on the most important daily meals. I understood how the importance of saving money and changed my shopping hobbies. Compared with before, I cared more about the price and quality rather than brands. I also started to invest part of my money. I preferred stable investments, so the best way was getting some funds. Funds are less risky than stocks. Watching the financial news everyday became a necessary activity for me. I referred to the news to determine whether to get a fund from a company. Luckily, my balance is already three times higher than before. 

In the past three years, I have gained a lot, but I have also lost a lot. China’s epidemic prevention and control policy continued on and off for about three years. Recently, China abolished this policy and opened its gates again. Most people's lives have gone back to normal. Fortunately, my family relationships, personal hobbies and abilities have all improved. Unfortunately, I lost three years to travel and explore more about the world. I hope this year that I can have more opportunities to travel to different cities and explore more about this colorful world.