The coronavirus pandemic has thrown our day-to-day routines right out the window. Isolated at home from our loved ones and most of our beloved daily activities, it’s hard to keep one’s chin up in these trying times.
However, some people have managed to turn their situations around despite the odds. Here are a few inspirational stories that will, we hope, spur you on to make the best of what you have in your life right now. At the very least, they might bring a smile to your face.
Beating the Virus
Few among us have seen the devastation brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic as up-close as Maria, a 30-year-old health professional. As a frontliner, she’s had countless infected wheeled in and out of her ICU.
It’s safe to say that it’s been a draining experience for her, both physically and emotionally. She’s been giving it her all to save as many lives as she can, but it was inevitable that some would be beyond her help.
Seeing people die from the coronavirus time and time again took a toll on Maria’s spirit with every final breath. No matter how hard she fought for the patients under her care, some simply had no fight left in them.
It didn’t take long for the weight of it to send Maria spiraling down into depression, stress, and anxiety. It was hard for her to see any hope for her patients and even for herself.
However, Maria saw something else too. She saw that many of the infected still had the fortitude and willpower to overcome the overwhelming medical condition. She saw so many people staring death in the eyes, standing tall and unflinching. Most of them recovered.
This courage is what motivated Maria to keep going. If her patients weren’t ready to give up, there was no way in hell that she was. She found new strength in the eyes of the very people who so desperately needed her help.
We asked Maria if there was anything she would want everyone reading this to know. She said that if you were to walk away from her story with anything, let it be this: health protocols save lives.
Social distancing, wearing masks, keeping your hands clean — all of these recommendations help save lives, as insignificant as they may sound. They greatly quell the spread of the disease, keeping it from reaching those whom it could harm the most.
These times are hard on all of us, but with these simple procedures, we can help put them to a much-needed end faster. We all have the fighting spirit that Maria has seen so many times. It’s precisely what we need to persevere right now and keep the virus at bay.
Working It Out
John was a well-established programmer working as a software application developer for a medium-sized business. He was 42 at the time, with around two decades of experience and counting two years on his current stint. For all intents and purposes, John was set.
It even seemed that way when news of the first coronavirus infections hit the airways. John didn’t really sweat it at the time, even as work from home became mandatory at his office. He was set after all.
As it turns out, his confidence was not really warranted. A few weeks into the work from home, he got the bad news: he was laid off. The company was downsizing, and he didn’t make the cut (he wouldn’t tell us why exactly, so we refrained from prying).
So John found himself out of work. It wasn’t quite a disaster for him: he had savings that he could fall back to in times like these. They wouldn’t last forever, though, and who knows how long this pandemic will be around.
More than anything else, he missed the outside world. He was always an outside person, what he would call “a rambler.” He loved strolling or driving around his home city, taking in every nook and cranny along the way.
His Luck Has Changed
This character trait ultimately proved to be his way to cope with the pandemic, along with making a few bucks. After a streak of bad luck finding a programming gig, he came upon a convenient solution: Uber. After gearing up his car with all the bells and whistles (as well as a plastic pane between him and the back seats), he was good to go.
It was a home run, really. John could wander about the town and enjoy all the sights he loves keeping tabs on. And he could also get paid for it: and handsomely, at that. Apparently, few people had the moxie to ride around town all day with potentially infected people, so the market was his for the taking.
John’s experience highlights the fact that some thought outside the box can really help you make ends meet nowadays. His current job is far removed from the zeroes and ones he’s been working with for so long.
It just goes to show that you can always do something you love to keep you occupied. Who knows, maybe you strike gold like John did and wind up in a recounting of pandemic success stories like this one.
Learn More to Earn More
You know the deal with art majors and finding jobs, right? That they can’t get a job beyond being a cafe barista to save their life? Well, Dan was a walking example of this trope not too long ago.
A few years out of college, finding work was far from easy for him, even before the coronavirus hit. Application after application came a cropper, and Dan was starting to regret spending five years on what’s basically acted as a job repellant.
You won’t be surprised to learn that Dan had an even worse time of it when the pandemic came to a boil. Job opportunities became less than meager. It got so bad, in fact, that Dan’s only recourse was to move back in with his parents.
Being back with his folks and out of work, Dan found himself bored. There wasn’t much for him to do, especially since all the bars, restaurants, and the like shut down. Moping around the house and browsing the internet can only kill so much time.
So as boredom tends to do, this excess of free time drove Dan to do a lot of thinking. He was 25, and he was going nowhere. But then again, he was 25, and he had his whole life ahead of him. There’s no reason why he couldn’t approach it from another angle.
And so he did. He took a few online courses on programming and got real tech-savvy. After a few months of hard work, he was ready to get himself a job.
It still wasn’t a breeze, but it didn’t take too long for him to get his foot in the door. He found his place in a small but spunky startup as a coder. He’s making good money, his prospects are looking even better, and he’s planning on moving out soon. Well, not too soon: he did admit that he’s gotten a little too comfortable at his parents’ place.
When the Clouds Come Rolling…
Hopefully, these small tales of how people beat the odds during the pandemic have given you food for thought. Maybe there are ways for you to turn things around if they’re looking gloomy. Stay optimistic and stay strong, and this too shall pass.