Our future remains clouded with uncertainty, and frightening scenarios fill our heads. What will weeks, months or even years look like? We do not know—no one does.

During the start of the lockdown, I shifted between excitement and panic. I spent my days scrolling through TikTok and enjoying my much-awaited break from school. At night, I worried about the country’s situation. A few months into the lockdown, it sunk in that my days of constantly scrolling through TikTok and binge-watching TV series have become monotonous and that these will be our circumstances for a long time. I sulked and cried over the missed friends and once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.

Learning to cope

However, I realized that I could only learn to cope with the uncertainty in this situation; 2020 was a year of growth, and 2021 mirrored the same. In this growth, I’ve found the silver lining that I must utilize to shift my mindset and appreciate the smallest of things.

Now, much of my quarantine was spent chasing opportunities to become productive and reignite my passion for old hobbies. I read, embroidered, painted and even exercised. I spent weeks redecorating and DIY-ing my room.

In school, I decided to go out of my comfort zone. I became the vice president of my class, a member of the Kalinangan Youth Foundation Inc., a content writer for Beyond the Wall youth-led organization, and a member of my school’s student publication while balancing my academic workload—none of which I envisioned that I’d pursue and manage.

A valuable lesson that I realized is that I should not let a pandemic diminish my ambition, and only with sheer determination can I max out my full capabilities.

Although I’m not grateful for the pandemic by itself, I’m thankful for the opportunity to appreciate the little things, for learning the value of self-love, and for self-actualization to move toward a better version of myself. The pandemic turned out not to be a hindrance but an empowering experience.

The author is a student at St. Scholastica’s College Manila.