Finalist 3: Ava DiGirolamoVote Now

What Makes My Life Worth Living

The COVID-19 pandemic has an unprecedented ability to bring out the best and worst in people. It began with a nation-wide panic over toilet paper, striking fear into our hearts that soon we would be without what we take for granted every day. What used to be our normal routine now seems like a luxury we only find in our dreams and memories. All social interactions are virtual; all meals are eaten at home. And because of this, many of us feel lost.

Three months ago at the very beginning of the lockdown, many were striving to maintain as much normality as possible by hosting weekly zoom calls with their friends, cooking new recipes, and trying YouTube home workouts. My family was no exception. However as the weeks piled on, the novelty of the national lockdown wore off and unrest set in. Personally, it became very challenging to stay motivated while never leaving my house. I had been sent home to Chicago from New Orleans where I attend Tulane University and attempted to adjust to online learning. I truly had no idea how different it would be studying in my childhood bedroom instead of my dorm or on-campus library. I have always prided myself on being an extremely motivated and hardworking individual, but as the weeks went on, binge-watching Netflix and making TikToks began to take precedence over Organic Chemistry.

At school, we have structure and a schedule, and because of this, I know that when I have the free time to study, I need to use it effectively. At home, I never set an alarm, I never had to make my own food, and I never needed to change out of my pajamas. All of these beautiful luxuries slowly turned into my vices, preventing me from doing what was important. I have realized that the saying, “too much of a good thing becomes a bad thing,” is my theme for the spring of 2020. All of the luxuries I looked forward to when I would go home for Thanksgiving and spring break were now no longer gave me joy; instead, I craved working, volunteering, and independence.

I understand now that while daily life might be exhausting sometimes, it also is the reason why I get up the next day. The seemingly mundane and trivial tasks of our normal routines are what makes vacation and weekends exciting. This is because we need to have something to take a break from in order for our break to be rewarding. But in the end, no break can last forever nor would I want it to. I am not comparing a quarantine caused by a global pandemic to a vacation or break to lessen the importance or impact it has on our people, economy, and world, but comparing my individual lockdown to such enables me to be grateful for slowing down while being excited for the world to reopen. As Illinois has entered new phases, I have been able to leave my home to volunteer and occasionally eat out. These tiny steps towards my old normality support my drive to learn and grow to better myself and society which is aided by my newfound understanding of what makes my life worth living.