What the pandemic taught me 2 - LJMU Together

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed all of us. Life seems more fragile. Things we took for granted have disappeared, like holidays! Other things, many unwanted, have taken their place, like social distancing and masks.

Many of us may feel that life has got worse, for a while at least. But now that we start to reset and regain our independence, what have we learned? And where will that learning take us? Will we just fall back into old routines? Or will we be wiser and take the positives?

We’re encouraging colleagues to share what they’ve learned as we all reflect on where we are and what we’ve been through.

Whatever you think you’ve learned – either about yourself or the world around us - please share it with us at ‘What the pandemic taught me’ at press@ljmu.ac.uk

David Putwain, Professor of Education and Early Childhood

I expected working from home was going to be easy and it turned out to be anything but. Heavy screen time without a break was, and still is, particularly exhausting. I am looking forward to seeing my work colleagues in person again and a blend of face-to-face and online meetings is no bad thing. Personally, having taken up cycling during the pandemic to keep fit, I have realised it is like taking your life in your own hands, and for some drivers your life is not worth an additional five seconds to their journey. I give cyclists an extra wide berth now.

The pandemic has taught me to appreciate the everyday freedoms we all took for granted before March last year, and to be grateful for what I have – a roof over my head, food on the table, good health…  I have also learned to take pleasure in the little things, and enjoy living life at a slower pace sometimes, rather than trying to cram in too much.  I have discovered that I am definitely an introvert, and actually the loneliness didn’t affect me too much, but home schooling is not something I would do by choice!

Kerry Rickarby, Alumni Relations Manager

The past year has reminded me how fortunate I am in so many ways and how astonishing the human capacity to adapt, recover, support and create is.
You can quickly become used to life being very small, which can actually be nice for a while and feel like a holiday from the usual noise, but it’s important to make the effort to stay genuinely connected too. I really miss my work colleagues; which means that I obviously quite like my work colleagues! I also feel extremely nostalgic for Mount Pleasant; for the buzz of working in the city centre and being part of the real life LJMU community.
On the lighter side, I’ve learned that even lockdown and full-time home working doesn’t make me want to wear jogging bottoms or loungewear; it’s still very much about the denim for me. It’s also abundantly clear that it’s best to not have budgies or guinea pigs in the same room you’re taking Team meetings or phone calls for work.

Send us your ‘learnings’ either about yourself or the world around us, including your job title and a picture to ‘What the pandemic taught me’ at press@ljmu.ac.uk

Read last week's contributions here