Wednesday, November 3, 2021

My recent summer vacation happened during a pandemic and it made me realize a lot of
things. There’s nothing much I have done outdoors due to quarantine, but it improved my mental
health by doing self-activities like writing journals and reading books. Based on my own
perspective and realization, the pandemic is one of the unexpected incidents that happened to
neither every person nor any living thing. This made a huge effect that permanently changed a
person’s life because of the factors that have been implicated during the pandemic – and these
factors are: (1) economical; (2) social; (3) political; (4) and lastly, cultural. "A Summer Vacation
during a Pandemic" depends on the situation of a person’s life background, like if they have a lot
of options to choose from whenever their main choice is removed, or sadly, if they are one of the
people who only have one choice in life.

In my case, we are one of the families that are lucky to have more options for surviving,
but of course, just like other families, we also experience hardships, especially since our
businesses are apartments, which mean that we must also be considerate of our tenants. There are
times when our tenants lose their jobs or limit their work hours, thus making their salaries
smaller, which also affect ours. These are the only puzzle pieces I have only seen and collected,
but I believe that there are more pieces that will complete the bigger picture that will describe the
incident more deeply, something that not all people understand. Unfortunately, there are people
who are content with their circumstances without being aware of the circumstances of others
who are less fortunate. They think that it is fun and entertaining, but for others, it is a challenge
to survive every day. For example, Andrea’s family has everything in their home, like basic
needs and wants, and for her it is fun because she believes that staying home is a more personal
time that makes her wish for the pandemic to last longer. On the other hand, Luke’s family is
unfortunate and there is only one member of his family who is working to provide for their daily
needs, which is his father. Because of the pandemic, though, he has lost his job, and they are
having a hard time just providing their basic needs, like a simple meal, and their wish is to end
this pandemic. Additionally, in my own experience, even though the pandemic incident is hard, I
used it as an advantage in my education. I decided to continue my education even though it is
hard to do virtually and has many disadvantages, because I focused more on the advantages I
could have like: (1) fewer allowances; (2) more family time; (3) fewer school gatherings; (4) and
more. In conclusion, if we look deeper and bigger at the picture, it depends on the personal
background of a person whether it will be taken as an advantage or disadvantage in their lives. I
have learned that we must always be considered by other people because the things that we
experience right now are harder than others', vice-versa. A pandemic is hard to swallow, but we
must always be thankful for every situation because there are hidden reasons and lessons for
people. For example, that life is short and we must learn how to be happy and contented. This
was the least fun summer vacation I have experienced, but it was the most eye-opening and
growth-oriented of mine.

Gutierrez, Kaye Angelic I.