COVID-19 or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Quarantine

It's difficult to accurately express the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak and the subsequent nation-wide quarantine. It will certainly be one for the history books. As of late it is popular to decry 2020 as the worst year on record, full of strife and misery (see the civil unrest in the US, COVID, war scares, and a variety of other minor issues globally). However, I don't really feel this way at all. I... like it really. I can't really put my finger on exactly why; maybe it's because I can work at home all the time now, maybe it's a shift away from feeling obligated to act socially, or perhaps it's the strange coziness that I get from knowing that the "bad" is out there, but I am safe in here (like when there is a thunderstorm). Life feels like it has slowed down in some ways and people's expectations have been lowered. The year itself provides a sort of global excuse to not be exceptional. Just getting by is good enough for everyone "given all that's going on." It's weird, and it would likely be unpopular to express such an opinion too openly as I am pretty well off and unaffected myself. All the aforementioned strife hasn't really directly caused me any harm at all. They have, in fact, made my life better (in most ways). I would certainly not complain if I never had to go into my work again or never felt obligated to attend some unwanted social gathering.

The wonders of modern technology and infrastructure have made this entirely easy; Amazon delivers me anything I need in as little as a couple of hours, media streaming ensures I always have new content to enjoy on demand, and a combination of gaming and Discord keep me in touch with my friends. Not a day goes by that I don't talk to a friend or two, or perhaps hang out with them in the modern internet chat room. It's easy. So why can't it always be like this? Am I missing something? Part of me really wants this life for good. Permanently cozy, safe and hunkered down. I know that some day everything will go back to "normal" and that makes me sad. I don't want normal again, it's a bit of a drag in comparison. I am also aware that the current setup is not without ill effects. I think there is a downside, but it is also a bit difficult to pinpoint. I guess we'll just see how this whole thing plays out.