What would you have done differently had you known there was going to be a pandemic?
I don’t want to say it but I’ve gotta say it: Hindsight is 2020. I know, I know. Lol. I actually haven’t seen that phrase pop up as much as I thought I would now that it’s 2021! Have you?
Anyway, like I’m sure you have, I’ve been thinking about things a lot since spring 2020. I became suddenly very grateful for the things I’ve done up until that point. I attended school in person, I lived on campus through college, I studied abroad in Italy, I participated in a NASA summer internship, I attended academic conferences, I had fun at countless concerts, I traveled to many states, Austria, Mexico, and the Cook Islands. The list goes on and on. It’s hard to imagine life ever being like it was in 2019 and every year prior to that.
I’ve been thinking about this particular question a lot lately and would love to know your thoughts:
What would you have done differently had you
known there was going to be a pandemic?
For me personally, the biggest things I would have done differently revolve around travel.
I would have spent at least two weeks in the Cook Islands instead of one. Because of the pandemic, the direct flight we took from LA was cut and I’m sure it won’t be back for many years. It’s much more difficult to get there without that flight (though I wouldn’t be mad about spending time in New Zealand on the way; it’s definitely on our bucket list!). I’m so incredibly grateful that I impulsively booked that trip for my 30th birthday in 2019. I swear every week, Korri and I talk about how glad we are that we went! We miss it so much. (The Cooks have stayed COVID-free thanks to their strict travel restrictions, which is amazing!)
I also would have gone back to Mexico with Korri’s family in December 2019. I first went with them in December 2017; they try to go every year (they skipped 2018 and then Korri’s mom had health issues that prevented her from traveling in 2019). I can’t remember why we opted out; it was either related to money or lack of time off (probably the former as I had enough time off for two weeks in the Cooks and we only spent one week there). I think this trip will be one of the first international trips we take once things are safe, but Europe is also high on the list! My TSA pre-check expires this year, and I’m thinking I’ll just go ahead and get Global Entry and hope I can use it!
Visiting family would have been high on the list, too. I would have visited my mom and step dad in Washington, grandparents in California, and grandparents/other family in South Dakota. I’m not sure when I’ll get a chance to visit my grandparents but I hope it’s sooner rather than later. We also would have visited Alaska to see Korri’s grandparents. And I probably would have tried to squeeze in a trip to Canada to see more family.
As far as work goes, I got a new computer a couple of years ago. I asked for a desktop instead of a laptop; I needed something powerful to run computer models. Had I know there was going to be a pandemic and I’d be working from home, I would have asked for a laptop instead. I can’t telecommute part time with a desktop computer. I’ll either have to be full-time in the office (when it’s safe again) or full-time remote at home. (I’m still working full-time remote from home; my entire desktop setup is on my dining room table except for my monitor stand with four monitors!)
On the health side, I had an eye procedure done back in summer 2018 and need to have the same thing done to my other eye. I put it off in 2019 because I had to pay for other medical things and was planning to do it in 2020, but then…well. My eye doctor said I need to get it done this year. If I put it off, I risk my retina detaching and having to have surgery. I shouldn’t have put it off in 2019! Gah!
I also would have gotten a hair cut in early 2020. I haven’t been since before our trip to the Cooks! I’m actually kind of interested to see how long my hair can get before I feel safe enough to get it cut again…but I may also get totally sick of it and have Korri chop some off. We’ll see! It’s looking pretty raggedy these days, lol. (I will say I recently rediscovered the wonders of Moroccanoil; that stuff is amazing. I’m not really sure why I stopped using it in the first place!)
Basically what I’ve learned in all this is to just book that trip—you won’t regret it, spend as much time with family as you can, and not put off necessary medical procedures if you can help it.
Let’s talk! I’d love to know what you would have done differently in the years prior to 2020 had you known there was going to be a pandemic!