Let's take a look back at the past year.
No, it is not good that millions of people have been infected and that a portion of them (over 400,000 in the U.S.) have died from COVID-19. I just wanted to clarify that before I start.
Now for the people still reading - and kudos to you for making it past the title without getting pissed off - we can get to talking about my main points.
Not in over a 100 years have we had a pandemic of this magnitude. The Spanish Flu in 1918-1920 was a very comparable scenario for most of the world. After the Spanish Flu was over the United States went into a period known as the "roaring 20s" because of the exciting cultural shift and excitement of beating the flu and the incredible resilience of the U.S. economy. In addition, during the Spanish Flu pandemic, modern medicine took leaps forward that would not have happened but out of pure necessity for the advances.
Okay Vinny, great. Thanks for the history lesson on the Spanish Flu. Now how is this different from COVID?
It's not.
Never before have healthcare professionals and drugmakers worked in such unison to provide for a common goal since the Spanish Flu. In addition, the advancement of modern vaccine processes has expanded vastly since encountering the first strain of COVID to the point that a vaccine for the new strains that have just been confirmed can be ready within weeks.
Never since the Spanish Flu has there been a common enemy so intimidating that it caused a majority of the world's countries to work together, to break down dissemination of knowledge barriers, and showcase to each other the resiliency of the human spirit.
Now, instead of thinking about the population as a whole fighting COVID, I'd like to ask you to take a second and look back on what you were thinking on this day last year - almost a year since the pandemic struck.
Have you not learned a new skill? Have you not spent more time with your parents or your children? Have you not had the spare time to dust off the guitar you bought a a few years ago, but "never had the time" to learn how to play? --- If not then you've just wasted one of the greatest opportunities you'll ever get.
The pandemic has been devastating to businesses, to families, and to all of those who have been infected - but there's good news.
We can and we will come back from this. We were given an opportunity to improve ourselves over the past year. If you missed your chance, don't worry - there's still time. Throw your mask on and reach out to that old friend, be present in the lives of your family members, dust off that old guitar and get ready for the greatest years yet.
Covid might have stolen the show for the first act.
But the Roaring 20's are up next.
Vin
Photo Credit: apa.org
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