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Revenge Living
Making up for all the time I wasn’t able to live, all at once
When the world was at a standstill for two and a half years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the accumulated frustrations of people around the globe with the limitations and restrictions that had been in place found their release in widespread phenomena such as “revenge buying,” “revenge travel,” and “the Great Resignation.”
For the people who exercised caution and truly abode by social distancing, remote, and quarantine recommendations out of genuine safety concerns, like myself, everyday life during that time was extremely limited.
For two and a half years, I rarely left my apartment. I worked remotely. The only public places I would go to were the store or the pharmacy, and even then, I went infrequently. I didn’t go to any restaurants, cafés, or bars. I stopped going to the movies. I rarely met up with other people. I avoided gatherings and crowds of all kinds.
My world quickly became very small and stayed small for a long time. My only leisure activities that involved going outside were spending time at the park across from my apartment building and going for walks around my neighborhood.
It was during those mid-afternoon walks and hangouts in the park that I slowly came to a realization: I had been living a…
