#@bertongbigtime

It is truly a year since the lockdown and the pandemic started and the challenges it brought to every single day. Somehow I managed to made up to this point and it is far from over as constant lockdowns sprung up every now and then because of the rising cases of Covid 19. The world we live today is forever change and the new normal will be the norm engraved in our daily lives.

To keep sane, I tend to listen to music to calm myself in times of stress that build from within. Setting the right lighting helps lighten the mood along with the relaxing music in the background. From time to time I shoot, create and edit videos for my own satisfaction, it could be a travel montage making life like in the movies. And by this I could feel like everything is fine.

The news is filled with bad news and I couldn’t stop myself to be constantly worried about my family and relatives and especially the elderly. They are vulnerable to Covid 19 and extra precaution is in need for their safety. And with a lot happening everyday a break is all we need, the one I need in the moment. Unplugging, escaping from the harsh world we live in today can help release the steam build up inside causing me to be burn out and feel unmotivated.

The first months of the pandemic last 2020 have been a hard time for me and the whole family. We, just like all of us, had a hard time adjusting to the new normal. We are forced to stay in our homes, and many lives were greatly affected by this pandemic. Honestly, I was covered in fear and full of regret during those times because all the plans I have for the year 2020 had gone all of a sudden. I am scared of the fact that maybe this would not end and everything would not go back to normal.

After almost 5 months of staying at home, I suddenly forget how the outside world looks like. This may sound funny, but it was a reality for me. While I enjoy my time staying at home -- lying in my bed, eating a variety of food, and my only problem is what would I do the next day to kill the time, and adjust to the new set-up,  there a lot of people risking their lives on the streets and the different parts of the world just to ease their hunger and to feed their family. Especially the front-liners who risk their lives just to protect ours. The fact that they chose to be apart from their families to fulfill their duties made them earned our highest form of respect.  

I still remember the feeling when I first went outside after several months of staying at home-- it feels surreal. Everything feels weird and strange for me. Then the school year had started -- another adjustment to make. At first, it is really stressful and heartbreaking to see my friends and classmates on screen because I really miss them so much especially our professors who became our second parents. I have a strong connection to my family-- I can tell them my problems and other stuff but for me, it is not enough. Being an extrovert individual, I am used to going outside and hang out with my friends from time-to-time that made me miss them so badly because during those times we only communicate through social media.

A year has passed since the pandemic has entered our world. The time that we divided separately, a time that only a corner of your room or house you can be in. This is also a generation where we are all dependent on the available technology that we used everyday. A digital world to interact with each other while we are socially distanced. 

As we see ourselves back to the same ordeal, we’ve missed a lot—friends, classmates, colleagues and such. We kept on surviving everyday by entertaining ourselves—watching netflix, getting together with family and social networks. By doing this, it makes us feel missed and loved for the meantime but sometimes, it’s exhausting. Everyday check up on friends, daily scrolling on social media and a loaded workload from the school. 

Given that, many students including me are demanding some much-needed breathing space amidst the unfavorable socioeconomic impact. To consider the intensified burden placed on the students affected. The quarantine implementation caused a great setback in the normal operational flow of the whole nation. Challenging the morale, mental health, and welfare of many. 

One year of being in quarantine. April has been the longest month of the year. I have been through more in these past months than in the past years. The COVID-19 outbreak has had a huge impact on both physical and social well-being of a lot of Filipinos, including me. Stress has been governing the lives of so many civilians, in particular students and workers. In addition to causing a lack of motivation in my life, quarantine has also brought a wave of anxiety. 

 My life changed the moment the World Health Organization (WHO) and the government announced social distancing. My busy daily schedule, running from class to class and meeting to meeting, morphed into identical days, consisting of hour after hour behind a cold computer monitor. Human interaction and touch improve trust, reduce fear and increases physical well-being. Imagine the effects of removing the human touch and interaction from midst of society. Humans are profoundly social creatures, I cannot function without interacting and connecting with other people and even daily acquaintances have an impact on me that is only noticeable once removed. As a result, the COVID-19 outbreak has had an extreme impact on me beyond direct symptoms and consequences of contracting the virus itself. 

 It was not until later, when out of sheer boredom I was scrolling through my call logs and I realized that I had called my Mother more than ever. This made me realize that quarantine had created some positive impacts on my social interactions as well that this period of time has created an opportunity to check up on and connect with family and peers more often than we were able to, even though we might be connecting solely through a screen, we are not missing out on being socially connected. Quarantine has taught me to value and prioritize social connection, and to recognize that we can find this type of connection not only through in-person gatherings, but also through deep heart to heart connections. Right now, my weekly Zoom meetings with my long-time friends are the most important events in my week. In fact, I have taken advantage of the opportunity to reconnect with many of my old friends and have actually had more meaningful conversations with them than before the isolation.

A year has passed, no its been more than a year. Honestly, being in sane is a very hard thing to do. The virus hit me like a suprise, Nobody predicted that it will occur and that it will affect thousands and millions of lives. Who would have thought that the simple announcement from the Campus Newspaper will never end "Walang pasok Mnl and Cal campus". I thought that the simple announcement will only lasts for a couple of months and were even joking about "tsaka na tayo magkikita kita kapag kumanta na ng Whenever I see boys and girls" who would have thought that the simple joke can be repeated again this year? Who would have thought that this batch of us who suffered a lot, would suffer even more, imagine the adjustment during the Shs days, the additional 2 years for the educational years, 2 years of college remote learning , a possible virtual graduation, and the possibility that most companies will not accept fresh graduates because of the lack in hands-on and on site skills. Aside from it, imagine those students who are only free and happy when theyre not home, imagine their situation now. Imagine the times we waste, I should have had hug my Father by now, he should have come home during the chinese vacation. Its really hard to keep me in sane now.

Because were in the work from home. School from home set up, people would think that your free time is your available time. There is no more clear distinction between home and school anymore, I really do miss those times when after the tiring work from school we would go to mall and eat ice cream, just sit in the field and start the non stop chikas.

During the first month of the news about the virus, people were all afraid to even go outside, people are hoarding facemasks and alchohol. A lot of people invent a lot of things, tipid tips, DIY, lawyers become painters, mothers become doctors, and a lot more, it somehow shows how we can turn boredom into a beatiful thing. But today, A lot of people keep on going to mall, a lot of kids were still playing outside it doesnt seem like they are afraid of the virus. Today, to keep me sane from this home I just keep onlistening to music and hitting the video call button to my dad, I just realize even more how sad and home sicking it is to be apart from your loved ones. I try to keep myself busy to avoid thinking negative thoughts.

During this pandemic, I realize the importance of humanity, how one help can do a big change in one's life. Todays trend about community pantry, it only shows how the little things can help one's life.

We never know when this pandemic will be over, I understand that this situation is very unfamiliar not only to me but to numerous Filipinos too. It open some doors to some, but it closes a lot of doors to numerous people. I just home that this freaking pandemic will be over because the dolomite sand can no longer hold my sanity.

Everyone knows this. Spotify has evidently taken the internet by fire in the last few years that is why I think that it is one of the most effective medium. Spotify's scope isn't about playing music; it's about exploration, empowerment, and social interaction.

My insights about this pilot episode is that. Since its my first time listening to a podcast, I notice that the pilot episode is a bit off, well its just my opinion.  First, the background music is not match with the topic, its like the background music is something like magical, thrilling stuff that didn’t match the topic, which is about fake news,scammers and how will you scan the man in a social media app.  Second is the way Tarra Quismundo say the words, its full of uhh, ahh, ahmm and duh duh duhhh. Another thing is she speak the English for the first minutes then after a couple of minutes she started speaking Filipino which is I think not appropriate for a podcast where in you’re trying to inform.

But on the other hand I think that spotify is an effective medium  to share a podcast to a lot of teenagers for free.