+
upworthy
Health

People shared the important lessons of the pandemic. Here are 21 of the most cathartic.

It changed how we worked, socialized and saw humanity.

covid-19, pandemic lessons, ask reddit
via Pixabay

People are sharing the lessons of the pandemic.

Two-and-a-half years after the COVID-19 pandemic came to America, things are slowly returning to normal. Although people are still catching the virus, the seven-day average of deaths is around 15% of where we were at the pandemic’s peak. Lockdowns and mask mandates are over, kids are all back at school and there’s a definite feeling that the worst is behind us.

The last 30 months have been a time of anxiety, loneliness, fear, sickness, death, misinformation, and political and economic upheaval. Over that time, most of us were forced to change how we worked, socialized and learned. Even as the pandemic winds down, we live in a world that will never return to what it was like before the virus.

Now’s the time to try to make sense of what we’ve all been through so that if there’s a next time, we know how to do things better.

A Reddit user by the name Affectionate-Ad1060 asked the online forum, “What is the most important lesson learnt from Covid-19?” and they received more than 19,000 responses.


Some thought that the pandemic taught them the importance of being around people. Others realized that maintaining one’s mental health isn’t just about resilience.

A lot of people were discouraged by how incredibly selfish some acted during the pandemic. Many were surprised by the number of people who put their political beliefs ahead of the health of themselves and others.

A lot of our norms and assumptions about society have been significantly challenged over the past two and a half years. The only way that we can create a feeling of hope that things will be better the next time is to examine the lessons learned from COVID-19 so we can be better.

Here are 21 of the most important lessons that people learned from COVID-19.

1. 

"No matter how strong and resilient you think you are, your mental health can be penetrated without you realizing it." — Lentewiet

2. 

"You should take the time to spend with those you love." — idontworktomorrow

3. 

"That it wouldn’t take much for civilized people to turn on each other." — hindmaja

Strength-in-the-Loins added:

"A wise man once said something like 'Humanity is perpetually 9 meals away from utter barbarism."

JimmyHammer12 really put the nail on the head with their response:

"It could also be said based on the way people went FOMO for all that toilet paper that 'Humanity is perpetually 9 rolls away from utter barbarism.'"

4.

"People's mental health ain't no joke... people need people." — vg4030

5. 


"Pandemic was just the proverbial group project in school all over again. A couple of intelligent and hard-working people trying to keep everything from falling apart while the rest sit on their ass or choose to straight up sabotage everything. Yet somehow everyone gets the exact same grade." — NaughtyProwler

6. 

"Bold of you to assume we’ve learned anything." — Airsoft07

7. 

"Healthcare needs a overhaul." — Toxic_Politician

8. 

"The extent to which politicians will sell out public health for their political advantage is much higher than I thought. Usually, life or death situations are good for all politicians, just be a voice of stability and hope and you’re good. We all pull together and get through it. This time, dividing us intentionally to cause chaos? I still can’t believe real people did that." — Griswald

9. 

"Most schools weren't as ready to switch to digital methods as they bragged about." — SenpaisReisShop

10. 

"Most grown adults are nasty and have to be reminded to wash their hands." — shantyirish13

11. 

"The 'supply chain' is far leaner and vulnerable to the vagaries of pandemic conditions than most had thought." — Back2Bach

12. 

"You can have all the free time in the world and still manage to do nothing with it." — hogaway

13. 

"We need to teach statistics and critical thinking better." — hardsoft

14. 

"I work in childcare. We learned that children really need socialization. You would think with time off parents would work on things. Kids came back to daycare, not potty trained, still using a pacifier, speech behind, and refusing to share. It's better now but it was really interesting seeing a child pre-Covid who you potty trained…. Come back months later acting pretty helpless. don’t know if it’s parents, the lack of social pressure, or just some other thing. But it was an interesting experience." — Paceim

15. 

"People are willing to die over politics." — morinthos

16.

"That 50% of jobs can be done from home while the other 50% deserve more than they're being paid." — Kayin_Angel

17. 

"That being tied to the office, working insane hours, super long commutes are not necessary." — squashedfrog

18. 

"People make irrational decisions when afraid." — AaaON_

19. 


"During covid, I was laid off for months and spent that whole time keeping up to date on everything going on in the world. I mean everything I possibly could, every single day. I reached the point of obsession and the massive amount of negative crushed me. There was so much bad going on so much suffering that eventually, one day I just set it all down and said I'll check in in a month. Best decision I made that year, the only thing that kept my sanity. Just taking time away and not bathing in it every day." — Primerallen

20. 

"People will listen to politicians over their doctors." — GhostalMedia

21. 

"A decent amount of people I work with surprised me a lot during the pandemic. People I used to have some respect for revealed themselves as complete idiots. It was really sobering." — RiW-Kirby

True

Larissa Gummy was first introduced to the work of the Peace Corps in high school. All it took was seeing a few photos shared by her ninth-grade teacher, a returned Peace Corps Volunteer, to know that one day, she would follow in those footsteps.

This inspiration eventually led Larissa away from her home in Minnesota to Rwanda in East Africa, to give back to her family’s country of origin and pursue her passion for international development. Though her decision confused her parents at first, they’re now proud and excited to see what their daughter has accomplished through her volunteer work.

And just what was that work? Well, it changed from day to day, but it all had to do with health.

Mostly, Larissa worked for Rwanda’s First 1,000 Days Health project, which aims to improve the conditions that affect the mortality rate of kids within the first 1,000 days of being born (or almost three years old). These conditions include hygiene, nutrition, and prevention of childhood diseases like malaria and acute respiratory infections (ARI). Addressing malnutrition was a particular focus, as it continues to cause stunted growth in 33% of Rwandan children under the age of five.

In partnership with the local health center, Larissa helped with vaccination education, led nutrition classes, offered prenatal care to expecting mothers, and helped support health education in surrounding communities. Needless to say—she stayed busy with a variety of tasks.

Keep ReadingShow less
Identity

13 side-by-side portraits of people over 100 with their younger selves

These powerful before-and-after photos reveal just how beautiful aging can be.


Centenarians — people 100 years or older — are a rarity. Their lives are often scrutinized as holding the key to aging.

Czech photographer Jan Langer's portrait series "Faces of Century" shows them in a different light: as human beings aged by years of experience, but at their deepest level, unchanged by the passing of time.

In the series, Langer juxtaposes his portraits with another portrait of the subject from decades earlier. He recreates the original pose and lighting as closely as he can — he wants us to see them not just as they are now, but how they have and haven't changed over time. That is the key to the series.

Keep ReadingShow less
Joy

An 8-year-old snuck his handwritten book onto a library shelf. Now it has a 56-person waiting list.

Dillon Helbig's 81-page graphic novel— written by "Dillon His Self"—captured the hearts of his local librarians and their patrons.

Dillon Helbig's 81-page graphic novel captured the hearts of his local librarians.

Writing a book is no easy task, even for adult professional writers. Many would-be authors dream of a day when their work can be found on library shelves, unsure if it will ever come.

But for 8-year-old Dillon Helbig, that day has already arrived—in truly unconventional fashion—thanks to his own determination to make it happen.

Dillon wrote his 81-page graphic novel, "The Adventures of Dillon Helbig's Crismis" (written by "Dillon His Self") in a hardcover journal with colored pencils over the course of a few days. He even put a label on the back of the book that reads "Made in Idho" [sic] and put an illustrated spine label on it as well. Then, without telling anyone, he brought it to his local library in Boise, Idaho, and slipped it in among the books in the children's section.

Keep ReadingShow less

All GIFs and images via Exposure Labs.


Photographer James Balog and his crew were hanging out near a glacier when their camera captured something extraordinary.

They were in Greenland, gathering footage from the time-lapse they'd positioned all around the Arctic Circle for the last several years.

Keep ReadingShow less
via Tod Perry

An artist's recreation of Jackie's napkin note.

A woman named Jackie pulled a move straight out of a romantic comedy recently, and it has the internet rallying around her potential love interest. Jackie met a guy at a bar and liked him so much that she gave him her phone number. Well, 80% of her number, that is.

The world heard about it on January 17 when Twitter user Henpecked Hal shared a picture of the napkin with her partial phone number written on it. "My 22-year-old cousin met his dream girl at a bar and it's going pretty well,” Hal wrote in the tweet.

Keep ReadingShow less

For years, you have been squinting, licking your fingers, or doing whatever you can do get a really tiny end of a thread into an even tinier hole, and thinking, [infomercial host voice] "THERE'S GOT TO BE A BETTER WAY!" Well, kids, there is, and you're about to feel both relieved and dumb.

Twitter user John Bick shared a video from a crafting site that went viral for being extremely helpful.

Keep ReadingShow less

A real life look into what it looks like to party in your 30s

Something happens at some unknown point in your 30s where partying no longer looks the same as it did when you were in your early 20s. There's no real warning. In fact, sometimes it happens mid-party. You're having a good time dancing, taking a Jägerbomb, then you slowly feel the youthful excitement drift from your body.

You realize you have a big meeting Monday you have to prepare for and you'd rather hear your cat's best motorcycle impression than spend one more second being bumped into by sweaty people in the club. And just like that, a different partying expectation is formed. One where you know that dropping it low may mean that you can't get back up.

Where sensible shoes take priority and you're not going if there aren't comfortable chairs, a reasonable end time and music at an acceptable decibel level. Malena Tudi, perfectly captured what it's like to party in your 30s, it's instantly clear that bumping and grinding with strangers isn't on the list.

Keep ReadingShow less