While my SF trip (Mar 11-15) was likely a poor decision, I’m still glad I made it!

Let’s get the obvious out of the way: COVID is real. It’s more than a ‘bad flu’, there are 1.7M+ cases worldwide, and young people are not immune. Wash your hands, don’t touch your face, stay inside, and avoid physical iterations.

Now for the more interesting part: what effect does this have on my life? I’m not a healthcare worker (but they are honestly incredible) nor am I precariously employed (check this if you are). So the effects of COVID are second-order; they likely won’t affect me directly but the environment affects how I act, think, and live my life.

Summary of this post below, otherwise read on!

I’m expecting stronger 1:1 relationships due to limited group interaction
I’m finding it difficult to get new hobbies, and expect the same for those who can’t do their old ones (i.e. travel, clubbing), or didn’t have one to begin with
I think COVID is having a greater impact than other ‘greater good’ causes because it affects everyone, hits close to home, and affects my day-to-day
I see COVID as an opportunity*

Real friends

I’ve written extensively on the value of building my tribe, finding community, and investing in people who matter to me the most. But COVID brings this into the spotlight — not just for those concerned with existential questions and how they spend their time, but for the greater population.

Before COVID, how many of your friends were ‘practical’ friends? The kind that you only saw when you wanted to hit the clubs, play a sport, or do a specific activity. The kind that you only talk to when things are going well, quieter than usual, or if you’re in their neck of the woods. Some might say that these aren’t practical friends; but if someone is only associated with a feeling, activity, or location, then what are they?

The bulk of my good friends are not in Toronto, so transitioning to only seeing them on FaceTime (or Houseparty, what’s that?) was not a huge challenge. But I do wonder for readers, how are you dealing with this? I’d assume people who live to work will be perplexed with the newfound free time and disconnection from co-workers. Students in their junior or senior year might be faced with the question: who will I really keep in touch with after college is done?

I’ve made it a point of calling my friends more frequently. Usually not with a scheduled time, but just out of the blue on a Tuesday evening or Sunday afternoon. For those that don’t gravitate to apps like Houseparty, I wonder if COVID will lead to stronger 1-to-1 relationships opposed to those that are a consequence of group commitments and/or interactions.

Lifestyle

Have you ever asked yourself what you’re ‘known for’ amongst your friends? Some people are gamers, others are health nuts, some party hard and others travel frequently. COVID has called that all into question. The world travellers — people known for frequent vacations, or maybe an intentional decision to live in a foreign country — are grounded. The club-goers need a new outlet; alcohol still runs aplenty (being essential services) but it’s a lot harder (and less rewarding) to rally a crew over Zoom. You also can’t flaunt wealth or physical traits as easily if there isn’t a medium (club, restaurant, etc.) to do so.

I had trouble answering the question of ‘what I’m known for ‘ before COVID. I have an interest in comedy, but never gave stand-up a try. I’m a soccer fan but haven’t played seriously in close to a year. I cook a fair bit, but it’s hard to plan exciting meals for the week when going to the grocery store is a terrifying ordeal. Seriously, someone fired shots at my local grocery store last month — I really am safer inside!

If anyone else is in my boat, our options have decreased significantly. If you can’t do a hobby / activity by yourself (or virtually) and without going outside, you’re out of luck. So, this makes me wonder:

How are people who are known for certain hobbies they can no longer do adjusting?
How are people who didn’t have a specific lifestyle adjusting to the lack of options?

The Greater Good

I’m glad the government is starting to crack down on people who are violating social distancing rules, and has set restrictions in place to discourage gatherings (i.e. closing bars/restaurants). It’s their job to protect the greater good — which includes vulnerable populations like the elderly and those with pre-existing conditions.

I’ve also been impressed at how people have banded together and enforced social distancing via peer pressure (ironically). Even if you want to be the one defiant person who is breaking the rules, you need to rally your friends to make that happen. I.e. if I want to throw a birthday party, odds are no one would show up + I’d get a ton of Facebook messages saying how dumb I am for throwing one.

There’s a reason why COVID is resonating with me more than other social issues that also benefit ‘the greater good’:

It can happen to me. 1/3 of hospitalized COVID patients are under the age of 40. Even if I likely can’t die from it, it’s very likely that catching COVID would ruin my month.
It hits close to home. My parents are in their 60s, so if they were to catch COVID (God forbid), it would be significantly more dangerous than if I were to catch it. I feel like most people know someone who would be seriously affected by COVID, so it’s a ‘close to home’ cause.
It affects my day-to-day. The longer that COVID persists, the longer everyone has to stay inside and avoid doing the things they love.

Global warming, poverty, and other causes don’t check these boxes like COVID does. So while I care about them, I’m not as incentivized or motivated to act as I am with COVID. It honestly fascinates me that COVID has rallied such a wide swath of the global population — rich, poor, old, young, etc.

This is an opportunity.

*As always, I’ll add a disclaimer before making a controversial statement: If you’re precariously employed, in poverty, supporting a family by yourself, etc. etc. then COVID (and a looming recession) is terrible, full stop. This isn’t an opportunity for you.

But I don’t think my writing caters to those groups. When I write, I write for millennials who have anxiety from choosing between multiple amazing jobs, people running their own companies and struggling to balance their social life, and tech workers who want to find a motivation / fire that their cushy 9-5 can’t provide. People who aren’t living paycheck-to-paycheck (I hope) or racking up credit card debt to make ends meet.

This privileged boat is the one I’m in; and I see COVID as an opportunity. It’s challenging the predictable growth that I planned for my clients and forcing me to be more creative; I’ve had clients churn and taken a real hit to my salary. It’s challenging my friend group, and who I make an effort to keep in touch with + support during this time. It’s challenging my relationship, and how I prioritize my significant other despite turbulence in other areas of life and a decreasing number of activities/options to keep us engaged.

I also see this as an opportunity for others… If you’re a new grad and historically depended on converting your 3rd year internship into a full-time offer, you might need to reconsider. Lots of internships are getting cancelled, meaning you can either settle for jobs that are still open OR push to discover new jobs that weren’t readily available via job boards, legacy hiring from your school, etc. For tech workers, there’s a push to ‘cut the fat’ at companies that are unprofitable / can’t be fuelled any longer by venture capital. Some of these companies are materially affected (Bird, Away, Ritual, etc.) while others are using COVID as an excuse to cut back (Everlane, Yelp, Clearbanc). If you were complacent before, this could be an opportunity to drive new value to your organization, lateral to more impactful jobs, and get the spark you were looking for.

Challenge —> Growth —> Opportunity.