2020 has probably been the weirdest, perhaps worst year, of many peoples lives.
I think we can all agree
Covid-19 has impacted all aspects of life for everyone.
Alongside the extra time for reflection that most people have witnessed, this pandemic has truly shown the reality of the world.
While it’d be easy to comment on the competence of governments, the choice vs. full lockdowns or a more Swedish style approach and the potential long term restrictions that some countries may impose on it’s citizens past Covid, there are a full matters that I’m a bit more suited to talk about (and passionately opinionated).
And because what we need in this world, is more positivity. I’ll highlight some positivity.
These topics are:
- Covid’s impact on the Arts
- Education system (Distance, online-based, learning)
- Increase in home-baking/cooking
These topics are closer to me and while this blog post will be opinionated, I do still hope there will be some value to you within these words. I’ll link to some (external) further reading as well!
Covid Impact on the Arts
Perhaps one of the worst industries hit by the pandemic is the Arts. While it has been shut down for the vast majority of this past year – we have still seen performances released online for public viewing. These performances have, for the most part, been free to watch (with only donations being asked for to help the industry). You can watch some performances here (unless you’re looking in the distant future):
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdmPjhKMaXNNeCr1FjuMvag
As restrictions have been lowered theatres have reopened and, while respecting social distancing and guidelines, have began creating content again. As with any art adding rules and restrictions has forced increased creativity which always leads to more interesting outcomes.
It’s my prediction that books, art, TV and film with all other art forms will see a surge in themes such as restriction, death, loneliness and even lack-of-control within their work. This all due to the personal impact that the pandemic has had on peoples lives and should lead to some creative endeavours.
Education System (Distance, online-based, learning)
All countries have their pros and cons when it comes to their education systems.
So I won’t mention any names! Haha
But I believe that now teachers and students have had time to adapt to online learning it will play a lasting role in education in many potential forms.
There’s no doubting that education has suffered and struggled during this time. Teachers and students have had no idea what is happening from one moment to the next and teaching methods have had to drastically change. Personally, now looking at how things are settling, if education systems move away from traditional textbook teaching and closer to more interactive learning and more realistic methods of assessment – I believe that this will be better for society.
This is a digital age. I don’t need to be able to work out complicated mathematics without a calculator (unless I’m going into a related profession). Equally, I don’t need to memorise the purpose of the mitochondria. If education are able to provide high quality education online through use of pre-recorded sessions (which students can review at later dates), videos to watch, interactive quizzes and homework which is more engaging for students as it’s online then hopefully education will thrive and teachers will see a reduced work load due to new tools and automation.
In terms of digital education there is still a long wat to go. However, I am hopeful that a blended approach in the future will see education systems brought into modern times for a modern world.
Increase in home-baking/cooking
The coronavirus pandemic has seen almost all countries lockdown their citizens and have them stay in their houses. This has resulted in more people having time to cook their own food. While some people may have never cooked before, it has given them an incredibly opportunity to learn how to cook their favourite meals. Equally, people have also began to garden and grow their own food as well! With people taking more control over the food that they eat and providing for their families, I think this is an incredibly thing that has came from Covid that we should all look to take with us through to the New Year.
I’m a firm advocate for baking and cooking in your home. It’s a tremendous skill to have.
- You get more control over the ingredients in your food
- You can provide incredibly tasting food for yourself, friends and family
- It can be great fun and therapeutic to cook and bake
Whether you want to cook family meals, bake sweet treats or make bread a lot of the time it’s cheaper, healthier and tastes better
Some great places to start could be:
- Learning to cook eggs (fried, boiled, scrambled, omelette, poached etc.)
- Pancakes
- Bread (especially if bread is expensive where you live)
- Pizza
- Cookies
- Smoothies (technically you don’t have to cook anything but these can be delicious, healthy and a hell of a lot cheaper than buying them yourself)
Some less obvious benefits of learning to cook and bake are that you can build a collection of cookbooks to display and look through. More importantly, you could begin to create your own personal cookbook which can be shared with friends, family and even passed on in the future.
Cooking and baking are truly excellent skills to have and impress most people – if you find that you are only good at one that’s fine! Most people tend to be better at one than the other, either way you’ll create some incredibly tasting food.
To learn how to cook food from scratch:
To learn how to bake:
Conclusion
Whether you’re reading this in the New Year or in years to come – I hope you’ve found some insight and value in these words. There is good in everything in this world, it all depends on how you want to view it. Here were some of my positive viewpoints for 2020 and going forward.
What are you thoughts on Covid and the less talked about affects that it’s brought. Do you like this kind of post? Let me know in the comments section!
