Anonymous 2m 538 #covid19
The views of this article are the perspective of the author and may not be reflective of Confessions of the Professions.
My Life during Covid-19 Lockdown
May, 2020 Daisy
The Spring Festival of 2020 is unusual. Because of COVID-19, the majority of families in China canceled traveling and outings, staying at home for about 2 weeks. The pandemic makes the Spring Festival less gathering and happiness, but more worried and isolated.
I am a UX designer and worked in Shanghai for about 2 years. Last autumn, I quit my job, left Shanghai, and went back to my hometown—a second-tier city in southwestern China. I planned to take a break before finding a new job. However, I didn’t expect there would be a worldwide pandemic to change my life.
Even though Hubei Province was lockdown, the city I lived in hasn’t been lockdown, but for the safety and security reasons, I rarely went out, unless shopping for groceries. The government behaved very quickly. Everything was well-organized. This made us feel safe and relieved. However, staying at home all day was upsetting and depressing. The activity space is limited, I could only walk from my bedroom to the dining room. Besides, I was not good at cooking, so I only ate twice a day. These made me feel disappointed and fatigued. I couldn’t do anything effectively with my bad moods.
Until one day, I chatted with one of my friends, he is a programmer. He told me that during the lockdown, he had finished programming several shipped projects! He took advantage of the time while everyone was slowing down. His experience reminded me of other great people, who used the time wisely during the pandemic. For example, Isaac Newton. This also encouraged me to cheer up! I realized that this was a great time to improve myself. Therefore, I adjusted my mindset and lifestyle. Eating and sleeping more regularly, and pushed myself to learn new design techniques and build my portfolio, to prepare for the job.
At the end of March, the pandemic was almost over in China. I took a break for about 6 months, considering it might be time to find a new job. However, when I searched for the vacancies online, I found the opening positions were dramatically decreased compared to last year. Choices were limited. What frustrated me more was that I didn’t get any interview chances with the company I was interested in. These made me anxious and I started to doubt myself. But soon I realized I was not the only one suffered. During the pandemic, Jessica told me she just lost her job, Tommy just graduated but still unemployed. Everyone is getting through the tough moments this year.
“If I cannot find a satisfying job, why not try to start my own business?” You have to admit, sometimes, good fortune follows upon tragedy. After I decided to become a freelancer and start my design studio, I got my first client by accident in 2 weeks. Being affirmed by others increases my confidence. I was motivated to reach out to more clients. Currently, I have already gained several stable cooperation.
I didn’t expect to have my own business last year. This experience also reminds me, there is always hope in the failure. If you feel you have fallen to a low point, don’t give up! You are about to take off.
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