Inactivity is Valid during Pandemic

I remember when the lockdown was imposed, people started showing their creativity. Food posts were so common on social media. Some of my friends started enrolling in online courses. Some started joining online internships. As for me, I was stuck in a small 10x10 room, with very rudimentary cooking schools, far far away from home all alone. I did not have the ingredients to cook great food, neither did I have the will to enroll in courses or internships. What I had was lots and lots of anxiety and a massive fear of uncertainty. 

My condition was worsened by the constantly rising cases, and the eventual extensions of lockdown, and the impedient in the conduction of my end semester exams. Posts such as "You must utilise the lockdown to harness a skill. If you are not doing that, you are just wasting time" made my condition even worse. I started questioning myself, blaming myself for being lazy, weak, and unproductive. 

It took me time, but I realised I really don't need to define my activities during the lockdown according to what people think is worthy of doing. The kind of posts I mentioned above come from an obvious position of privilege, a privilege not all the people can afford at all times. 

Being "unproductive" during the pandemic is not a crime, neither is it unethical. These are testing times, and the pandemic has affected us in different ways. Our mental health has taken a toll. And we cope in different ways. Inactivity, according to me, is not a sign of being lazy. It is one of the many different ways of coping. Being inactive is not harming you or another person. You are not slagging at a job (unless you are not attending online classes or job that is). 

If you are one of those people who did not utilise the pandemic to engage in socially desirable "productive activities", you really are not alone. And you really are not answerable to anyone for what you did or did not do. May you get through these difficult times!