Although Coronavirus was only reported in the Netherlands two months ago and we’ve been in lockdown for seven weeks, I’ve already learnt a lot since Coronavirus started to affect our daily lives. Learning from Coronavirus and applying it our own personal life is important.

Here’s what Coronavirus has taught me about my life so far:

** [For help and advice on Covid-19, visit the World Health Organisation’s official website]

1. My Life Before Coronavirus Was Too Fast-Paced

In some ways, I don’t regret doing things every single weekend and seeing as many places and people as possible. I’m not going to be in my 20s forever and I likely won’t live abroad forever – especially now Coronavirus has put our lives on hold for a while.

However, I feel SO much more relaxed. Travelling and going to festivals every weekend or having people over just got exhausting and stressful. I felt like I couldn’t actually relax and was always worrying about money to afford everything.

I’m naturally a stressed person and my mental health has been pretty fragile over the years, so this fast-paced life just wasn’t ever good for me.

2. I Miss Home More Than I Realised

As much as my partner and I love going home, we also loved to travel. A lot. Using up lots of holiday days to go home, always seemed to stress us out, as all we wanted was to use it all on a road trip somewhere.

However, when push comes to shove, it’s not the holiday’s that I miss. It’s going back to my home country and seeing everyone. We completely took it for granted. I’d trade any road trip, with a visit home any day of the week.

3. I’ve Learnt That You Really Don’t Know What’s Around the Corner

We always talk about how ‘you don’t know what’s around the corner’, ‘enjoy things while you can’ and it’s SO true. Usually when someone says that, you think it’s because you don’t know what’s going to happen to you. You never think that something might happen to the world.

Although pandemics aren’t anything new and are also something that many experts have predicted for years, most of us regular folk have not really thought about it. Whenever my mum calls me, we always talk about how mad it all is and how things have changed so suddenly.

4. I Didn’t Enjoy What’s on My Own Doorstep Enough

When I first moved to the Netherlands, I travelled EVERYWHERE. We went to every city and park in the country and loved every minute. It soon got old and over the past few years, we have been driving further and further away from the Netherlands.

Now that I can’t do anything, all I want to do is cycle around the tulip fields and go to Keukenhof. Or sip a Jillz on the beach. I forgot what it was like to enjoy actually being in the Netherlands. I love it, but I feel like I spend more time out of it, than I do in it! That’s definitely going to change now.

5. I’ve Learnt That You Don’t Know What You’ve Got Until It’s Gone

Another popular saying, that is just too true for words. That’s not to say we aren’t appreciative people, but the little things such as being able to meet your friend for a coffee and give them a hug. Even just going to the supermarket and not having to queue outside and being able to small talk the cashier, without a huge shield in front of both of you.

If people told us that this would be the ‘new normal’ only last year, it would have been impossible to imagine. Learning from Coronavirus is a bitter pill to swallow. We just didn’t know the freedom we had until it was gone.

I certainly didn’t anyway.

6. I Shouldn’t Have Spent My Money on the Same Thing Constantly

My partner and I spend our spare money on one thing and one thing only. Festivals.

I’m not even kidding, we’d be hanging our underwear out and you couldn’t even count the number of holes in each one with both hands. My partner would be wearing ‘white’ t-shirts that were basically grey and I’d be walking with shoes with holes in the bottom of them.

We’d then rock up at an incredible festival, but we wouldn’t ever spend our money on anything else.

Having a fridge full of food, not worrying about excessively budgeting and treating ourselves to new gadgets and clothes has been SO nice. Sacrificing a festival to be able to replace our damn underwear is definitely a sacrifice I’m willing to make from now on, haha!

7. I Didn’t Spend Any Time in the Present

I didn’t realise until Coronavirus that I’m always waiting for the next thing. My free time is spent planning for eventual trips, everything I did all day revolved around preparing for the future and I spent no time actually enjoying the present. Time always flew by so fast because I was ‘wishing time away.’

Every night before I went to sleep, I’d go on my countdown app and see how many days left until an event. I know that sounds normal, but I would do it excessively and wouldn’t ever pay attention to what actual day it was in the moment.

I’m still learning from Coronavirus, but I’ve noticed that time is going by much slower now and I’m actually using my time effectively for a change. I need to carry that on when all of this is over.

We are all still learning from Coronavirus. Not just us, but the world. What will you do differently once this pandemic is over? Are any the same as me? Drop it in the comments or on Facebook.

Liked this article? Check these out:

Why It’s Okay to Achieve Nothing During the Coronavirus Crisis and Lockdown

Coping With Self-Isolation: 15 Ways to Stay Sane in Isolation During the Coronavirus Outbreak

How to Cope When Living Abroad During the Coronavirus Pandemic