Life before the pandemic

With the year coming to an end, it is a common practice to reminisce about the events of the year, but 2020 has been so heavily influences by COVID-19 that, for many people, it is the only thing that has happened. A curious side effect of the pandemic is that it has affected our lives so heavily, and it has required so much effort from every one to adapt to the new normality, that customs that were well established and even eagerly embraced are now dismissed or looked down upon, and it is becoming harder and harder to remember what life was exactly like before the pandemic.

One of the most hilariously accurate depictions of this phenomenon features in Randall Munroe's XKCD web comic #2391. Trying to remember what life used to be the characters end up "recalling" activities that not only are ridiculous, but also dangerous or even openly forbidden. The exaggeration only enhances the wittiness of the joke, but it does not make it any less true. 

Photo: Rang Oza from Pixabay

It is remarkable how our mind plays tricks with our memories and embellishes or corrupts them without us knowing. Hidden Brain run an episode on this topic and how we tend to correct our memories and how some things are more likely to make an impression on you depending on your personal history, while they can go completely unnoticed for another person. Also another of my favorite podcasts, Freakonomics Radio, run an episode on the subject in 2013, so it is obviously an idea which is very present.

One of the best documented side effects of the pandemic in the general population is how we have sought ways to connect now our daily routines have been upended, and many of us have finally found a golden opportunity to reach out to those old time friends with whom we never have the time to talk. The WhatsApp groups for my student residence and my high school class have never been livelier, and I have approached and been approached by former acquaintances with the hope to freshen up our friendship.

Still, it is remarkable how little I remember from my past. Most of my memory from 30 years ago are rather general impressions of mood than recordings of anecdotes, so when an old school mate asked me what I remembered of her I had to dig relatively deep to find something. But then again, every person makes a different impression: I have much more vivid memories from my girlfriend at that time than of most of the others.

Probably, in another 30 years I will read back this pages and I will wonder what was going on through my mind, but having a written record will at least alleviate the uncertainty as to whether things really happened or I just imagined it. I hope you have a nice and memorable evening.