Three Quarantine Realizations
Joeseph M. Velasquez in Ang Pinoy Stories
May 30, 2020 • 3 min Read
March 16, 2020, I was just about finished teaching my last class and headed to the faculty room to settle my things when it was announced to the teachers that the government has imposed a community quarantine in Metro Manila because of the COVID-19 outbreak.
We are almost two months into this quarantine and it seems it has been forever. However, as I sit around and hold online meetings and classes, watch anything that would keep my mind of things, and keep myself busy with my hobbies, I realized three things during this time in quarantine.
- Private companies can give more work options.
Let’s face it, no one loves commuting. Being cramped in a public utility vehicle with little to no room for oneself, or let alone breathe, makes it quite difficult to travel from one place to another. After the quarantine has been announced, private companies did not take long to offer their workers more options to continue working. I usually ask friends about their work conditions and quite often they would say they were given the option of working at home. I realize that in this “new normal” initiative, it is great that companies are giving this option to their employees because it is advantageous to both parties: for the workers, it means not having difficulty to commute to work; and for the companies, productivity will increase, since studies have concluded that work from home employees are 20% to 25% more efficient than employees in the office. I hope this option continues.
- Art keeps us alive.
Even in the year 2020, traditional Filipino mentality views the success of a person if he/she excels in Science, Mathematics, or English. Traditionally, we have viewed art as a hobby and not a way of living. However, as we entertain ourselves with music, movies, books, and graphic novels, we realize that after all the noise and clamor of our work life end and when we are reduced to staying at home, we have art to turn to. Many plays and movies are shown for free in streaming websites. Additionally, local plays have gained applauses from the Filipino masses, specifically Ang Huling El Bimbo the Musical — which gave a bitter-sweet taste to this writer’s heart. It is no contest then that artists bring enjoyment and entertainment in times of crisis and, in this writer’s opinion, help fight the virus scare by making it more comfortable staying at home.
- Family matters most.
As a teacher, I would wake up early to start my day of work and usually stay late to finish my paperwork. So I would often come home late. Five times a week, that was my routine, and on Saturdays and Sundays, I sleep in and wake up late to make up for my lost hours of sleep. However, during this quarantine, we are given a step back on why we are working in the first place: our family. During this quarantine it seems as if families are connected again. It has been about two months that my family started eating at the same table at the same time, sharing stories and overall, just making conversation. And during these conversations, I realize that career, promotions, academics…these can be done anytime; however, family is not always going to be there. Filipinos are always known to be family-oriented, and it seems that during this lockdown, we get to have the opportunity to prove that.
As we stay home during this pandemic, let us all reflect about the opportunities we are given, the things that we take for granted, and the people we should always spend time with.
