Finally, the world is being forced to recognize, there is no “normal”.
Even more exciting is without a normal, there is no normal to go back to; meaning the world can relax and learn to accept the unpredictable as our everyday reality. For instance, my daughter’s high school now calls snow days more often as these Covid times have prepared them for better contact and online learning. The yearly schedule may be set, but changes are now easier to accept due to online communication and students and parents are able to adjust without as much difficulty as before. In Colorado, these changes have even increased talks of the four day school week with both sides presenting arguments which used to sound crazy. It’s as if doing things different is being accepted since we were forced to accept major change last year.
And it isn’t just school- the global pandemic is what entrepreneurs and business owners refer to as a “pivot”. It is an unforeseen moment in time when things did not go as planned but instead of crumbling from defeat, the moment is seen as an opportunity to change directions, plans, or even rebuild completely. I won’t lie – I’m not a Type A person, so whether it be business or basketball I have always loved a good pivot.
Presently, the global pandemic changes are obvious, but a year ago most of us believed we would eventually go back to the way everything was before Covid. Then, six months in, we realized we were doing some things better than before and it would be silly to go back to old ways. My husband has learned his home office isn’t so bad. If he works from home even a third of the time he did before it allows me to work more often, gives us both time with our kids, and increases the time that we are all together. Not to mention the money we save on gas, eating out or him getting stuck five times a week in 5 O’clock traffic. Home life is for sure different for tons of families and while all may not be as positive as ours, the time in quarantine has truly turned out to be one of those sneaky blessings in disguise for us.
After months of searching, I gave up on my “normal” line of work. I’m qualified to teach English at the college level, but all the interviews I had set up before Covid turned into online interviews and online jobs. I know my talents. Teaching entirely online is not one of them and never will be. I love English but I either had to sacrifice time or money and get extra training for the jobs being offered. I decided to branch out.
Now, as I work part-time at the local driving school and part-time at the closest ski-resort, I realize I miss the English classroom a bit, but not as much as I thought I would. Not only have I learned new skills, but I’ve cushioned my resume to include greater skills in the real world like office management, not just the skills of the academic world. Filling my time with lower pressure jobs means when I get home, I’m home; no essays to grade or lesson plans to write. Education is at the peak of a mid-life crisis and some educators are seeing the value in not being a participant.
Today, universities are facing scrutiny for being too expensive, too demanding, too pretentious. In K-12 districts teachers are rallying against low budgets, major pressure and constant changes with little time to adjust. Don’t even get me started on the gun debate. Though it should be noted that teaching these days does come with a complimentary reality check as you sit through an afternoon of, “Live Shooter Training”. It’s difficult to put these tragedies on the back burner or in distant neighborhoods when the attacks have only increased since Columbine. Twenty years later there’s still a severe lack of solutions for school and student safety. Then Covid. Why would anyone want to teach right now?
Another woman at the driving school used to teach music. She said she’s never going back. At the ski resort the lady that helps operate the front desk used to teach third grade. She’s not going back either. They’ve both got a glimpse of the other side like me, and we’ve realized, “Dude!” this isn’t nearly as bad as we’d made it in our heads. First off, there are other adults at regular jobs. And even when they are battling hormones or a smidge of mental illness – they know how to hide it from nine to five like the rest of the office. No, the office and business setting isn’t perfect either, but by God I do a lot less for the same amount of money. Plus, I get all the way home without sobbing in my car.
Truthfully, most people don’t willingly leave their comfort zone unless forced. I was kinda depressed when I realized most college teaching jobs would involve all day online. It did not even occur to me to think of the possible opportunities elsewhere until later. One thing people need to remember is: just because you’ve been trained to do a thing does not mean you are only capable of that thing. Purely having a high school or college degree opens doors that are closed to others. I wasn’t exactly forced out of my comfort zone but I was forced to explore other options and even though the pure number of jobs on job sites is overwhelming, it also is encouraging in the sense that when we want to, we can pursue a number of various paths which has not always been the case in this world. As we spent the first part of the pandemic whining or living in fear, it gradually morphed into a global dynamic of fight or flight. Fight being, proceed with life in any form possible, and flight actually being, go nowhere.
Once I’d had enough of going nowhere, I waded again through the job sites skipping the ones I was truly educated for. They aren’t the same jobs they used to be – they were not prepared for a global virus and I can patiently wait for chaos to pass. I spent weeks entertaining myself for hours as I imagined applying for Manager of Water and Sewage, Security Guard or Commercial Roofer. You quickly learn how qualified for life you are when you put no limits on a job search.
At the same time I realized, there are so many more jobs out there critical to the function of society than anything I am capable of doing. I’m not saying I’m useless, but I am saying the only souls alive that consider me “essential” are Yogi, Rocco, and Sweetie, our dogs.
The entire world has dry hands from hand sanitizer, we’re finally accustomed to the masks and people that didn’t even believe in the virus a year ago are lining up for vaccinations. Alot can change in 24 hours, but even more can change in a year and I believe it is important to realize change is inevitable, and the majority of the world adapted quite well. If anything our past year should be a comfort to those that hate change – literally every country was effected, and the earth is still spinning. I get excited thinking I don’t know the future. I am a person that gets bored when life remains constant and I thrive when I’m challenged. If you aren’t this type of person naturally, perhaps it’s time to understand the alternative is really quite stressful.
When the world does go back to normal, it won’t be normal, it will be new. And hopefully government agencies will spend more time preparing for disasters that actually could happen instead of wasting so much time on gossip and politics. I hope our new world will be a world of walking not talking. Action, not reaction and implement change at a pace that allows citizens to experience the change, not just hear about the plans. We’ve all changed in some way and I’m sure eventually I’ll go back to a teaching environment that will have me compromising on a few of my preferences. I don’t expect the world, my world, to stay stagnant, I expect growth. And that’s what keeps me moving forward. I weather this storm with the knowledge that life could always be worse, and when it is, another normal, another season is already on its way.
Johnna Nicole Crawford 