Miranda Hippler

What “Lockdown” Has Taught Me

In February, I started a new job that I was really excited about. I was doing substitute secretarial work in the Allentown School District and hoped to be getting a permanent position soon. Then, coronavirus and the lockdown happened…The world as we knew it drastically changed these past few months, and I have learned a few important lessons. 

1. Things are not always what they seem. I think that is a lesson some people think they learn without anything like this ever happening, but I learned it on an entirely new level. When fear creeps in and takes over, peoples’ true colors change. At the beginning of the pandemic, I was living with someone I thought was a friend. When I found a new job she would not let me work, and living in fear, she threw me out. Unfortunately, I found out that people I never thought would turn on me became my enemy. 
2. Tomorrow is never promised; value every moment of every day because no one truly ever knows what can happen. I realized how many everyday blessings I took for granted when they were suddenly taken away. My poor kitty, Tuck, was very sick in February and it took him quite a long time to get better. I needed regular vet visits for him and I never realized how important face to face visits with a vet are when trying to take care of my baby. I felt helpless and scared for him to be without me.      

     Throughout all of this, I started working at Weis, and they made it mandatory for us to wear masks. I never realized how uncomfortable living that way would be. I took for granted having the freedom to decide what I wore, until I didn’t have the choice. I also had been taking RCIA classes to convert to the Catholic faith since September 2019, and my Confirmation was scheduled to happen the day before Easter Sunday, April 11th, 2020. I desperately wanted that day to come. I eagerly awaited it for a long time, and I was broken when I realized it was being (temporarily) taken away, without any knowledge of when it would happen and with no end in sight to the lockdown.I took for granted, the entire 7 months of RCIA, that it was just going to happen when it was supposed to happen. I felt hurt and defeated when it didn’t. 

3. Cherish the people who stick by your side. When the whole world seems to turn against me, I have people willing to stand by my side. I should never under-appreciate them or their loyalty. When someone is willing to stick by me, they deserve my respect. If it had not been for the amazing people I was blessed to spend quarantine with, I wouldn’t be where I am now. When quarantine started, I lost my new job and ended up homeless. However, because I have people to stick by my side, I was able to move into my first very own apartment in the first week of May.  Having the people I do in my life to support and protect me means so much to me, and I am so thankful. 
4. Lastly, I learned that this world and everything in it is completely imperfect. We are on a far greater journey than most people realize, and we need to take our journeys more seriously. It is more important than anything to continue to strive toward heaven, while being grateful for every moment spent here on earth.