Who would you be if the lockdown never happened? I took it upon myself to ask some fellow UFV students this question. The COVID-19 quarantine was undoubtedly a hard time for all of us, and it impacted a lot of people in different ways. At the same time, it also created an outlet for people to explore, try new things, and start trends. From people spontaneously dyeing their hair and learning how to bake sourdough bread, to everyone suddenly adopting a pet, the lockdown was a point in time where anything and everything happened. I’m sure we all remember the toilet paper hoarding crisis.
Amelia Lutz / English major
“I think I would have been more influenced by the people at my school. I spent a large part of my time — should I say part of my life — being home-schooled. I was home-schooled all the way up until high school. Then lockdown came when I was in tenth grade, so it was, sort of, going back to the way things were for me. I found that while I was in school I was getting a lot of influence from the people I was around, from my teachers, and even my accent changed a bit. Then I sort of went back to the way I was in middle school when the lockdown happened. So I think I would have been very different, I definitely developed a stronger Canadian accent while I was in high school and that sort of wore off while I was in lockdown, so my accent would be different now. I might have had a better social life, things like that. Yeah, maybe my style would have been different.”
Emily Neudorf / English major
“I’d probably be in mostly the same place. When lockdown happened, I was working in London Drugs, which was considered an essential service, so we stayed open the whole time. But, because people had to leave — they were immunocompromised or they had to live with someone who was — we were working a lot more with a lot more customers. It was really exhausting. So I think if anything I would probably just be, now, more into my creative endeavours because I didn’t get that time back then to work on them. I didn’t start school until, like, six months later.
I love writing. I would have done more writing back then… I got into a lot of other art things around that time that I didn’t have time to do. So I’d probably be a lot more into those things too. Sewing, painting, all that.”
Angelina Joseph / Criminology major
“If the lockdown never happened, I would imagine I would be someone on a thrilling journey, pursuing my dream of studying medicine in Europe and securing a spot in the army and later the United Nations as a trauma surgeon providing care in war-stricken zones. I would be diving into new cultures, languages, and medical practices, expanding my horizons and embracing the adventure.
However, instead of Europe, I found a new path illuminated by the welcoming glow of Canada’s open doors […] I still want to secure a spot in the United Nations and carry out relief work […] but in the form of a humanitarian/diplomat who has had prior experience in the field of policing and law, hence my current path pursuing a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in criminology and criminal justice, and minoring in psychology.
I strongly believe this detour has and will keep bringing its own unique opportunities and insights, shaping me into an even more resilient, adaptable, and compassionate future police officer and humanitarian. After all, life has a way of leading us down unexpected paths, often to places we never imagined, but sometimes exactly where we need to be.”
Interviews were edited for length and clarity
Veronica is a Staff Writer at The Cascade. She loves to travel and explore new places, no matter how big or small. She is in her second year at UFV, pursuing the study of Creative
Writing.
