How to Romanticize a Tragedy

[@townfool4682]

I feel like early COVID carries the comforting nostalgia of staying home sick as a kid or staying home after a major snowstorm. Even though the actual experience of it was way more depressing

[@townfool4682]

It reminds me of the nostalgia I have for 2012-2014 Tumblr even though that was the saddest, loneliest, most insecure time in my life as a mentally ill little middle schooler

[@bshaw8175]

EXACTLY especially since these kids are incredibly online so they still 'saw' there friends, and they kinda basically didn't have to go to school for a year now the horrors of actually getting a job, actually doing school, and going to colledge is kicking in

[@midis_touch]

tell me you were on the mlp side too 😅

[@HumbleAshe]

@@bshaw8175 That is kind of how I’m interpreting some of these TikTok videos. Some younger people had a chance to escape from the regular grind and the craziness of regular life for a bit. And in a way, I can sorta relate, since I myself did use my lockdown time (or extra available time due to the lockdowns) to catch up on a lot of shows or games I never had a chance to try out beforehand. With 2020 passing on though, it meant a return to normal life and interactions, which would have been awkward for plenty of people who didn’t have typical social interactions or were able to build the usual social skills due to being stuck indoors for so long. (Even I’ll admit it feels weird for me myself because I’ve gotten so used to being indoors after lockdowns and being online as a result, that the usual function of going outside prior to 2020 feels like a genuinely distant memory.)

[@youtubesucks3882]

For me, 2020 was a much needed mental health break. I've been feeling much better since the quarantine and the quarantine itself was a godsend for me. I missed having nothing to do. I got a taste of that hikkikomori lifestyle and I see why it's appealing.

[@TheCommunistColin]

2020 still haunts my life in the sense that I can no longer take the word "among" seriously.

[@chimp4225]

Sussy

[@merkoku]

GET OUT OF MY HEAD GET OUT OF MY HEAD

[@sherlocksmuuug6692]

My name is MonSUS, of the sussy imposters!

[@hoovybeast0594]

Honestly... 2020 was fun for me. Mainlt cuz I had no life and was anti-social

[@jdcsiahaan]

AMOGUS

[@JeromeSankara]

Experiencing 2020 as an essential worker is so entirely different than it was experienced to anyone else. I had to deal with long hours, no days off, tension at work, unhappy and angry customers... I never got to be locked down. There's a weird part of me that wishes that I was so I could understand what it felt like.

[@theMoporter]

Thank you for what you did. Workers rights are much bigger of a concern in the mainstream, at least.

[@mikebane2866]

I quit my job a month before COVID hit us, I moved across the country, so once I was finally getting a job I got laid off and ended up living with my parents and working DoorDash. Honestly, it allowed me to pay off debt, work on myself, and it was overall a pretty great time. I’m sorry you were the one stuck inside the store.

[@swimmingsquid6523]

Same here. All my COVID memories are of my coworkers and drive thru customers

[@bexica5676]

As an essential worker during the pandemic, I nearly lost my sanity. I was okay in the beginning, then the long hours, being worked to the bone, doing the work of 5+ people at once. I’m in NJ so we were initially hit hard. So many people died and eventually all those deaths started getting personal. You knew people, you knew their families left behind. I was depressed and exhausted. I transferred jobs after the pandemic and I fortunately found happiness again. But damn, those few years are something I never wish to relive. Meanwhile my brother got a different experience: his job transferred to work at home. When his company tried to get workers to go back, they complained enough to change policy about showing up to the office and now almost everyone still works comfortably at home.

[@zombieedrea]

I was a cashier. I absolutely feel you. I fucking *wish* I could've locked down. There was one week where I stayed home cuz I thought I had covid (I didn't). My work was surprisingly accommodating and told me to just relax until I got back to work, but I couldn't relax because I was too busy internally freaking out about not having a paycheck for a week and my co-workers being short one person when we were already short. We were all going thru the same thing and heavily relied on each other, so I felt incredibly anxious and guilty, even though I know they would've told me it was fine and I was doing this for safety. All I remember about 2020 is getting a panic attack on the checkstand but still standing there and doing my job because I couldn't just leave, arguments, fights, anxiety...I very much wish I could relate to the nostalgia. At the very least, I'm glad that some younger people were able to have more positive experiences. I'm also lucky that I didn't lose anybody to the virus.

[@NoFuqinIdea]

I believe the Pandemic was a very missed opportunity for some fundamental system changes. Seeing people getting nostalgic for being able to spend more time with their loved ones is a prime example for this. Sure. Being forced to only do home office sucks. But that doesn't mean it shouldn't be an option.

[@chimp4225]

You’re ignoring It IS an option dummy

[@Ranixo286]

100%. I lost all faith in America because nothing changed with work or Healthcare because God forbid we aren't just constantly churning out profit...

[@sonsauvage]

In america at least, the whole thing was fumbled. It, the height of the pandemic, could’ve been an impetus for major change

[@onlylaboum]

jsyk the pandemic isn't in the past and it's still very much rampant but this time with virtually no safety measures for people to not get chronically ill or disabled from the virus 👍👍 so let's not talk abt it as if it's a thing of the past

[@widgie161]

YUP

[@juliiju0484]

In my opinion, without covid, Tik Tok wouldn't be half as massive as it is now.

[@StarBoyBooya526]

Not even an opinion. You are just speaking facts

[@strawburrymilk195]

Why do I keep reading this as Covid wouldn’t be half as big without TikTok

[@galicry]

as someone who was on tiktok precovid, i agree with this statement LOL

[@JimboniumF]

A lot of things grew an insane amount during Covid's peak, it's kinda wild

[@zerologic7912]

@@JimboniumF I noticed this with all the music channels I was subbed to, the growth was unreal

[@aqua-bery]

I feel mild nostalgia for 2020 because it was a time when I didn't need to care anymore. Since I'm a minor and live with my parents I didn't have to walk to school, I didn't have to put in as much effort for assignments, I could just play games almost all day. It was kind of an escape from reality. It made life easier for me and since I was so disconnected from most other people and their experiences my own experience got amplified in my memory.

[@maccamachine]

Exactly only children like you are “nostalgic” for something from two years ago because you haven’t lived enough yet…

[@PurpleBrickfilms]

Especially March - June, it felt new. I was almost happy, I had time to do the things I wanted to do without having to worry about money or jobs, I was still a minor. It was like a long weekend, but- different. Very different.

[@cacaisaac]

EXACTLY

[@BananaFace301]

I’m with you, but it really just felt like Groundhog Day with me phasing in and out of sleep in front of a computer screen.

[@ayyyayay]

March-agaust of 2020 as a younger high schooler was amazing as in 5 months of free time when i had minimal house chores to do

[@MasterMemo]

Pinely nailed it. It's not even the lockdown that people miss...it was the glimpse at a world we could have had.

[@yasminealregabi7814]

2020 was a surreal year that has permanently tainted and shat all over my perception of life.

[@weirddd469]

Everything feels different ever since covid have happened and now everyone just occasionally remembers the virus

[@yasminealregabi7814]

@@weirddd469 i agree 100%, ever since everything just feels off. and it is mind boggling to think about the fact we lived through a GLOBAL PANDEMIC. like that is shit you see in the movies. like how did that actually happen

[@heinoustentacles5719]

Fate. Destiny. Fatestiny. People throw those words around like tennis balls. But I eat balls for breakfast.

[@trianglearchives5776]

@@weirddd469 even if Covid is past us now, nothing feels the same as it was before 2020

[@JohnDoe-hj9fh]

​@@yasminealregabi7814sure it was a global pandemic but for the majority of us that just meant sitting at home watching TV and playing videogames

[@Orangeco79]

I don’t get how people get nostalgic for something that was only 2-3 years ago. It doesn’t even feel like 2023. It feels like 2020 #3

[@TheCommunistColin]

Exactly. I still feel like fall 2019 was a few months ago. Just a really, really long few months.

[@mattgonzales774]

2016 feels like 2 years ago to me. i think the whole pandemic situation kinda traumatized me.

[@whenthewifisgay]

I could barely tell you the difference between February 2020 and February 2023 tbh it’s just a cycle that won’t stop 💀

[@buranflakes]

I've had a lot of changes in my life since then yet it somehow still feels like my life has been on hold since 2020

[@patrickisback_]

This won't be an "excuse" of the 2020 nostalgia, but I think it's pretty easy being nostalgic of something so near The past week I found myself being nostalgic of spring of 2022, aka less than 1 year ago! For me, what actually got me, was the small yet big changes (like not goin to lessons cause I'm over with them while still bein in uni etc...) and the "vibes" that period gives me But that's just me 🤷‍♂️

[@TheCommunistColin]

The first couple months of the pandemic were a fever dream. Playing Doom Eternal, watching Tiger King and Jojo, chatting with friends on Discord, staying up until like 3-4am every night, learning to paint my Warhammer minis. We've all got our story of what the hell we were doing in April 2020. Almost like a war story at this point.

[@HumbleAshe]

Yeah, it was quite a surreal time. I have my own memories of watching a lot of movies or catching up on a lot of games to pass the time while at home. And when some places did start gradually reopening (of course, with health safety rules like social distancing and masks to keep people from getting sick), it was really surreal to see some places remained totally shuttered while life trudges on.

[@zombieedrea]

I worked at a grocery store when the pandemic started, so...yeah. I have Nam flashbacks to the very first night when all hell broke loose lmao.

[@sorchacrabhan5937]

on one hand i had a lot more free time, on the other hand it was terrifying because the industry i am training to go into was one of the many that was completely shut down. yes, i miss the long days of chilling and playing modded minecraft wih my besties, sitting outside and drawing in the sun and cherishing what little time i had with my friends. but also i was absolutely terrified because my dad couldn't work as much (he's a tradesman and most of his customers were shielding), the theatre industry was unable to work as normal instead relying on streamed theatre and tv reruns of past productions. i also completely forgot how to mask in normal neurotypical society, and became horrifically unfit because while school was cancelled i had no way to remain active outside of short walks which arguably didn't do much.

[@ihavenoname330]

I went on a Star Wars marathon and I would play with sticks outside with neighborhood friends. It was fun!

[@blokvader8283]

Haha, the quarantine is what got me into JoJo, the first ever anime I've seen, and goddamn I do not regret it. I miss the quarantine so much, yeah I was sad most of time, but I still am now, and now I don't get nearly enough time to myself.

[@SuperNicktendo]

I'll be 40 this year and If it wasn't for endless funeral precessions outside of my condo, 2020 would have been the best year of my life. So much solo travel around the state, finding parks to have socially distant picnics with my wife and discovering random events like a tour of an abandoned prison during Halloween. I do feel bad for these kids who missed their proms, final football games and the experiences with friends they grew up with that they'll never see again. It's not wrong for people to pine for that brief time where the world was gonna change for the better.

[@amalgamfrostpink5030]

2020 was the year my then abusive brother was finally kicked out and my mother began to openly love me and we bonded deeply. 2020 has a much different meaning to me than a lot of people experiencing this feeling of nostalgia. I feel a yearning for that brief motherly love and period of stability and safety while the world collapsed around us.

[@Pawndaunt]

I’m glad people got experiences like yours. I’m also massively jealous though because I had to work mandatory 6 days a week while everyone else stayed home and many made more money than I did by going to work. Guess I could’ve just quit, but nobody was sure how long it would last, so it felt risky to just give up my job.

[@creshiell]

The stimulus completely turned my life around in a way that I'll never be put into words. Can you imagine how many problems can just be solved with money? I couldn't, until 2020 and now I'm on course to never have to feel that anxiety again

[@joylox]

I think you got it right with that last line. We want to go back to the hopeful state of mind, that things would get better, that the positive changes made would stay, and that we'd leave racism, ableism, and other forms of inequality behind. That was a dream many of us fought hard for, and seem to be losing. I heard so many people say, "I don't want to go back to normal, I want something better moving forward," and there were some wins, but lots of protests that started peaceful but ended up in people hurt, people getting left behind because they lost their source of income, people who had to work and ended up getting sick because of people's greed, and people belittling the lives of those of us with disabilities saying that "it only badly affects those who already have health conditions." Online, it was like everyone was equal. In my online classes, the professor wouldn't always see our faces, so there was no discrimination based on skin tone or gender unless you could tell from someone's name, and most of the time it didn't matter where you were (except for a few students in China that had to deal with a huge time difference), or what you were wearing. We could all join and meet, have the class without any physical barriers. We still got storm days when the power would go out, and that was hard to navigate with some people having internet and others not, but for the most part, it was an equalizer. Yet now, society seems more divided, stubborn, and stuck. Or maybe it's just my family that fell into the trap of far-right/alt-right ideas that got hold in 2020 when they got addicted to social media, and "woke" turned from being a good thing to try and be, to being seen as a bad thing.

[@kittykittybangbang9367]

@@joylox "Woke" is now the new term for SJW

[@torrikempton9077]

I think I’m so nostalgic for 2020, because I got to spend so much time with my sister, who ended up passing in early 2021, I loved staying up with her till the crack of dawn, and sneaking out of the house with her for midnight walks, her coming in and out of my room asking if I had candy, me going into hers to bug her. And now that I can’t do any of that anymore, I think I look at that time with a rosey tint, because I’m grateful for how much time I was able to spend with her

[@riotttgrrlhiphop]

Condolences

[@orion10x10]

in Bo Burnham's Netflix special "inside" he had one song that went "look who's inside again, went out to look for a reason to hide again. Well, well buddy you've found it!". I think that puts it perfectly, the people missing 2020 are missing an excuse to be alone or how we bonded through the collective trauma. I don't blame them, even if a year was overall terrible doesn't mean it didn't have good in it that people grow nostalgic for

[@MinerFun]

Love inside bro respect ✊

[@heinoustentacles5719]

Bo Burnham? I prefer Ed Grilledegg

[@jenkinsjrjenkins]

I feel like the pandemic period was a brief moment when all of humanity was on the same page. Work and school weren't going on. Everyone was on the same level of either barely functioning, becoming an expert on some random craft/talent, or binge watching the big trending show. If you look back at all of it with rose tinted glasses and ignore the barely functioning depressive moments & constant paranoia, you're left with an ideal mini-vacation trapped in your own home.

[@KetsubanSolo]

I disagree. As time goes on, it shows lots of big corporations were in on COVID coming to the USA, and did what they could to have a golden parachute. Bob Iger being a big example of this, ditching Disney and shoving Bob Chapek into the CEO position, only to come back as soon as COVID restrictions started lifting en masse and Disney's stocks tanked.

[@mikebane2866]

Everyone except the COVID deniers. Though, the first couple months there were hardly any, it felt kind of peaceful, like how 90% of people were on board with quarantining, taking sickness seriously, practicing GOOD HYGIENE, I miss it.

[@onlylaboum]

what reality were you living in??? people were absolutely NOT on the same page. yeah, many people were and are fine with wanting millions of people to d 1 3 or become disabled from infections and this whole pandemic long people act as if safety measures were the issue instead of the blatant eugenics. the pandemic isn't over at all and it's really mindboggling how many people act as if it is. nothing changed, except that there's even less safety measures than before. great for you that you got some time off to do arts and crafts but that's not the reality for most of the world?? healthcare workers didn't experience this and many disabled people are still forcibly isolated bc they can't go anywhere safely when covid is allowed to roam freely for years with in many places 0 options for covid-specific healthcare. i can't go anywhere safely either bc no one else around wears masks, people go sick to work all the time, superspreaders are everywere and even vaccines are harder to access. testing is even discouraged now by wacky authorities in several countries. must be nice to live in such a privileged and ignorant bubble.

[@kelseydudarchik9167]

Even before this video, I recently realized I'm nostalgic for it because everything felt so much more... human. Priorities shift real quick when the world is suddenly on fire. Your personal experience was deeply unique yet shared by everyone in some way. It was okay to not be okay. Yeah it was scary, but everything was just so damn real

[@heinoustentacles5719]

I actually had zero depressive moments or paranoia. I didn't follow the news, nor did I have a job to worry about. Even at the time it was like a long vacation for me.

[@lmaoashley]

I miss playing Animal Crossing for hours with my friends every day in 2020. I miss the community, waiting for the latest game updates, sharing fruits and items with strangers online, and I miss that one time I showed up to a stranger’s wedding in Animal Crossing. She couldn’t have a wedding IRL, so she invited strangers to celebrate in Animal Crossing. It was really wholesome.

[@shapescolours8105]

I think part if this is from people already feeling burnout again. Sure 2020 sucked but I got to stay in my room and read and play video games. I didn’t have to get yelled at by customers or have all that pressure of being a functional human everyday. I get wanting to go back in a way

[@HumbleAshe]

I definitely understand what you mean. Lockdowns gave us some benefit of having some time to unwind with games or books or movies. I did have a chance to make the most of working from home and catching up on lots of movies or games I never had a chance to until then. Things were still pretty bad nonetheless though with worries of when things might get better, along with other terrible spats of current events back then. But at least with lockdowns, there were some ways for us to try to unwind or make the most of things.

[@lesflaya]

I totally get it too. Everything was awful but at the same time it felt like if you just did your part and not see people outside your circle, you'd get through it. And for that time we were allowed to rest. I think snapping back to now it's so scary, I fear because of the systems this society runs on, for the people who were lucky enough to be able to, we'll never have another time to rest like that for the rest of our lives.

[@randomtinypotatocried]

I hate how we're being forced to do in person for everything. Also, I feel like the workplace has only gotten more toxic than before 2020 thanks to upper management

[@aspol12]

unus annus was also a real good part of 2020

[@seliamila1005]

Yeah and people also died or lost their business

[@theMoporter]

I've been disabled, almost housebound, for nearly a decade. In 2020, the UK disability benefits system was so overwhelmed that reassessments went from once two year to once every 4 years. They stopped fighting constantly and the threat of them spying on us was reduced to 0 overnight. My physical condition improved immediately due to this. My neurologist and therapist said that the same thing had happened to many of their patients. Was it scary that people would walk about maskless? Yes. That they'd say "it's fine because it's only serious for people with pre-existing conditions"? Yes. Has that actually gotten any better, though? We're in a better position now in some ways, and in a far worse position in others. At least abled people actually interacted with us back then.

[@joylox]

I relate. I've been waiting for a specialist to diagnose my chronic pain and systemic issues, and the wait lists here in Canada are so long it takes years to see someone. But I was glad I wasn't being bullied or getting weird looks for wearing my allergy mask around anymore, and doing my university work from home meant I didn't have to encounter the allergens anyway. When classes went back in person, the first thing I noticed was that they removed a lot of public seating to promote distancing. Which I definitely respect, but I need to sit a lot more often than the average person, and I had to bring a plastic bag to school so I could sit on wet benches, or sit on the dirty floor because there was nowhere to sit. Now I feel like with the longer wait times for appointments and testing, and the idea of "getting back to normal" meaning that all the accommodations and accessibility improvements won't be around, it's scary. I'm hoping people don't start bullying me again for wearing masks and compression garments, or judging me for my inability to do certain things. Online, you don't have to deal with long walks, stairs, uniforms, or anything other than doing what you've been asked to. In person, I don't think I can deal with having an environment that's working against me (allergies, ADHD, etc).

[@eileen1020]

I wish people getting stir crazy from locking down for several weeks had led to better accomodations and understanding for those of us who live like that long-term. But instead people were so eager to get back to their "normal" that they didn't care about helping people at higher risk or fating them to stay locked in for much longer. Plus a lot of accomodations at businesses and even in government turned out to be temporary.

[@hayleys556]

Being an essential worker makes me feel like I lived a different 2020 than everyone else

[@newb4038]

Thank you very much for your service during those times 🙏

[@wertherscaramel4321]

Same. Grocery store worker so I didn't have it as bad as healthcare but it wasn't fun. I spent hours on my feet, breathing through an uncomfortable mask, getting screamed at about toilet paper. There was none of this quarantine peace people were talking about, just endless stress. I feel even more disconnected from The Youth than usual lol

[@PikeTheFalcon]

As someone who feels nostalgic for 2020, I can agree with you that you must have experienced something very different, and it wasn't enjoyable for you. I'm sorry.

[@nickrustyson8124]

Yup, while work wasn't bad, (Basically just wear a mask, a lot more cleaning, and having a casual conversation with customers because in a lot of cases I was the only guy they have talked to for the day) but man oh man did the internet suck, basically all just the kind of people I hate, middle class fuckheads who complain about how hard their life is and how they are like me, those very same people who also said they hated me because Trump (Didn't vote for him but poor white trash, they can't tell a difference) and if not that all they're talking about is the same 3 games, Among Us, Animal Crossing, and Doom and I quickly started to hate Doom and Animal Crossing and still do, man did the internet suck, but on the other hand I met a lot of my favorite artist online mainly of whom became good friends with Also my 2021 tax returns were pretty good too, couldn't get one for 2020 didn't make enough to do taxes, but man that 3k I got from 2021 lasted me a half of a year of non stop binges

[@Marylandbrony]

My dad owns his own Bodyshop. It was nice to feel normal there, a bubble without masks or any real signs anything changed other than less cars coming in. But when the lockdown ended it was more or less normal in terms of how much work was there.

[@gameb9oy]

I don’t miss 2020 at all, but some of the things we did during it I almost wish still were around.

[@LeapIntoAction]

I have to say that even as a fan of your work, I tensed up when I saw this video title because I was afraid of how the subject might be handled. I shouldn’t have worried at all-your take on all this is so thoughtful, so compassionate, and I agree one hundred percent. I was in my mid twenties in 2020. A week before everything shut down in my area, I had made the difficult decision to drop the semester of grad school classes because my health was declining as a result of a recent chronic illness diagnosis. It was an often dark, always lonely time for me (I lived alone, a thousand miles from my family), but many of the things you mention were bright spots that lifted my spirit. From a chronically ill perspective, I also miss the feeling of community care that was present in that time. People staying home, sewing masks for healthcare workers when supplies were low, accessibility accommodations like curbside pickup and work-from-home being made more widely available-it felt like so many of us were holding each other and doing our parts to take care of our fellow humans. Now, however, so much of that has gone away while immunocompromised and vulnerable folks (including those newly sick with Long Covid) still have to be extremely careful. So I also miss the feeling of the early quarantine period where I could have hope that this would change the way people understand chronically ill and disabled people :/

[@r4mdisk]

Thank you for sharing your perspective, I think a lot of people don't realise the position vunerable & disabled people are unwillingly put in. My best friend who I have known for years unfortunately had become disabled suddenly during lockdown and I had never known how unaccessible the world is for those chronically ill and disabled. It has permantely changed the way I viewed the world. I hope that you're doing better now, i defintiely wish that sense of community and togetherness has stuck more, especially for those who need it most

[@LeapIntoAction]

@@r4mdisk thank you! i am super fortunate to have a great support system & I can finally say I’m mentally doing better than I have in years. Inaccessibility sucks, but I’m able to manage better than before! You sound like a wonderful friend, and I’m so glad your best friend has you with them as they navigate disability!

[@theMoporter]

This 100%. It was terrifying for us in particular but it was also way more hopeful.

[@leew.4987]

I relate to this comment, especially your last sentence so much; I remember being so hopeful that the general public would improve and understand issues that a lot of sick and disabled people deal with. I support there was a sense of hope and community that wasn’t there before, but for me it came in tandem with a backlash--there was (and still is) a subset of the population happy to voice how little they care about the needs of the vulnerable while they rant about masks or whatever. I lost a lot of friends and acquaintances just for expressing how I needed to be careful and my health requirements. Being basically housebound it’s really bittersweet since a lot of the nostalgia references this time able bodied people were kind of in a similar situation. Now they’ve moved on and we’re stuck inside with a lot of the resources of the time being taken away. I guess, if anything, I was able to connect with people via the Internet that are in the same plight. And I think zoomers have become increasingly sus of capitalism, which I hope will help all people in the long run. I hope you’re hanging in there OP; there are definitely people out here who relate to your struggles too!

[@rufusdrumknottvgc]

The nostalgia for 2020 is crazy to me. I can't remember a single peaceful moment that I had during quarantine. I was finishing my degree and looking for a job when lockdown went down and I was forced to move back with my parents in a different country. I was battling depression while finishing my degree online. Then I was battling depression while I was in a house I didn't want to be in, in a country I didn't want to be in, and I don't even remember what I did every day except wake up and take my meds. I guess I played with my brother's cat sometimes. Dark days. Took me over 2 years to get back on track with where I wanted my life to be. I don't miss that time at all. But yeah I get that for kids especially it was probably a good time, especially if they were lucky enough to not lose a close family member. After all, they are not the ones worrying about whether or not the family can get enough food, or being fired, or fearing getting evicted, etc. They are playing games and video calling their friends and you know I don't hate them for that. Good on them. I feel like the article might have been written by someone who was placed in a similar situation to me when the lockdown hit but unfortunately has not had the fortune of being able to get back on track like I have and so just feels bitter about the kids remembering a more peaceful time.

[@heinoustentacles5719]

Sorry about your repression.

[@keelyparker8466]

A lot of the “early Covid” nostalgia for me comes from the idea that we were actually trying to do something to mitigate the virus. Wearing masks, staying home, those felt like tangible steps to keep people from getting sick. It’s depressing to think about how we’ve totally given up on stopping the spread just 3 years later. I miss feeling like we were trying.

[@NoFuqinIdea]

For me the Lockdown didn't really end until October 2022 when I was finally able to return to my friends and my loved one in Japan for the 1st time in 2,5 years. Being locked away for such a long time, studying from home, definitely left scars on my psyche. I never ever wanna go back to neverending hell of lonelyness and uncertainty ever again.

[@pratimasingh9261]

Covid has been, and continues to be, the worst time of my life. I lost my grandmother to covid, and two aunts and an uncle to other health complications that couldn’t get adequately addressed because hospitals were overwhelmed. This whole thing has been one big existential crisis that I don’t have a shred of nostalgia for. But do you, tik tok.

[@dianamerchant1026]

I’m so sorry for your loss. Not being able to be with my relatives when they died was devastating.

[@ihavenoname330]

I'm sorry for your loss! I hope your life is much much better now! 🩵

[@kwarra-an]

I can't understand how people can miss that time. So much senseless death, loss after loss after loss... but hey you got to play video games and watch netflix all day, so who's to say whether it was a good or bad time really.

[@aspol12]

​@@kwarra-an well seeing people die day after day wasn't my experience, i do have a feeling of nostalgia for it because it was a really comfortable period of my life, i had some of my best memories during that period. i'm not gonna ignore that just because other people didn't

[@binshakbooga9238]

​@@aspol12facts

[@danielbrugovsky6018]

2020 was a year I'll remember very fondly. Me and my classmates had started a Minecraft server, all 12 of us, and played on it for the whole year during our free time and classes. We've even build an ingame library with notes for some subjects like biology, math, etc. It brought us all closer together.

[@mhenderson7673]

That sounds really cute :)

[@fishking4000]

Another potential aspect of COVID nostalgia: things were bad, but things were being done about it. Everyone was suffering, but it felt like we were suffering for a reason. There was a point to it. 3 years later, there is still a sense of disruption and uncertainty, people are still dying. But it feels like everyone's just given up. I'm still tired and afraid, but now I'm tired and afraid in the office at my day job, instead of being tired and afraid at home, playing video games with my pals.

[@MapleMilk]

My only issue with Nostalgic memories of 2020 or any time is that we seem to be drowning in Nostalgia. Irrational fond memories are something that make us human, but when we can't see any hope in the future is when it gets out of hand.

[@nickrustyson8124]

I think of this with car design, because you may not know about a lot of cars today are taking a lot of their designs from the past, for example the Mustang and Camaro are heavily based off of their first gen designs, Chevy only recently stop basing their trucks off of the 80s Square Body, the Ford Bronco in general, the Nissan 400z is just one from the 1970s, etc, while these might be good looking cars, they're not modern, they're designs stuck in the past with modern requirements, this is a big problem with the Mustang and Camaro because we're getting to a point in were you can barely tell it's a different generation, I actually didn't know there was a 6th gen Camaro because I thought it was just a face lifted 5th gen, and in the case of the Mustang it is still heavily inspired by the first gen since they first started to do that in 2005, 18 years ago, 18 years after the original they had 6 major changes with it's design, while we have debatably 3 within that same amount of time

[@splitsee2526]

​@@nickrustyson8124 unique analogy, nowadays the nostalgia train is being created by companies to take advantage of people who feel any nostalgic feeling to things, and it seems that corporations kinda made something that is beginning to snowball

[@devons.3481]

i kinda hate that i feel nostalgic for 2020. especially the first few months. it truly was an idyllic moment in my life. an escape from the constant pressures of work and school. i lived five minutes away from my best friend at the time and so we got to hang out all the time. it hurts to think about tbh, bc i know that my life will never be the same way again.

[@GeneSv]

I was the one person that people would instantly recognize because if there was a line, I would stand a meter or two away from everyone else. I have such a gigantic personal bubble to the point where I dislike sitting at the same table as other people. So imagine my absolute joy when I could go outside and people would finally stay outside that bubble on their own. I just really wish people didn't have to die or even get horribly sick for that to happen.

[@heinoustentacles5719]

I'm tracking your IP so I can find your house and come give you a long hug.

[@buranflakes]

I haven't forgotten the absolute feeling of dread I'd feel some days, the extreme moments of emptiness and depression; and yet I do find myself getting nostalgic too. Frankly I just miss when I didn't have to go to work but still got a steady paycheck cause I was lucky enough to have a job that paid me even though my job couldn't be done remotely (Library assistant. Not really anything for me to do when my entire job was handling books and assisting patrons at a location that was at the time closed indefinitely).

[@hellomew]

covid for me was, as bad as it sounds, really great. i was severely bullied at high school for being trans and in the months before covid i was physically assaulted twice by 2 of the bullies. and then i just had one huge break from it all. the only things i did were go for walks, listen to music, practice french and draw. i love my life so much more now i’m in college and i have friends and i go out. and i’m obviously extremely upset that so many people died pointlessly because of ineffectual people in government but spending a year on my own was exactly what i needed at that time.

[@LordOfElysium]

I’ve been locked in the house with my abusive family for months now years due to covid :,)

[@hellomew]

@@LordOfElysium :( i’m so sorry

[@canxtanwe]

I'm so sorry you had to go through all that. And I'm also happy that you are in a much better place rn! Stay strong!

[@hellomew]

@@canxtanwe :) thankyou so much i hope that you’re having a good week ❤️

[@bili_bas]

God.. as if I was looking in a mirror. I had very similar experience -down to walks, practising french and drawing in my free time. I'm so sorry you had to go through that for just being yourself. Maybe I wasn't bullied in a -physical way, but I was ignored by everyone in school and had little to no friends for an entire high school period. Just like you for being myself. Lockdown even if it made my loneliness much worse and i caught covid twice(so it also worsened my health), it also gave me time to heal mentally. I never thought i needed a breather like that. I'm so happy for you that you're alright now and have friends. I too hope I will have some when I start college(I took a gap year) :D

[@adriancarlpescador2587]

What I especially miss about the lockdowns are less traffic and mandatory masking. It is still incredibly frustrating that the world went through what it did and people decided not to move forward with changes for the better, but forcefully regress to “how things used to be.” Many employees can work from home, companies can afford to give more paid sick leaves, etc.

[@AlphaPizzadog]

damn, we already got to the part of gen z where everyone longs for an idealized past that was may more horrible for the less priveleged. it feels like that date always keeps shifting forward with each new generation that experiences trauma

[@AshAshBaby]

I envy people who can feel nostalgic for this time. For me, I was dealing with grad school suddenly shifting to remote work while one of my friends was sick and on a ventilator in the hospital and a department staff member's husband had died of covid right at the start. I was terrified for those early months and grappling with too much to ever feel any nostalgia for it. I wish it could have been a restful break away from the world, but it wasn't. It was like the entire world was suffocating me and I couldn't go anywhere to escape it, and yet I still had to meet the high expectations of coursework, qualifying exams, and research work. (I did play animal crossing tho, that game was such a lifeline).

[@hecateinanna3925]

To a white, middle class teenager who had a good, food stable home, the quarantine probably felt like an extended snow day. They didn't lose a job, they didn't have money to worry about, they were already mostly social online anyway. I'm sure to them, it was mostly just a "schools out!" moment. Now they're adults looking at getting a job and starting the adult grind. I can see how they'd feel nostalgia for that, even though it's terrible. It's like how I feel nostalgic for blizzards. When I was growing up in Michigan, several times a year, we'd be snowed in for days, no electric, no water, no way to leave home or get help. Just my family, huddled in front of the wood burning stove for a week or two. And I LOVED it. Spending all day with my parents, lots of popcorn, their attention all day. I didn't have to worry about running out or food or firewood, I had no idea my parents might have been worried about that. It's a cozy memory for me.

[@jinxedangel2]

As someone who was working at a grocery store so I never got to experience what a real quarantine was like, I feel the FOMO HARD while also not understanding how people can be nostalgic for that time lol I never had time off other than my scheduled off days, was around people consistently while also telling them to follow our covid rules (which was like speaking another language sometimes) and when I came home, I almost always felt burnt out and defeated. 2020 was awful for me BUT it did motivate me to find a new job which I'm still at and absolutely love. So I guess that part I'm "nostalgic" for 2020.

[@nuttherapist2742]

As a medical worker, high five!

[@Ecstacy333]

Fr! I hear alot of ppl talking about how chill it was and im just left confused. Im lucky enough to have been able to work from home, but i was a bum ass addict with unstable pay so it wasnt a calm thing. I had to balance so much shit and was broke as hell, iwas gonna move in w a few friends to be able to split rent at the time but that never worked out because of the pandemic. During the time of 2019-2021 i lost so many ppl in my life. I felt like i wasnt doing shit while using every microgram of energy doing shit that didnt even matter to me. Im still trying to get myself in a place where i feel like im meant to be but i was so lost from that at the time and it was fucking scary

[@jinxedangel2]

@NatTherapist honestly, yall had it much worse, I had friends in the medical industry who were just BURNT OUT every day due to anxiety and stress. High five to you friend for making it through 2020 🤘

[@jinxedangel2]

@Cha$m I'm so sorry to hear about your struggle through the years 🥺 my partner lost his job pretty early during the pandemic and he was on unemployment which helped us financially but I could tell that since he didn't have a job to go to anymore, he seemed a bit lost. He's found something that he's happy with now, but it wasn't all great during those years. I hope you have much success in your near future, just keep going, it may not be easy to be in recovery but you got this!

[@peachybun]

i can’t really share in the nostalgia of 2020 since i still had to work thru it because i was an “essential worker”( 🙄 ) but i can understand why parents/young kids could potentially feel nostalgic for that year since it did allow a lot of ppl to be able to take a step back, and not have to deal with the constant hustle of society. 😓 tbh, personally, i’m very glad to be past 2020 since i can start working at conventions again! 🥺

[@Joenight100]

Feel like I was barely locked down ever. I was working at a grocery store and was therefore "essential" it was super rough and I honestly don't like remembering it. It was like being in a warzone for a bit and I was really scared for myself and others. Honestly if I was just chilling in my room watching cartoons I could get it a little more

[@AndromedaD]

Exactly, yeah. 2020 was retail/hospitality hell

[@karin1636]

For me it was the opposite. For a while i barely left my room because i was paranoid (no job, live with parents). Even got to experience some spicy isolation hallucionations

[@lesflaya]

I think, for me, the pandemic near the beginning felt like humanity came together. It gave me and many others the chance to slow down and take comfort in community during one of the scariest times of our lives. I don't look back on the pandemic fondly, and I know like May-November 2020 I don't remember much at all, its a blur of crying over statistics of deaths, sleeping all day and eating once every 2 days, and helping my family making any commission money I could to let us get food. The parts I do look fondly on is being able to spend every day with my old dog that was about to pass away, my entire family as my dad was usually all over the world for work, and saying "we have to stay in touch, we have to get through it together" to friends I barely knew and now have become closer because of it. I kept a journal throughout the pandemic and re-reading some of the pages are just heartbreaking now. The "good things" felt like stuff I HAD to focus on to stop from spiralling deeper. Being able to be close to family and friends in the weirdest way that I think so many of us never get to experience despite people being social creatures that need that connection. In general people felt more understanding, like we were in this together, just for a little bit. I think imo that that's what people miss the most. Anyway tho great video!! Been watching you since like 2 yrs ago and it's great seeing how much you've grown as a creator.

[@regnarissad]

the only problem I have with this is that it implies that the pandemic is over... which it isn't. I had covid earlier this year and it took me out of school for over a month and basically destroyed my social life bc while I was quarantined all my friends were completely past covid being a thing

[@karin1636]

Part of the nostalgia is also people taking it seriously. Now it feels like something you never know is coming, desensitize yourself while remembering how absolutely shit you felt when you had it.

[@batmabel]

My girlfriend has covid literally right now, lol. She's been sick since last thursday and tested positive. I probably have it too but luckily I had no symptoms. We're lucky to have taken four covid shots so far, she's having it much easier than the first time we got sick back in 2020 (she's a doctor so she's constantly exposed). The pandemic is still going, arguably stronger than ever.

[@rowan.]

@@batmabelHope you and your girlfriend recover quickly! I’ve only had Covid once (that we know for sure) in 2021 and luckily it wasn’t too bad but it still really sucked.

[@batmabel]

@@rowan. She just did! Managed to get back to work today. Luckily I didn't have any symptoms whatsoever and I work from home, so we are as good as can be for now lol

[@rowan.]

@@batmabel :D

[@raydgreenwald7788]

You're definetly gonna hate me for this: while I unnderstand 2020 was horrible for most people and I'm glad that lockdowns are over, I kinda miss working in the covid testing lab. I worked the night shift for 10 hours (meaning I got a three day weekend) and I made some really good friends there. After the pandemic died down most of my friends got laid off (they were temps) while I was transferred to blood banking. Now I only get a two day weekend (which sucks for night shift) and only one of my friends from the covid lab keeps in touch. I guess I just miss that lab

[@pombear9]

That's a valid though selfish response and you shouldn't be hated for that imo.

[@randomtinypotatocried]

I do miss doing covid testing. I had some of the best coworkers I worked with and it was the only job that paid me an amount where I could afford to take a month off to travel after it was done

[@sharkinawineglass]

as someone that dissociates a lot i miss 2020 because everything changed so savorily that it brought me back to reality. i felt present because of how thrown off everything was, to the point where i can actually remember most of it. which most of the time when i’m dissociated i can barely remember anything

[@watercolourferns]

same...

[@travisgatlin536]

I never missed a single work day due to COVID. To the point where my job at the time got a letter from the government mandating that we maintain our current work schedule due to the nature of that job. It’s always kinda felt like I, and my coworkers were deemed worthy sacrifices rather than “essential” Coworkers and friends died.

[@mtlewis973]

i worked as a doctor through the pandemic and it’s had a genuine and profound impact on my mental health that i’m really only getting round to processing now. so don’t think i’m romanticising anything. but… yeah. i think this sometimes too. i couldn’t even put my finger on what it was, maybe a genuine sense of community and collective experience? it definitely wasn’t an aesthetic. maybe i’ve forgotten what it was really like? but yeah, sometimes i “miss” the lockdown.

[@JediPlays0309]

i just got out of a psych hospital cause im a little goofy and idk it sucked and ive missed it a lot lol. but its like why? i hated being there. but seeing this video its like i hated the flood, i miss the ways i stayed a float. frfr. cause like that sorta sucked ahaha but i liked the fun moments where things were cool. i miss that. i dont want it to happen again frfr but like. idk thanks pinely. thanks pinely, this video helped me figure that out. i love this shift in content you seem much more passionate. ive actually been watching you on and off since the cardboard box era but ive been watching you much more consistently now, thanks pinely!

[@akascow]

my junior and senior year of highschool was completely online, then lockdown ended and i was thrown into in person college lectures. i’d already had anxiety of public spaces but after being inside for 2yrs it skyrocketed. I went through major depression/anxiety my first year of college and was crying like every other day. i still havent fully recovered seeing as i still get super anxious to leave my room let alone my house. that being said, i do miss MY experience in lockdown, i recognize that i was super lucky to not only avoid covid but also have no one i know be super affected. and i do know for many people it was a way worse time and still is. i definitely think theres a difference in how younger vs older generations viewed it though (ie school vs jobs etc) which is probably why i will say there IS some sort of nostalgia there for me. during lockdown and the 2 years i was in online school, i discovered new things and interests and met new people online that im still friends with, and while it is possible to do that outside of 2020, i probably wouldnt have. i found a new art style and got better at it (i definitely did experience a huge burnout from art that im still not totally over bc i painted so much in lockdown but thats a different story) i found new shows i developed special interests in, i discovered new music and found my own music taste. in my eyes, i think younger people are probably nostalgic for it because of the things they discovered during it. during lockdown there wasnt much to do so people looked into and found things they wouldnt have tried otherwise. the joy i got from painting in those two years while listening to new music, i wish i could feel that way again. thats what /i/ mean when i say im nostalgic about that time (though i cant speak for everyone this ofc is just my take on it) but im obviously not wishing that people suffer and get sick like they were in lockdown

[@amberhernandez]

I clicked hoping to find an outlet for my rage against those darned kids and their Chatsapp and their Tick talk nonsense I left with a newfound respect for the human spirit and an acceptance of the wounds caused by 2020. Thank you, Pinely.

[@xithrill3266]

Maybe cuz 2020 felt like the entire internet had one big sleepover

[@TRKJSR]

Underrated comment

[@fwvipra]

literally

[@livinqlovelyy]

Fr

[@amalgamfrostpink5030]

2020 was a strange time of both immense comfort and immense fear. Love and hate it.

[@harpsichord409]

Damn my grandmother waking me up at 5am with her coffee making was worth it

[@Dantalliumsolarium]

As an immune comp person living with cancer patients!! This shit is not over, and I am simply stress every time I leave the house - ;~; for once youtube replies are making me so damn happy. I love you all and I’m sending all the love to you!!

[@theideaofevil]

♥️ stay strong, we may feel like we are alone in an alien land but there's still some of us out there

[@theMoporter]

Yes, exactly!! It's not over, it's just that disabled people (even ones disabled BY covid) are swept under the rug because people want to ignore the issue.

[@papermario3982]

Stay strong!! It probably doesn't feel like it but many of us non-immunocompromised people care about you too!

[@onlylaboum]

exactly!!! much love to you. the amount of ignorant comments here that act as if the pandemic is over are heartbreaking. no one should be isolated bc of the rest of society being so dangerous for our health.

[@leew.4987]

Yes yes yes! Lupus patient here; it’s so frustrating to see all the “pandemic is over” stuff (esp. when death numbers are still pretty high in many countries). Stay strong and take care of yourself

[@beccabowen4292]

I also feel like, during the first quarantine, we had so much hope. We were hopeful that our collective effort would help beat this scary illness, yet the following years it seemed as though it would accompany our life forever. It was definitely more depressing having to adjust to the new reality

[@FrostySumo]

Before finishing the whole video I would like to get my perspective out. 2020 was a terrible year for me but nothing about that terribleness at anything to do with the pandemic. At the time I was a caregiver for my uncle who had lung cancer and my father who had dementia. My father was getting really bad and ended up stealing a car and crashing it and getting sent to the Oregon State hospital. He had stolen something during a doctor's appointment that I picked him up from and the hospital accused me of stealing because I picked him up. So I have to deal with a case of theft that my Father committed and then when I try to fight the case they bring a grand jury and charge me with neglect of an elder even though nothing happened that I had any direct control over. The pandemic helped all this because I didn't have to go to all these shitty court hearings I was able to call in but it also extended the trial for 2 years to the point where I was forced to take a plea of misdemeanor theft to get the case to go away. That was a big mistake and I ended up losing my part-time job and my uncle and father both pass away within a year of each other leaving me with no caregiving position. The only thing that I can get hired to do was DoorDash or Uber. That was my money source during the pandemic. I got to go out when there were no people and everything was calm and everyone was on the same page and wearing a mask. I have not gotten COVID yet. I am still wearing a N95 mask and I haven't gotten sick in 3 years besides food poisoning. I also have generalized anxiety disorder so the lack of having to interact with people directly was my dream come true and I had hope society would learn and change from this experience to at least allow people to be more compassionate and make working from home a common and accepted way to work. Maybe even like government would give us better healthcare and benefits. All of that fell apart and I feel more like 2021 was the bad year where all that solidarity and chance for change was dashed upon the altar of partisan politics and capitalism.

[@thebritishempireball4184]

Animal crossing makes me so sad, me and my friend had such an amazing bond. We'd play very often until she had to delete most of her social medias due to her parents. I miss talking to her regularly so much and I hope she is well rn. But God I miss those times. I've also met some of my best friends during those times in 2020-2021. So I understand the nostalgia. I'm 16 rn btw

[@weewoo314]

fantastic video dude, i think u touch on such a shared experience and feeling throughout the whole thing. that 2020 spring was just so strange, but so peaceful at the same time. it felt like everybody was in this same thing together, and it was like a web that connected the experiences of everybody in the world at once. there was always something relatable to talk about, and it was never surface level because of how deeply it affected every single human

[@weewoo314]

sappy pinely is fantastic :)

[@mcarter99]

I can definitely see how people who were teens in the pandemic could be nostalgic for it. As someone who was a young adult I can also see why it's so hard for adults to understand. I lost a lot at the start of the pandemic and had to face a lot of the more serious effects of it. Teens didn't really have that negativly life changing experience. For them it was mostly just stay inside and spend time with family. Not losing jobs or opportunities and trying to pick up the pieces like I and many other adults experienced. Even those of us who didn't lose loved ones likely lost something else significant.

[@philbert3333]

Maybe the nostalgia isn't so much a longing to go back to 2020 as it is a kind of meditation on how strange the passage of time is

[@philbert3333]

2020 being the period chosen because of how momentous it was

[@Rezver]

as a student, I do relate to the nostalgia of the lockdown, for me it marked the grand break of my life, one unlike any other vacation, where all I did truly was just laying on my bed, no school to think about, even my family cant make plans on going outside. I also enjoy the time a bit before and after the lockdown, where hiding your face behind masks is now a norm, the end of the lockdown probably became one of my most active years, as in, actively enjoying the outside more, the major reason of my fear outside (being seen and or recognized) is no longer there, I was actually looking forward to going to malls and play arcade games without holding back. I also reconnected to past friends online, slowly getting a bit more talkative, bettering myself for the eventual end where I get to go back to school, I would genuinely put it as the best year of my life. I also didn't feel any losses, no one I know got it, nor did the people they know that know me got it, my friends generally shared the same sentiment at the time, they were glad they got more time to themselves. I'm glad to be lucky and don't want it to happen again at the cost of another millions of lives, but, just a little part of me wants another break.

[@r4mdisk]

I turn 20 next week so this video definitely hit hard for me, lockdown was in the last official years of my childhood, yet it felt so similar to when I was 11, I got to play minecraft with my friends again for the first time within 5/6 years. It brought a lot of people closer together because we couldn't help but realise how easy it was to lose the people we loved. Although my family was affected, I still feel incredibly lucky that it wasn't worse. I definitely don't miss 2020, I would never want to relive that even if it meant chopping my arm off and eating it. However, I think we all miss a time when life had slowed down, for contrast 3 years later I'm putting together portfolios for my career, worried about my finances and job opportunities which was something I was lucky to not worry about at the time. I definitely believed the way this video handled the topic was honestly perfect, I always get worried when I had seen some of this nostalgia content as I knew so many people permantely affected by 2020, not only mentally but also physically. I think a lot of people struggle with the concept of time now, it feels so awful that it was 3 years ago, I hadn't even started dating my partner (the ol' ball and chain) until a year after the intial lockdowns, this is definitely surreal to even think about. The year of 2020 impacted everyone so much more than everyone imagined, education has changed, the way we socialise and live everyday changed. Thanks for this amazing video, sorry for the soppy comment....where can I stream that cover fr tho???

[@leonschultz8544]

Looking back to 2020 is... weird for me, even through rose-tinted glasses. No matter what pops up, be it the 4 runs I went on per week, the tons of books I could finally read, the way I changed for the better in so many aspects, it's always the bad things that stick. Having drama performances cancelled literally 2 hours before they were supposed to start, losing some really good friends during that period... it's difficult. Add to that that covid was a humanitarian catastrope. I honestly feel like those times still aren't over somehow, could be some developments in my life that still aren't completed. Essentially like I'm living a completely different life now, although not much is different that 2019. Weird times.

[@laurabXOTWOD]

My favourite piece of quarantine art was Bo Burnhams Inside. Personally I think it's a masterpiece. Hilarious, but touching and relatable in many ways. Just brilliant.

[@congestedcryptid]

Absolutely loving the mixed media in this video, Pinely. Kind of sweet that you’re getting nostalgic for your older content as your talking about nostalgia here.

[@stevbonnie8643]

I remember the online clsses, a newfound loneliness at the start of the pandemic since i couldnt see my school friends. Waking up early, having breakfast in front of my laptop. Spending time with my grandparents and my dad downstairs. Endless video calls with a certain friend. Yes, as stupid as it is, i do feel some nostalgia when i think about the quarantine.

[@DarkLorddReviews]

The only good thing about 2020 was finding you, Pinely.

[@Cashcorn]

2020 was the happiest year of my life. Being completely alone with nothing but my creativity is something I wish I could have every day. I could do all of my work for the week in one day and not have to worry about it. I was free. And now that I’m here, I just want to go back.

[@alina4619]

The first month of lockdown was okay for me personally, got a break from school and suddenly didn't have to pressure myself so hard to try and make friends at a new uni. My old friends also suddenly had more time to video chat and hang out (online), which was really nice. But then the horrors started settling in, and I am glad that that time has passed.

[@sheep2359]

2020 heightened my depression and gave me a post COVID chronic headache. Animal crossing was fun tho

[@lilwaffleiron7845]

I guess I get kinda nostalgic because 2020 was the last time I had a really solid social life. Highschool is coming to an end for me right now and I'm so burnt out all I do is waste time and do schoolwork. Highschool is a pretty limited group of people to have in your social circles and it's messy and lonely and even though I have really good friends at my school, I don't really have a social life so to speak. I find myself thinking back to when I was at the center of a huge online social circle of kids about my age from all around the world, like over a hundred people, all united by a shared sense of humor and desire for connection. Every evening I'd hop on my computer and stay up with my friends late into the night, playing games, sometimes turning on our cameras and doing goofy shenanigans, and overall just making memories. There were the movie nights and karaoke nights and among us and a Minecraft server and satirical political campaigns we held and I'll cherish those moments forever. When I feel lonely I miss the times when all I'd have to do was plug in my mic, and there were always people to talk to. Some of these people I really grew to care about, and I still keep up with like 10 of them on social media, but it's not the same, because times change. For me 2020 represents a time back before I had to grow up, when I could spend hours goofing off and staying up too late had no natural consequences.

[@Anni-zf6zn]

For me the pandemic hit at the perfect moment, I had just had my final exams of high school and had not found a job for the summer yet. Since I still lived wirh my family we spend a lot of time together, watched youtube and tiktok, played board games, eat the bread my sister made and just chilled. It was a perfect breather before going to uni next autumn. Moving to a new city with my partner that summer for uni (we live in regular apartments during uni here) was when the bad parts of pandemic really hit: no extra curriculars, no parties, difficulty of making friends, almost all was remote. Early covid will always have a dear place in my heart since it was the last time I lived with my family. All this considering how privliged I was to not have any of my relatives catch covid at this point, not knowing anyone with long symphtons and most of all having a fanily that did not have to stress too much about covid (finance or health wise) and with whon I get along perfectly.

[@hismario123]

this is such an interesting thing to see, I remember back in 2020 I watched a Jacksfilms video and he mentioned that people would find 2020 Nostalgic, but I didn't think it would be so soon

[@meiguess6765]

Omg, I am so glad someone is talking about this (especially Pinely). I honestly understand this feeling to a degree bc I was in a toxic family during quarantine and that’s when I began to mentally distance from them. That independence and self-healing is what makes me nostalgic. Still there’s a difference between that and completely disregarding all the tragedy that occurred during that time period.

[@vainpiers]

2020 was awful. I lost a friend to suicide right before lockdown and that was the hardest thing I've ever recovered from. My eating disorder worsened, my eczma was the worst its ever been and everyday felt the same. But hey, atleast I didn't have to go to work, I could sit around the house, play video games, make a half hearted attempt at uni work because we had extenuating circumstances due to covid, I was living with my friends who I could cry to when I needed it, I had time to cook, cosplay and tidy my room. In my case I got furlough every week from my job that gave me a chance to focus on uni without working but still afford rent and basic food. I'm in a much better place now, but I do miss that tiny part of childhood I regained. I've worked since I was 16, so I never really had time between school and work to slob about the house. I'm still learning to find the time to tidy my room and relax after work.

[@cacaisaac]

i was 15 in 2020. i didnt quite feel the effects my 2 working parents did. it was a terrible time for sure but as a 15 year old who hated school so much it was pretty fun. definitely got tired of it by the time 2021 had come, but early covid was a unique time unlike anything else. naturally people my age are nostalgic to it and will be, cuz who isn’t nostalgic for their teenage years?

[@EZ-IZZY1995]

Screw 2020-21. My co workers and I had to work in an environment with Covid running rampant, and we couldn't call out unless we had it too. Then we still had to social distance. I couldnt see my parents for months on end.My ex left me. I became depressed and entered a toxic relationshipthat further damaged my mental health. And my experience pales in comparison to the poor people who had to watch their loved ones pass away from behind glass. As tough as times can be now, I have no nostalgia for 2020.

[@Obsessive_cartoon_drawer]

This video made me cry, thank you dude. I remember having so much creativity in what was a really dark and difficult time for me, I created so much art and music that really carried with me, I fell in love with shows I never thought I’d ever see, I got animal crossing new leaf on my 3ds because I felt left out and wanted something to do and found one of my favorite games, and that was when I was finally able to have a social media and start posting there, though most of those old videos are gone, I still had a huge passion for making them, and I thank you for making me remember all that.

[@skyrimlover777]

I have a habit of this, I played a lot more games than I did today during thay period, and met a lot of new people online. But the way time continued, I wouldn't have it any other way, every day feels like an improvement in my life.

[@jeneral2234]

really like it when nostalgia is described as happy AND sad. because i was not happy during quarantine. i was, like many other kids, going through it. but at the same time, there were moments of peace that i have yet to find outside of the pandemic. because while i was miserable, i was able to lessen that misery by going on a walk everyday during lunch and looking up at the sky and feeling the sun on my face. that’s not something i do now. when i think about it all, all of it, the bad and the good, i get an unspecified feeling deep in my chest, and that’s what nostalgia really is.

[@yellobb3848]

2020 was the worst year of my fucking life. It literally ruined me mentally, and my college experience was drastically changed. I went from a straight A overachiever to someone stuck in the depths of depression, to the point where I was in bed all day almost every day for two full years. It completely threw my life off course and I’m just barely starting to recover from the toll it took on me and I don’t think I will for years, it not a decade. Yet, I do get this. I do, in some ways feel nostalgic for the beginning of the pandemic. If I think about it for two seconds, I’ll remember how absolutely fucking miserable I was, but it’s hard not to feel some kind of longing for the time at home with my family, enjoying walks around the neighborhood. It makes me smile when I hear all those tiktok songs, and I think some of that is just how everyone came together as a community. How upbeat the songs were, and how that was some of the only joy I had at the time, which amplify the emotional impact. I miss having more freedom from responsibility, even though that came with a complete lack of other freedoms

[@yellobb3848]

Coming back to add that your point about it being mostly school-age people experiencing this is great. I think that some of the nostalgia is also a way of coping, I think. If I think about how shitty my freshman-junior year of college were because of covid, I get so frustrated and upset that I end up crying. Finding those little pieces of joy is all I can do to make it feel a bit better. If my sister thinks too hard about how she missed her high school graduation and prom, only to go to college and have that ruined too, fucking her up entirely. And I do remember that optimism. I remember hoping desperately that it would be a reckoning for some of the shittiest aspects of society because we saw how much better it *could* be

[@seiryuu3413]

I think it’s absolutely okay to feel nostalgic and even miss parts of 2020 - if that’s your experience, that okay. What I think is wrong is to wish it to happen again. People died

[@TheLegoMaster261]

I’ve been nostalgic for the worst time of my life, but that doesn’t mean I really want to go back to it nor does it mean those awful times were less awful. It’s like breaking up with a toxic boyfriend or girlfriend and sometimes missing them. It’s normal to miss awful parts of your life, but that doesn’t mean they should be returned to.

[@CureSmileful]

The part I liked about lockdown was that not leaving the house was recommended, I was excused to stay home, have depression and being always tired. Normally I have to drive 50 km to attend my uni and I hate spending 1,5h doing one thing without breaks and the teacher observing me, I also have sensory issues, I am still recovering from trip to the city from yesterday. Online lessons were great for me.

[@NotOnLand]

I honestly do miss something of early quarantine. I had just lost my job, but the stimulus let me live comfortably. I was able to spend a lot more time with my then fiancée, and the societal shift to putting more stuff online was amazing. A lot of my favorite KZbinrs started uploading a lot more frequently, collabing with each other, starting bigger projects, etc. I got into some new hobbies that I actually still do to this day. I got a puppy, and got to spend _all day, everyday_ with him (he's still a very good boy). But the most important part is that the whole rest of the world was in the same situation, and I finally felt like my (admittedly unhealthy) lifestyle was "normal." After things started to go back to _real_ normal, I felt like I was getting left behind again. My fiancée left me, I had to move back in with family, and I lost all my friends. I've only started picking up the pieces of my life this past year. Like others have said, it's the same nostalgia you'd feel for staying home sick from school. It's the start of a big snowstorm when you had to bundle up at home, but before the power went out. It must be the way older generations long for the 70s and 80s, 2020 was a decade all in itself.

[@Evelyn-zd6zy]

lockdown actually ruined my highschool experience so much. i was going into freshman year when covid started so i knew absolutely nobody and even now i feel so sad that i missed out of the cringy freshman year of meeting new people

[@larleevee]

I feel very odd right now. Lockdown was the darkest period of mine and my families lives. Although I'm young, I didn't have tiktok (or any social media) and few friends. I really miss how everyone in that time was on the same page. I have fond memories of blowing kisses to some random kids and their parents while socially distanced in the supermarket getting food for my dying grandma (not of covid) in April/May 2020- without saying many words to them, they immediately understood how tough my situation was and tried to cheer me up. I do feel nostalgia for that - but really not much else.

[@Ganondorfdude11]

Getting nostalgic for 2020 is like getting nostalgic for the Great Depression.

[@spookedlul2519]

horrific analogy

[@marshalsaddam1990]

Swiped the words right out of my mouth

[@heinoustentacles5719]

I don't think anyone during the great depression got a chance to lie in bed edging all day.

[@Mormo08]

Well 2020 was different for everyone

[@massive_dick_gaming]

it was anything but depressing

[@RDrawzDragonz]

2020 was so weird, it felt like a reset for life. I can’t remember 2020 at all, I’m not sure why though.

[@CptPurpleHero]

I guess if anything people are nostalgic for early Covid is because, though it was a horrible experience, it felt like we were all coming together and shared a global experience. And now that were more divided than ever, maybe it is nice to imagine a time where we felt united for a common reason.

[@davycard760]

For those lucky enough to not be affected right away, there was an almost hopeful nonchalance in the beginning. Most of us just thought it would be two weeks that life was on hold, and then we could get back to normal. People saw this as a time for growth, time to nurture the parts of themselves that got neglected due to time constraints. But then two weeks turned to a month, to 6 months, a year. The loneliness set in, along with fear, insecurity, and insurmountable loss, of many different kinds. But lockdown allowed people to grieve those losses. But now life is moving too fast again, and people are missing having an excuse to rest

[@scrambldrabbit]

tbh i understand the nostalgia for 2020, i was just at the beginning of my teenage years and it kind of gave me a moment to breathe. now i think of it as the divider between my childhood and young adulthood. its weird to say but i sometimes wish i could go back to that era (without all of the death and trauma of course lol), i wish i wouldve appreciated quarantine a bit more then i did.

[@man4437]

I personally had a great time in early 2020. I was never in lockdown and I live in a small time in a detached house, so to me being nostalgic about being locked in a room is lowkey crazy. I just spent it walking around empty fields with no school

[@braindecay9477]

I just rehabilitated out of a life long illness, finally felt a bit less terrible in decades,... ...2 months later COVID lock downs came around, over time eventually dumping me as deep into depression as I was before. Not necessary to mention, i felt kinda betrayed lol. And to finish my point: We were already splintered too much for human biology, lockdowns made it *Soo much worse* for many people. And we're gonna see the consequences (I'd argue we see them already) and it won't be nice

[@zoeydadog9489]

i think it’s okay to feel nostalgic for the few good things we got that year, obviously the bad outweighs the bright spots. But I’m not gonna stop people from feeling nostalgic for the music, among us, the trends, and more.

[@LeahLuciB]

I miss the unity of purpose during 2020. People saying "we can't go back to normal after this. Things need to change." Now we STILL havr covid AND are often forced to go into offices and retail anyway, paid less and treated shittier. Quarantine was at least a break in the goddamn routine

[@sunflowervolsix]

i know this is an old video but it's so great, i loved it. i teared up towards the end haha, something about the collective efforts of humanity during 2020 always gets me. i think everything you've said is completely spot on, especially that a lot of these people are kids or people who had their lives shaken up kinda for the better and then had to go back to the way things were. something i wanted to add was, i'm both very mentally ill and a very nostalgic person, and i am often nostalgic for periods of my life when i was completely miserable. which yes is a rose-tinted glasses, grass is greener thing, but is also because i am now capable of seeing the good in it. seeing things i had then that i don't have now, especially now that i'm not having to deal with whatever stressors or emotions were happening then (i have different ones that i want to escape from lol). i can't help comparing the inherent trauma in 2020 with my own ptsd and think it's kind of a similar thing happening here, and maybe it was the first time a lot of people (especially young people) had to deal with trauma or life changes on that scale. like, i mean, i'm always struggling to cope with change, which is part of why i'm so nostalgic, and if change ISN'T something you're used to struggling with, and then you go through one like 2020 - it just makes sense to me you're going to develop an odd nostalgia. but i think it makes sense regardless. it's really frustrating how the need to sensationalise shit completely erases the fact that people are capable of seeing nuance, of feeling nostalgic while recognising the severity of how bad things were. idk i hate the way nostalgia is demonised, especially in this instance, when the thing people are nostalgic for generally seems to be the way life fucking slowed down, the way our capitalist system had to adapt, and that health (physical and mental) was a priority for once. i don't think recognising that equates to ignoring a global pandemic. and actually i think the need to present purely the bad parts of 2020 and erase the good just contributes to the whole system reset thing that's happened. if we just say "lockdown bad" we don't need to think about all the ways we learned how to do life better that we're ignoring now.

[@2120musiclover]

I feel bad about missing the time of rest and the empty streets. I don’t miss the death, losing my job and everyone else losing their jobs and all the problems that came with it and people are still suffering with to this day. But I do miss the time for rest. And i feel bad about that because the reason why we had that rest was the sickness and death.

[@owie8212]

It was quiet for once. I don't think any of us realized how much we needed that.

[@JohnDoe-hj9fh]

I moved into my first university house during covid and it was pretty great for me. Kind of annoying not being able to go outside but I got back into playing games and even found my new favourite

[@Human-lg8hb]

For me personally that time was one of the best in my life, there was obviously a lot of sad things that happened but they didn’t directly impact me. At the beginning of lockdown I stayed at my family house in the countryside (my parents home country), there wasn’t any restrictions there due to how small the town was so life just went as normal. I was able to spend time on my own and was able to discover what I want to do in my life. I would have never pursued my degree if not for that time, I probably would have gone for law or something general instead of something I love. Though I do feel bad that I had a pretty good time during the lockdown compared to others, it was a very important time in my life.

[@jdhsjsjdhsush]

I think the reason i miss it so much is because there was some weird sense of unity. I'd wake up and see some new tragedy on the news but somehow it felt like humanity was united even if there was so much division, we were all in this (this being covid) together. We all had a common enemy, so to speak. It doesn't feel like that anymore. It feels like we're more divided than ever before and i miss that weird feeling of knowing that some other kid on the other side of the world was facing the same thing i was, i felt connected to the rest of humanity. Idk. It's hard to put into words ahaha

[@thebabypenguin2]

The fication-ification of the pinely channel You love this kind of title hahaha

[@TommyTom21]

“The Pinely-fication of KZbin Titles” coming soon 😱

[@zupamleczna5903]

i get the nostalgia behind 2020 i was in rough school nearly making it and pandemic saved my mental health. i experienced high school online and i fell in love for the first time. but what i appreciate the most is the time i had to finally take care of myself and i saw how fucked up school system is, how much time i wasted here. pandemic showed how life can be and as an introvert i liked it i don’t feel like i wasted my youth because it was totally different experience and i like a lot of aspects of that. playing stardew with my friend, staying at home with my gf and learning together, picnics… i feel like a lots of people also started experiencing with their expression and interests thanks to tik tok. i know that it was horrible tragedy but as a person who was privileged to live with both working parents i had comfort and pandemic didn’t affected me this much. anyways great video as always!