[voakbasda]

I have had the exact opposite reaction. I work remotely and have for almost 30 years. I live deep in the forest with no neighbors for interaction. I love it.

This week was my first trip to town for errands where I was not mandated to wear a mask. In less than a week, social distancing has become a thing of the past. Life looks completely normal again, and I hate everything about it.

I still wear my mask and keep my distance, but I got the distinct impression that this will not be tolerated by the majority for much longer. When most people stop doing something that was “normal”, it is longer viewed as normal; our abrupt population-wide shift seems to emphasize this perceived deviance in the eyes of many. Consequently, I felt even more like an outsider than usual, even though there were a handful of others wearing masks.

Even before the pandemic, I needed the extra bubble of space. I actively avoided crowds. The pandemic created a world that I enjoyed greatly, and I feel a tragic loss that it is now past and may never be seen again.

You may feel liberated and whole again, but I feel like I am back to living in Hell. I face existential dread at the very prospect of going to town. One man’s pleasure is another man’s poison.