On March 13, 2020, everything seemingly shut down due to the Covid-19 outbreak. In the days leading up to that eventful day, there were whisperings of the world coming to a close, and events being cancelled. But on that fateful Friday, email after email came home to everyone; and by the end of the day, the nation, along with most other countries throughout the world, were closed for the time being.

A year later, things have changed in many ways. For months most everything was closed, but now life is beginning to return to the way it once was. Masks are required (for now), and it’s been strange not to see the bottom half of a person’s face. The vaccine has been created and begun distribution. There is a race to retrieve normality— to make things the way they once were. But will things ever be the same? Should they be?

When asked her thoughts on this situation, student Charlotte Luque explained that she thinks things will “be more normal at some point in the future” but hopes that “because of this we will be more considerate towards other people and wear masks if you are sick.”

This is an excellent outlook on a strange situation. At the beginning of 2020, no one could have guessed that everyone around the world would have to quarantine or wear masks outside. And while coronavirus has not been a pleasant experience for anyone, it’s shown us what we need to work on in the future. For instance, normalizing mask-wearing while sick, sanitizing things after using them, and more extensive hand washing.

Another beneficial outcome of this pandemic has been the prioritization of certain things and peoples. For instance, it has become clear how important and vital healthcare workers and teachers are to society. Hopefully in the future both parties will receive better treatment and respect for all that they do in the community.

So while the pandemic has been a wretched tragedy, with millions getting the illness and dying, there are a few positive outlooks on the situation. If nothing else, hopefully this pandemic will teach us the importance of cleanliness and sanitation.

But if you’re afraid of change, don’t worry— there are just as many things that are going back to normal as there are changing. Already Utah’s government created a bill to lift the mask mandate on April 10. Even closer to home, Mountain View is preparing to host its first dance since Covid-19 broke out with Prom on April 17. And as the population continues to get the vaccination, things are certain to open up even more.

It’s been a strange year, full of events that no one could have predicted. And while there were many downsides, there were lots of good things as well. The world has changed, and there’s no going back to the way things once were. But we’ve learned a lot; and in the end, we’ve become stronger and better for it.