Quarantine Changed My Body. Here’s What I Learned
Be kind to yourself
Written by Raven Pearson
I still remember my New Year’s resolution. 8 months and 3 clothing sizes later, my pre-pandemic determination to “get in shape” seems trite, frivolous. To be fair, I couldn’t have imagined what we were in for. I didn’t know that instead of giving up dessert, I’d be forgoing hugs from friends. Those extra gym workouts I thought I’d dread never happened—life pushed me harder than that.
It all unfolded before us: the long, cruel months of a year many of us would rather forget. Hundreds of thousands of us lost our lives and loved ones. Misdirection, confusion, injustice, and through it all, isolation. Suddenly, cracking open a beer at 5 AM felt appropriate. The world was in chaos, and I, like many of us, scrapped all semblance of a normal routine in response.
Scrolling through my phone today, I marvel at just how much I’ve transformed in under a year. January 2020, still fitting the cute jeans and cropped tees I’ve since outgrown. A red lipsticked smile, surrounded by friends in a crowded bar. July, studying at a makeshift desk in a small and cluttered apartment, wearing slouchy pajamas and unkempt hair. I jokingly posted the comparison on Instagram, but it was my method of coping with a body with new and unfamiliar curves, a paler face, shadowed eyes. “I look so…different,” I silently lamented.
Suddenly, it dawned on me: “You look different now, because you are. The world has changed, and so have you.” I realized I was glad the photos reflected that shift. I didn’t want to look the same as I always had, I just hadn’t caught up to my new self yet.
A worldwide pandemic is not a teaching moment I’d wish on anyone. And yet, I’m still discovering ways I’ve learned from it. That I can accept, I can adapt, and I can choose to move forward in the face of adversity.
Now, instead of aiming for weight loss, I’m deciding to cultivate internal joy. I’m looking forward to embracing myself at every stage—in every shape I’m in.
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