Today is 3 March 2022 and the world is crazier than ever before. Who would have thought after the outbreak of the pandemic? Exactly one week ago Putin started a war of aggression against Ukraine. I’ve heard about the Ukrainian/Russian conflict about one year ago and I would have never thought in a million lifetimes that it would escalate that quickly. Today is 3 March 2022 and the world is crazier than ever before. Who would have thought after the outbreak of the pandemic? Exactly one week ago Putin started a war of aggression against Ukraine. I’ve heard about the Ukrainian/Russian conflict about one year ago and I would have never thought in a million lifetimes that it would escalate that quickly.
So it all started on 24th February 2022, when Putin decided to invade Ukraine in the very early hours. I was still in bed when I read the first news notification of this attack. My first thought was that I have to text my friend Tanya, whose family and friends are in Ukraine. I was so shocked and worried from the first second on. I was like paralysed still in bed and I could not believe it. I decided to get up and on that day I was with my Mom in Upper Austria and I luckily had off on that day. I think my Mom could sense that something is wrong but I did not want to tell her about the news until she was ready to start the day. So I got myself ready, went downstairs to prepare breakfast and then we started our conversation. We were both in shock and we followed all of the news. Later on that day I was supposed to go on a skiing trip and I really did not feel like going. I thought, how can I go on a fun skiing trip, when so close to my home, a war (an actual WAR) is happening.
My thoughts were going nuts on that day and also the days after that. I was very lucky to be surrounded by many people and I was distracted by skiing and having fun with my friends. Nonetheless I was torn inside myself and everytime when I opened the news and read about it I felt miserable. My feelings were torn. However, I knew if I wouldn’t have been on that skiing trip, I would have found myself going down in the news spiral and I would have felt even worse. I arrived back in Vienna on Sunday 27th of February and I could feel that life hit me again. I was so shocked and could not believe that talking about war, sirens, economic sanctions, and attacks is reality.
As a millenial I never seriously thought about the term “war”. What is war? It always felt very far away and/or long ago. War will never happen anywhere close to home. I was wrong like many other people on this planet. Putin dared to start this violation of international law. He is causing so much human pain and is killing for what?! To create his idea of a big Russian empire?! I mean, dude, wake up. He is not only killing people and making brothers fight against brothers, but also causing lots of economic instability.
On top of the war and this nightmare happening in Ukraine, I tested positive on Covid on Monday 28th February. I figured in the morning hours of 1st March, when I saw several mails in my private mail account, which made me suspicious. Then I opened my test result and it was positive. I was for a long time very much afraid that I might be positive without even noticing it and when I saw the positive result I was not even really shocked. I thought it was such a clichè that I tested positive after a skiing trip. Austrians being Austrians I’d say. However, I did not have any fever and my symptoms were mild, it was not easy to handle. I could feel that something was happening in my body and that my immune system was very active. I felt very tired and exhausted at times. It is hard to describe. Despite the mild symptoms and the three shots of vaccination, you should not underestimate it. It is really not fun. But I knew at that time that I’ll recover soon, which came true. One week after I could also go back to sports, which also helped to brighten up my mood after the infection. I think the hardest thing about it for me personally, was the quarantine. My mental health is not on top when I have to isolate myself from the world.
With all that happening in the world, war and pandemic, I also start to wonder what is the purpose of life?! What are you working towards?! Especially if you have worked for so long and all is gone within a second. I think now more than ever it is very important to enjoy life and to make the best out of it. You only have this one life to live and it should be remarkable and memorable. Often we get stuck in everyday life and forget about the small things in life which we can be very grateful about. I guess to a certain extent it is life. Life sucks at some point, but this also means it will get better again. It is a constant collarcoaster and I am always looking forward to good times.
XOXO; Lisa
Hi, I’m Lisa
