Independence, Yay! | by Tanya Budhrani
As Independence Day approaches in the Philippines, Filipinos everywhere get ready to honour this momentous occasion. Although, with Covid looming over us, it’s hard to imagine any instance of there being a celebration. This pandemic has served as a catalyst through which most of us have been left alone, unable to meet our friends nor our families, especially those residing in other countries. However, lonesomeness shouldn’t particularly be seen as a bother to us; just as our country celebrates its independence, we, too, should celebrate ours, and use this respite of time to our advantage.
If you haven’t realized already, humans are extremely influential and, even more, influenced; while it may not seem obvious at first, there are individuals out there who can prove to be significantly detrimental to us and our mental health. The people who surround us, all play a part in making us who we are, which probably isn’t who we strive to be. As Camus puts it, “freedom is nothing but a chance to be better,” and while the words ‘pandemic’ and ‘freedom’ don’t necessarily combine well with each other, there still exists a middle ground between them-- that is, independence. The word “Independence” can house a multitude of different meanings, but the common deduction is that it’s the opposite of dependence: being dependent on someone to live, being dependent on someone to make you feel happy, being dependent on someone to make you smile. Of course, it isn’t advisable to cut yourself off from society completely; humans need other humans, it’s in our genetic code, but the moment we let one person have dominion over our mental health, we can never truly be happy, because our happiness, in this sense, is dependent on that person’s happiness which is, more often than not, dependent on someone else’s. Free yourself from that mosaic that adversely binds you to those around you, and use this time to make improvements upon yourself if you think you need it.
The pandemic has forced us to give up almost all forms of social interaction; parties seem like a distant dream and the mention of it is enough to make anyone scoff at the ludicracy of your suggestion. But who says you need more than one person to have a party? Blast the music and turn on those neon lights you bought because you saw them on TikTok, and start dancing around in your pajamas. Catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror and behold, a smiling face. And, that’s only one way to make independence seem fun, there are tons of other activities you can do by yourself that’ll make up for the time you’re by yourself, or at least not relying on others to be your primary source of happiness. Cook for yourself, clean your room, draw, read, anything that’ll give you that burst of serotonin is enough to make this pandemic, and your time alone, worthwhile.