Silver Linings From COVID

The last year has been tough across the globe, but people are finding ways to see the blessings in disguise from the pandemic. The added time from being locked down has opened up new opportunities that otherwise wouldn’t have been there in normal life.

The Noles home has found many silver linings. Sister Kaitlynn and Kahryn have used the opportunities the pandemic have opened up to their advantage.

“It’s really really good,” Kaitlynn said. “I honestly never thought I could get here with this much on my plate.”

Kaitlynn, a full time employee and a single mother of a toddler, has been wanting to go back to school for years. She has been unable to because of time constraints. The virtual opportunities of working through Microsoft Teams and schooling with Zoom allowed her to apply to Clovis Community College to finish her associates degree.

“Everything that happened with Corona and everything being online, it kind of said here you go, everything is online, here’s all your time,” said Kaitlynn.

In the pre-COVID world, Kahryn would be right next door to her sister, most likely talking on the phone with her boyfriend who lives across the country. They have been dating for over three years with their only contact being one- week trips here and there, planned out months in advance. But the pandemic opened up a new opportunity.

“Now that school is online and my job allowed transfers, I was able to move clear across country while also continuing going to school and perusing a career,” said Kahyrn.

They’ve been living together for over six months, while Kahryn continues her schooling and work for the same company as when she was in the valley.

It hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows for these two, as they lost their grandfather to COVID early in the pandemic. But through allocation of time and being remote, they have found ways to continue their lives and better their futures during the lockdown. They were able to find their silver lining.

“It’s definitely been a really hard time, but you know everything going online truly has been a blessing in disguise,” said Kaitlynn.