Back To Normal; The Return of Honor or Horror?

Everyone is eager to set things right to what they were before the pandemic invaded the

country. The misaligned pieces of the normal concept are deliberately going back to where it was

placed before. We seek for ways to live normally just as how we lived in the years before 2020.

We all wanted to bring back the norms we lost. But what if the normal we were once honored to

have summoned another origin of horror?

“Back to normal” — hearing such phrases would surely be a blessing to every individual

who suffered so much from the damages of CoVid 19. Certainly, an answered prayer for people

who are devastated by an attack of a foe that is invisible to human eyes. Living before the year

2020 is the best of times we had in our lives. The pandemic brought a lot of delayed appreciation

for the normal life we had taken for granted.

The concept of the new normal was not even enough for people to live comfortable life.

Frustrations were heard everywhere and some rants are posted online. The changes during the

era of pandemic had shaken society. Manifesting the old norms to return were hyped up through

social media pillars. All we needed was to live the life we were used to. It was a late discernment

but everyone indeed realizes that life before CoVid was an honor we should have celebrated.

June 2022, two years after the invasion of COVID-19...the world is trying to live

normally. Reopening face-to-face class is a blessing to students who experienced difficulties

adjusting to the demands of online and modular classes. Getting back on track is an avenue for

learners to grasp the lessons well. Additionally, people are given another opportunity to regain

the jobs they had lost. Most establishments started to operate again. Tourist spots begin to

resume their purpose. Street vendors can actively sell anywhere without being restricted and
beggars freely begging again on the roads without getting scolded. Markets are crowded and the

streets are back to being filled with the noise of people. Society is occupied with compensating

for the time, quarantine has robbed and retrieving the lost years stolen by lockdown. At long last,

this is the normal everyone waited for to happen!

In contrast to that, multiple kidnapping cases spread like a welcome no one expected. The

back-to-normal idea seems like an easy avenue to abduct people. It is easier access to execute

more crimes.

Consequently, a news article about Philippine National Police sharing an infographic on

how to stay away from kidnappers spread online. It is a warning and signal of how chaotic

kidnapping issues are today. Missing people are all over the news and from time to time, cold

dead bodies are found being thrown everywhere. The culprits are fearless and vulgar about their

crimes for being so confident in kidnapping a person in a such public place in front of CCTV

cameras.

To bring back normal is a triumph that everyone should be grateful for. Yet, the number

of deaths confused people if the comeback of this normal we longed for, is an honor to be

celebrated or another beginning of horror to be feared.