The positives of the pandemic

Written by Alexa Gagne on Thursday, April 9, 2020

ROCHESTER, NH – Amidst an ever changing situation brought about by the coronavirus outbreak in the United States, the media is being flooded with negative information. Headlines often highlight the latest death counts or a lack of resources. Although there seems to be a dark cloud looming over many Americans right now, there are individuals who are finding the positives of the pandemic.

Julie Gagne of Rochester, NH is a full-time employee and part-time student, as well as mother of two teenagers. She has endured challenges while adjusting to the new guidelines for social distancing, but remains positive about what she’s getting out of the situation. “I’m getting more time with [my] family that I didn’t expect to have,” she said, “and [we’re] being more creative with our time.” Gagne noted that she expected everyone to be on screens all the time, but found that her family was “finding new ways to be healthy and active.”

In the same family, 16-year-old Spaulding High School sophomore Andrew Gagne found his fitness motivation. “I’ve been able to focus on my physical well-being,” he said, “[and] I’ve learned to fully devote myself to something if I truly want to see results.”

Another individual with a focus on fitness during social distancing is Ben Higgins, owner of Athletic Instinct in Rochester, NH. Higgins found “an opportunity to fine-tune [his] skills as a remote trainer” when all non-essential businesses were advised to shut down in New Hampshire. Although he was distraught at the thought of not being able guide his clients in person, he found ways to take advantage of his situation. As well as perfecting his remote training methods, Higgins has been able to spend more time with his wife and toddler. “I know I’ll never have the opportunity to have this time [with my daughter] again,” he said.

Also appreciating the ample time with her toddler is Jennifer Goodell of Rochester, NH. Goodell is especially appreciative of being able to “slow down and appreciate what [she has] and who [she loves].”

Although Goodell has tried to make the best of her situation, she ran into challenges. But even when challenges have come up, there has always been a positive way to reframe it for her. When she encountered the hard choice of asking her son’s grandparents not to visit which social distancing guidelines were in place, she thought of how thankful she was for the technology available to her. “Their only ask was to Facetime everyday,” she said, “thank you, modern technology!”

Despite the hardships that the world is facing in a time of uncertainty, these four individuals have displayed that frame of mind is key in making good out of a bad situation. As Goodell said, “this is temporary and life will be busy again.”