There is this trend going around on TikTok, where people show off their houses. The challenge was to show off the coolest parts of their house, a part where no one else had. One girl was saying that everybody was showing off their homes, but none of them had a full-on cockpit as their balcony. Cool, right? Some people show off their pets, which are usually pretty cute. Another take on this challenge is where people show you how they live their daily lives at home during quarantine, and it often is just the same thing over and over.
Eventually, the challenge started to become rich kids flaunting their bedrooms. One girl had a bedroom with two floors and a spiral staircase with a story to ceiling library that she could access from her staircase. It looked elegant and well designed. Anyone watching that video would be in awe of her room. It was basically a two-story house for a bedroom, a luxury that not everyone could have, and not everyone would appreciate it.
If I were to be stuck in quarantine, having a house and a room like that would be perfect. There would be so many things to do, and I would end up being productive. Unfortunately, not everyone has the luxury of having a big house. Some people, like me, are stuck in an old dingy apartment in a sketchy part of town where your alarm is crying babies, police sirens, and shouting matches.
For some people, like celebrities, it is so easy for them to say that we should all stay at home and be productive there. Some people do not have that option because some people, unfortunately, have to risk their lives to go to work. Some people do stay home but staying home affects them mentally because if there is one thing that I have learned and realized is that even though I was praying to every god, I knew so, I could be alone, being stuck in isolation with just your thoughts took a significant toll on me and my mental state. So, like I always say, check up on your friends and family, even the strong ones because they can be weak too, and you may not realize it.
But one of the biggest things that hit me during this pandemic is that everyone says that we should stay home so we could be safe from the virus, but no one ever thought about the people who do not have homes or the people who visit in a house where they are abused physically, verbally, emotionally, sexually, and mentally. In some countries, rape cases have gone up by at least 25%, and that is just the cases that are reported.
Sometimes, a house will never feel like home, no matter how expensive it is. A pretend happy home life will fall apart during this quarantine because this pandemic reveals the truth about everyone
and everything. Being home means that you feel loved, you feel safe, and you feel cared for; that is why we say to people we love that they feel like home.
Having a beautiful house may be a luxury, but having a home is a privilege which is why we should always be thankful for having a home no matter how big or small, elegant or not because this may be the one thing that other people are craving for during this pandemic. More than a vaccine, more than a cure, some people might just be looking for a home, that is something we should never take for granted.