PGR and Wellbeing Initiative Blog Post
I met up with a friend that I had not seen for months on account of PhD life and the restrictions of the New Way. It felt weird not hugging to say “hello” and “goodbye” as we would once have been able to do. We had a lovely catch up as we walked at a safe distance from each other, and carried out the newly-formed socially-distanced dance across the park as we weaved in and out of the public.
I have never really been that sociable, but at this point it struck me that my previously and naturally limited tendency to mix with people was now being compounded by a rather saddening decrease in contact with the people who were important to me. It dawned on me how worried I had been throughout the beginning of this pandemic, and how much I had missed my loved ones.
My little Question Guy also began to wonder how the natural world managed illness of similar proportions. Enter the ant! As a child in the Caribbean I used to spend hours observing these little creatures. I would watch them march uniformly in a line until they came upon a barrier. It always looked as if they would stop and have a little conversation before rather stoically setting off on an alternative route. Members of this miniature society tend to self-isolate when they are unwell. In addition they rather altruistically surround the more vulnerable members of their colony in order to protect and shield them. This limits the contact with the foraging ants that are required to regularly leave the nest, keeping the vulnerable as healthy as possible.
This act of support creates a change in the normal pattern of lives for these creatures. Much as it has done for us. This balance between missing, and supporting, the people that we love is a difficult one to navigate. Not necessarily from a point of view of isolation, but from the practical point of view of simply not knowing precisely what to do. This change in our social greetings takes a bit of getting used to. Having to wave or approach without a hug or a handshake can be a challenge, having to self-isolate upon reaching or leaving our loved ones increases the time between visits, but it keeps us well, and is currently affecting us all to one degree or another.
Recent changes have led to the need to devise ways to manage the simple and practical need to have the time to process the re-connection with the ones we miss. We don’t know much more than we did at the beginning of this New Way, but we are finding ways to minimise our own personal risks. I see mum regularly, but I always take the time to self-isolate before I see her. It slows things down a bit, but we are able to visit each other. This is the important thing.
As the year progresses, and new PGRs join our ranks, maybe there will come a time where we can all meet in 3-D – as we embrace the New Way of being with our new greetings. Friendships will hopefully continue to develop and grow, and necessary changes to processes with which we have become accustomed will hopefully begin to bend to allow us all to live and work happily in the New Way.
It is a matter of some fascination for me, that we as humans, have so much to learn from the small but admirably organised and adaptable ant.
Useful link:
The Connections Matter site at Cov Uni appears to support these thoughts through the suggestion that being able to make time for family and friends is one of the things that can help to keep us well on our academic travels, https://livecoventryac.sharepoint.com/sites/students-connections-matter.
Lara Carballo
PhD Research Student
Institute for Future Transport and Cities