Watch our primetime special “Coronavirus Crisis: One Year Later” at 9 p.m. Thursday.
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The first two confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Michigan were announced March 10, 2020.
If you could go back a year, before the effects of the coronavirus pandemic swept into Michigan in March 2020, what would you tell yourself?
Take your time, think about it -- we want to share these responses, so please put some thought into it if you have a moment:
Here are some of the responses we’ve already received:
“Keep a journal of your everyday life and thoughts for posterity because there will be future pandemics and your coping skills could help others in your family. And promise to write three letters a week, starting with the A’s in your address book because it will provide structure to your life while reconnecting you with friends and relatives. And finally, find pleasure in carrying out simple household tasks, because they matter.” -- Judith Matlock
“First and foremost, I would tell myself to stock up on toilet paper, Lysol wipes and bread!!! And then I would tell myself to hug my parents, siblings, nieces and friends a little tighter because it was going to be a long time before it was safe to be that close to them.” -- Shawn
“I would tell my friend’s sister not to accept visitors at Thanksgiving. She and her husband both got COVID. She was on breathing machines for two months. She can barely walk up stairs, even now. And I would tell myself that 99% of my family and friends didn’t get it and were fine even if they did.” -- Sonya
“You will save one hour a day not dressing up and driving to work. Use this time to exercise, take an online class, keep in touch with friends. Don’t lose this time and have nothing to show for it.” -- Lori
“If I could go back a year, I would have told myself to keep my family and friends closer. I would change how MAD I would get. I am the one who went above and beyond the meaning of ‘FAMILY,’ and ‘FRIEND’ should be closer. I would get mad, due to myself doing the calling to check on them, visiting at their home (whether in Michigan or another state), taking them to wherever he or she needed to go, giving them money to help pay a bill or going out my way to let them know I care about them. I am the one who accepted the family members or friends that the rest of the family or other friends did not like. I know now that this could have been squashed -- some of my family members and friends I was mad at did not make it through 2020 and I wasn’t able to say, ‘I am no longer mad at them.’” -- Truth Matters
Related: Help us honor those we lost to COVID-19
CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES