For the past two years, people are locked in their houses waiting when they’ll be able to walk on the streets without a mask. Almost everyone has contracted COVID-19 and while some have been asymptomatic, many have had to bear the harsh brunt of the pandemic.
The pandemic has had three waves so far and not only has it reduced productivity across nations, it has also negatively affected the mental health of thousands of people.
Priya Pramita Paul is one of the COVID-19 fighters who contracted the virus recently, in the third and ongoing wave of the pandemic. Amidst the omicron scare, when people are scared for their life, Priya remained strong and calm.
In her words, “I always believe any disease becomes serious when you make it significant in mind. As a life coach, I never got this factor affect me.” Priya is training for an upcoming international pageant and though her training was briefly affected, she didn’t let that affect her productivity. She says, “my pageant training, fitness and everything was on standstill. I spend my recovery time doing my household chores, cooking, announcing workshops, painting, reading and meditations.”
Balancing work and rest with constant doses of medicines helped her fight back and while she did lose her stamina and gain weight, she didn’t let herself be hindered by it. Rather, she is very much positive about getting back on her fitness training as she is working on her recovery too.
Not only did she combat the disease, but she successfully managed to ignore the scary social media posts and news too. “I always try to keep away from a lot of news and social media because it gets overwhelming. That doesn’t mean I don’t know the trending news. I hear whatever is necessary and get back to my work,” she shares. “I have lots of empathy for whatever is happening around the world but I believe if I am fine then only, I can help others become fine. So I take care of my mental health,” she adds.
It was during the pandemic that Priya changed cities too. She shifted from Bangalore, where she has spent 16 years of her life and started a new life in Mumbai.
Answer why she decided to make the shift, Priya answers, “after doing my 1st pageant in Mrs India World, I realised that I need to have stronger preparation if I want to participate for next. And I didn’t want to leave any reason for why certain things couldn’t be changed. I knew this requires me the go to a new city as I will get better training. And that’s why without much thinking, I left Bangalore and came to Mumbai. It is just been 3 months since I am here and I am loving the city. As of now, I am much focused on training and fitness and hence giving all my time here.”
As per Priya, travelling has a strong impact on the character building of an individual. “I have travelled almost whole of India since childhood which made me very keen to live and learn various cultures and lifestyles. I feel I can accommodate myself in any new place easily. Mumbai is a beautiful city and people over here are very nice and welcoming. I am very hopeful that the new city will bring me all the positive energy to win the crown and many more in future.”
A lot of us are still worried about what the year would bring for us, but Priya is living her dreams with the utmost positivity. The pandemic did affect her, but she didn’t let that get to her and stood stronger than ever. Positivity and experience are her companions as Priya is taking on the world.
