What is one thing you appreciate about these face masks we’ve all been wearing?
There’s been a lot of complaining of course, and now that mask mandates are being lifted where I live, there are lots of comments about how terrible the wearing masks is/was. A sense of relief is understandable. At the same time, how about sending the masks some love?
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I taught 4th and 5th grade for many years. I showed my students how far a sneeze and a cough travel. I am grateful for the masks.
Thank you Caysunset, yes!
That’s exactly my point.
I don’t have to smile at people I don’t like. I don’t have to put on a strong facial expression even though I am breaking inside.
Actually I have really appreciated being able to wear a mask for the same reason this past year and a half. It’s amazing how much we need to, or are expected to, or feel we are expected to, control all our public expressions for others, even when it doesn’t have anything to do with anyone else. Thank you.
A straightforward question with no masks attached. (Such is the mask of humor)
Okay I’ll stop.
Besides the need to protect oneself and others from the virus, for an introvert like me, (not so sociable), the mask was like a shield that halted any unnecessary intrusions. You have to be a true introvert to know what that means. And for a person who’s too lazy to put on makeup (though I look quite fine without it), the mask was a blessing. It covers two-thirds of the face, and a huge pair of sunglasses covered whatever was left.
So I may have looked like a walking housefly, but it saved so much time and energy that could be invested in better places. And Indian summers can be very harsh, so the mask protects the face from sunburn harm.
I wish I had something philosophical to say about this. But a mask is just a mask. And I’ve kept it in its place. On my nose and mouth as directed. Thanks for sharing this! 🙂
Thanks Terveen! I must be a true introvert also then. 🙂 Cannot directly personally relate to not needing to invest all that energy in make up (male privilege), yet I’m very happy you and so many others had been spared this pressure and decision thanks to masking.
There are two things that I have gained from wearing a face mask. First, I have not gotten sick at all, of any kind, not even the sniffles. Second, I have begun to focus on the eyes much more, and have noticed how beautiful they are on other people.
I’ve heard from others too that they haven’t gotten sick at all since the masks, and even that they’re thinking of masking again during flu season. And I’ve noticed people learning to read and also use their eyes more in making expressions, very interesting.
I love that I don’t have to be concerned with my facial expressions anymore. That’s gonna be weird when we stop wearing masks! Also: it protects me from pollen, so hay fever has been less of a problem this season!
Ah yes, can definitely relate to both of those.
I get occasional acne, so if there’s a pimple on my face blow my eyes, the mask is a blessing.
No annoying self-consciousness about blemishes, hooray!
I have noticed how the truly eyes smile.
How true!
Yes, and even more so since we’ve begun doing it purposely!
I’ve appreciated the masks for several reasons: I feel warmer when walking at the beach when it’s windy and chilly; I haven’t had any colds for more than a year; and most recently, I was on a plane returning from a trip and I fell asleep. When I woke up, I realized that my jaw had relaxed and my mouth was wide open. The mask protected me and save me from embarrassment!!
😂😂😂
We those who use public transportation still find the mask very useful. People sneeze and cough whiles sitting very close to you. I appreciate the mask so I will mask up especially when in public.
Great point about public transport, thanks!
now , i don’t have to fake a smile .😂to those i hate …
😂 😂
Yes indeed 🙂
One thing is about allergies! They help with them and also dust. Another thing is in winter! My nose gets really cold in the winter. It turns red and I look like Rudolph the red nosed reindeer! The mask keeps my face warm!
All wonderful points, thank you Ritika!
I never saw what all the complaints were all about. They sounded like children stomping their feet and yelling, “I don’t wana and you can’t make me!”
If your mask is all that uncomfortable, find a mask that fits better. The worst I could say about any of them is that they fogged up my glasses.
I suppose if there another reason why you don’t want to wear a mask, you might blow every little thing way out of proportion to “mask” the real reason you don’t want to wear one.
So what’s something you appreciate about the masks you wore Fred?
I appreciate a reduced chance to of falling ill. I appreciate that if I still got COVID despite the mask and other precautions, I’m less likely to pass it on. There is a freedom one gets from having done what one can. You can get on with life.
Now that I’ve been vaccinated I wear a mask as a courtesy to others. Courtesy matters. Also the owner of a property gets to enforce whatever rules they need for public safety. But I wear it a lot less. It is still an annoyance
And being with nudists wearing nothing BUT masks. That was interesting. 😁
Hiding in plain sight. LOL!
Lol 🙂
It hides my PMS chin acne and it allows me to smirk at people without their knowing.
Indeed!
What it taught me is that mask wearing became so routinethat, on the odd occasion, I’d walk into a store, buy my goods and walk out and only realise afterwards I didn’t have a mask on. Not one person noticed. Paints a picture right? Is mask wearing really that effective? 🤫
Oh!
I miss those beautiful smiles
I will not state what my opinions are. Rather…answer this…as an anxious person who has social distanced from the womb…I may have worn it under my nose when I was forced to wear one (our state didn’t mandate or shut down) but it can also help me feel hidden somehow. 😉 That is not always negative for me.
Can definitely be nice to feel hidden sometimes!
I don’t feel as awkward reading these replies. Oh thank goodness 🙌🏽😆.
Hey, that’s a good news. No need to wear masks now. Where do you live?
Before pandemic, I’d have a handkerchief on hand and would always cover my face with it while commuting as there are people who just don’t know they should cover their mouth when sneezing or coughing. The masks now just makes it a lot easier.
The downside is my eyeglasses often fogs up so I’d have to adjust my glasses from time to time.
Yes, that would be much easier!
I am an introvert with anxiety. And the mask felt like a shield – hiding my facial expressions eyes down and that was a relief so many times else my anxiety would have shown. And no obligation to put on a smile all the time. 😄
It’s a bit interesting to ponder how society quickly made a ritual of putting a shield on one’s face a new ‘normal’!
Wearing a mask was also useful for protection from dust and pollution.
The sad faces of the people. Now they hide behind masks and think that they weren’t wearing masks, they were fake-smiling. Well now it’s worse since fake zmiling actually encourages the mind to feel something instead of staying numb. At least, with the masks, I can’t see their unhappy faces, full of fake-smiles.
I don’t have to always worry about forgetting to wear my old age dentures
Ha! I’ve thought about this one a lot LOL I liked not wearing lipstick, foundation or powders on my face (it was pointless with the mask, because A) It would rub off and B) no one could see it anyway lol). It also covered pimples on my chin, which I always have… although I do feel like the mask caused more. And I liked that throughout a long day of work, it would hide my potentially bad breath. But there’s nothing like breathing fresh air without the mask. I’m definitely happy to see them go 🙂
What I love about the mask is that it does not only protect you from covid but from many types of common sickness which we encounter in day to day life.
It also taught many people to be attentive and to have good cleanliness.
I have no poker face. Although I am an extreme extrovert who handled the pandemic very badly, there were plenty of social situations like horrible small talk and hanging out with people I didn’t really like that I didn’t miss. When I did find myself going back to small talk with acquaintances, the masks were helpful because I didn’t trust myself to maintain socially-appropriate facial expressions.
I felt pretty neutral on the masks generally. Like they weren’t amazing, but they were fine. They were hardly the worst hardship of the pandemic. And if wearing a mask was what it took to go shopping, get food, go to the gym, get a haircut/manicure/pedicure, and hang out with friends and family, I didn’t mind wearing one.
I’m not going to send the mask any love. The only good thing that can be said about is if you were willing to drop some cash and go shopping for unique ones, you could use it to accessorize your “look” in a new way. But it still looked hideous all the time.
— Catxman
http://www.catxman.wordpress.com
Good ideas.
A sense of doing something to look after each other, as a mask a person wears is less about protecting themselves and more about preventing a spread of disease from themselves to others. Choosing kindness is always the right answer.
Thank you for this encouragement to think laterally.