Break, new job, move: the Covid has completely changed their lives, they say

Aurore: « With the Covid, we all realized that we were mortal »

At the very start of the pandemic, the dead were stored at Rungis for lack of places in funeral parlors. Their relatives were no longer even allowed to go to the ceremonies. This gripped me with dread. I said to myself: we can’t do that. Funeral rites are essential, they should be beautiful. This idea did not let me go. The pandemic has differentiated between essential people and non-essential people. I deduced that I was not essential. I no longer wanted to be a journalist, I wanted to be useful. It was very quick. I attended a formation. Today, I am a funeral director and I work in a funeral agency. I accompany the families to organize the funeral. I would never have imagined myself before the Covid in this environment. Before, for me, death was a taboo subject. I acted like it didn’t exist. With the Covid, we all realized that we were mortal and that forced me to face reality. Now, I like the strong relationship that I weave with people. Being with vulnerable people and bringing them peace is extremely rewarding. In addition, it gives me great happiness. I understood, with the Covid, that I wanted to be fulfilled in my work. My husband had the same click. At 50, he too has converted professionally to become a developer. It was an opportunity to listen to our desires and to glimpse a new life that we might not have realized. The assessment that I draw today from this change? I am happy.

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Aurélien: “Now I know why I get up”

I was a sound engineer for 15 years. I worked in particular with music groups. So I have always lived in the inner suburbs of Paris. When the confinement was announced, I went to the Gold Coast with my wife in the house that we had renovated for long weekends or vacations. After fifteen days of confinement, I was already tired of not moving. I was starting to go crazy. I bought flour at the mill in the village, which is called the Moulin du Foulon. This is where I met Robert Lallemand, the owner and miller. He was working alone. He was 70 years old and I saw him struggling to carry 40kg bags on his shoulder. So I offered him my help. At the time of confinement, flour production exploded. He explained to me that he was looking for a buyer for the mill. Everything happened really fast. So I took over the mill with a friend and asked Robert to train me. After confinement, I went back to Paris only once to move. It was quite radical. I realized with hindsight that I had more disadvantages in Paris than the advantages: the price of excessive rent, noise, pollution, the metro… My wife works in comic book publishing . We thought about a formula where she would telecommute and part on site. Today, she works three days in Paris and the rest remotely. City dweller and party girl, she can enjoy Parisian life and find a balance like that. The only thing I miss in my old life is the human, the cultural effervescence with the many concerts. But now I know why I get up. Producing locally to consume more responsibly, that really makes sense to me. The Covid was a catalyst. This is the trigger that allowed us to realize all our desires that we had for a long time. You have to take advantage of this kind of event to bounce back, otherwise you don’t do it because it’s never the right time to change. There, we were really up against the wall. Being stuck in the Province in the countryside is a sign. There was an alignment of the planets: confinement to the countryside, discovery of a profession, opportunity to buy a business… I absolutely cannot see myself returning to work in Paris.

Lauréna: “I finally accepted the idea that you had to live for yourself and not in relation to others”

I don’t even remember when the lockdown started. Only from the end, where clearly, I couldn’t stand anything anymore. He liked to sing while working and that alone was unbearable. His footsteps on the floor made my hair stand on end. I realized that I didn’t like the life I had. One morning, I cried in the bathroom and there, I looked at myself in the mirror and said to myself: you have two solutions: either you stay with him and you accept never to be happy, or you leave him. . I talked for hours with my friends. Then I asked my boyfriend to sit on the sofa and told him that I wanted to stop there. I needed to be sure and certain to make the right choice. I always found excuses not to leave him, but with the Covid impossible to hide the face. I realized that we were completely out of step and that we didn’t want the same things. It was from that moment that I became a real adult. I finally accepted the idea that you had to live for yourself and not in relation to others. I didn’t realize how much the breakup could upset everything else. That was almost two years ago and since then I haven’t been the same person at all. Without confinement, perhaps the situation would have continued for several years and we would have moved or even had a child. It was the best decision I could make. The confinement was very hard morally, but my new life is two thousand times better than the one before. Today, I appreciate my solitude and my independence. I can do what I want: the world opens up to me”.

Melanny: « It was a moment of total letting go »

I had started a 6 month trip which started in Oman and was supposed to end in Armenia. But I found myself stuck during the first confinement in Malaysia. At the time, I worked in the summer to earn money and travel the rest of the year. I then rented an Airbnb with several travelers and that’s when the confinement began, which lasted three months. It was a bit peculiar at the start. I was going around in circles. I didn’t have any books, so I watched a lot of series and documentaries. Little by little, I started to ask myself questions: what was going to look like after this confinement? I then retouched all my old photos; I also wrote a lot. It was a moment of total letting go. I listened to a lot of music. This lockdown has been really positive for me. On returning, I worked again in the restaurant business to earn some money and also in an exhibition in collaboration with several artists. I realized that I wanted to work independently. The fact of going around in circles in this apartment of not being able to entertain myself too much, it emptied my head. I refocused on myself by asking myself real questions. Eventually, I decided to start my own photo studio. The Covid gave me a real boost. I had acquired a feeling of freedom that had been growing in me since confinement. I said to myself: « it’s good, I’ll do it ». It’s important not to put up barriers by saying to yourself “it’s going to be complicated”. Of course it will be, but it would be such a shame not to. It’s important to follow your instincts and say to yourself: it’s okay, we’re going for it.

Valentin: « This experience allowed me to dare to change paths, to see that I could very easily adapt »

Before the Covid, I worked in restaurants in Tours with my girlfriend. She went up to Paris and I followed her. I quickly found a job. But a month after starting, the restaurants had to close indefinitely. Not having enough seniority, I found myself unemployed. I stayed there for almost 6 months, a very complicated period to find something else. I had already thought about changing jobs because catering is really a complicated sector with often difficult schedules and not very high incomes. However, I wanted to have a job in contact with customers. I said to myself then why not in trade. After a lot of research, I finally got an answer from a DIY store, which ended up hiring me. I thus found myself sales consultant in carpentry. It’s a field that I didn’t know at all but I am someone who is very curious and who learns and adapts quickly. The hardest part was losing my job and finding a way to live in Paris on only €1150 per month. Living on €1,150 when you have a rent of over €800, with very little help from the state, was really not easy as a young person. The Covid had a negative part which was to survive in the Paris region with a derisory salary. On the other hand, this experience allowed me to dare to change paths, to see that I could very easily adapt and evolve very well in a sector other than catering: positive results therefore both professionally and personally.