OPINION PIECE - In a time when we don't know what disaster is going to hit us next, or which way is up or down, I think many can agree that a little bit of "normal" is something we all desperately need, even if it is the "new normal".

The last three-and-a-half months have been rough, let's admit it. There's no need to hide behind some clouded veil and pretend we haven't been struggling, because we have. 

Be it financially, mentally, physically, emotionally, and perhaps even all of the above, it certainly has been tough. Which is why my blood boils whenever somebody has the audacity to tell me or anybody else to stop referring to the current climate as the "new normal".

Have you ever for a moment stopped and thought that maybe, just maybe, we find solace and comfort in that idea? That times have been tough and everything has taken its toll to the point where all we want, all we need, is a sense of normality to get you through the day? Even if it means fabricating that sense of normality and forcing ourselves to believe that this new normal has come and replaced what we once knew.

A new normal where social media is no longer about smiling with your mouth because you can't see it under the mask, so you have to smile with your eyes, a reflection of your soul. A new normal where instead of constantly looking for a new adventure we sit back and indulge ourselves in memories of time and adventures gone by. A new normal where the latest fashion trend is a face mask. A new normal where our superheroes and stars aren't comic book characters or Hollywood actors, but rather our doctors and nurses who have never been appreciated enough. A new normal where people are forced to believe in each other and have faith that they are responsible with their sanitising practices. A new normal where we spend more time with family because we can't see anyone else.

To be frank (Frank agrees with me, by the way), this "new normal" to which you turn a blind eye sounds pretty cool. And you know what? It actually helps. It helps me get by, it helps me get through the day knowing that I am currently in a new sense of normality, regardless of how strange or foreign it is. If you want to be pessimistic and narcissistic and constantly buck the system, fine. But do not tell me that my coping mechanism, my new normal, is wrong.

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