"I am thankful to you SARS-CoV-2 virus as you allowed me to be human again, to make mistakes, and learn from them. You taught me to slow down so that I could reset and redefine my goals. You allowed me to have time for myself, to dream again, and plan my future. You pushed me out of my comfort zone and re-explore what I thought was possible or impossible. You helped me re-embrace my imperfections and love myself just the way I am! You showed me that this pandemic is a circumstance beyond my control and that there will many more circumstances, such as this one in life. However, what will always remain within my control or reach is my own thoughts about, and reaction to, such times. It is up to me now how I want to re-shape them to get to the results I want to see. Thank you, COVID-19, for being a great teacher. I respect you. I am not afraid of you but will always be cautious of you."

Annie Nawab is a pulmonary and critical care physician.

She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "Beyond the medical lessons learned from COVID." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/09/beyond-the-medical-lessons-learned-from-covid.html)