The Eyes Above The Mask

How many of us agree, personality over looks? How many of us who agree actually mean it though? Seems like we have no choice now, thanks to covid-19, physically all we have left to see are eyes, and hair – and let’s face it, with all the salons closed, hair is probably not the best thing to go off of right now!

How much can the eyes tell you about a person? You can look at eye colour, shape, long or short lashes, beautifully styled brows, but we really don’t get much outside the mask, do we?

Let’s hope you mean it when you say you choose personality over looks, but the number of men that told me they saw a set of beautiful eyes in the bar or the times my girlfriends locked eyes with a sexy blonde, blue-eyed stranger – only to find out when they pulled down their mask that they had been mask-fished! Therefore, dating and relationships must be hard during the pandemic, right? After a strange year of being forced to spend hours, days, and even months constantly with their partner; I could name dozens of friends, associates, and relatives who are rethinking their relationships.

I mean, let’s be honest… it’s not natural!

But it’s not all doom and gloom! This pandemic has also brought a lot of people closer together. With nothing to do at home, video calls, zoom, and social media have hit an all-time high in terms of followers and subscribers! Business meetings, work calls, and catch-ups with your friends happen online – technology was what held us together this last year, and continues to do so…

People even started online dating, not just swiping, matching, and messaging, I mean actual video call dates started! People are having first dates on camera. When I heard this, I thought it was crazy! Dating was nerve-racking enough, I’d had enough awkwardness in person, never mind a video call with bad angles and rubbish Wi-Fi connection!

But then, something strange happened to me! I met someone! I spent the whole first lockdown doing just that, talking, texting, and video calling for hours on end. I’d barely managed to get a date pre-lockdown and now I live, love, and own a cat with him in less than a year!! Okay, so I’m not totally crazy, I already knew the guy, in fact, we had been good friends for a while. Naturally, we were bored in lockdown, so we spoke – A LOT! As the days passed and our conversation flowed, he became the highlight of my lockdown days! As weeks passed, I woke up every morning to a text, anticipated a phone call through the day, and a video call every night.

Eventually, without even knowing it we dated! I’d make the same food as him, we’d drink the same wine, we’d send photos to compare meals, we’d call each other to finish a bottle of wine together. All while talking for hours and really getting to know one another, from our favourite colours to our wildest dreams. We slowly learned everything about one another and then it became apparent – all these years, we weren’t just friends, we loved each other! Coming out of the first lockdown, we didn’t waste a second, we’d known each other so long, we loved each other’s company, we didn’t want to go back to our pre-lockdown lives, we wanted to start a new one with each other. In the last week of lockdown, we found our first apartment, moved in together, and a year later we are still living happily ever after. Cheesy I know, but it’s true! Who knows how long we would have continued to be just friends if we didn’t have all that time to get to know each other, after being in each other’s lives for so long with no intention of having anything more than a strong friendship!

Now he’s my eyes above the mask!

It’s a crazy thing when you stop for a while, actually, stop, and take time out to find yourself and listen to your thoughts without the busy hustle and bustle of everyday life. My point being – while the world’s taking a break, instead of stressing, or moping about, take a break too and see what’s waiting for you!