With all of the pessimistic talk about COVID-19 and the panic buying of toilet paper, I thought it might be interesting to think about the future. So I asked myself questions like: What is going to happen once we don't have to stay home anymore? What will happen when we won't have to stay six feet away from each other? And after thinking about my own answers for a while, I was curious about what others thought. So I asked a small group of anonymous individuals what they thought would happen after the COVID-19 quarantines and stay home orders were lifted. Here are their predictions for the future.

I think after quarantine is over, the virus will spike one more time and then level out. - Female, 19

All I know is that when businesses open back up all the bars and restaurants are going to be packed. - Female, 22

I believe healthcare will take the biggest hit and therefore chronically ill people (cancer patients and the elderly) will be in the most danger because of the lack of resources. - Female, 21

I'm hoping that this invites some radical changes to our healthcare and economic systems because if anything, this virus has proven just how unstable everything is. - Male, 22

I think there will be an increase in eye health issues and an increase in arthritis. - Female, 22

I think the virus will come back strong for a while. I also think there will be a lot of people looking for jobs that no longer exist. - Male, 46

I have a strong feeling that there will be an increase in mental health disorders possibly more specifically eating disorders and depression. - Female, 20

It seems that their predictions of the future were not as positive, as I would have hoped. I'm sure to a lot of people out there, the post COVID-19 world seems like it will be a bleak place. I hope that many changes will come from this pandemic, positive changes. I hope we find ways to better ourselves and our earth.