What I Learned After Living With My Parents During the Pandemic

The pandemic and work-from-home orders led many millennials and Gen Zers back to their childhood homes for the majority of the last year. Staying at home at 30 is different from growing up at home— I’ve had my freedom, independent living and have created a life of my own. My parents are more like roommates now. We break the familial stereotypes; I grocery shop myself, do my own laundry and we don’t usually eat dinner together.

At times, when it felt like the world was ending and we couldn’t step outside without face coverings, couldn’t hug or see our closest friends, I found comfort in being back home. For many, it was the most time they’d spent with their mom and dad in years — time together that perhaps wasn’t always prioritized before COVID-19 . As we all begin to resume the lives we once knew, here's what I learned after living at home through the pandemic.