We froze routines: I’ll get back to the gym later.
We froze ambitions: I’ll apply when things calm down.
We froze identities: This isn’t who I really am; it’s just temporary.
“She” could be a loaf of bread, yes—but she could also be a version of yourself. The one who existed before everything stopped. The one who had momentum. The one who wore real clothes and made plans without contingency clauses.
We put her in the freezer and told ourselves it was for her own good.
2. What Freezing Really Does
Anyone who’s ever frozen food knows this: freezing doesn’t stop time completely. It slows it down, but it changes things in subtle ways.
Textures shift. Moisture redistributes. Ice crystals form.
When you freeze something long enough, it doesn’t come back exactly as it was. It can still be good—sometimes even great—but it will be different.
The same is true of people.
The years since 2020 didn’t just pause us; they altered us. We adapted to smaller lives. We learned new coping mechanisms. We grew used to isolation, to screens, to silence, to noise that never quite meant anything.
“She” sat there frozen, absorbing all of that indirectly. The freezer is not a vacuum; it’s an environment. And environments leave marks.
By the time we were ready to open the door again, the question wasn’t Can she come back?
It was Who is she now?
3. The Decision to Thaw
Thawing is an act of intention.
You don’t thaw something by accident. You decide: Now.
You clear space. You take it out. You place it somewhere visible and wait.
“She was thawed for a week.”
A week is not nothing. A week is long enough for anticipation to build and anxiety to creep in. Long enough to check on it repeatedly. Long enough to wonder if this was a mistake.
Thawing is uncomfortable. It’s messy. It’s the stage where things look the worst—neither preserved nor complete, just… in between.
Emotionally, this is where many people found themselves when the world began reopening.
Going back out felt strange. Talking to people in person felt rehearsed. Old goals didn’t fit the same way they used to. The version of yourself you’d protected for so long didn’t slide neatly back into place.
ADVERTISEMENT
