The five friends you meet after staying home for two months

Since Phase 2 started on Jun 19, we have had the chance to meet friends we haven’t seen in over two months.

But has everyone stayed the same since the days before the circuit breaker?

Youth.SG spoke to five youths about what socialising with their friends was like in Phase 2, and how some of their friends have changed in drastic ways.

Here are the five friends you might meet in Phase 2:

“I think my EQ really took a plunge over the past couple of months. It’s almost like I forgot etiquette and social norms or something.

“I met my friends for the first time last week and one of them was showing me her new sandals. I realised she had weirdly long toes and I would have normally kept that comment to myself but I accidentally let out an ‘ew’.

“Thankfully she wasn’t too offended and we all laughed it off.” – Lim Shi Ni, 22, Marketing intern

“It was strange meeting some of my friends after so long and seeing how the circuit breaker affected them.

“It was quite drastic. Some of them I could tell really put on a bit of weight. And others got really skinny, it was pretty noticeable.” – James Loh, 23, Unemployed

“When Phase 2 started, a couple of my friends asked me out for some drinks, but I told them to go ahead without me.

“For one, I am a bit cautious about going out again because the virus might still be going around and I didn’t want to expose myself to the risk.

“But even before COVID-19 happened, I already didn’t like going out, so I’m just going to enjoy chilling at home for now.” – Becca Thomas, 24, Unemployed

“I was full-on bumming it out the past two months. I grew all my hair out and didn’t really bother shaving.

“Everyone I video called during circuit breaker was complaining to me that I looked really haggard and kept telling me to cut my hair when the barbers opened. But I didn’t see the point of doing that because I wasn’t leaving my house.

“But when Phase 2 was announced I immediately went to get my hair cut, finally put on clothes other than my pyjamas, and ate a lot less junk food. I’ve really got my act together now that I can meet my friends again.

“They noticed my sharper jawline because of my haircut and my healthier diet, and were all super relieved I finally cleaned up my look.” – Mark Tan, 22, Student

“Some of my friends became so much more reserved and quiet when we first met. It definitely took a little more time to get them out of their shell.

“But others were definitely more interaction-starved and couldn’t stop talking when we met.” – Joanne Ho, 23, Student