This time last year New Zealand was filled with trepidation and a little bit of panic.
The entire country went in to lockdown to avoid the spread of a new virus that was killing thousands overseas, and had recently arrived on our shores.
Covid-19 sent some over the edge, thinking it was the end of days - others got the wrong idea altogether and descended upon supermarkets to buy copious quantities of toilet paper, among other things.
At the time, there were 102 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the community and the virus was spreading.
The borders were already shut and at 11.59pm on March 25, 2020, non-essential businesses and schools closed.
New Zealanders were urged to stay at home to save lives, and to leave home only for essential purposes, like grocery shopping.
Just like in previous tumultuous times like the Spanish flu, the Great Depression and the world wars, Kiwis came together, they set aside their differences and gave each other kindness and support to ride out the lockdown.
We were all in this together.
People started looking out for their elderly neighbours, buying their groceries for them and forging friendships.
A week in, people started to relax a little, finding the fun in simple things, like taking the dog for a walk, taking up old and new hobbies to help pass the time, doing renovations or small building projects.
Dunedin residents joined the rest of the country in putting teddy bears in their front windows to brighten the days of children and their parents going on walks in their suburbs.
Most significantly, many rediscovered the joy of family and being able to spend more time together.
Others realised the importance of family, after being separated from each other and not being able to visit those living in other parts of the country.
University of Otago psychology department head Prof Jamin Halberstadt said he had noticed subtle changes in the community since the lockdown - mainly that it had made people more resilient.
"It was very hard last year because we really weren’t prepared for anything of this magnitude.
"But people really did seem to step up. Everybody was willing to do what was necessary, which is not always the case when things are going well."
"People adapted relatively quickly to working from home, but as a result, they came to value working face to face with other people more."
It had also brought a greater appreciation of being able to go out, socialise, eat at our favourite restaurants, and travel domestically and internationally.
"That first night when takeaway was available again, we went out and waited for two hours on the street, waiting to get our takeaways because we hadn’t been able to leave our house for so long."
Because people had been cooped up and had restraints put on their movements, they had become more open to wearing masks in public, sanitising hands and doing contact tracing because they were trying to avoid returning to lockdown.
It had changed habits within the community, for the better, he said.
