Masks . . . but not in the way you think.

Look, I’m going to cut to the chase here. Masks aren’t bad. Masks aren’t the devil's underwear. As someone who works in healthcare, I can genuinely say I don’t mind wearing a mask at all, even though I wear one at least eight hours a day.

The trend I want to end in 2021 is masks worn improperly.

I’m looking at you nose-out Nancy, the greatest sinner of 2020 fashion faux pas.

I get it. I genuinely understand they can be annoying if you aren’t wearing it properly. Some homemade ones are cute and creative, but unless it stays on your face, what is the point in wearing it? If I have to keep telling you to pull your mask up so it covers your nose and your response is a sassy, “Well, it doesn’t stay up!” Guess what . . . it’s time to get a new mask. We’re a year into this thing, you literally have no excuse to put others at risk.

Almost every single surgical mask had a nose clip. Pinch it over the bridge of your nose and voila! It’s like magic and you honestly will get so used to it on there you won’t think it’s bothersome anymore. One might even say it’s the best accessory of an accessory? Bold statement? Perhaps. But I stand by it.

But what if I said I had yet another solution to keep you fashion forward in a pandemic? Ready? Wear a surgical mask under your aesthetically pleasing cotton one and you’re Hannah Montana living the best of both worlds. Safety and fashion? How fabulous!

I am fully aware this might be coming across as blunt and harsh, but most of all, this is coming from an exhausted medical professional, who tells multiple people on a daily basis to, “Lift it up so it covers your nose too, thanks!” I. AM. TIRED. Mentally and physically. And I’m not the only one.

“But you work in healthcare, you signed up for this.”

No. No I did not.

We’re people too. Whether you want to believe it or not, we're people with lives and families and dreams and aspirations. We are not disposable pawns. We’re front line workers, yes, but what people don’t realize is that we’re the last line of defence. The public is the front lines in this pandemic, so be fashionable, strut your stuff, and make sure people aren’t doing a double take at you for the wrong reasons.

And yes, maybe there are other 2020 fashions out there that bring on the cringe factor. You might think our isolation gowns, our personal protective equipment (PPE) reminds you of your grandmother’s muumuu, but let me assure you we don’t give a single patoot if you think that’s a fashion faux pas (because trust me, we already know it ain’t sexy). And I’m also begging everyone to let sweatpants be in style forever because that’s the only thing I’m living in after long shifts.

It might sound so stupidly simple, it might sound so stupidly condescending, but wear your mask over your nose.

Wearing your mask properly is the new black!

Wear your mask after Labour Day!

Wear socks with sandals as long as you have that darn mask on properly!

Mask over the nose? Gorgeous. Stunning. 10/10. Give it to me all day long. Keep wearing your tie-dye and bike shorts if that makes you happy! Fringe and tiger print? Personally not my style, but your fashion choices like this don’t harm anyone so you do you!

“But it’s my freedom! My choice!”

It’s also your choice to run naked by a chainsaw but you don’t see most people volunteering to do that. Some people are acting as if wearing a mask is the worst thing in the world right now. It’s an inconvenience, sure, but can we stop acting like this is grade school where those few kids have to ruin everything for the rest of the class? We all want to go out for recess, but a small percentage refuses to listen and now we all don’t know when things can go back to “normal”.

If we all played nice for two weeks, literally two weeks of just treating each other with respect, the world might be a better place, and the healthcare system might not be so overwhelmed.

Ever heard of the saying running on fumes? That’s what healthcare is like, except there are no fumes left. Healthcare is people running on fully empty tanks, scraping the bottom of the barrel and hoping to find a miracle to keep them going. (Spoiler Alert: Caffeine doesn’t work anymore.)

This is not a magician of words, crafting a beautiful, witty story. This is a human being at her wits end in the middle of a pandemic; who had to look up what the 2020 fashion trends even were because this is a year stripped from her life that she did not enjoy one part of. It was a selfless year spent helping others, with little room for any spark of joy in her own life.

As much as people want 2021 to be the year of no masks, can we at least hope the start of 2021 is the time of wearing masks properly?