“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” — Albert Einstein
The global pandemic of 2019 was a huge toll on the entirety of the world. Many people, including myself faced a life altering change during it. The pandemic was a significant historical event and living through it brought a lot of uncertainty, despair, anxiety as well as some feeling of hope and resilience. It certainly was a hard time of excessive challenges and rapid adaptation.
At the very beginning, it was very difficult to comprehend what was happening. The news was spread like wildfire on the media about a new outbreak, a new virus but no one properly understood the scope of the growing emergency. Amidst the chaos, there was the rumors of a lockdown happening. Since the virus began in China, it was hard to believe that this could happen to us in Kathmandu. Then slowly but surely the virus spread in Nepal as well. As the virus spread, the government stared to make strict measures to ensure safety and good health.
Suddenly the pandemic was declared as a health emergency by the United Nation and the house arrest, lockdown was also affirmed. I remember the first few days of the lockdown as if I still was dreaming. Since I just took my final exams and was on term break, i used to wake up every day to the bustling city. So, it was very early one morning that those sounds disappeared and the quiet stepped into the picture. Hordes of people who used to crowd the roads were long gone and many shops and shops were closed. People sat down as if they were frozen mid-motion, as though the clock had been stopped. In the beginning it felt like an exteneded vacation but that soon transformed into weeks and months of isolation.
The pandemic also brought upon the most abrupt decisions for me, the switch from traditional classes to virtual classes. Initially, sitting in front of the teacher with books and notes at home was a pleasant and even an attractive proposition. Like every flip side of coin this new way of learning came with hardships. Not physically knowing the teacher and classmates lowered the excitement of learning. There were several other smaller concerns like bad internet communication, not being used to the online tools and delay or absence of the teacher’s attention. Also, a thin line existed between school related activities and home related activities. Losing concentration and desire became normal, for the factor of the many aspects of home was but a tap away. Despite the distractions, the virtual classes instilled a sense of self-discipline and time management.
The isolation and absence of human contact mixed with the disconcerting the kinds of news reports emitted continuously brought a lot of anxiety associated with being infected by the virus and the detachment from friends and relatives as well. Then there were days when it was as if the entire globe had reduced to the four corners of the living room. The absence of exercise, company, and the repetition of everyday activities resulted in a sense of boredom and sometimes even despair. The hardest part of it all was the separation from friends and other relatives. I simply missed playing outside, visiting my relative, communal chatter or hanging out with my friends at school. There were also days where all I wanted was for things to go back to how they were.
With the change in routine and the long time spent at home I had to find out other ways to spend my time. This led to the discovery of new interests and hobbies that I might not have explored otherwise. One such profound interest was reading. With all this free time at my disposal, I sought books as a channel to venture out of my home into other worlds. I started reading more frequently like I had never read before. Books turned out to be my companions for the lengthy days of the lockdown, comforting me, entertaining me, and teaching the ways of understanding the world outside the pandemic. Another one of the major changes was the growing interest in drawing. With more time at home and fewer distractions, though, I started to show a real interest in it. Drawing had become a daily ritual, something to look forward to amidst the monotony. Drawing wasn’t just limited to drawing; it was something creative, something fulfilling, and something satisfying. Through drawing, I let out those emotions that were at times hard to do with words. This was my means of having some sense of control over an unpredictable world.
The thing the pandemic had done, if anything, pointedly emphasized community, even as physical distancing has become the order of the day. There were stories of people coming together to help those in need: volunteers distributing food and supplies, neighbors checking in on one another, and communities rallying around support for local businesses. This was also the time when empathy and compassion came to the forefront. COVID-19 affected all, but not equally. Some lost their loved ones; others lost jobs, or faced financial troubles. Awareness of these struggles fostered a sense of empathy and a desire to help in whatever way we could, even if that was just a kind word or a small gesture of kindness.
The pandemic made me grateful for everything, too. It taught me to appreciate all the little things in life that we consider normal, usually: our health, our ability to go outside, meet family and friends, and the normalcy of everyday routine. As things slowly get better, restrictions finally easing up, I learned to appreciate these simple pleasures more.As the world began slowly to emerge from the pandemic, there was one sense of relief yet a recognition that life had changed in so many ways. The pandemic laid bare some of the vulnerabilities in our global systems, but it also brought out the best in people-the acts of kindness, the resilience, the willingness to help others in times of need.
Looking back, I know well that though the pandemic was a difficult period, it was also one of immense growth. It taught me quite a few important lessons: resilience, adaptation, and most importantly, the importance of human contact. These lessons are those that will stay long beyond the end of this pandemic, helping me through the challenges and opportunities the future has in store.
Overall, living through the COVID-19 pandemic had its challenging and changing moments. As sour as it has been, the experience had its set of valuable lessons that shaped my life and will go on to shape my life in meaningful ways. As I head toward the future, the strength, skills, and perspectives gained during this extraordinary time will go with me.
Student Grade : 9 Dhruva
School: Ujjwal Tara School, Kathmandu Nepal
