COVID-19 was an integral part of most of our lives, shaping how we lived, learned, and connected with one another. I mean it took around 2 years of our lives by itself. I’ve heard many stories about how people used this as an opportunity, to start a new business or to better their skillset or to get physically fit. Mine, however, is not that kind of story. In fact, it’s quite the opposite—it’s about how I felt like I messed up all the basic aspects of my life and how I’m recovering from that. You know, the actual thing that most of us did during COVID 19, I did that too.
It was around the end of grade four. We were talking in class with our class teacher about the sports week that had just taken place a week before at our school. Then I suddenly spoke of the dreaded COVID. I mean, there was just one confirmed COVID case in Nepal, and we didn’t yet understand its true wrath. My class teacher carried on the conversation, moving on from the topic with a light shrug, saying, “Oh, it’s just a variation of the common cold. Nothing to ponder upon for long.” We all were satisfied with the answer then. We had our final exams coming up, so we carried on with our regular classes, but soon those regular classes that we all dreaded would come to be the one thing we missed dearly.
Then our final exams, and soon they ended. During the last assembly, our principal went up to the podium and demanded silence. “Silence,” she demanded, “Silence, I said.” We all looked at her, pausing our conversations about what we’d do during the short break our school had given us. Then came music to our ears. Our principal gave us the best news we had ever heard: “As per the government’s notice, our school will be closed until this COVID pandemic calms down.” We all went silent for a few moments, absorbing the gravity of her words. Then came a voice from amongst the crowd. It was one of our classmates. He asked, “So if COVID cases don’t come to a halt for 1 month, we’d get a month-long holiday?” The Principal responded affirmatively. Then the crowd erupted in cheers, or at least as much as a group of 3rd and 4th graders could muster. I distinctly remember telling my friends that it’d be the best time of our lives, sitting it out at our homes. Then, I went home and greeted my mom by breaking the news to her.
She seemed not to care much, but I sensed something deeper. My dad came home too, and I shared the news with him as well. Being the naïve kid I was, I asked him, “Say, Dad, do you think we could go out tomorrow?” He responded with an angry “NO.” It startled me to my core. He had never been this mad at me before, especially over such a simple question. I finally began to grasp what had come upon us, at least somewhat. To the best of my knowledge at that time, going out with Dad meant I’d get sick. That was reason enough for me to stay home and do nothing all day, and oh boy, did I do just that. I stayed at home all day, so much so that the bed I slept on started to take the shape of my body. I knew exactly how many tiles were in our kitchen (24 to be exact, 25 if you count the one near the door). I knew what time the cockroaches came out to eat, and I knew it took precisely 10 steps to cross my room. I was that bored.
My parents eventually understood my boredom. I was granted the liberty of going to my brother’s house, and I spent some time there too. It was about 1-2 months into the lockdown. My parents were still working, so I had to stay somewhere, especially since I was at an age where they couldn’t leave me alone at home. So, I waited it out at my brother’s house. What did I do there? The same thing, really. I ate, slept, barely bathed, and ate some more. And how could I forget video games? They were an integral part of maintaining my sanity. You know, video games really get too much hate. Imagine a 10-year-old boy who hasn’t gone outside and who can’t even step a foot out of the door without the fear of catching the dreaded COVID-19. What is he to do but play some games and take out all his pent-up extroverted energy on game characters?
Then came e-learning platforms. My parents signed me up for one, but it was nowhere near as effective as regular classes, and they knew that. Learning through a screen just wasn’t the same. But we all had to adapt in some way or another, trying to make the best of a bad situation. And slowly, the realization sank in that this “holiday” was not going to be the carefree break we had imagined. To be honest, I didn’t want it to be one, too. I was bored out of my mind. Finally, the news of online classes came. I was over the moon. I could talk to the friends who I hadn’t talked to in a long time. I joined the class and saw my video along with others’. I was shocked. We were all chubby, unmaintained, and so excited that we could jump through the screen.
Online classes became another integral part of the lockdown. What did I learn there? Ask my teachers, I don’t know. For us, it was all just an excuse to meet up and chat during the meetings. There used to be little to no homework, and we could chat all day? Sign me up for those kinds of classes, please. We had the liberty of doing whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted. We ate when we wanted, went to the washroom when we wanted, wore whatever we had, and just had fun. To be honest, I miss those days. One thing I can’t forget is the memories I made. There was a popular game around that time called “Among Us.” It was a game where there was one impostor, and we had to find out who that was while they slowly sabotaged us. We played that game like nothing else. I still remember, whenever class would get boring, the whole boys’ group would get on the game and play.
Something I did miss during this time was festivals. They’re supposed to be grand, you know, but due to COVID, they were like small family gatherings. Dashain, Tihar, Holi—all the oh-so-grand festivals ended with just a few people meeting here and there. I was so disappointed. I was under the impression that nobody would die if they got COVID. I mean, I knew the numbers were huge, but I didn’t know it was that serious. I was just enjoying my time to the fullest. But as they say, it doesn’t happen until it happens to you. I was just at home, watching my laptop, when Dad came stumbling in. I was worried, so I asked him, “Hey, what happened?” He didn’t respond, so I just thought he was tired.
The next week, we got the news—he was positive. Not in terms of his personality, but with COVID. I was left speechless. The virus that had killed millions, the one that had trapped me inside my boring old household, had caught onto my dad. I was in denial. I started preparing for the worst. The walls of the false reality I had built up came crashing down, and it came crashing down fast. He wasn’t the same strong man I knew. He couldn’t stand up nor sit down, and he could barely speak. I was heartbroken seeing my super strong old man like that. I finally understood what the word “virus” meant and why people were scared. He eventually got better, but I have never been the same since. The thought of losing someone so close to you so fast has really scarred me emotionally.
Eventually, physical classes started again. I was excited to return to school, but it wasn’t the same. It turns out that all the social media and lack of real interaction had degraded our social skills. I found it hard to connect with people, and I wasn’t the only one. We all had become a bit awkward and unsure of how to communicate in person. It was like we had forgotten how to be around each other.
On top of that, our studies had suffered. Our minds were filled to the brim with thoughts of social media, and we were constantly distracted whether it be in or out of class. We couldn’t focus on our studies, and many of us didn’t know half of the things we studied too. It didn’t help that at the time, most of our teachers were recovering from the lockdown too. Physically, we were unfit, having spent so much time indoors with little exercise. We were all like big balloons. None of us were in shape. All we did was talk and reference online classes. Returning to the routine of school life was challenging, and it took maybe a year for things to start feeling somewhat normal again.
In hindsight, the pandemic taught me a lot about boredom, how to spend my time fruitfully and the importance of human connection in our lives. While I wouldn’t say I made the most of the time, in fact, I used it to worsen my life but I certainly learned valuable lessons that I carry with me to this day. Its effects are still within me today. I mean, my brain is still intoxicated, and my body is still unfit. But I am trying to better myself. But I do have another worry. With all these monkeypox outbreaks, are we sure another lockdown won’t occur? Are we sure history won’t repeat itself?
Student Grade : 9 Dhruva
School : Ujjwal Tara School, Kathmandu, Nepal
