And It Took Me 45 Days of Quarantine to Know About the Importance of Climate Change
May 1st, 2020, exactly one and a half months since the start of the lockdown. The number of people getting affected by this virus was increasing day by day all over the world. There was a guy(me obviously), stuck at home, finding it tough to deal with the fact that he had spent the last 45 days of his life at home without going out a single day of his quarantine.
According to the News, our Government was considering extending the lockdown for another two weeks. I couldn’t handle that news. So, I decided to just give up taking all the precautionary measures for the prevention of coronavirus disease after getting tired of being at home for so long. I then made my mind to go out the next day during the morning time when everyone at home was asleep. I was unaware that what I am going to experience the next morning will be a life-changing view of nature that I have never experienced before.
Let’s Rewind It To The Day When It All Started:
It was mid of March 2020. Other than China every other country around the world was having another great day of a great month(at least the start of that month was great). Everything around was normal except for me. I was preparing for my Postgraduate examination and 18th March was the date of my exam, the exam which I was not well prepared for, but I decided to go for it. I had heard that there are some cases of coronavirus that have appeared in my Country.
At the start, all the educational institutions were being closed. I was a little afraid and was praying for my exam not to get canceled because of this pandemic. But unfortunately, a day before my exam, I got the news of my exam getting canceled too. Our government had decided to lock down the whole of the country for an indefinite period.
I was upset when I heard that news but I was also happy as I took that news as an opportunity to improve myself for my exam and also to have a break from the stressful life I was living for so long. I’d made a lot of plans to do during the time of lockdown but unfortunately, not a single plan go the way I wanted it to go( I guess this happens to everybody). All I did, during the pandemic, was watching Netflix and scrolling down my Facebook feed and reading about coronavirus news. All that added up my stress level and by no means, it felt like a break from that previous stressful life but rather started to drive my mind crazy.
During those 45 days, my body had started to look out of shape. My hair was very long as all the hair salons were closed, so I could not have a haircut. Seeing myself in the mirror was also very depressing as I was looking so ugly with a rounded belly and long hair. Surely, this pandemic did not prove to be an opportunity I needed but rather another obstacle of an already miserable life.
My father never allowed any of our family members to go out of the house. He is a doctor, so he probably knew how severe this disease can get. But he didn’t know how tough it was for me to stay at home for so long. I desperately needed a break from that routine where all I used to do, was to wake up, eat, use the washroom, and sleep.
On 44th day of the lockdown, I decided that I would go out of our house, taking all the precautions to prevent acquiring the virus(Yeah! At the start, I thought to give up taking these precautionary measures, but I guess I also have a responsibility towards my parents. I never wanted to be the reason to spread the disease to my parents. So I had to take care of myself). I didn’t tell anybody at home that I’ll be going out tomorrow morning for a walk through the city.
How did 45th Day of Lockdown Become So Memorable For Me?
45th day of the lockdown. I woke up early in the morning before my alarm goes off. I couldn’t sleep that night properly as I was excited about going out after such a long time. I got out of my bed, wore my green color tracksuit and a pair of white jogging shoes along with a face mask and hand gloves.
At 7:00 AM I was out of my house. I must say, coming out of my own house felt as if I was breaking out of prison. I then started heading towards the main road of our city, the area where I used to go for a walk before the pandemic. I was lucky that during that time I did not find any Policeman there on the road.
After coming out of home after such a long time, I started noticing each and everything that morning. This time the world felt different to me. It looked so fresh to me as if I was seeing it for the first time.
That pollution-free fresh air felt refreshing to me. When I inhaled it, it felt like it’s not just going into my lungs, but to the whole of my body and to my brain where it felt like it was healing the nerves of my brain that were traumatized by the time I spent being isolated in that tiny little four-walled house of mine.
Not a single person did I see in the city during that one hour walk. A city that is usually jam-packed with cars and buses even in the morning time, seemed so empty that day.
The sky was much visible that morning. Trees were much greener than usual. I could even hear the birds there on the trees, singing the songs of freedom, and of getting their environment back from the cruel mankind.
Why suddenly am I starting to love the same scenery that I am already familiar with? Is it because I have spent one and a half months at home and I have forgotten that it is all same as it was before the lockdown? Or, Is it really because of the lockdown that nature has started healing itself which is the reason why everything looks new to me?
Many such questions started popping up in my mind. I did not know the real reason for the change. So, I just made myself believe that this was all because of that 45 days quarantine effect on my mind, nothing else. But my mind wasn’t satisfied with the answer and it kept on telling me that it was us, the humans, who have destroyed our environment just because of our greed.
I was out just for 1 hour that morning, but that 1 hour convinced me to believe that the last 45 days of my quarantine were needed to realize the fact that we are the real reason behind our climate change. Human beings need to know that it is our environment that connects all of us with each other and with other species and we need to take steps to protect our environment from climate change.
