A Year of Fear, Change, and the Chance to Pause
By Isha Thakur, Delhi, India
On 24th March 2020, the Prime Minister announced a lockdown in India. It was one of the most unusual things that I have witnessed in the 18 years of my life. Even though I had read about ‘coronavirus’ in the news, I didn’t really take it seriously. I assumed it to be any normal virus which wouldn’t cause any danger. However, when the whole country remained in lockdown, news of the death of hundreds of people reached my ears, and stricter rules were imposed, I realised this virus invisible to our naked eyes could possibly destroy us, and unfortunately it happened to be true.
In less than three months, I witnessed the impact of a global pandemic which shook every nation. I will describe what I personally experienced.
I was in the last year of my school and all of a sudden I had to move to online classes to study. We struggled to use technology since it wasn’t given priority in school, still we tried to adapt. Spending 6–8 hours in front of the screen deteriorated my physical health and my friends the same. Back pain, muscle strain, neck pain became a part of our lives. My eyesight is already weak and it has worsened now.
I have graduated from school but I didn’t get to enjoy it. I was always at home, now we are going to different universities but don’t have a chance to say proper goodbyes by having a graduation ceremony or a farewell. My university will start in the last week of August and it will be online. Though we all are trying to adapt to the new “normal,” we need normal classes, schools and colleges to reopen. As a student, I’m not able to study very efficiently online and I feel that’s the same for others.
My family fortunately didn’t suffer much physically, but the pandemic hit us economically. Since there was a lockdown, thousands of field workers couldn’t go to work and my father was one of them. He couldn’t do his work from home, thus a huge chunk of his monthly salary (around 70%) was cut for two months. There was a pay cut in the upcoming months as well. My sister lost her job as a junior accountant due to the shutdown. Even though it’s been a year and a half, the constant fear of losing his job is still on my father’s mind, and he has been working for the company for over 10 years. He and his colleagues complied with pay cuts, irregular work hours, and almost everything because they were aware one mistake could mean them getting laid off and left with nothing other than to see their families starve. My father went to work after some restrictions were lifted, endangering himself. Masks, social distancing and sanitizers surely are good preventive measures but the risk of losing one’s life is always there. Any sneeze, little fever or cough terrified us to the core in the past year. The persistent fear and stress was always on our minds.
The fear turned into reality when many of my relatives, neighbours and close friends contracted COVID-19. The deaths of some of these people was nothing less than a nightmare. A virus, negligible in size compared to the human body, took away lives. I saw Instagram posts, tweets, and WhatsApp status messages where people were pleading for immediate help when Delhi faced an oxygen shortage in hospitals. The second COVID wave in April-May 2021 helped me realise I am fortunate to be able to breathe. Nothing else really mattered, being able to breathe became a privilege. The footage of people dying on the Delhi roads because there were no hospital beds and oxygen cylinders was a sight no one would ever like to witness. It seems the situation has improved a little, but the dark clouds of a third wave are chasing us.
The past 16 months have been very tough for everyone. I had a fair share of difficult times, but just like any other situation this pandemic had a little bright side. I got the opportunity to pause and take a break from the continuous marathon of life. I took the time to be introspective and think about myself, the direction in which I am heading, and my life specifically. It was an important break for my mental health as well. The stress, anxiety, and uncertainty of the time had really worn me out.
I also had ample time to focus on my university search and application, which I wouldn’t have had if I had to spend four hours traveling to school and six hours in classes. And for the first time in ages, I was able to spend a good amount of time with my family and have fun. While I hope the world never experiences another pandemic like this one, this challenging year has unexpectedly brought a few good things.
