The first few days of the lockdown might have been enjoyable but as days went by, many people felt different degrees of anxiety, restlessness and despair.
But there are many silver linings to this.
We are seeing a state of “lockdown” unfold all over the world. These are early days of living a life we are not familiar with and our mind keeps throwing out ‘what-if’ scenarios like, “Will my family be safe?” “What if I get sick?” “How will I spend my days?” and “What if I can’t cope?” If you are asking yourself questions like this without feeling reassured about the answers you come up with, you are not alone. A prolonged curfew or lockdown can impact our mental well-being in the face of a seemingly invisible pandemic.
The obligation to stay at home does not stress me out. I have been very homely and never felt the need to go out. But I miss going to school; I miss my archery practice but I also feel lucky because I’m healthy and in a comfortable home.
Apart from web school and homework, I am writing more, working out every day, helping my mom in the kitchen, watering the plants, playing mandolin and most importantly learning coding and programming. I did courses in basic coding and learnt how to develop website, apps and computer software. Coding is especially beneficial to students who are struggling with reading and Mathematics.
In addition, students often feel empowered when they create digital media and share it with others instead of just being consumers of digital media. It is important for learning to innovate, create eco-friendly solutions for global problems. Programming is important in our daily life to enhance and increase the power of computers and the internet.
Lockdown does not mean you get frustrated in all aspects of life. The one important aspect to remember is that you are not the only one facing the problem. You are asked to stay home for your own safety and that of the community.
With my experience in the field of complex pandemic emergencies, I can state that staying at home is important to control the spread of the disease.
Not everyone is lucky to see another day nor will we get a chance like this to be at home with people we love. Life and its chapters will grow but we need to adapt to positive and lateral thinking to fit into the fonts of the book. The choice of being bold, italics or just normal is left to you. Mother Earth will survive with or without us. The contra is not true. Let us learn to unlearn and get reintroduced to our true selves so that we can walk out after the lockdown into a new healthy world as a new person with new experiences and challenges.
(Contributed by Devraj Mohapatra,
Class VII, Kendriya Vidyalaya. One more essay on the same topic will be published next week)