Reflections on the first anniversary of lockdown

Life changes in the blink of an eye. One day we are smiling, the other we are not.

Nothing is permanent. Can someone teach this to Covid-19 who has held us, humans, by our breaths (pun intended)?

After ONE FULL YEAR of our changing normals, what are the reflections?

Positive

1. The Virtual Upgrade

Everything can be done by screens. Did we expect this at all?

Going to the office every day for what? When you can simply do the same work sitting on the soft couch all day.

Online classes were a hassle at first for both teachers and students but we are much more habituated now, aren’t we?

2. Accepting each other

Spending 24 hours with the family has its own perks too. You see some new things about them every day as well. Our siblings and parents are not perfect people just like us. We learned to deal with our emotions too and being more loving and tolerant to other human being. This sounds like a psychology research experiment.

3. Unleashing the hidden talents/passion

Everything can be learned from youtube I feel so. There is no skill you cannot learn from the creator-filled video sea that is youtube. I never explored drawing since I left it in school days. I was very motivated to work out but without the gym, I followed youtube tutorials which honestly were one of the best time investments.

Want to cook something but don’t have an oven? Or no cheese for the pizza? Or no puris available for pani puri? Youtube has got your back.

4. Education without borders

Online classes not only from your regular college but from other universities too. Harvard offered n number of short courses for free for a limited amount of time. Stanford had so many certification courses. One truly does not need to spend a dime to gain knowledge if she/he is keen enough.

5. No more excuses to take care of fitness

“But, where is the time?” we say as we are scrolling through Instagram for the 15th time in that day while laying in our bed.

It is no more an excuse. A complete day to yourself with a few hours of online classes is something we all wished for at some point in our lives. Yes, it became a reality and now it was on us to make the best of it.

Negative

1. The reality of news ( flash, TRP, publicity, far from reality giving u anxiety attacks)

News, media tried to increase our anxiety by false claims and heavy statements.

Our psychological balances were disturbed.

Now we know the reality.

2. Stress and fear of being infected

There is so much stress to avoid the infection. With the cases around us and Maharashtra state hitting a second wave, we are scared. It has not been easy to listen to the number of deaths occurring every day. We are petrified and all we can do is pray while following the norms by the government authorities.

3.From march to march and here it comes again

Corona loves the month of March. Didn’t the researchers say that coronavirus will be more active around the rains? I’m guessing that is not the case.

The infectivity seems to be on the rise in summers.

We need to be more cautious.

4. Can't trust the vaccine

There have been many debates about the efficacy of the vaccine. It is a blessing indeed to develop a vaccine in such a short time, but have heard cases of infection after taking the vaccine, everything seems uncertain.

5. Still unable to get over the fact that it has been a full year

How did we all manage at homes for a full year? Except for the doctors and medical students, everyone has stayed home. How has it been 12 months already?

A flashback of the year may have kickstarted your thoughts as well. Maybe you can journal down your thoughts on this.

Rtr Srishti Srivastava

Rtr Niti Thakkar

Editors 2020-2021

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