Covid-19 has brought the world to its knees. It has so disrupted the way we live and work that, in its aftermath, the world may never be the same again. Forced to remain indoors for weeks on end, people have had to reorganise an entire gamut of their daily activities, including work schedules, means of communication and sources of entertainment. The teenagers, and the student community in general, too are staring at uncertain times with their formal classes in limbo and a question mark hanging over their annual and competitive examinations.
Here’s a firsthand account by a teenager of how he has had to adjust to what could well become the new normal. Sumeir Bhatia (14), a grade 9 student of George Washington University Online High School (GWUOHS) based in Virginia, USA, likes to play basketball, and surprisingly for his age spends considerable amount of time reading books related to world politics. His recent read is ‘Third World To First – The Singapore Story’ by Lee Kuan Yew.
Photo By : Life In Chandigarh
Over the past few weeks, the world has been shaken to its core. Covid-19 has completely changed how millions of people go about their daily life. I am no exception to this rule. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, many countries across the world have ordered strict curfews, including our very own India. Gone are the days when I would often go to the movies with friends or invite them over to play basketball at my house.
For the first few days it was expectedly very tough; not being able to play with my friends, or chat with them face to face, was a quite a difficult ask of a teenager. However, I decided not to focus on what I can’t do and instead concentrate on what I can do.
Having set a routine that allows me to maximise my time in both maintaining social relations online and keeping up with academic commitments, I have found that starting my day by exercising for about 40 minutes helps me keep my mind fresh and body active throughout the day.
I start my studies, which nowadays is online with my tutors, around 10 o’clock. Initially sceptical about studying online, it came to me as a pleasant surprise that virtual classes could well nigh be a blessing in disguise; I am able to study, understand and prepare effectively for my exams and at the same time have a fruitful and interactive dialogue with my teachers.
After devoting my morning to studies, I usually rewind later in the afternoon with my friends. We get together virtually on a social media platform to touch base with each other. All of us are raring to share jokes and other interesting information we have gathered since we last met. Cracking stupid jokes at each other is often how we lay a base for the virtual meeting.
Despite conscious efforts to avoid, daily Covid-19 related developments happening around us invariably creep into the conversation. More often than not we get a feeling that though we are all well versed with the situation prevailing locally, nationally and internationally, an underlying element of fear and uncertainty is still quite palpable. But then we are able to convince ourselves that like other difficult situations before it this too is temporary and will pass.
Around 4 pm, after my maths classes, I go outdoors to play basketball in our driveway with a friend, who lives with us. After an hour’s vigorous play it’s time to freshen up and spend some quality time with grandparents. It’s always a joy spending time with them, but in these extraordinary times the moments spent in their company is all the more rejuvenating for me and them. The cheer which our long chats bring to their faces, especially after being exposed to an overdose of daily dreary news about the pandemic spreading its tentacles, gives me such pleasure as nothing else in this world.
I must admit that this constant barrage of depressing global news has heavily impacted me, my friends and family. Witnessing an exponential rise in the number of Covid-19 cases globally and at a fast clip in India is quite disturbing, but the national response to control this virus in our country is, at the same time, quite reassuring.
I see the irresponsible acts of a few people in not following the rules and guidelines of personal and community conduct as being the single largest contributor to compounding of the crisis. Going forward, a systematic opening up of the lockdown with extensive testing, tracing and social distancing will probably be the key to effectively managing and containing this virus.
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