It was on the 13th of March, 2020, that I and my best friend sat down under the dimly lit bulb opposite our academy’s café, after buying fries from money we had loaned from our other friends. We were really exhausted from giving not one, but two Pre-Board exams that day. With the aroma of freshly made French fries in the air, she said to me “I’m getting this feeling that today is our last day together in this academy.” She could not have been truer, as when I turned on the News channel after reaching home, I was shocked to see that the government had closed all educational institutes due to the newly discovered Corona Virus.
Looking back, the start of my experience was someone similar to every teen’s. I was happy to have both my parents and siblings home, because this gave us time to bond, have casual conversations over tea, play late night board games and take a break to relax from our otherwise fast-paced lives.
Time passed in between video calls with my friends, late night gaming sessions or anything to fill the void of the decrease in face-to-face conversations, until it was announced that we would be promoted without any exams. Now, to a student who had been exhausted from the burdens of Board Exams, I felt ecstatic beyond measure. Now, the time came to choose which field I was to pursue. After a great deal of contemplation, I chose to apply in IST, Islamabad for study Aerospace Engineering and pursue my childhood passion of aircrafts.
Side-by-side, I prepped for entry tests, read all the books on my to-read list and took a great deal of time to educate myself on my culture, my identity as an individual and the diversity around the world, form my opinions on various topics and be thankful for all the blessings I had which many people were unfortunate to lose during the pandemic.
Finally, the time came when I got into my desired university. At, the beginning it was exciting because studying in the online mode would make me feel more ‘relatable’ with the world or so I thought. But, I think the worst part about the pandemic so far has been the online education. In online education, you take a lot of time to set your pace right and be optimistic however, it only takes one bad quiz or internet connectivity issue to send that crumbling down. Other than that my social skills were badly affected, I couldn’t communicate well with my teachers or my peers.
But now, after almost 9 months in the online-mode, I feel a little more confident and mature. I feel that I have made mistakes and learnt from them. But something that I have learnt so far is that although meet ups with my friends are now less frequent and text messages are the only source of contact, company is not a necessity for happiness and fun. Sometimes, it is important to take time out from your social life, and do something for yourself with yourself whether it’s a late night movie or a solo walk. It is important for us not to depend on other people for happiness.
As time progresses, I have come to realize that the world will never be the same again but hopefully, when this pandemic ends and the dust settles, everyone will be able to adjust to this new world around us.
Sincerely,
Aiza Yawar
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Aero-19 A