Greetings Everyone!
The past year has been quite a journey. Never in my wildest dreams had I thought that I would experience a pandemic in my lifetime. But life sure is strange in all it’s mysteries. Everyone has suffered in this pandemic, but the degree of suffering is different for everybody. Everyone has had a unique experience of this pandemic. My experience has not been as dismal as it has been for others.
When the virus first appeared, no one thought of it as a pandemic-causing virus. At that time, I was busy preparing for my intermediate exams and entrance exams after that. I was grinding day and night oblivious of the fact that a pandemic was imminent. When I first heard the word corona and what it could do to a human body, I turned a blind eye to it because I never thought that it would reach my country.
When the virus finally reached my country and a lockdown was suddenly imposed, it was then that I came to know of the seriousness of the situation. All the schools, colleges, universities were closed till further notice. The uncertainty at that time was unnerving.
During the lockdown I finally got some time to invest on myself. Before the pandemic, I never got the time to explore my passions and talents. My routine was go to school, come back and have lunch, go to academy, come back, eat dinner and go to sleep. So this pandemic finally gave me the time I needed to explore my passions. I started making digital art and I also discovered my passion for space science and aerospace. Later I chose aerospace engineering as the field I would later apply for in universities. Yes! This pandemic helped me in finding my passions and interests.
While I was busy in exploring my interests, the COVID condition was worsening. The virus was taking a lot of lives. And in addition to that, it was causing a lot of confusion, fear and hysteria amongst the people, provided the scale of the crisis. The COVID condition was getting more and more stressful because it was hard to predict the future, as circumstances were changing rapidly. Everyone was waiting for the flattening of the curve so they could go back to leading a free and normal life. But as is the case in many aspects of our lives, there are things we can’t control, especially in this situation. These include actions and reactions of other people, how long the pandemic will last and what might happen in the future.
During this pandemic, at times, I got suffocated at the sight of those walls around me. It felt like they were getting closer and closer and the space around me was contracting more and more. I felt like a prisoner inside my own home. It was getting more and more unbearable. But then I thought of the sufferings of others. I thought of the sufferings of people who had no food left. I thought of the sufferings of the people who had lost their loved one’s. Then I came to the realization that I was privileged enough to have been living inside the safety of some walls and a roof while the rest of the world was falling apart. This pandemic made me realize that we should be thankful no matter what the circumstances are, because there are others that are less fortunate than us. As Sheikh Saadi once said,” *I cried when I had no shoes. But then I stopped crying when I saw a man without feet.* “
Although the future is uncertain, I am still hopeful. For the grass isn’t always greener, yet we still try to make the journey. The beauty of time is, whether good or bad, it passes. And this too shall pass!
Sincerely,
M Shayan Ali
001
Aero 19-B