COVID-19
Life in Lockdown
Waking up can be really harsh, especially if your dreams are better than reality. Slowly and reluctantly, I uncovered my face. I blinked, closed my eyes, and blinked again. Streaks of sunlight penetrated the window and blinded me. I sat up, dragged my feet off the bed, and rubbed my knuckles onto my eyes. I stretched my arms above my head and yawned. I was still angry about the fact that the exam I had been waiting for the whole year had been canceled. March 19, 2020, the day when I was supposed to be appearing for my SEE Examination. The day, I and my family had been waiting for. I had been putting my all effort and giving my best for this examination. Unfortunately, the night I was all set to give this examination, I get the news: ‘The SEE Examination has been postponed until further notice.’ I was bewildered. That was the start of my days of lockdown.
After my exam got postponed, I didn’t even feel like studying. But I knew that this could be my chance to practice more and be better. But I decided to give myself a break and start studying after a few days. On the first day, I just thought of organizing my study areas. I had messed it up with papers, copies, and books lying around. So, I just cleaned the area and continued with the novel that I had left on hiatus.
During this time of lockdown, I helped my parents clean and caught up with my hobbies. I wrote a few poems and published them on a site called ‘Quotev’ where I received around 85 reads. I even bedecked my room. I painted ‘Mandala’ on my door which kind of scrutinized my patience level. Drawing the Mandala on my door was very difficult to work. But I am proud of how it turned out to look. During this time of lockdown, most people have spent their days doing things they actually enjoy. I mean, who has time for their hobbies and interests when they are busy in their monotonous lifestyle. Talking about it, in my family, everybody tries cooking a new food item and later sends the pictures and discusses the recipe in the family group chat. Normally, it is only the mother's cooking for the family, but now even the fathers and the children are getting involved. It feels like everyone is on for a challenge. And I am pretty sure, by the end of this lockdown, everyone is going to be gaining weight. But as much as we are challenging each other for new food recipes, we are even having challenges with exercises. Every time someone comes up with a tough exercise, everyone starts rolling up their socks to win it. However, there are a few silly and frivolous challenges too.
Typically, the conversations are mostly about how their day was and after talking for a while, everyone is off to their work again. But now, the conversations are really interesting and everybody has time without any hurry. Normally, even during the weekends, my dad would have to manage the finance work of his business and me and my brother would have our school assignments, so we could rarely spend time with each other. But due to the lockdown, none of us have to worry about it. We spend the afternoon playing games like Ludo and Carom board or watching movies. Similarly, we spend the evening playing badminton because at that time sun wouldn’t be a problem and my dad even teaches me, my brother, how to ride the scooter.
To be honest, I hadn’t expected that the coronavirus pandemic would actually cause the whole world to face a lockdown. ‘Everything happens for a reason.’ Even though this pandemic has caused a lot of problems in the world, it has brought the family members closer; the pollution of different natural sources all over the world has decreased and liberated wildlife. People have started enjoying family time. Normally, people get so busy in their routine that allocating time for their family becomes arduous. Parents are in a haste to get to their work and the children go to school, after that remedial classes and onus of their homework. Precisely after the lockdown, families have come closer and started spending quality time with each other. But I heartily wish that this pandemic would be over soon. In conclusion, I would like to request everyone to please stay home and stay safe. Due to this lockdown, the Earth is finally becoming a cleaner and greener place. So, even after this lockdown ends, please uphold the cleanliness and the greenery.
By Swastika Shrestha
The End
