Written By Neil Goradia (Grade 8)
“If you want the rainbow, you have to put up with the rain” ~Dolly Parton.
The year 2020, started off as any normal year. We had festivities, outings, and of course, work. Everyone. From the humblest hawker to the busiest businessman, we all had work. For students, it was school or college and for old people, it was figuring how to survive another day and enjoy their lives to the fullest. Everyone was occupied. Then, disaster struck. The Coronavirus Covid 19 which had originated in Wuhan, China began its spread across the globe. On March 13th, India went into a lockdown. It was meant to be a three-week lockdown. That lockdown has been going on for nine months now.
As my family went into lockdown mode, having nothing to do, we took the time to express our passions. For me, it was origami and piano. My parents had to work from home, so it was usual for them, but they too did some cooking and baking. My brother enrolled in an online art class that focused on improving his ability to paint what he was imagining. Our passions were an outlet for us, to channel all the stress, fear, doubt, and anxiety out of our minds. They greatly helped us during the initial three weeks of the lockdown.
As the initial three weeks were about to get over, we all felt as if things could go back to normal, but in our minds, we knew that the facts don’t match up. The world was yet in havoc and we had done our research and we knew that the shortest duration for a vaccine to come to market had been three years. Sure enough, the lockdown was extended. With all this free time, I began to learn new skills such as 3D modeling and coding. I soon got a good know-how on computers and took on many projects such as designing a marble run and making a ventilator for an M.I.T. combat corona competition. I greatly focused on learning new things and expanding my database of knowledge and know-how during the first two months. Then, my school started on an online platform called Microsoft teams. I was one of the very fortunate to be a student in Dhirubhai Ambani International School as unlike most children, my learning process did not slow down or terminate during the lockdown due to my amazing teachers and a powerful learning platform. My brother on the other hand had to watch the occasional video that his school uploaded on their website.
I was kept occupied by school as I got homework, tests, and assignments, just like I would in physical school. I had to give terminal exams and do group projects. It was as though nothing had changed. I have to admit that I was a little scattered as I had neither been to my school to learn nor had I met my teachers or classmates.
Again, I will say that I am very very lucky as I have a roof over my head, food on my table, and an extremely loving family by my side. I cannot say the same about the homeless people sitting outside on the streets. Their lives have been the most affected by the covid 19 Coronavirus. They cannot afford to buy a mask which may give them some resistance against the coronavirus. Humanity is the dominant species on planet earth yet a being a millionth the size of a drop of water has brought us to our knees. As the year 2020 comes to an end, there is hope for a vaccine. A cure to the coronavirus covid 19. Covid 19 and 2020 came as a great thunderstorm, but with a single sliver of light from the vaccine, we will see the rainbow of freedom and hope.
Featured Image Courtesy – Viap
