Year 11 Whalley Range
Chaos rides our lives.
Schools, hotels, flights, airports, public gatherings all cancelled. I don’t know what to call this: strike 2 of the plague, a chapter from a dystopian novel, a scene from a grotesque horror movie- no words can truly exhibit the bewilderment that’s driving everyone’s minds towards madness.
Everything was fine yesterday. We were in school, carrying out our tedious daily routine, we got back home, finished our homework and were ready to do it all again tomorrow. Until this happened…
“Breaking news: Europe is at the epicentre of the world pandemic.” At first, this all seemed like an outbreak of a disease that was going to last a week or so and die out; everyone anticipated the media was exaggerating everything as it usually does. Day one passed and the only conversation I have ever heard today was this new “corona” mess- everyone forgot about: the protests in Iraq, the Australian wildfires, the millions of innocent children dying of famine in Yemen, the Chinese camps- it was all abandoned.
Week one passed; people were beginning to avoid anyone that coughs or sneezes, to minimise their risk of inhaling the deadly virus lurking on every particle. Hanging out with friends became less common; there was a perpetual motion in and out of shops as people swept the shelves clear of items, in fear of a food shortage. One month had passed, the world flipped upside down as everyone was forced into lockdown mode- no more school, no more work, the only thing anyone could do was stay at home.
Businesses were closed down- not only did the economy suffer from this immensely but this had massive impacts on people’s lives, and the alterations that were made may never be able to be restored. Despite the 21st century having the biggest reputation for its technological advancements, and improvements to the efficiency of society in general, corona virus sure was successful in preventing us from continuing the technological revolution. Famous tech companies have been shut down and the internet is only getting slower as more people are beginning to use it as a cure for their boredom.
Looking back at New Year’s Day of 2020, all the smiling faces and creative celebrations, as we stepped foot into the new decade, struck my memories. Restaurants were filled, music was blasted, fireworks were lit and the streets continued to pour with people, joy and laughter. Little did we know we were in for bigger surprises.
Throughout this century, scientists and engineers have been working laboriously to create an indestructible body: an efficient system that continues over many generations, a system that meets our desires yet establishes a healthier relationship with our world of nature, simultaneously. Our skeleton was our transportation system of roads and railways, which enabled us to move and our nervous system was the internet, which allowed to connect. Albeit this body was fragmented into pieces by a miniscule pathogen (which can’t even be classified as living). STEM project plans have been put on hold and corona virus manages to win again as it unfortunately attacks a substantial proportion of the population’s bodies with its toxic, crown like antigens.
Everyday feels like a tedious scene from a movie on repeat, every day is the same, there’s nothing new anymore yet we never know what’s coming. Some have used this to their advantage; with all the extra time on their hands, they have made the time enjoyable by picking up a new hobby, facetiming friends and spending more time with family- surprisingly these tasks would all improve social skills despite social distancing measures. When we (eventually) get out of quarantine we would be witnessing the tremendous transformations of everyone’s personalities as they pursue new passions and interests. Hopefully, it’ll be a world of friendly people, who are grateful for everything around them and appreciate the freedom they are given. Or maybe that’s just wishful thinking. Maybe we would just return to the world of corruption since the economy has been one of the factors that have been devastated by the outbreak.
Sitting on the couch all day and binge watching TV hasn’t cured my extreme boredom but it gives me a lot to think about; the adverts on: water aid, orphanages and animal care has certainly made me appreciate the simple things in life. During our time at home, we are unable to see the bigger picture- the furthest view we can imagine now is our garden- gratitude is one of the most prominent factor to everyone’s lives at this time, especially. It’s almost as if our expeditious lives were purposely stopped to give us this time of reflection; to make us picture the lives of the vulnerable, poor and needy, in order to end a world of inequality.
On a normal day, I would be writing to escape from reality- I would use my words to allow optimistic thoughts to flow into me again. From this drastic change of writing style, I have convinced myself that the world I know today is not the same as what it used to be. Most importantly, however, is the fact that I haven’t lost hope. If the world perpetuates with its unpredictable events, I know that everyone can only change for the better because now, people are longing to go back to their ‘normal’ lives, the things that they used to dread. Perhaps this may lead to a more productive and passionate workforce, that’s ready to work, regardless of the circumstances.
No one knows when and if our ‘normal’ lives will become a reality again. Despite this, we must refuse to let corona conquer our world. We must work together (not physically- obviously) to bring an end to it and start a new chapter at 2021.