I am Sapna, a student of English Hons, studying miles away from my hometown and living away from my parents. I used to get so engrossed in the daily chores of my life that I completely forgot to take out time for myself. Hence, in such a situation, I always had a secret wish wherein my university gets shut and I am asked to go back to my hometown and enjoy with my family. I never knew this thing would get satisfied and my speculation could turn into reality. This is something that happened to me in the initial part of 2020.
With the outbreak of coronavirus in the country, efforts were being made to spread the outbreak of the virus in the best possible manner. Therefore, during such times, it became essential to safeguard the safety of the people in the best possible manner. In such situations, the entire country was put to a lockdown wherein we had to rush to our home towns and at the same time, the entire country had come to a standstill. In order to prevent the people from going outside and come in contact with various people, the movement of the people was also restricted in the worst possible manner. In addition, the malls, cinemas, temples, community halls, schools, colleges, hotels, restaurants, etc were shut down.
The lockdown so imposed was so strict that the government had even specified the timings in which the people had to work and come outside the homeplace. What a situation that used to be! We used to wake early in the morning and buy the necessary stuff in the minimum possible time. There used to be so much of hustle and bustle in one hour and then for the rest of the day it was a pin drop silence that used to prevail outside the markets. Police used to patrol around and witness the miscreants and hence, at the same time, they used to reprimand the persons for having violated the rules which were imposed in the duration of lockdown. In such a situation, I became so lethargic. I used to wake up late in the morning and then again managed to sleep for a substantial part of the day.
However, the best part was to ensure that at least I was a bit productive towards the end of the day, and hence, at the same time, I made it a daily habit of learning something new in one or the other way. These news things included cooking Italian food and hence, at the same time practicing aerobics the same day. In addition, there were also some additional factors, which had to be taken into accord. There used to be many restrictions that even in the household we had to see. Therefore, in such a situation, we used to sanitize our hands every time we touched anything which came from outside. The fear of the virus has ingrained in the mind so much that every time an ambulance used to cross people were scared and silently prayed for the survivors. In addition, there was an attempt made to cook every single thing in the home itself. No food from outside was acceptable.
With respect to my studies, I developed the habits of engaging in research projects and learning the dimensions which have not been taken into accord earlier by us. I also bought many fictional and non-fictional books and read them for hours. Of course, Netflix topped my daily lists in the best possible manner. I used to binge-watch so many shows and the latest movies. In addition, I also spent the maximum time with my family which I somehow missed in the previous years. In addition, I made an attempt to bring out unique ideas for celebrating birthdays in the best possible manner. There have been other situations as well. I tried to cook for my family at times.
However, there were times when I used to miss my college, my friends, and the outings which we used to have when we were free and there were no restrictions in any manner. This actually made me realize the importance of everything in every single detail in my life.
Sometimes the atmosphere was very depressing owing to the increasing rate of infection. However, some corner of the heart was always hoping for the fact that the best is yet to come and this too shall pass. Therefore, during such times it was thought that these people like doctors and policemen who were giving the duty to safeguard us were our real heroes and we need to respect them in the best way.