Written by Vanya Nanda, a grade 8 student 

5th May  2020 

Everyone can show their courage in the heat of the moment but not anyone is capable of handling the situation with patience. 

There are 3.45 million confirmed cases of Coronavirus in the world. India has about 46,711 people suffering from it and till now about 1500 deaths have occurred, which has made us afraid of the deadly virus. But, there is a saying that with disaster comes opportunity – and I feel that new opportunities and experiences are knocking at a doors everyday.

My world during these times is  totally different from those that had been earlier. When I meditate upon this, I realize that earlier my life was on a reckless, impulsive,rapid, monotonous, dull and sudden endless track – but this disease has taught me to stop, to breathe, to think about enjoying and not winning.

This  has actually taught us the basic things in life that we had forgotten. It is reminding me of my precious health and how I have neglected it. It is reminding me that life is short, so the most important thing to do is, to live. It is the first time when my whole family is at home and I am spending my time with them and I have understood how important my family and home life is and how much we neglected it. 

These days have been a mix of excitement and sadness. Sad because people are dying, their families are suffering and many people are living in poor conditions. But at  the same time it is very exciting because of the ways in which our Prime Minister is motivating us. I too,with my family, clapped  in my balcony for 15 minutes. I  too switch off the lights and lit a candle in my room these small things are what has made my life exciting .

But it has become a bit strange not going out on the weekends, not meeting friends, not being able to go to school. Apart from all this, though, it has  given me a sense of responsibility towards my family and has taught me that when there is no one, there is family, always, forever.

On a more wider perspective we see that  we are all equal regardless of our culture religion, occupation and financial situation. This disease treats all of us equally and perhaps we should do too.  This has taught us that we are all connected and something that affects one person has an effect on another. It is reminding us that the false borders that we have put at every place  have very little value and this virus is not any passport to travel to more than 200 countries, so what are the small barriers for?

Whereas many people see the Coronavirus as a great disaster, I prefer to see it as a great corrector. This can be a new beginning and this can be a time of reflection and understanding where we learn from our mistakes or it can be the start of a new cycle which will continue until we finally learn the lesson we are meant to.

Written by Vanya Nanda