WQT Hall of Fame- Writing Contest- Amal Hussainy- Winner- Age Group 2
Please read her Submitted work as follows
Name: Amal Hussainy
Age: 13yrs
How Has My Life Changed Since the Pandemic Began?
Covid-19, Coronavirus, frontline workers, sanitize, pandemic, PPE. I bet everybody globally has had their fair share of hearing these words reverberating in their ears. If not anything, it has certainly increased my vocabulary. It has been a year since the notorious Coronavirus was announced as a global pandemic, causing obstruction in our daily routines. Schools, workplaces, grocery and retail stores, and extracurricular activities shifted from their physical existence to a virtual world to be accessible within the safety of our homes. Social distancing, masks and sanitizer were enforced to help the cessation of the spreading virus, resulting in being cooped inside our houses resembling the cabin fever phenomenon.
My pre-covid, typical teenage life, involved school routines, attending hockey practices and games, swimming lessons, religious studies, etc. There was never a dull moment in my life and everything played out beautifully, until the apocalypse of March 15, 2020 dawned on us.
Everything came to a standstill; it was like we were frozen in time; the roads were deserted; schools and offices were closed. Initially, it was a much-awaited dream come true for all children as the schools were shut. Gradually, the severity and impact of the pandemic hit me hard. I began to realize the causalities in enormous proportions occurring globally, this exacerbated the fear of fighting a foreign power.
With school being shut, online learning took place in the comfort of your bed while in your cozy pajamas and a toque over your eyes. It also highlighted the perils of the unmuted mic and candid footage of parents while their kids were hub-learning.
After a period of ennui, I became an expert in baking cookies, practiced my entrepreneurship by selling my crocheted headbands and earning a handsome sum of money. I rendered brightness to the bare kitchen wall, screaming for attention, with my seven year old sister’s and my artistic endeavors. This pandemic has taught me that there is a wide variety of hobbies that don’t involve electronics and we should incorporate them even after our lives return to what we call “normal”.
This experience provided ample opportunities to spend quality time with my family: creating memories through art, watching movies and going for impromptu dinner picnics in the park. Previously, between school, work, and extracurriculars with everyone rushing in and out of the house, fatigue would take over your body and the idea of being with your family was forgotten and dismissed. Nowadays, at home, a regular bout of game night occurs with all members of the family and heartful conversations take place around all meal times. These simple pleasures of life are essential in the long run as part of our childhood, shaping us to be the people we are in the outside world.
This current unprecedented time has provided me a humbling experience and brought me to cherish the little things that are frequently overlooked due to the fast-paced life we lead. I am now seeing the world through a new lens, a changed perspective, striving to be thankful for the time spent with my family and friends.
