My Relationship with the Corona Virus
My relationship with the coronavirus thus far has been quite fickle. We’ve been attached to each other for quite a while now. I live in Hong Kong which borders the epicentre and origin of what is now a global pandemic. In hindsight, it’s a love-hate relationship; at least from where I stand. I’ll explain in chronological order.
I left school in January thinking that I’d be gone for just a week, as it was Chinese New Year break. I didn’t think to say bye to my friends, teachers or staff because I’d be seeing them very soon. The average person forgets to appreciate these things when they’re so accustomed to them. We were supposed to have our mock exams in the following week, so that was the extent of my interests at the time.
I wore a mask on my way home, not due to any personal concern, but more so as an element of social conformity than anything else. My friends and I found it quite entertaining, honestly, philosophical even - seeing how contagious mass hysteria can be. People assume and panic over nonsense all the time, especially when there’s a scapegoat. Despite our blinding arrogance, however, we would have never been able to predict our current situation.
From then on, it just got weird. It was laughable. We couldn’t tell if we should be annoyed, happy or worried. Should we just blame China? I remained indifferent. My mocks had been cancelled and I was given 3 more weeks of break, if anything, I should be grateful right? By mid-February, I had travelled to Thailand, France and Israel, as if I somehow managed to cheat the system.
There’s a fine line between ignorance and naivety. I saw the situation as an extended holiday as opposed to a safety precaution. We all did. I’m a planner. Ironically, my biggest fear in life ever is losing control. Still unaware of the serious consequences the spread of the virus would have on economies, basic wellbeing and livelihood, concerns regarding my education, future, friends and structure began to have a serious impact on my mental health. Our lives became poisoned with uncertainties and I began to feel very lonely.
By March, the only aspect of my life I could control was my education and my motivation. I remained in close contact with all my friends and reassured myself that I would not fall behind in school. Within the context of my life, these were the immediate impacts of COVID-19. I was upset that the virus was stealing my last year of high school, upset that people couldn’t work and that the IB was under the impression that we’d actually be able to complete our final exams properly.
I eventually decided that flying back to Hong Kong as soon as possible was the smartest option. It was my safe haven. By now, borders were shutting down, countries were going on lockdown and Hong Kong had implemented a mandatory, government-issued quarantine period for all inbound travellers.
I think it is clear that at this point in the timeline, we were all fully aware of the multitude and severity of what was now known as a global pandemic. Concerns over when I’d see my friends again or anything of the sort were demoted to the bottom of the list. I was grateful for the extra time I got to spend with my family, however, it was time to go home.
When I landed in Hong Kong, I was informed that my grandfather passed away the day I left. Love-hate. I was able to spend his last days with him, and for that, I am indeed grateful. From then to now, everything’s blurry. I’m taking it day-by-day, just as I’m sure you are.
It is now April and no one knows what is going on. My calendar has been reduced to ‘yesterday, today and tomorrow’. No one saw this coming, and if you did, I wouldn’t have believed you. People are out of jobs, economies are in a recession, Zoom is the only thing keeping our education intact, my graduation dress taunts me regularly and I think we’re a bit lonely. But we’re lonely together maybe? Is that reassuring? I can’t tell.
Stay at home, wash your hands, count your blessings.
