The Corona virus has, in some way, affected everyone's lives and changed some for the worse. However, the measures the government has taken to save the lives of others could have prevented ruining some other peoples' lives before they even knew it. This is how my life has changed since the first day word got around on social media that there was a virus originating from China.
When I had first heard about the virus, nothing like this had ever occurred in my life until now, so I somewhat brushed it off. I lived in Australia, an island in the middle of the sea, and whenever I had heard about viruses the previous years leading up to that moment, those viruses typically remained in the countries they originated from. Of course I was concerned for the sick people who had caught the virus and hoped they would get better and it would all calm down in a few weeks or months. What could possibly happen to me, or the rest of the world?
I didn't keep in touch with the media too much, so I went on with my business at school, having fun with my friends and going to the park, or to the shops occasionally. A few weeks later, sitting at an art class and sketching out a toy, I overheard a conversation between my art teacher and one of my classmates. I tried to focus on my drawing, but phrases and words coming from their conversation reached my ears and my curiosity grew. Small phrases such as 'staying at home', 'school closes down' and 'corona virus' were repeated in their conversation and my classmates had long forgotten their art projects and were chattering to the teacher about their concerns. I silently paid attention to their conversation. This was so sudden. Had the virus from a few weeks ago become so serious that something like this had to happen? Would I really be getting a longer holiday? I focused on my drawing and ended up finishing, unlike my other classmates that began to converse about what they'd be doing if school closed early. And as I left the classroom, travelling down the stairs, the thought of what the virus had been doing to other people after all this time.
Slowly, I started hearing more and more about this virus the more time passed. It was inevitable to not hear about it. At school, many of my classmates began to disappear, one by one, until there were barely enough students to form a decent class. On the internet, it was all people could talk about and warnings began popping up everywhere. The news barely talked about anything but the virus, and who had died and who hadn't. All the shops that I had been going to before the pandemic all had closed down suddenly. I couldn't even go online without Corona virus warnings screaming in my ears in my music app (I'm listening to one right now as I write this). The cases grew and grew, while more people panicked and began to prepare for when the virus really hit. The more the virus spread, so did racism towards asians, which infuriated me because those attacking others weren't doing really anything to help and only further increased my concerns.
Once we were called in for an emergency assembly at my school (of course, every person sat a seat/
two seats apart), where my principal announced that we would be beginning online school a week before the holidays and a week after. I didn't think much of it, and my classmates began bringing all their folders home in their backpacks, looking like turtles with the heavy weight on their backs. Before I knew it, online school started, and while I managed with it decently it was still a super new experience. And according to the adults that I knew, it was likely I wouldn't be experiencing a situation like this for possibly the rest of my life.
Staying inside all the time started to get boring, and many of my friends agreed with me. I started doing things I thought I'd never be doing, like playing my favourite old video games (which had certainly changed since the last time I played them, which must have been years ago), or watching my old favourite shows (I'm rewatching Total Drama Island, and I recently watched a few episodes of Camp Lakebottom, which of course you might be aquainted with if you've read my blog). It gave me more time to do things, but the huge number of people internationally that had been negatively affected by the virus remained in my mind. Of course, a cure hadn't been found yet and I still had to be very careful when going outside for a walk, but I still was trying to make the most of it as much as possible.
Of course, the virus still exists as of right now and it is impossible to ignore the numbers of people being diagnosed with it/the amount of people that have died because of it, but keeping our heads up in this sort of situation really helps us have a more positive outlook on this situation. I really do think that all of us who have been keeping each other safe and even just washing our hands should get a pat on the back, because it all eventually adds up.
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