Life almost came to a halt after the declaration of lockdown countrywide. Everyone was pretty much struggling with the new lifestyle and that is staying home .No going out, no weekend plans, no hangouts, no university club meetings. All of a sudden every work came to an end .The wave of corona has made people lose their loved ones .Everyday death news became part of our lives. Our economy suffered , poor people struggled financially. Some lost jobs while others started working from home being in quarantine. Gradually online classes resumed after 2-3 months in lockdown .At the start of lockdown nobody was allowed to go outside except emergency also transports services were closed . In the beginning it was very depressing because this overwhelming change of routine was really unbearable, staying home 24/7 was not possible as I rarely stayed home .Though my cousins and I stayed connected virtually , I felt upsetting as I couldn’t meet them or plan any hangouts. As my semester ended abruptly, no notice were given so we were unsure about semester finals . As weeks passed, I felt real low because I didnt do anything productive only then I realized that it was high time to put effort and time to those tasks that I always wanted to do but couldnt really do because of time issues. During such period despite all this arising tension I chose to stay positive. I have seen many people flying colorful kites in the sky this looked so beautiful. I was intrigued by this, I didnt wait and next day I also flew kites up above , it was really fun to let it wander in the sky and compete others in the late afternoon. After the arrival of Corona we became very cautious about our daily intake , we included vitamin C ,lime and oranges , ate chicken and egg as these are healthy foods also cooked fresh vegetables . this allowed us to do some gardening on rooftop and planted many vegetables , watered them regularly,took a great care of them, this was very satisfying to watch them grow each day . As I watched many live videos and vlogging videos in social media , I was also interested to share my thoughts so I did little vlogging to express my thoughts and feelings . I learnt basic cooking skills how to prepare rice and curry tried myself different recipes evening snacks, I believe cooking is an art , I loved learning it .
As our servants were also in lockdown , I helped my mom doing household chores , prepared our beds , cleaned dust, sanitised every hook and nook of the house with bleaching liquid .
Sadly, I lost my regular routine, couldnt keep up the old one. Since I slept late at night , everyday I watched new series and in between completed movies, this became my addiction as a result I completed watching almost 200+ movies in quarantine.
Often, I found myself stressing out , in order to feel good I practised mindfulness, that allowed me to discover my inner self and also helped me to stay positive and light . I learned yoga and meditation from youtube and practised it regularly for one and half month . The experience was incredible! As I gained quite a lot in quarantine due to high calorie intake and long hours of sleeping , I worked out regularly putting music in loud and gradually lost 5 pounds .To burn calories, I also danced , practised quite a lot of celebrities dance style. This is to say, exercise helped me mentally, I was stress free and helped me to sleep better, amazingly boosts my mood. Sometimes I sang songs in karaoke and made cover of my favorite songs. Since I had plenty of time, I took a great care of my face and hair which was not possible before, picked aloe vera from my garden and made hair masks, did weekly hair treatment at home, used home remedy for my face. As a result, my skin glowed and my hair fall reduced . In this quarantine I have attended a lot of webinars , useful live sessions , listened TED talks some motivational speeches to motivate me . Surprisingly, I have discovered my own latent talent . I never knew I had interest in dancing and music.
Now that theres no lockdown , I hope we can blend into new normal, taking all the safety measures all the time and practising social distancing. I hope we can survive the second wave of corona in the upcoming winter and keep ourselves immensely strong .
Sheikh Ikraah Taiyaba
University Category
GB107