The lessons 2020 taught me

The lessons 2020 taught me

As the clock struck midnight on the eve of New Year, wishes began pouring in – “wishing your family a happy new year and a great year ahead”. Well, when 2020 began, it was like just another calendar year and we were all getting used to writing “01.01.2020” instead of “01.01.19”. A couple of months passed and then came “COVID-19” followed by the “total lockdown”. Well, this lockdown has shown us the flip side of life; if you ask me how, I’d say all of us learnt the meaning of work-life balance. Kids got bored, parents got busy, elders had no choice, and in between all this chaos, some of us had panic attacks and emotional disturbances. Unquestionably, the year 2020 had some significant effects on our lives. It threw a spanner into everyone’s works. For better or worse, 2020 changed us. And now, looking back, we can see the lessons we have learnt about health, resilience, community, will power, etc, that will hopefully stick with us for the rest of our lives. I as a student learnt the following lessons from 2020:
1. The Value Of Simple Things (Never take anything for granted): Could we have ever imagined that the basic necessities like breathing normally (with no mask on), freely moving around, social interactions (not the virtual ones) would become luxuries? We have learnt to value, utilise and enjoy everything we have, even the simplest things. You never know when necessities become luxuries.
2. Human Potential: We have discovered a great capacity to fight whatever comes our way. All we need to do is to focus on our potential to accept, adjust, adapt and thus conquer, rather than to focus on our helplessness. Paying attention to our impotence only makes us more helpless. Switching over to our strength helps us to deal with any challenge and even overcome it.
3. Hope (The Most Powerful Anchor): if there be one thing that keeps us going and we should never lose, it is hope. Everything we may have lost can be recouped and we can bounce back if we maintain hope. However, the principle of being positive cannot be applied to anything and everything. It is painful that so many had to lose their dear ones due to COVID-19 and that is an irreparable loss. My prayers for the departed and for their families as well.
4. Humanity Is Not Dead: The pandemic showed us how there is so much goodness still existing in the world. So many wonderful souls walked the extra mile made personal sacrifices, pushed themselves to serve others without any cupidity (in small or big ways), thereby hoisting the flag of love, kindness and humanity high.
5. Responsibility: When we humans were away, Mother Nature returned to her pristine beauty. Trees, birds, animals and aquatics found themselves safe and secure. The water bodies were clean, the sky was clear, the air was free from pollution, and the soil pure. The message is loud and clear: We need to act responsibly when it comes to the environment. Not only should we live well but we should also leave a habitable planet for our future generation.

The writer is a Class 12 student. [email protected]

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