Aryan Bhanot is a 17 year old student at Tiffins. He lives in Sunbury and wanted so share with readers the experience of lock down on his age group.
Everything that I expected 2020 to be, was anything but a series of unfortunate events. It was meant to be a stressful but exciting year to complete my exams, and take a step toward my A-Levels, yet it quickly turned into something rather bitter and distressing. As the very first lockdown was announced at the brink of spring, we students expected it to be an early Easter holiday that would give us a more substantial time to revise for exams; to ease the building stress and piling work we had to deal with. Two weeks turned into a month. A month turned into two months. And then we reached August, after the periodic blur of May, June and July. School was yet again knocking at the door. The uncertainty and fear that haunted me and many others who were in the similar position as I was (who were applying to university or college after their 2020 exams) was, in short, traumatizing.
The initial enthusiasm for the lockdown was soon followed by a state of depression; we couldn’t see our friends or family, nor did we have any idea of how we would be awarded grades. Between this roller coaster of emotion was entertainment: endless binge-watching on Netflix and Prime and Face Timing friends late at night. It was seemingly easy – there was no 6 AM start during the week and the days ended up merging into one. The only hardship we had to endure was not being able to enjoy the late spring and early summer weather with friends. But then the daily reports of deaths came. The cases continued to grow. So did our frustration. We were angry at the lack of support and information. A mockery was made of our situation, and advice continually changed.
Then we finally got our grades. Some were lucky. Some, like me, were not so lucky. Our lives were put on hold until November exams, when I had the chance to achieve the grades that I had worked for – not the ones I was ‘awarded’. It only caused us to think we were being thrown aside by the government. We were subsequently sent back to school to have a better shot at the new academic year. A glimmer of hope of being able to stay at school after tedious virtual lessons had permeated throughout us all. Still, we were sent back home after 3 short months, because a new lockdown was issued. This only demotivated everyone, as we were still being forced to live in ‘unprecedented times’. Me, my friends, and other people my age are suffering the effects of this pandemic in a unique way. However, many people’s livelihood and family have been snatched away from them and the future for many is undoubtedly frightening. Are we in a transitory period before something better?
One can only hope. Our social life has deteriorated and so has our learning. Having to wear masks and sanitize everything before you touch it has become something so normal. It’s bleak. Especially at school where interaction is inescapable and required. Being sent home to self-isolate has become so regular that we question why schools are open to begin with, seeing as cases continue to rise. Despite knowing these precautions are for everyone’s safety, frustration was and is inevitable, as we have struggled to make sacrifices to every aspect of our life to help each other through these arid times. Although many people my age do not have to suffer from the stress of an adult life, the pandemic has with-out a doubt had an instrumental impact on how we will prepare for the future.