Time-out!

When I was younger, I often found myself amused at the punishments handed out to kids in the West. “You’re grounded!” had always been an alien concept to me. Little did I know what I had coming.

2020 was supposed to be THE YEAR. I decided that it was going to be my year. It’s also the year I turn 20 years old. With the onset of this year, a quarter of my life was pretty much over. So, with all the excitement of entering the cusp of adulthood, I embraced 2020 with enthusiasm and was curious to know what awaited me. The first month marked my birthday as well as the start of a new semester at college. I enjoy my days at St.Claret College as it provides the best atmosphere for a student’s overall development of personality. It is the best in North Bengaluru!January passed by rather blissful and largely uneventful. February passed without much fuss even though it had an extra day this year. March was a month that contained a personal milestone. The much-awaited day went smoothly. That is, until the evening when the lockdown was announced. I packed my bags and headed home the very same day.

The first two weeks flew by. The next month also passed without event. This is when the dread set in. I grew uneasy. I wanted to venture out. I wanted to travel and do a lot of other things, but instead, all I could do was stay home and wait out the pandemic. I understood that I had to come to terms with a new normal. This was it. At least, until there was a medical miracle or a clinical break-through. I felt like my past had caught up with me and I was forced to experience all those groundings I was lucky to have escaped as a kid. I found solace in the fact that all my loved ones were safe and sound, even if that meant I wouldn’t be able to see them for a while.

Life is uncertain - and that’s the way it’s supposed to be. The eternal question of what’s next still looms in all our minds. I may be missing out on college and its fun, but I am experiencing something that happens nearly once every century. I have the chance to be a hero by doing nothing more than staying indoors. If somebody had told me this would happen, I would have termed them crazy. But these adverse times have made us realize that we all are equally responsible for the good and bad that are to come, and if staying home contributes to the solution, so be it.
Jake Cherian
II B.Com ‘D’