Covid-19 has been born.... The Pandemic has killed more than millions to even count.... A virus born to kill.... And never seems to yield.... The media makes a big deal out of the new virus that's sweeping through the world like wildfire. It reminds me of Robert Frost, saying something like "The news is where you find it." - and by this saying I mean things in life are not always as they seem. For example, butterflies are seemingly delicate and fragile, yet they go through a pretty tortuous, matted metamorphosis from being caterpillars to becoming butterflies. And just like how hard it is for them to be reborn as another species; sometimes we all need extra motivation to make changes in our lives which may seem difficult at the time but end up leading us to better places before we know it. I mean, it still does take a lot of getting used to but come on, I bet even when this whole nightmare was over, people will definitely have a hard time not putting on their masks and keeping their distance. It's like this has become our new "normal life"... If you had asked me a year before this global pandemic: that the whole world would deal with the same fear, isolation and the uncertainty of what their next day was going to bring, and you don't even known if you were going to make it to the next day alive and healthy. I might have laughed out pearls of tears, saying that's impossible, and was just as unlikely as going to Jupiter and having a picnic party with aliens shaped like cotton candy and eat with their nose! But I was so wrong... When life decides to play its games, no one and I mean not a single soul out there can stop it. We can prevent it -- but there are costs to them. In the morning, I wake up feeling like a robot programmed to perform the same tasks. It's like we're prisoners, but instead of walls and jail railings it's buildings and cars encircling us on all sides. We're caged in our homes for our own protection. The hours of sunlight were controlled to give us just enough light but never in combination with daytime or nighttime so as not to confuse or unsettle us during this time of transition. I felt that the animals in captivity at the zoo must feel similarly cramped and confused. My anxiety increased every day until I started demanding my rights and they let me out into a world that was foreign to me where everything appeared new and only a few people walked around resembling zombies looking rather bewildered as I did, unable to process how abruptly our lives had changed... ​ It starts to feel like you are in a different planet where danger lurks every corner of the surface. Even if it's the size of Mount Everest or as small as a bacteria. Our world will never truly be safe from harms hands, but if we try to be good people, perhaps our world would at-least be kinder and more considerate about how others would feel and be impacted. And this year going to in-person school again was more than I could handle. Everyone's faces were decorated with masks, which locked away our expressions and emotions. Those who I had considered friends now don't even seem to recognize me. It felt really upsetting when I saw someone familiar on my first day back, and a smile would warm my face underneath my protective shield. I would wave and call their name, but in return I only got a sharp glance and the cold shoulder. And I felt broken... Anyway apart from school-- My family and I had been debating about getting the vaccine for months. We have gotten it last month but it was being of being pressured not of choice. We think the vaccine might have been the 'so-called hero' but in reality it had always been that little spark in everyone's heart. The one that told us we won't give up, and if we fall, we will rise once more and give it all we got. The hope and love and compassion has helped us to overcome this strenuous past months that led up to a year. But still hatred and violence flourishes, and the media often adding fuel to them. If we can't work together even when we had each other. How will we ever overcome this wave of disaster? They say count the blessings not the curses. We have all learned a new thing, and some a lot. One can find inspiration from the natural world. Like I had mentioned before, just as a caterpillar must go through metamorphosis to become a butterfly or a butterfly must go through metamorphosis to become a chrysalis, we all have to undergo our own individual transformations in order to mature. As much as there are challenges awaiting in this process and things that may happen unexpectedly along the way, everything is worth it if you emerge with strength, confidence and wisdom. We must fly high like a butterfly and dream about big goals, spreading joy and happiness and just try to show someone you care about them and they aren't alone. And when the time is right, the breeze will pick you up and take you to the skies...

COVID-19... The word that strikes fear and nausea in one's mind and burrows a dark void in the soul. Also known as the 'pandemic', the one that has separated families, kindled anger and the fear of the unknown, and has taken away so many lives. When I look through my bedroom window, I lay my eyes on the road that hasn't listened laughter for a while, there were still the street-lamps, persistently sparkling into the night. It was as in the event that they essentially adore to share that golden gleam, regardless of if anybody appreciates it. The street itself has that loved and homey appearance, the activity of decades having passed over it. This was a road where genuine life had been, the turning of skipping ropes and screeches of children had grown up each year, once ridden four-wheelers to starting collage. Dogs barking in the distance, and party music beating within the corner house with swarms of cars stopped along the sidewalks with no gap in between them. But now… all I listen is silence, pure stillness within the air, as in case the world has paused for a minute to breathe. I would let my eyes and heart touch each place I have a chance to reach out to and investigate. Back in early 2020, I had thought maybe this abandonment and nightmare was a brief thing, just a passing cloud, and the bliss and enthusiasm would return to its formal shape. But I had been wrong. Quarantine life sometimes suffocates me. I never really liked to stay in one place, and yearned to go outside any time I got the opportunity. I started to isolate myself, and to which I feel like I've fallen into a deep pit where I might never rise up again. It feels like a dark place without any source of lumination. It's like sitting in a room at night by yourself and feeling like this is the forever of life. It's like being in middle of a thousand people but feeling invisible to each one of them. It's like strolling on a path without any directions, without any idea where it might lead you. But then something just suddenly inside me something clicked… like a missing piece of a jigsaw puzzle that finally fits. It felt like a spark of aspiration. I have started to read eBooks since COVID-19 has hit because all the libraries have closed, and while I read, I think about how I myself could start writing. It felt like a tough mountain to climb with so many ditches and steep cliffs, but with a positive persona I just might be able to overcome almost anything. I cradle my Macbook in my hands, feeling it warm up between the cracks of my fingers. I turn it on, as the dim bluish yellow light floods the monotone room. I wrap my arms around myself and ponder over what my first word might be. I start to write mere words into a blank document. I can feel the words just dancing in my head like ballerinas. My eyes fly to each word I type, and even when my fingers felt sore, the words didn't stop flowing. Some days aren't the same. I sometimes get writer's block but a few days later I'm back at it, flying from one key to another, smiling when I get something right, and frowning when some words don't seem to fit it. It almost became part of me; of my life more better put. COVID-19 has taught me so much. How to be a better person. How to survive isolation and remaining sandwiched between four walls. To realize that the world is independent as much as we all need each other during times of need. To find that inner passion hidden inside me. And… To know that I'm not alone… we all face troubles in life… and it's our duty to help each other out. To make someone smile. To discover new friends through writing. To make video calls with friends around the globe who I might have never met if I hadn't been in quarantine. COVID-19 might have made our life terrible but... I embraced it simply as a hurdle that life throws just to make me prepared for what might be coming. I got to spend so much time with my family, that sometimes I can't wait to get back to school! But it was still great to help with the chores, and seeing everyone cuddle up on the sofa with a bowl of aromatic popcorn and a spine-tingling movie. I also got to visit my cousins who I haven't seen for 2 years, and it was always fun to see more people. I also understand that when we take simple things for granted, we realize their importance when we don't have them. Some may think this is maybe just a killing wave... a virus. But it's just a life lesson we all need to learn, accept and move on. I believe no one is ever going to forget this for years to come and it teaches us to be kind, giving and most of all... be happy with what you have. You could say we all have a story to tell our future generation about how we stayed strong during these difficult times and managed to see it pass us, with us holding a cup of victory. We will never get though this with hatred and violence but kindness and compassion.