Now i am going to talk you about the period when i had problems with selecting variety works. In that time i had number of choices to work and earn extra money. But everything lead to negative outcome. If i am not mistaken it was a year ago, i had just finished my 3rd year at the university. And i need to earn much money in that time because of variety personal reasons. Firstly, i went to apply to one of the big supermarket for the position of cashier. Then after a day market administration called me to work there as a market staff. It was the first time that i communicated with clients as a salesmen. Earlier, it seemed me more difficult to interact with them but, i realised how to speak with them easily. In that day, one of the market cashier helped me for how to interact and converse with clients. I learnt every aspect of work and also, i used to use the cash calculator. But, in that day i thought as an alien there. Because most of the experienced workers especially, male staff were more ignorant with me and they sometimes were unhelpful with my chores. And that is why i just started to decide not to return there and continue to work. But i did not regret my decision about abandoning the job. After several days i had the 2nd chance to apply to the new job position. And the next occupation was in the office. This was a small agency business that sells natural medicines ,which made from the milk of domestic animals. I heard the work opportunities and its ambitions from the hr staff. And that all inspired me work there and continue my future carier with them. The team was incredible there. Each person was so helpful. But what stopped me carry on the job was the product they wanted to sell. It was natural but there was no any noticeable affection for sick people who injured for a long period. I just understood that condition and i could not do that activity as they did. Because all seemed a lie for me and i did not desire to say patients that they want to hear. Anyway it does not helpful for patients. And once i hear from manager about the lack of effect the certain medicines and they decided to sell another type of medicine for males. And that just forced me stop working there. And i did not return to that work position. However, i experienced several challenges about applying jobs. Despite fails, i did not stop searching new difficulties for me. After a day i found the other work that was much suitable for me. It was loading the freights at warehouses. It was so exciting job because of various reasons. The working team was funny guys and also they were kind with me. The working condition was fantastic. One main drawback was the job was physical not mental. People needed to be more physically strong for that position. And i had lack of enthusiasm because of it. Next day i called the staff manager and warn that i could not continue the job. This was my last decision and i had no idea for working after this. Because i lost my much time wasting for searching the jobs. But what i learnt from them was not just challenges or any misunderstandings, why people need to be so optimistic and how to solve any troubles that they face in unsuitable time. This all showed me being more brave before doing or beginning the new challenges. And i did not regret for my sufferings. It was all just amazing and unforgettable.

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My brother and I had not spoken to each for about 5 years. All due to an argument that his girlfriend caused. She single-handedly alienated my entire family and my brother. It wasn't until years later when I was officiating at my nephew's wedding that my brother and I spoke again. I told him that I would forgive him for what he put our family through but not forget. It was soon after, that COVID-19 reared its ugly head. It started a pandemic that the world had never seen before. It claimed millions of victims by the time the virus showed any signs of subsiding. Little did we know that one of the victims would be my brother. My brother had been diagnosed with some type of blood disorder that his doctor's claimed would take his life in two years. That was eight years ago. My brother, Joe, had surpassed his “death date” as he called it. He beat those odds only to succumb to COVID-19. It started as just a cough but being a longtime smoker he didn't pay much attention to it. Joe started to exhibit other symptoms besides the cough. Muscle aches, fatigue and vomiting is what made him decide to go to the doctor and be tested. The results were in and although my brother did not get the answer from the doctor that he was hoping for he was prepared for the worst. He was put in quarantine for the next two weeks. His health began to deteriorate as time went on. It was decided that it was in my brother‘s best interest to be sent to another hospital for physical rehab. COVID-19 had weakened him to the point of needing help walking, feeding himself and dressing himself. Many things that most people take for granted. Our entire family helped as much as we could. We all knew that we were ignoring the inevitable, especially when he was moved from the physical rehab hospital to the hospice. They didn't know how much longer he had but they wanted him to be comfortable. It was bad enough that when he was under quarantine nobody was permitted to see him but it was even harder when he was in the hospice. In his weakened state the visits had to be short in order for Joe to get as much rest as possible. To be honest, I preferred the limited visits. It was devastating to see my big brother just wasting away. During this ordeal my brother and I talked. Rather, he talked and I listened. It seemed to me that all he wanted was an ear to bend and a sympathetic heart. I asked him how he felt about knowing that he's going to be dying soon. I expected him to be upset or frustrated. Angry, sad, something. Somehow he was fine with it. He knew it was coming sooner or later and he told me that he didn't have any regrets. There was nothing that he needed to do. Everything he wanted to do in life he did. Joe saw his kids grow up and have their own children, his grandchildren. He got a chance to see his grandchildren grow up and have their children, his great grandchildren. What he said is true. Not too many people get to be around when their great grandchildren are born. I doubted that he was okay with all this going on but the more he and I spoke the more I knew he was being totally honest about how he felt. The only thing he was saddened about was that he wasn't sure if he would be alive to see his youngest daughter, his baby girl, have her first child. Unfortunately, he passed away about two weeks before his last grandchild was born. His last granddaughter, Ava Delilah. Growing up I saw my brother as a certain type of person. A troublemaker, opinionated, arrogant plus a few other choice words. During our many conversations I got to know Joe, the person, not Joe, my brother. I began to understand why he did and said many things while we were growing up. I had truly misjudged him and for that I apologized to him. My brother was very spiritual and believed that everyone had a Guardian Angel. He believed that his was with “El Indio” which translates to “The Indian”. “El Indio”was his Guardian Angel and was to be his guide once he passed. During our conversations I kept thinking about “El Indio” and what it meant to my brother so I decided to draw a picture for him. He was gone before I got a chance to give it to him. At his wake I went up to the casket to pay my respects. I put the picture in the casket with Joe and told him that he now has his guide to show the way. At my nephew's wedding I told my brother that I would forgive him for what he did to the family but not forget. After getting to know my brother with all our talks I got to know the real person. The reasoning behind all his actions are somewhat clear to me although not everything but it was enough to have closure and move on. It was time, to forgive and forget and I'm glad I did it before it was too late. Love you big brother, R.I.P.

Being grateful is hard. Living through the past twenty months, living full stop, is just... A lot. And at the same time nothing. Unemployment. Words like inflation, depression, deficit, budget cuts, pulling up your boot straps... teaching a man to fish. All of these things that add up to me basically never leaving my dads house like. Ever. Boredom is the absolute worst. When nothing happens. When days pass spent bundled in blankets surrounded by sweet wrappers with the sound of the latest hit Netflix show buzzing in my ears as my eyes flicker shut. Weeks can pass like this. It can be hard to stay grounded. It can be really hard sometimes to remember that there is still a lot of good. And a lot to be grateful for. I did a positive psychology course a couple of years ago in my quest to find out what it is, if anything, that I might be interested in.(Historically I've struggled with finding direction a lot.) One of my main takeaways from the course was to practice being grateful for stuff. To sit down at the end of each day and reflect on something I feel good about. Something that fills me with a sense of gratitude and well being. And to write it out. The writing part is important. There's something about holding the pen in your hand, letting the feelings out through the ink and pen scratchings. I don't do that. What I do is every now and again when I feel. Well... Pissed is probably the right word for it. Fuming would also do. When I'm feeling bad and I'm aware enough to actually do something about it instead of watching more TV I'll write a list. I'll head it 'gratitude list' and I'll write twenty or thirty things that are good about my life. And the pen doesn't even get a look anymore. It's all on a notepad on my phone. And it's rushed. (Sure putting that positive psychology knowhow to work.) when I'm struggling sometimes it might start off with something like 'Have roof over my head' and work my way out to other things more personal to me. My dad's nearly always on there, since he was diagnosed with cancer at the end of last year. A lot of the time there's ice cream. Here is the list I wrote today, to keep me grounded. Gratitude list 20/10/2021: 1.Never having to share my bedroom 2.Having privacy/space when I want it 3.Having my own bookcase (with nearly 100 books) 4.Always having books in the house growing up 5.Knowing how to read 6.Being read to by my parents when I was a kid 7.Having a good head on my shoulders 8.Getting to spend quality time with my dad and brother today 9.Having Ice cream in the freezer 10.Having savings 11.Having spare cash 12.The support my dad has recieved since being diagnosed 13.Mum checking up on me 14.How attracted my fiancee is to me 15.My time at CCAD 16.Getting this time with dad 17.My hair 18.The sparrows that live in the roof nextdoor. Bit of an eclectic one today (and there's that ice cream as predicted) and I fell short of the twenty I usually manage, but these are the things that got me through today. And some of them might sound silly but they matter to me. Reading is a big one. My life has always had stories in it. I'm in love with fiction. When I was a teenager I could devour whole books in a day. Get lost somewhere I actually want to be lost in. I fell out of love with reading for a while there, a period of four or five years, starting when I went to art college. I would try to read and I would struggle though ten pages or so before putting the book down. It just wasn't happening for me. I am so grateful that I have been able to find my way back to fiction and that I was led there in the first place when I was small. Books have been a good friend throughout the pandemic. My current companion is Good Omens (one I was read as a kid.My mum has good taste in stories) and it's as good as the first time I read it. Wracking my brains for something, even something small, that gets me through the day gets me though the day. And there have been so many days that have been hard to get through lately. It doesn't feel like it will end. But as long as there's sunshine, cute animal videos and £1 bars of chocolate I will have something to smile about, even if that smile is smaller some days than others. And I can carry them around in my pocket too and look them up on my phone whenever I need reminding that life isn't too bad, even when it's really bad.

There are 1,022,000 words in the English language, and not a single word describes how much my friends mean to me. Each has made a positive impact on my life. Whether they are someone I can relate to or someone I can be myself around with, being around my friends will always keep a smile on my face. There are some things that a human needs that you can't buy with industrial wealth. And one of those things is friends. True friends. When the pandemic started I was confused. Scared of the rumors and news on the internet. I was unprepared for the inevitable. In the first month of the pandemic, I was able to concentrate on myself. As the pandemic settled down and people started interacting with each other, I was finally able to meet my friends in person. Although we called through zoom meetings and phone calls, meeting each other in person just had a better feeling. With very minimal things to do during a pandemic, we kept ourselves busy. We would play games like skribbl.io or Minecraft. With everything wrong with the world back then, I would always have a shoulder to lean on. As virtual learning was almost over and summer just around the corner, there was finally something to look forward to. My friends and I started planning activities for us to do during this break. Sleepovers, pool parties, raiding the gas station's snacks once every week. Everything was looking good for us. As I returned home feeling refreshed from my walk, my parents seemed a bit anxious. As I sat down after washing my hands I was ready for dinner. We were almost halfway done with our dinner and not a single word was spoken. Finally, my sister decided to break the silence. “Dad, what happens to the janitors that work at buildings during the pandemic?” This caught my dad off guard. He told her that the janitors would have to find a temporary job until the pandemic is over. He explained that this is happening to thousands of people around the world and that we should be grateful for what we have. And all of the sudden my parent's attention turned towards me. I was skeptical about why I was getting interesting looks from my parents, but I decided to ignore it. At last, my parents told me what was going on. My dad told me that the company he was working for was barely holding on and that their stocks were going down vertically. And apparently, it wasn't just his company, it was the whole stock market. He told me that his company had another office in North Carolina. We could move there temporarily until his company starts doing better, but if we weren't able to move to North Carolina…. I knew what he was going to say. I sat on my chair with no appetite for dinner anymore. My dad's words had faded and I immediately thought of one thing. Leaving my friends. I wasn't ready and neither will I ever be. Leaving my friend would be the equivalent of losing a loved one. After dinner, I felt very pessimistic. I went straight to bed, hoping to take my mind off the topic. I woke up feeling a bit better. I didn't want to tell my friends everything because I was still processing information myself. Every single day I would look at the stock market to see if the issue had been resolved. I dreaded to see a green line, but I would always be disappointed to see the red one instead. There was this one exceptionally hard night. And what I did that night was unusual for me. I prayed. I didn't pray for just my family, or my future, but for all of the people who were going through what I was. The next day, as usual, I went online to see the stock market. And miraculously, I saw a green line. I could not have been happier. It felt like God heard my problems. Now, of course, a small green line didn't fix the overall issue. It would take a lot of time to resolve the whole problem. But I was happy to see some actual progress. As school ended and the 2-month break started, I became more thankful for the things around me. Knowing anything could change at any time, I tried to find the positives out of every situation. So for me, I tried to get the most out of my summer break. Hanging out with my family, having fun with my friends. Those moments I had were and are memories. But despite what fun activity I was doing a small thought always lingered at the back of my head “What if it happens again?” It's been 16 months and I have changed completely. That ‘thought' of mine is now gone. I have moved to another city with 2 of my other friends. Leaving my childhood and friends had kept me in a gloomy stage. I had considered them as brothers but happened to move 2 hours away from them. Ever since the pandemic, I felt like my journey should be heard. Though my experience may not be as struggling as other's, I would love to relate to somebody. When I came across biopage I knew it was perfect for me. With the community so friendly, I wasn't embarrassed to write. So I strapped down and started sharing my story. ”There are 1,022,000 words in the English language…”

The sun was high up in the sky, shining with all its warm glory. I was sitting with my legs crossed on the floor of my room right under the air conditioner, reading. This amount of heat was not a unique sight during the month of June in Delhi. An ideal summer. What else would a just-turned teenager be doing in her summer break? Here I was, enjoying the last of my summer vacation, unaware that my life was about to be changed, entirely. Before long, the sun had started moving to the west and I decided that this was a good time to go cycling with my sister. My sister is younger than me by four years but we are each other's best friends. While I do have some really close friends from school, none have been with me as long as her. After about three quarters of an hour cycling around the neighborhood, I tediously dragged her back to the house. Usually we would have stayed out longer, but not today. Today papa would be returning early and I had to make some serious plans with him. Of course, I couldn't tell this to my sister because then it wouldn't remain a surprise when it was actually her birthday. As anticipated, our dad came back early. It seemed that he was just as excited as me which was a little rude since it showed that he liked my younger sister better. But I let it slide this time. He took off his shoes and was getting freshened up; with me waiting outside his door as a person who really wanted to use the washroom would. As soon as he was done changing, I took him to his room and began flooding him with ideas for what we could do on my sister's birthday. Only he (politely) shut me down immediately. Huh! Had he already made the plans without even including me? I thought. In a still excited tone he said “Calm down, we'll talk about this later. I need to tell you guys something. Let's go out in the living room.” He had to tell us something? But what? Curiously, I followed him. My mom was busy preparing the dinner and my sister staring at the television. My dad went ahead and retrieved some papers from his office bag. He went into the kitchen with me still following him at his tail. He asked my mom to join us outside to which she replied “I am not done with the dinner yet. Can this wait?” Apparently, it couldn't. So, there we were, the entire family sitting in the living room. My dad handed over the papers to my mom and she read. Now me and my sister were both baffled. We tried peeking over our mother's shoulder but before we could get a good look, my mom let out a loud gasp. What was happening? Our parents rejoiced while we just stared at them. After about a minute of this, our dad told us. “I have an interview at our bank's headquarters in Kolkata. They believe that I have been performing really well and now that I have cleared promotional exams, they really suggest I should give the interview.” Okay, so they were just excited about his promotion. I was expecting something more eventful but this could work too. My dad continued “and if I get selected after the interview phase, we could potentially be transferred to Hong Kong.” Okay, what!? Now it was me and my sister's turn to freak out. We could live in Hong Kong? We who had never even set foot outside of our country? This was surreal. I didn't even know that papa's bank had branches in places besides India. My sister and I hugged our dad so hard that we almost knocked him over. The rest of the day (which was only a couple of hours) was spent as we would on a festival. Soon enough, it was time for our dad's interview. We think he had prepared really well for it but wished him lots of luck nevertheless. He returned after two days and informed us that he thought he did well too. We had gotten our hopes up really high and it was not futile. He received the letter days later informing him that he had been selected to work at the Hong Kong branch for his bank and that we had to leave in a month. I don't think I had ever been so sad and excited all at the same time. On one hand, I was getting the opportunity of living outside of India and gaining so many new experiences. On the other hand, however, I had to leave behind so much and so quickly that it made my heart ache. Although I would have my family when moving to a completely new place, I would be leaving behind my two best friends from school (quite possibly the best people I have ever met so far). Throughout my childhood, I had moved from city to city and had to build my whole social life from scratch every time that happened. The thought of going through that one more time overpowered the dopamine rush from hearing such good news. I went through some serious brooding and heartfelt goodbyes after a crazy last month but it wasn't all bad. I constantly reminded myself that I could keep in touch with friends here and make new friends in Hong Kong and that everything will be fine. Turns it out, it was true. To gain something means to lose something else. It just depends on how you look at it.

As we know, this covid pandemic has shaken our entire life. It causes my salary cut & this virus has taken away my dad. I live with my mom who divorced from my dad since 18 years ago, but my relation with my dad was fine until mid of 2018 when a problem suddenly emerged that has crashed my relationship with him, after we've gone through a fierce argumentation back and forth via WhatsApp chat. Thereafter I didn't want to contact him anymore like used to be. I felt deeply hurt & very disappointed. I don't understand why he easily relinquished his responsibility as a father towards me as his only child. Actually since the divorce my mom and my close family already told their opinion about my dad's relinquishment towards me and I was the only one who never want to believe that. But his reaction performed towards me by mid 2018 has proven that my belief about him was wrong. He only concerned about himself rather than his responsibility to my crucial needs. I felt so hurt till every time I prayed I could only cry and hoped that my heartache could heal. January 11th, 2020, my mom suddenly informed me that my dad had a cancer, as what he told her. He was hospitalized in North Jakarta which is 48 KM from our home. Before the pandemic arisen, my mom & I could only visit him twice due to its very far distance. When we were about to end our second visit & I said goodbye to him, I couldn't take off my eyes from him like had a sort of hunch as I felt somewhat a whisper in my heart saying “this is your last meeting with him”. After the pandemic started we couldn't even visited him at all. Since end January to March 2020 my dad underwent chemotherapy and most of time he was hospitalized. April 4th 2020 at around 3;00 PM suddenly I got a bad news from my dad's close friend saying that he was critical. I was shocked & immediately checked with his younger sister who accompanied him at the hospital. She confirmed about his critical condition & was about to be moved to isolated ICU since his doctor just found out that somehow he got infected by covid virus. His lung X-rays shown white & his kidneys got suddenly failed. I felt so shocked, deeply confused, hard to believe that covid could attack him while he had been hospitalized. His covid status prevented me from seeing him. Fortunately I got a chance to talk to him despite shortly through my aunt's cellphone & expressed my feeling by saying : "I love you dad" while crying & also said : “actually I've already forgiven you”. He could still hear me & replied me : “I love you too” In the evening around 8;00 PM my aunt intensively communicated with me & my mother, updating about dad's declining condition. At 9;35 PM my aunt told us about his weakening breath. At 9;45 PM she told us that he has gone. I got hysterical, couldn't accept the fact that he died so fast, when my big problem with him had not been resolved yet. His death due to covid prevented me & all of our close family from seeing his body nor attending his cremation process. His ashes was kept in one ashes storage house in West Jakarta. I tried to accept the fact that my dad was no longer around. Remember his kindness, miss the times of confiding in him as he was the one to whom I could express my complaints about anything related to anybody & soothed my heart when I faced problems. But when I remember how he reacted that has crashed my relation with him, I felt again a deep disappointment. My feelings were messed up between longing, annoyance, disappointment, sadness, love, good memories. A week later I followed a big online mass of spirits and submitted his name to be prayed for. I also held a private online mass via zoom to commemorating 100 days of his death and asked our parish priest to lead the mass, joined by close family, friends and Catholic communities in our neighborhood to pray for his eternal peace and happiness. Those all I can do for him. 2 weeks thereafter my mom had an accident fell from a ladder around 1.2 m height, she fell straight on her buttocks and back. Luckily no bone cracks nor fractures happened, so she didn't need to be hospitalized. I took few days leave to take care of her to certain extent. However she needed 3 months to recover 90%, during which she couldn't drive nor accompany me to visit my dad's ashes while I'm not able to drive far distance myself. Only by November 2020 my mom was able to accompany me visiting his ashes. I cried a lot & “talked” to him, let all my feelings out towards him. I prayed for him. Felt rather released for finally I was able to visit him despite only in form of his ashes that was stored in a marble jar. I still need time to accept that he has truly gone moreover as a victim of Covid too. Until now I sometimes cry when remembering his kindnesses but I have to continue my life. He'll be always in my heart. May God forgive all his sins & grant him a heavenly happiness. I love my dad but I believe God loves him much more.

As entrepreneurs seeking to stay on top of the operational stress of the business, a good word and a positive comment will enhance #productivity and will set #momentum for a good period of time. Check these life perspectives shared by entrepreneurs. https://youtu.be/KfxfmedUNFU

THE LOCKDOWN A sense of accomplishment was all I could feel as I stood across the window looking out over the city, but this euphoric sensation wasn't one to last. The ringing of my alarm set on the table across the room from me made sure of that. I had placed the alarm as far from me as possible so I would not have put if off since it was within an arm's length. It was already mid semester and time to get serious with my studies, especially with my lecturers reminding us that tests were around the corner. But today, none of that mattered, not the tests or the exams that usually came immediately afterwards, all that mattered was the news of a pandemic, the Covid-19 virus. The day before, when we all received news about the Federal government's decision to shut down all schools in the country was probably the first time, I took the covid-19 virus seriously. Calling friends in affected but distant countries always seemed to make the virus unreal. Receiving numerous calls from my parents made it all the more real. And that was how I sought my way home the next day. Unlike most of my friends, going home was not a problem as my family lived in the same state. Some students, however, lived in other states and had to travel long distances to get home. News of shutting down inter state borders caused in a tremendous increase in traveling costs. Some students, who couldn't travel under such short notice had to find alternative sources of accommodation. The first month at home was spent studying, in the hopes that school would soon resume. In time, I realized it wasn't going to resume anytime soon, at least not with the number of cases of the virus increasing in arithmetic progression across the entire country. More news about the virus flooded the screens of our television, fueling the fear that now engulfed us all. With the pending news of total lockdown in the state, my mother made lists of all the food stuffs we needed and sought about purchasing them all despite the inflated prices. As news of safety measures to stay safe came, so did false information often leading to confusion as to which was true. News of the virus seemed like a political propaganda to some, to others it seemed not as serious as it was made to be, but to a select few it was quite a serious matter. My family was one of those that considered it a serious matter, we never went out unless we really needed to and coming home was immediately followed by hand washing, the use of hand sanitizer and a bath. By the second month, the state has been totally locked down, dashing my hopes that school would resume by the end of the first month. By now reading books relating to academics was a distant dream, but I spent a lot of time reading novels and poems to pass time. Social media challenges were trending and watching them was fun, although I never tried any. With less novels to read, I had to find other ways to kill time, so I picked up an old hobby. Drawing family members and friends was more fun than I anticipated. Often I didn't quite get them right, but I kept practicing. Online classes were also trending, so I took up a Spanish class online. Spending more hours of my day online than I was used to took up a lot more of my data subscriptions than I anticipated. I had to cut down on my online activities. So, I got more free time and had to find new ways to spend them. After a week's worth of begging, my brother and I convinced our father to teach us to drive. We practiced along the now empty streets and it seemed like more learners were taking this opportunity too. With time, we got better but not after giving the old car a few scratches here and there. On one occasion, my brother almost hit a car in front of it while I almost drove in to a ditch once but with time we got better. After a while, I had built a routine that kept me busy. First I would go out early in the morning to practice driving with my brother, then when I got home I would practice my Spanish, read novels and draw. Between all these, watching movies was always squeezed in between. I had almost completely adapted to a life at home. Being a student was now a distant memory I often reminisced about. On one of those moments of nostalgia, my phone called me back from the land of wandering thoughts. At first, it was nice hearing an old friend's voice, but the fear I sensed soon made me worry. Apparently he was experiencing some symptoms of the corona virus after traveling to one of the states where the pandemic was more prevalent. He talked about his plans to get tested while I encouraged him not to worry and wait patiently to get his test result before jumping to conclusions. Calming him down took awhile but it eventually worked. After the call ended, his words kept coming back to me, “I don't want to die.” I realized so many people had died from the virus and I couldn't help but be thankful for my life and that of my family.

As 2020 began, I had high hopes that it would follow in 2019's footsteps and be a great year. I was wrong. I was supposed to go to college this year, but I don't see the favors coming over my side, because the government has cancelled most of our competitive exams. This new disease, COVID-19, has flipped our worlds upside down from these last few weeks. At first, when I heard about this virus, I didn't pay any attention to it at all. I told myself that it was only a small disease and that it would stop soon. But in the end, it was the other way around. Months went by and the infection got worse. I started to realize the impact it has on human life and the importance of taking care of myself, to protect not only me but also others. As the media and government told us, it is important to stay at home because we can spread the virus without knowing it. Typically on a Monday, I would've been up at 7 am, going to study in my coaching classes from 9 am to 5 pm. Then after I used to spend some chill time with my friends or just take a walk in the local park. I always have something to do during the day. Many people think I'm pretty crazy for always having such a jam packed schedule but that's just how I function. Now on this Monday morning in quarantine, I woke up at 10 am, looked through social media for 45 minutes before I got out of the bed. And it would be great to say that, I've been studying for my classes and finally started that intense workout plan I've always wanted to do. It would probably be great to do all the tedious tasks that I've put off doing because I simply “never had time”. But now that this quarantine has granted me so much time, I haven't. I haven't done much of anything. Since the lockdown, I've had trouble finding motivation in doing anything other than getting out of bed and begrudgingly logging onto my Zoom classes. My thoughts on online classes? I was never a fan of online classes, never thought I would, but look at me now. In the midst of writing this, my teacher updated my math grades! How lovely, my grade is currently at a B… guys. Besides my math class, how am I supposed to take my other classes? Physics? Chemistry? At the same time. This quick transition from having in-person classes to now online classes is such an overwhelming feeling and I haven't even started. I'm pretty sure when I wished that i had some break for relaxation from the hectic schedule, this is definitely not what I had in mind. There's only so much Netflix and YouTube I could watch before I go crazy. Typically, I don't really watch that much Netflix because I always have something to do, so this transition isn't so easy. After the first couple days of being home and not being allowed out, I got sick of watching TV or browsing my Instagram, Twitter, and Whats-app and repeating it over and over again. I really want to be active. But I'm annoyed by scrolling through social media. Everything on YouTube is boring to me right now. It's so weird that whenever I pick up my phone, I involuntarily go to Instagram or Twitter to mindlessly scroll. I then get back to my room and take a nap. Afterwards, I grab something to eat. This is currently my daily routine. I think I should gain weight before ever catching COVID-19. I decided, instead of looking at people doing their own home/work routine, I would actually do my own routine. I recently joined an organisation which focuses on building Service leaders and Entrepreneurship skills. I'm also learning animation and doodle art, made few videos on YouTube out of them, got a pretty good response. And to be honest, I'm really liking this change. Simple actions such as going out to see your friends or hanging out with them, are now out of the question. Heck, even buying a pizza seems taboo nowadays. Over the past week or two, I've lost count of the days at this point. I've asked myself how to cure this seemingly never-ending loneliness. And like my most recent math test, I'm left with a lot of blank answers. I'm not even sure how long this quarantine will last, or how long I will last quarantined in my place, but all I know is that I'm trying to keep calm. I feel that in this time it's essential for all of us to adopt an optimistic point of view. The situation at hand is stressful, but life is still going on, and it's just as beautiful as it was before all of this. I'm taking the time to enjoy the little things, as well as try to improve on my poorer habits. What we need to remember is that this quarantine isn't going to last forever. We will be able to enjoy the things and the people we love in due time. Right now it's important to stay inside and do our part for the benefit of the world. So sit back, relax, read a book, or call a friend. We will get through this together, standing 6 feet apart, but together nonetheless.

The lock down had barely been lifted when people scampered on the road making the most of the time because no one knew when the state will be shut again. We heard about the terrible virus and we had so much confidence that before it gets to our country, it would be burned up by the heat in this part of the world, little did we know. It had come, the government declared a 2 weeks lock down leaving the masses stranded, almost hopeless and begging to survive. Soon the ban was lifted, only to be followed by a routine of work hours and a curfew of 8 pm- 6 am daily followed suit. This routine made life miserable for me but we could not object to it cause it was for our good. It was Friday, few minutes to 04: 00 pm, I had informed my colleagues that I would leave 2 hours after closure since I still had a pile of work yet to be done, I usually stay later than others compiling daily- monthly reports, thus I was left alone with my boss. I had nearly finished when I heard a knock on the door, it was my boss who came to inform me that he was going, I did not want to be left alone, I quickly shut down my system and followed him out. It was already late and he was not heading my direction. I bade him farewell hoping to see him the next week, I wish I had known what laid in store for me. Hurrying down the street, heading for the junction, I had to use the footbridge in order to get a cab that will go my way. A 100 meters to the bridge, I sighted a causally dressed young lady, she seemed to be waiting for someone, more so a stranger who needed direction, but I thought to myself, any sensible stranger would not wait on a lonely path just to ask for directions, my instinct gave a warning beep, run! I heard my heart tell me. Approaching the bridge, she took out her phone as if to call someone, she called out: "sister, please excuse me" i did not wait to hear what other information she had for me, I obeyed my instinct and took to my heels. She came after me, slowly and slowly, I ran as fast as I could up the bridge's stairs, straight and down again, my heartbeat, as loud as a gong. Racing down the stairs on the opposite lane, I flagged down a cab and hopped in without asking questions, I screamed "drive! We zoomed off and I felt at peace. A few meters into our journey, I noticed funny movements in the car, the driver kept using the rear mirror to look at me, his hair was braided, he had tattoos and a piercing on his nose, "okay I can overlook that" I said to myself, a nursing mother was in the front seat with her child, the lady by my side had an unkempt skin, she seemed to be uncomfortable, scared and all of that and a huge fair man by her side, making a total of 4 persons. I still did not feel anything was wrong in this cab, not until the lady beside me took out a spray from her bag and spoke in low tones, she told the man she just wanted to know what the spray scented like. I sat by the door, all the windows were partly down, I am allergic to harsh smell, so I wound the glass down, the driver wound it up from his seat, I did not know why I didn't oppose to this strange act. In split of seconds, she sprayed what she had towards me, I gave her a questionable look as to asking why she did that? I covered my nose, but luck was not on my side this time, even with my nose mask on, I had inhaled a good dose of it, instead of choking, I felt dizzy, that was when it dawned on me, I've been kidnapped, I screamed out loud: "from fry pan to fire, oh no! Just then did the same lady who seemed uncomfortable and scared asked of my name; "my name is Blue" I stammered, tears pouring from my eyes into my nose mask, "wow, I'm red then" they burst out laughing. She snatched my bag and started ransacking it, she said: "this babe is poor babe oh! she no get anything, what do we do? She pulled out something from my bag and threw it back with so much speed, she blurted: "eeww, disgusting fellow", just then did I realize she had taken out my handkerchief that was drenched in mucus from catarrh which I suffered through out the week. At every point where it seemed like I would sleep off, she gave me a slap to concentrate. She took out my wallet and found 2 expired debit cards, an expired university identity card, a few passports and just the complete amount of money to take me home. She took out my umbrella, then my ballerina shoes and she exclaimed; "did something die in your shoes, why do they smell so awful", I still couldn't say a word, I was so terrified. They dropped me at a junction I never knew, and carted away with my umbrella( I loved that umbrella so much). Sucked up in fear, I found another cab, this time I assessed the driver to the point he said; "madam, are you going or not? I sat all cuddled up at the back seat, wishing I could teleport myself from the car to the arms of my mama. I got home terrified, dizzy and uncoordinated. My sister mailed my boss asking for a week leave, he gave two, in his words: "let her quarantine herself".

On the previous November 2019 the entire world stood thunderstruck facing new Virus Appeared in China in Wuhan province and invaded the whole world on January 2020. It affected the entire world but here I am talking about the Egyptian society that I belong to. And we started the home quarantine Through this time most of people started working from home and others lost their jobs but I was one of those who worked at home in this period which affected all my life aspects It was a unique experience to be in home quarantine (optional detention) because all our life activities was inside home and it was so difficult to stay inside home for long time and has no option to go out except for necessities but I adapted with staying home Through this period I learnt a lot of things and my relationship with my family has been changed (I have wife and 3 kids (2 boys and a girl)) because they stayed and studied at home because of schools closing too. I found out that a man has a role other than material spending, I noticed that my children's relationship with each other was half-hearted and every one of them has his private matters and problems that I did not know because I was busy with my work but I started getting close to them And know what is going on in their thoughts , mind , hobbies and friends too I realized what we should do as parents to bring up our children, so I started to concentrate on Bringing up, guidance and education of my children and I talked with them a lot through this time. Relationship with my children improved and I knew that presence of man at home is very important In addition to relationship with my wife became better and I felt what is called marital life . All activities were being done in the house like haircuts using a haircut machine for everyone for avoiding infection. My work discipline has been completely changed and I started to work from home and prepared a special place for that, it was difficult in the beginning and I tried to create suitable circumstances. As for me it was so difficult because I work as Internal Audit Manager so I was receiving documents by E-mail and collect all documents, analyze data , type reports and send it again to BOD (Board Of Directors) But this experience trained me to work under pressure and within any circumstances. We started to ask about all our neighbors, friends and our relatives and help each others Some neighbors started to buy commodities for others and others were frightened of infection .So they kept away from people We were buying the most necessary commodities such as food and medical supplies with a numerous volume because it was the only necessity that allow us to get out of home as luxuries have no place during in this time In this period, our perception of life changed and we rearranged our interests and priorities and we found out that health is the most important thing in our life We started to feel sorrow and danger as well, because we lost some of the people around us due to the Corona virus, We began eagerly asking about all our relatives and neighbors, and looking into their condition We purified our homes and we used Antiseptics and disinfectants such as alcohol and Chlorine ..Etc We bought all preventive medical supplies and gave rules to all individuals within home to use soap for washing hands and all body This Experience was so important in our lives .I do not think that we may forget it forever and we will not have life lesson like this again This period taught us that we cannot ever rely on people and we must depend on Allah (God) because people abilities are so limited and stood helpless vs. this Virus and Allah (God) power has no limit And only God able to reveal this epidemic and any other affliction.

I was a normal not-so-happy 19 year old girl with so much hope for a better future and I was quite excited because exams were drawing near (crazy right?)but I wasn't excited about the exams per say, it was more about the fact that after exams, I was supposed to be going for my six months industrial training and that was a good thing because I was going to make some money plus I love being in a work environment and I was looking forward to those six month of meeting new people, being away from home and school, being independent and the thought that after these glorious productive months, I was going to be entering my final year in school after all the delays I had faced due to interruptions caused by school riots and strikes and honestly, I was beginning to get anxious about everything. On the 18th day of March 2020, my world came crashing down right before my eyes. I am not exaggerating! Ok, first, in my school, we hardly ever have electricity or television time but that particular day, we had electricity and I went to my neighbour's house to watch television and catch up with what going on in the world and just then I tuned to CNN and I was met with the most horrible news I ever heard in my lifetime and that was the fast spreading mysterious disease from China, COVID-19. The news particularly said that countries were shutting down schools and worship centres and I knew at that point that this year was going to be the worst after all. On the 20th day of March, my country Nigeria, declared all schools and worship centres closed till further notice and my mum sent for me to come home immediately. This was how it all started. Now, I knew I was going to be at home for a while due to the pandemic so I had to come with a strategy to make my stay at home less traumatic. This was going to be me staying at home 24/7 with my mum. So my approach was to read a lot and just do my chores without being reminded, basically to avoid getting in trouble with my mum. It was going on well, me going about my chores and burying myself in books and my phone just basically avoiding her. Things were looking different in a good way for me; the house was over stocked with food so there was no need to go out. I broke up with my ex whom I dated for 5 years, thing is, I never really loved him and I've never even kissed him because he schools in a different state but he was so good to me and he was crazy about me for some reason I can't still understand so I felt I should date him. After breakup, I started talking to this new guy and he was so cool we were always texting and he recently graduated from my school so he asked me out and in the spur of the moment, I accepted two days after I broke up with my ex. Almost immediately after accepting, I started to feel unsure about my decision because I knew that I didn't love him and he was a good guy, I couldn't afford to hurt him but at the same time, this was the same situation with my ex. Just then, my other ex, (my first sex partner ever, the only guy I literally ever loved but fucked things up because I get scared every time I get too happy because I feel it'll end so soon and I'll be back to being sad and the I'd feel like a fool.) he somehow popped on my phone and we started talking and I realised that I might still have strong feelings for him plus my immediate ex was still begging me to take him back and my boss was also proposing a relationship. At this point, I had to be the most confused person alive considering the fact that I'm not a person that is used to display of emotions and all, so I was kind of just flowing with everyone. Then there was an incident where my neighbour was beating up his wife and everyone was just quiet ignoring but my mum went over to their house and started a fight with the man, he threatened her and they exchanged words. Well of course, through all this, my mum never had a reason to hit us or shout or any of that up until my sister told her that she was lagging behind on her online test and that set my mum off. She started cursing her and shouting at her and hitting her also and my sis, being under attack obviously went for defense but this aggravated the situation all the more and she became physical. Cutting off my sister's natural beautiful hair and my sis wanted to leave at that point, I had to intercede and beg both parties to act reasonably and the whole situation was pacified that day. But from then, it was clash after clash between both of them and I was the middle man which meant me taking most of the punches and once more, we're back to misery. My pandemic experience so far has been horrible and I really can't wait for all this to be over or for the world to end already.

Like all of you know, the world is currently being shaken by the coronavirus pandemic. Many people have to quarantine themselves in their houses so that the virus doesn't spread widely as the number of infected people continues to grow. Dreadful news is spread everywhere on the television or even on social media. Doctors and medical nurses also continue to cure patients even to the point where many of them become infected. Unfortunately, I understand a bit about what is going on these days because of my horrifying experience 9 years ago. When I was 6 years old, my life was suddenly at death's door. I was looking forward to the zoo trip in 4 days but suddenly, I became very ill. My parents brought me to the doctor and in his terrifying room, I was diagnosed with a very contagious and dangerous disease. Diphtheria. To be honest, I had no idea what was happening at that time because I didn't understand the conversation between the doctor and my parents. The funny thing is, I even thought that it was my mother or my father who was sick because it was the first time I saw my parents cry in front of me. I was rushed to the hospital because my doctor said that if I didn't get medicine right away, they had to bring me to surgery so I could breathe normally and had enough oxygen. The moment that made me understood that I was the sick person was when the nurse stuck IV fluids into my hand and I cried hysterically. I was barely breathing, I lost count how many times I vomit that day, and every inch of my body hurt. I was very scared, I didn't want to die but I thought that I would die that day. I was quarantined in a small isolation room, my mother and I stuck in the room for 14 days. I was so weak, I only slept, watched TV, or stared at the only window where I could see the other isolation rooms, with other fighters in it. After 3 days of being quarantined, I saw a boy who was a year older than me, and he was going into his isolation room. He was smiling at me. It turns out that we were fighting the same disease, and his room was 20 feet away from my room. Since we met that day, we got to know each other and continued to communicate using papers and markers. Even though we couldn't meet in person, we were very eager to talk to each other because we were very bored in the room. We write words of encouragement to strengthen one another, but also complaints about our condition at that time. But mostly, I was very happy that I was not going through this alone. Every day, there would be nurse or doctors came in wearing PPE clothes to check on me, or just to give me food. Some of them were friendly and some of them were not. But there was one nurse who I adored entirely. While the other nurses entered my room just to do their jobs and didn't care how I was feeling, this nurse was very patient, she would always say loving words to make me stronger, and she usually hugged me before she did her job. I felt the comfort and the calming sincerity which strengthen me to fight this disease and be a normal person again. I didn't know why that nurse wanted to be very kind to me, but the small thing that she did had a big impact on me. In fact, I will forever owe her and remember her in my heart. While I was still quarantined in the isolation room, my father and my brother would communicate with me using Face time, they would tell me stories and their activities every day, I missed them dearly. My classmate also sent me a few letters with their prayers written there. I was very grateful that even tough in my dreadful condition, there were many people who care about me, and didn't leave me. Until this day, I still hope that this dreadful experience didn't happen to me but whatever I do, I can't go back and change the past. But when I see it from the bright side, that dreadful experience made me realized how valuable the life I am living in, and also the life that could end anytime unexpectedly. I realized that I have to make the most of every moment for the rest of my life. I learn to respect and love others sincerely, like everyone that made me overcome my difficult times. This world will be very beautiful with tolerance and affection. Every day, I say ‘I love you' to my parents before going to bed. Maybe saying ‘'I love you' is a simple thing to do, but those 3 words contain a very deep meaning and can bring a big "impact" to others. Love gives the strength to transform pain into power. Love is the key that we need to get through anything, including this corona virus pandemic.

It was a Thursday morning. I had recently come home from a horrible unwanted vacation and already missed my first day of school. School, oh the dread of school, that word tore holes into my skin, flashbacks to wars with teacher that I wish to never remember. School was never a bright part of my life, but life's life. No time to complain, I had missed my first day at school and now it was time to get ready to go to my first day at my new school. Lazy, drowsy, unmotivated, all the emotions that can define my willingness to get out of bed in the morning. I opened my eyes to a mess like no other, it was as if I had lived in a hotel for two weeks and didn't get room service at all. Looking at the time was even more dreadful than the sight of my room; I had woken up a whole hour early with just a few minutes to spare. I groaned inwardly and outwardly, I wanted to go back to bed but I just couldn't. It was like trying to take down an elephant with one single tranquilizer dart, it was not happening. So I did what any average teenager would do, pop a breakfast bowl into the microwave and take a shower. The first nice hot shower I'd taken in weeks. I didn't care that I would be taking the longest shower in existence, but my dad had other plans banging on the door 25 minutes into my nice, perfect little shower, breaking me out of my day dream as he yelled, “It's time to go!” The race to the door was a frantic rush. I didn't want to be late, but I didn't want to come unprepared. Shoes, pants, shirt, hair combed and gelled, backpack on my back, I was ready to go and I jumped into the car, forgetting the most important part of the day, my breakfast. As we drove to school, my dad was trying to make small talk with me but I just ignored him. I was not in the mood. I was feeling sick with butterflies flying everywhere in my stomach, as if a wasp was chasing the butterflies. As we drove into the parking lot, I looked at the buildings I'd passed so many times to play baseball. This was a strange place for me, some place I needed to get accustomed to, some place I needed to call home. The sound of the car door opening and closing as I stepped outside felt unnatural; already I was feeling uneasy about this whole ordeal. I started walking up the stairs to the meeting with my counselor, compulsively thinking the whole way: Why was I going to a new school? What's stopping me from walking home? Will I be able to make friends? All questions that would be answered in a few days time. The meeting was nonchalant and rather boring; she was really nice but what she had gone over, the rules, the curriculum, the schedules were all things I've heard before. But I was respectful and listened. And as if the bell knew I needed a break from my counselor, it rang with such gusto I was surprised. As she took me to my third period class, I looked around and observed the campus. The buildings were super separated and the numbered buildings felt odd. Unlike my old school, all cooped together and crammed, it seemed open and I enjoyed the scenery, lots of grass, something my old school lacked. As I was looking around while walking to class, I had the feeling of being watched, which I guess would be normal as I was walking around with a counselor. That added with the fact that I looked out of place, I reeked of a new student. Unlike a freshman I didn't have a shoulder to lean on; I was a junior. As school passed by it felt like a flash from one class to another; I sat down, blinked and went to the next class. But from class to class, I met all kinds of people. Some sought out to look tough. Others were polite, which made me uneasy. I was unable to read the people that I talked to, unable to see through their masks. Schools will deny it but there are cliques; my classmates have known each other for two years at least, but they've known me for 30 minutes. I was in no man's land, nobody to talk to. The first day was rough, and as I walked home I tried to remember the classmates I talked to and their names, but most of them were forgotten in the nervous state I was in. The only good thing I could remember was seeing some faces from elementary school all those years ago. I didn't talk to them but mentally noted that I should make an effort to. And as I neared my house, I was very optimistic but knew the torture would start again early the next morning.