Yuka Sooda
The Coronavirus has been a source of many rattling changes and difficulties this year- with a rising death count and states of emergency declared all over the world, the world has truly been thrown into a state of chaos. There are the stories of the common people that are having their lives changed by the events concerning the Coronavirus.
Indeed, the beginnings of the Coronavirus seemed innocent enough. To the students, the Virus started off as part of the daily droning of the news- a virus that was said to be found in Wuhan, China. It was the butt of a joke at the worst and a source of mild concern at best. Then it spread- but only within China. It was at most, for most of the world, a source of mild concern, similar to that of a colony of fruit flies attacking the fruit bowl.
But when did the fruit flies turn into wasps? Overnight, it seemed- all of a sudden, it was in Japan. People wore masks and whispered in the shadows about anyone of Chinese relation. Whispers and wisps of racial discrimination snaked from mouth to mouth. Living in Japan, I saw people on guard against the virus, but it seemed that between the word “Virus” I always saw the word “Chinese”. There were jokes even in school, but at some point, the joke teetered at the edge of a slur. But still, it was just a source of annoyance at most. All it did was show the side of people that had been suppressed by social obligation. Such an exposee was a good thing, I told myself. This all will die down soon, I said.
Then there was a case in this city. Then another. Then two. Four. Eight. All of a sudden, the jokes weren’t funny anymore, and masks flew from shelves. But still, it didn’t have anything to do with me or the people around me, right?
Then the wasps turned into a nest of hornets. The virus was found in Europe, where it spread like wildfire. At least fire can be seen. People became paranoid. Then the virus spread to America. My friend texted me about the coronavirus, online school, school canceled, the news was an endless stream of coronavirus updates rattled on by bleary-eyed reporters who no longer knew what to report on.
School was cancelled.
This seemed like a blessing in disguise- a whole two weeks for the event to die down, something the government imposed just to calm the rest of the world down. A two-week vacation, essentially. Online school. Just in Japan, towards the beginning of the pandemic. Then two weeks turned to three. Then three weeks turned to all of March, then March turned to the rest of the entire year. The entire rest of the year was now restricted to endless hours of blue-light induced headaches and isolation. Prom, graduation, exams, all flew out the window. SAT was cancelled once, then twice, then rescheduled, but at that point no one knew what was going on anymore- was AP going to happen? Life felt like a game of Hit the Target, except my eleventh grade year was the thing knocked off the shelf. Motivation and productivity dropped, and amidst the chaos, many friends turned to apathy to cope with the isolation and disorientation they faced. What had seemed like a short, exciting break from school became a disorienting reality.
But within that disorienting reality there were slivers of light. To counter the political tensions and racism rampant in the community there were news and revelations of countries putting aside their differences and working together. Schools all over the world adjusted their criteria and worked collaboratively to ensure the safety and well-being of the students. Help from all over the world flowed into medical facilities, and words of encouragement ran trending on social media.
Schools worked in collaboration with students, listening to their opinions and taking careful consideration. News reporters reported on the front lines of the pandemic, highlighting to efforts and achievements of medical professionals putting their lives on the line.
So perhaps the Coronavirus is bringing out the brighter side of people as well, to prove the resilient side of human nature. Because, with every story of racial discrimination there is a story of racial acceptance and collaboration. With every setback a school faces there is a renewed opportunity for student voices to be heard. And with every challenge, there is a success that can be made. Mankind have fought through pandemics of all kinds throughout its history; we have trudged through the Black Death, Yellow Fever, and the Flu. We have braved Polio, the Spanish flu, SARS, and Ebola. Even though this fight seems to be a long one, riddled with endless hours of screen time and isolation, there is nothing us students cannot face with FaceTime and blue-light cut glasses in our tool belt.
