2020 And Me

 

I stared at the clock for the last five minutes. The fricking mechanical sound was much clearer in midnight. In the bleak midwinter, when everyone was asleep in the layers of blanket, my eyes moved along the wavy motion of the pendulum.  At last, the time came when the clock hit the last second of the last hour of the whole 365 days. Environment was filled with sounds of fireworks as the New Year approached.

A New Year, with a new energy and a new enthusiasm. I welcomed it, sat back for a moment, wandered, and then ticked out some of my bucket list goals. I went to the top, roared in the cool breeze and dared the world to stop me from achieving my goals.

I, being in the last year of my college, was at the brink of university life and was equally excited for a new community and new gatherings.

But... You know, things don't certainly have to go your way. COVID-19 struck, and jammed the whole world. Every institution closed, every human isolated, exams cancelled, meetings cancelled, tours cancelled and it seemed like a full stop had been placed before everything.

Every other day, waking up and seeing nothing was a new norm. Switched on the TV, nothing except COVID-19. Opened social media, every post had the same “Stay Home, Stay Safe” mantra. Every time I saw the goals I ticked, I got mad, it made me lose hope. 

"NOT ALL STORMS COME TO DISRUPT YOUR LIFE,

SOME COME TO CLEAR YOUR PATH."

(Coelho, Zahir)

This time around, in June 2020, I brought some changes in life. I started exercising, preparing for the entrance tests of universities, and also started some meditation. The upcoming 3 months promised excitement. I gained a new physique, got admission in one of the top universities of Pakistan with a little to no mental stress anymore. I achieved, and I got praised for it. The praise boosted my courage and helped me overcome my stress.

“THE JOURNEY IS NOT ABOUT BECOMING ANYTHING BUT TO UNBECOMING WHO YOU ARE NOT.”

Then came the day, my first day at the university. It was very usual for everyone to be a little shy, a little nervous and talking to each other like they would never meet again. The thing I love most about new gatherings and new community is the calmness and shyness inside every other person. It created hype, I met different people. Time passed and we got easy with each other.

The last thing about this year, I don’t know of it being achievement or luck. The university (NUST) invited our Prime Minister for the first time. I had never seen a big personality live, and it was our damn Prime Minister, Mr. Imran Khan. I saw him from a distance with huge protocol roaming in the university.

I don’t know how much I lost and how many goals I missed, but the thing to know is I ACHIEVED something too. I achieved at least one goal, I learned how to live the worst way, and I learned how to live lively when I had nothing to be happy for.

“LIFE HAS A WAY OF TESTING A PERSON'S WILL,

EITHER BY HAVING NOTHING HAPPEN AT ALL

OR BY HAVING EVERYTHING HAPPEN AT ONCE.”