The National lockdown has taken its toll on the sanity of each and everyone one of us, and while the confusion regarding the mitigation and containment of the viral threat continues to effectively eradicate my otherwise still non-existent sleep, the idea of leading an absolutely crazy life within the boundaries of your home is worth a second thought.
Yes, this lockdown should be driving you crazy – but in a good way. Apart from the improperly organized online classes that we are all soon getting accustomed to, working a bit on your college application essays wouldn’t hurt at all – perhaps a 30 minutes sacrifice of your Money Heist time could make it work out perfectly – or just spend that time watching an episode of Explained! for some inspiration.
You could also be using this time to engage in a number of Internship opportunities that have sprouted all of a sudden (quite to my relief) – a little bit of knowledge on public relations, marketing or sales could be that additional feather to your hat (even if you’re a Science student!!).
The way you put your down-time to use during this period could actually shape how the year turns out for you – learn how to build a website on Codecademy, make an app on Appery (or Android Studio, if that caters to your genius), or just log onto EdX or Coursera to learn about something you have absolutely no idea about (how about some Socratic philosophy?). The point is – this lockdown could be the opportunity that you needed to explore avenues you’ve always wanted to.
The best way to not get bored (even with Netflix, because you clearly can’t just “chill” after a point), is perhaps to engage yourself in activities that are required to bring your most passionate selves into play. I started hosting debate sessions with my juniors on Zoom from the day the lockdown started, and within two weeks, it has progressed and become a city-wide phenomenon and now I’m working on taking it to the larger student audience as a free workshop and debate programme across Kolkata and Bangalore – the nuances of the domino effect of one step towards working on your “passion projects” are not always apparent, but you’ll see how much you’ll love these activities once you begin! Here’s your little “Nudge” towards it (read the Book).
Contributed by Parikshit Roychowdhury
St Xavier’s Collegiate School, Kolkata
Class of 2021