Experiences of COVID-19 Shutdown
The shutdown was one of the measures that governments globally took to control the spreading of COVID-19. The move significantly impacted all individuals regardless of their age. Experiencing the COVID-19 lockdown and returning to normal ways of living was challenging but educational. COVID-19 shutdown caused confusion because I was unsure of when I would continue with learning or what to do during the period. I could not understand how life would have continued without being allowed to move freely to purchase basic commodities such as foodstuffs from the market or shopping malls. Indeed, the disruption caused by the lockdowns meant that the period of completing my degree had to be extended if there were no alternative means of continuing with the learning process. Implementation of online classes further confused me since I was not sure whether the new learning method would be effective or not. Although I initially enjoyed the shutdown because I was relieved from struggles of waking up early to attend classes and complete assignments, boredom, stress, and anxiety slowly crept into my life during the period. I was used to spending much of my time, when not attending classes, with my friends hanging around public places, watching movies, or playing games. However, all of these could not happen after the government implemented the lockdown measures. Everybody was confined to their homes to prevent the infectious diseases. I felt stressed and anxious due to the introduction of online teaching and learning, ambiguity about academic performance, and concerns about completing my studies.
Experiences of returning to school after the shutdown
Returning to the regular school program after the COVID-19 shutdown also presented significant challenges. Everything from the first day of returning to school was no longer the same because of a tight schedule, new procedures and policies, and stress. Although there were online classes during the COVID-19 shutdown, not every student was privileged to have all the resources, such as computers and stable internet, required to facilitate online teaching, learning, and discussions. Equally, extending the period of completing a particular level of studies was not an option for students and schools because that would have meant a significance disruption of the academic calendar. Therefore, there was a lot of work students had to cover in the semester to ensure that all students covered the learning period lost during the shutdown. I had to spend most of my time in classes and the library completing my assignments. I had no free time with my friends as I used to in previous semesters. Another challenge was to adhere to new procedures and policies implemented in the institution, such as social distancing, regular sanitization, and wearing masks to prevent and control the transmission of COVID-19. Stress was also inevitable during the semester due to increased class workload and tight deadlines, new protocols, and waking up early and sleeping late.
Lessons from the experiences
The two experiences, during and after the COVID-19 shutdown, taught me important lessons. The first lesson is the importance of preparedness for uncertainties such as pandemic outbreaks. I can attribute all the challenges I encountered to a lack of preparedness for change. Undeniably, changes are inevitable in life, especially when something that affects everyone globally occurs. Although I knew at some point the government had to take strict measures to control the spreading of COVID-19, I did not take any action to prepare for the same. For example, I never bothered to study ahead to caution about the time I could lose during the shutdown. The second lesson was the significance of learning strategies to cope with changes. Notably, life changes can cause stress and other psychological problems. However, these negative impacts can be alleviated when one knows approaches to manage change. The last lesson is that technology is an effective tool for minimizing the negative impacts of academic programs’ disruptions due to pandemics. The technology facilitated online classes for many students during the shutdown. These lessons will be beneficial in education and future life. I will be learning ahead and planning for uncertainties to minimize the adverse effects of unexpected occurrences. I will also learn change-coping strategies such as planning in advance and reframing my thinking to prevent stress. Lastly, I will embrace technology in all learning processes and the execution of daily activities.