Summary: The COVID-19 era brought about fear, uncertainty, and significant changes in the author's life. It was a time of discoveries and adaptation, but also highlighted the lack of empathy and prejudice in society. Despite the challenges, the author reflects on personal growth and the opportunity for positive change.

Takeaways:

🔍 The COVID-19 era was a period of discoveries and adaptation, challenging individuals to navigate new experiences.

😨 Fear and uncertainty characterized the spread of the virus, leading to personal anxiety and paranoia.

🌍 The pandemic brought about significant changes, restricting movement and leading to feelings of control by external forces.

💡 Reflecting on the past, the author realizes the need for wiser decisions and acknowledges the positive aspects of increased awareness and personal creativity.

💔 The pandemic also highlighted the lack of empathy and prejudice, particularly towards certain races.

🌟 Although the author had a platform to speak out against unfair treatment, doubt often arose regarding the effectiveness of petitions and advocacy.

🌱 Ultimately, the COVID-19 era brought about personal growth and change, shaping the author's perspective and mindset.

The Journey Through the COVID-19 Era

A Lifechanging Experience

<p>The COVID-19 era was a period of discoveries, new experiences, and an eye-opener for me. I have never gone through a pandemic before, which made it difficult for me to adapt to the great changes that occurred around me. Despite having gone through various epidemics, the COVID-19 pandemic had a greater impact and was somewhat lifechanging.</p>

A Scary Reality

<p>The way the virus was spreading like a wildfire that was fuelled by gasoline and everyone was getting sick, left and right, was scary to me. And when it finally hit me, I thought I was done for. It was the scariest days of my life; I was paranoid and anxious because of the news I had seen about the virus on social media, which was my news outlet at that time.</p>

Unexpected Changes

<p>COVID changed my life in ways I never would have expected, even now, that it’s on the low and under control. Back then, the inability to go to places I would have been able to go to freely just a month ago without a vaccination card was bizarre to me. Just like a lot of other teens who got their news off social media, I felt I was being controlled by the government and what not. I still feel iffy when I think back about the whole vaccine situation.</p>

Learning from the Past

<p>If I had the chance to go back to that era, I would not be as afraid as I was and I would have made wiser decisions. That era brought out the spirit of creativity in a lot of kids my age, made people realize who they truly were and, in general, was very beneficial to my generation because we became more aware of the news around us. As for me, it brought out my love for various things like baking, dancing and writing.</p>

Empathy and Humanity

<p>Looking on the other side of the story as a person of colour, the pandemic brought out the lack of empathy and humanity in a lot of people. People paired the illness to a particular race, which made no sense at all to me. Seeing old Asian individuals and even the younger ones get brutally assaulted and harassed because of the virus aggravated me and made me very upset.</p>

Seeking Change

<p>I had the platform to speak about how unfair it was, but would people really have listened? I saw a lot of petitions floating around online, and I thought to myself, do these really make a change? I was full of doubt. I feel like COVID was meant to be an era where we would all become strong together and more conscious about our ways; instead, we took advantage of it and used it for worse than good.</p>

A Transformative Experience

<p>At the end of the day, I would not say COVID stole away precious months from me, but instead it changed me.</p>