When I am looking back at my life as a student in London before the pandemic and comparing back to what it is right now, I suddenly realize that the things being upside down in Australia really was not just a joke. But it is funny that now my daily routine is nothing but a reversed version of the one before: at the time when I used to sleep, I am now awake and counting down my time before attending classes; at the time when I used to rush out the Hall and catch the bus about to leave, I am now lying comfortably in bed enjoying the morning sunlight.
On the flip side of this life is, however, the fact that I only live half of my student life compared to before. My routine ends right in the middle of the day at around 2:00pm London time. This means that anything after is business left-till-tomorrow or business that is “just plainly gone”. By the latter, I mean most, if not all, the socials and sometimes a couple of meetings.
Reflecting upon how my life is what it is right now, an important idea also flashes as I realize that despite the occurrence of a devastating pandemic that unequivocally marked a tremendous impact on people’s lives, the will of the individual still remains the decisive molding device of one’s livelihood. How one copes with the pandemic and how one chooses to behave is left pretty much to individual choice. Dominos may fall upon one another without resistance, but people are much more resilient. This is the same for me. I’ve come a long way from paying attention to social distancing to putting on a mask, from evading to go to crowded areas to only going out when necessary. As someone from the country first hit by the virus, I cannot stress how these actions can be more reasonable. Then, as I have moved through this chain of choices, I’ve become adept and moved to the present. Many who did not do so, in a way, continued their old life.
So although I cannot picture myself going back to London in the foreseeable future, I will tell any of my interviewers in London,
“I will be the most hard-working person you will ever hire for I am working when all of you are sleeping!”
