Shahriyer Hossain Shetu
“So no one told you life was gonna be this way
Your job’s a joke, you’re broke
Your love life’s DOA
It’s like you’re always stuck in second gear”
The lyrics of “I’ll be there for you,” from the well-known American sitcom, Friends, by David Crane and Martha Kauffman, can be connected with the unavoidable circumstances after the outbreak of the coronavirus. The words in the song have a paradoxical connotation that signifies the current situation of human lives due to the COVID-19 issue: No one told us that life was going to be this harsh, we do not have jobs, we are broke, our love life is in an absolute state of D.O.A (dead on arrival), and we are stuck in the second gear, unable to move forward or backward.
The changes due to the COVID-19 have an equilibrium effect in my life, referring to both negative and positive sides. The isolation due to the coronavirus has made me realize the everyday situation of the helpless zoo animals that are caged all the time. Our treatment towards the zoo animals and street dogs are the exact treatments of the coronavirus towards us as if Karma has hit us back. The more the days pass, the more I am convinced by the time that human beings are absolutely foolish creatures. At this point, I feel like the disease is actually the antivirus, which is removing the virus named as humans for the betterment of the world.
As the pandemic has turned off all the physical engagements, everything is now virtually overtaken. From online classes to online food delivery, life is absolutely “Internetized.” Despite the advantages of the internet facilities, there are some physical disadvantages. For instance, eye irritation due to over screen time, body ache due to lying on the bed for too long and extreme headache due to the direct laptop or phone lights that hit our eyes. Besides, this isolation has also created an enormous impact, establishing an invisible barrier, almost like a fog, that has eliminated closeness and produced remoteness towards people. Our generation is shifting back to the Modern era that had no actual communication. The rise of the industrial revolution, I believe, was never a good sign, neither in the 19th century nor in the 21st century. In the Modern era, people had their unique ways to escape from reality. But now, due to the COVID-19 disease, we cannot even get out of our houses. I, for instance, sometimes find online communication tedious and dull. Sharing Memes on Facebook and exchanging videos is now the only possible way to get entertainment, but, at some point, it also creates exhaustion. The endless cycle of messaging constructs a dull phenomenon that concludes into boredom. Life was not supposed to be just sharing memes, emojis, or late-night texts/calls. It was supposed to be eye-to-eye interaction and face-to-face communication.
But, if referred to the positive connotation after the disease outbreak, it has dug out the creative and innovative side of mine. As I am getting more time than usual, I can put more effort into my family as well as myself. Being a student in the English department of ULAB, I get more time to enhance my writing, reading, and analyzing skills. Communication through social media has increased my typing speed faster than before, which I can add as a skill for future job demands. Apart from typing skills, quarantine has allowed me to explore the Internet world more. An epiphany that I have gained in these months is the importance of friends and family and physical love, which I can never get through online. But, even though online tasks are keeping me distant from my friends, it is, on the other hand, pushing me closer to my family members. The former normal of eating together and spending time together with family members has been brought back by the coronavirus. The other changes that I have seen in myself are my initiative towards cooking, planting, helping in household works, and reading various other non-academic books. Obviously, these are daily routines for some people, but for me, it is new as I was too much indulged in my university life and the outside world.
Apparently, the “my life, my rules” quote is not correct anymore after the arrival of the deadly disease. The changes due to the coronavirus are now the new normal for our everyday life. It has created both a positive as well as a negative impact on my daily schedule. But, the new normal is not the right normal that, I believe, should be maintained. The social distancing is shifting towards a mental distancing among adults like me. The effects of the coronavirus are also creating a mental depression in the minds of many. Mental depression is due to the loss of close ones unexpectedly, and we cannot even mourn online. I believe that the structure of the communication is inaccurate as Charles Dickens had said, “Electric communication will never be a substitute for the face of someone who with their soul encourages another person to be brave and true.” The fact that we are losing people so quickly can be a direct implication of “No one will be there for you” instead of “I’ll be there for you.”
Works Cited:
Friends, written by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, directed by Kevin Bright, Warner Brothers, 1994.
The Rembrandts. “I’ll be there for you.” L.P. Produced by Gavin MacKillop, 1995.
BrainyQuote. 2020. Charles Dickens Quotes. Available at: <https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/charles_dickens_132524> [Accessed 19 October 2020].
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