The Good & The Bad

written by: Xandra Canlas | Comm2B

Upon hearing various announcements and orders regarding the COVID-19, my initial reaction was really “what?” I honestly don’t know what to feel, it feels weird and also alarming. But when the changes reading the orders that were followed started in our barangay, that’s the time it hit me. It is really happening and we have to move.

My family always go to the grocery to buy necessities and stock up food that is good for at least a month. But because of the announcement regarding the month long enhanced community quarantine, we stock up differently this time and because people are also buying things, we end up buying in various grocery stores and buying products that are a bit pricey because the usual ones that we buy are out of stock. And when you thought that the dilemma ends when you’re able to gather your needs, there goes the very long line where you will end up waiting for at least 30 to 40 minutes. And to add up, the grocery stores are very crowded and social distancing is not practiced.

While every other school around manila are suspending online classes, here we are continuing to respond to online classes provided by our professors that is ordered by Letran. At first, we were kind of excited in using zoom, because it is actually “cute” that you get to see your professor and classmates online, and the fact that it e-classes are happening. But as time goes by, problems are slowly arising like unstable connection and personally I find it hard to understand the classes. I also usually lose focus and fails to finish the tasks that were given to us weekly. Not because I’m too lazy to do it but I always end up staring at my laptop and doing nothing at all.  It still different learning on a room with your classmates beside you and a professor in front.

Besides attending to online tasks, what keeps me busy these past few weeks are watching movies or series (sometimes), reading books, writing, exercising, sleeping and spending time with my family. Actually, this quarantine has good side because I’m able to talk with my little sister thoroughly and exchange insights about things. Yes, we are able to talk on a daily basis back then but it is very limited because she has training and my classes usually ends up late. Surprisingly my mother didn’t know I play the guitar so after discovering that we usually jam and sing together. I have good relationship with my family (mother and sister) we are close but truthfully speaking there are some things that you end up keeping to yourself because things around you are slowly changing you and you don’t have the time to actually share it and introduce yourself once again that the person you knew back then is somehow different form the person you get to see at home for a very short period of time.

What saddens me the most probably is that my sister is unable to experience her prom and going up the stage, getting her diploma and accepting her transition rites. She was not able to experience that full blown grade 10 life that I get to experience but nevertheless I’m excited by the fact that she’s moving to the Colegio next year. To add up, what also makes me sad is that I really miss hanging out with my friends and I miss their presence. They’ve been a big part of my everyday life. They are the ones who get to see the real me, the one who is really carefree and true to herself. And I promised myself that after this quarantine we will be able to sit again on a lunch table together, to eat, to talk about life and just to shrug off the negativity and laugh. And I can’t wait for that to happen.

To wrap up, I can say that I was able to think about things and because I have plenty time for myself, I was able to reflect on the things that happened in the past, the decisions I have to make and how I will view and take things differently starting from now on.

The Light in Dark Times

By Rumiel Casanova, COMM2B

Since the day that I arrived in my province, I knew then that all of us are afraid about the coronavirus. Our province also does the same in Manila when the local government placed Batangas under Community Quarantine. 

Getting some food and necessities in our province may not be difficult compared to Manila but it is perhaps a privilege to stock up food in our fridge. My parents have their quarantine passes to cross borders of every barangay in our municipality.  To make us safe, they go to the market once a week and buy our food for the whole week. It is enough for a family of 7 but we still make sure that we are not wasting any of these blessings that not everyone can get. 

Every day, my father goes to our farm to check and manage our business. He always wears his mask for the safety of himself and for us. While in our house, my siblings and I help the household chores to lessen the work of my mother as a teacher in secondary level. Just like the other workers, my mom also works from home to still comply with her requirements and obligations to her students.

With the virus outbreak and lockdown, I was sure that many things were bothering me.  Due to little access to the internet and resources such as laptops, I personally worry about my schooling. Most of our subjects in second year are major subjects, but thankfully, when other professors do the grade consultation and I was relieved because I got good grades. I am happy because despite the situation, I can still comply with the workload and of course, most of our professors are considerate enough. 

What worries me more is that if classes and work resume on april 15 (which is not yet determined as of now), we might not be able to flatten the curve and our situation may get worse like in Italy, China or the US. However, if the ECQ continues, it will surely affect our economic state. That’s why I’ve been hoping that everyone is safe and this pandemic will be gone soon. 

As for me, since I cannot access the internet easily and engage myself in social media activities today, I look for other things that could entertain me. I was impressed, because I am a typical guy who plays mobile games that were actually made for young guys, but since I wanna try something new, I installed offline games like Adorable Home. It’s just funny because way back before, when this game hit its peak, I was telling them “it’s boring” but look at me now, I’m actually enjoying playing with the cats. Of course, aside from that, I also enjoy sleeping and cleaning our backyard. I’m also building a cabinet that fits in my room where I can display my collection of toys. 

Coronavirus really affects the life of every person. Maybe, this situation is bound to change us in an aspect that we never thought we needed. Despite what I lack, I’m still grateful because I know some of us barely have something to eat every morning until they close their eyes. Some of them try to defy the protocol because they are hungry and desperate. We can never blame them because those people are not as lucky as we got to be. 

Every night, before we go to sleep, let’s always pray that as we sleep in our soft and comfortable bed, these people also sleep with their tummy satisfied. When I’m alone and laying on my bed, I always take time to refresh all of my memories together. Sometimes I can’t help but cry because of the mistakes that I made when I was young. I cry because I want to fix those mistakes in my past so I get to be better today. But, I know that I cannot do that anymore. Day by day, as I see people die due to the COVID-19 disease, I can’t help but think if they made the most of their life and regret their wrongs? Did their family know they loved them? That’s my everyday realizations that’s why as much as possible, I want to make the most out of my life and tell people I love them and I regret hurting them.