SINK OR SWIM

When 2020 dawned on the world, it wasn’t like just ushering in a new year or a new decade. It felt more like the turn of the century or the entering ofa new millennium. Remember how the Y2K bug caused concern all over the world back in 1999 (well, maybe not!)? Just 20 years after, came not a computer virus but a life-threatening one.  This one sent the whole world toa standstill and then thrust it into limbo.

Everybody was trying to figure out what now. Where do we go from here and how? Nobody was ready but everyone tried to adapt in different ways- from commonsensical, to scientific, to hypochondriacal, and absurd-just to have some semblance of normalcy.

Students weren’t spared. As the education shifted from the classroom to virtual ones, everything that was problematic in the system just got magnified.Zoom out to zoom in. The divide between the haves and the have-nots has been palpable. One needed not just the gadgets, but also the money to pay for the load to get connected, and the availability and strength of internet signal from wherever they are.

On the flip side,it was also shown that when pushed against the wall people are able to find ways to make things work which sometimes proves to be moreefficient.One such thing is going electronic or making processes online like the enrolment. Many schools and colleges have been doing this for a while now and suddenly, everyone else was able to do it! No flocking to school, more convenient for all, and the work needed was done. Also, everyone is apparently capable of being punctual when meeting for class online or for virtual ceremonies! Why wasn’t this the case before?

NEW NORMAL. If change is the only constant thing then isn’t the new normal the norm? Well, every now and then there must be shifts in paradigms and an alternative way of doing things. Sometimes the situation wouldn’t wait for us to get comfortable. Sometimes a revolution has to be immediate and urgent. Like a school of fish, we could all go and move in one direction and keep swimming or what option do we have? Sink or Swim.