Sophia Mok, Grade 12
UWC Li Po Chun
Ever since COVID hit, I’ve undergone 3 types of quarantines. Most people see quarantine as an enemy who’ve stripped them of freedom, yet for me, it was more like a mentor.
2019. COVID erupted in China. Suddenly, my quotidian weekday of school, team trainings and band rehearsals was transferred into a virtual reality. We stared into a screen of silent square boxes whilst listening to a lethargic professor read off the textbook. Demotivation overthrew everybody. Determined to not let my pessimistic surrounding influence me, I decided to take my education under my own control. Making use of online textbooks, simulations, and tutorials, I developed a structured studying schedule, and gradually became my own “teacher”.
Life at home changed too. We cherished family bonding opportunities; however, subtle tensions gradually arose as we started realizing each other’s “pesky” traits (the “foe” being under the same roof 24/7 made tensions linger longer). The housekeeper resigned; my parents had to work for extended hours; yet I had spare time due to training suspensions. Thus, I assumed the responsibility as “family caretaker” – cooking, cleaning… From following recipes to inventing culinary innovations, from marginally edible ramen to succulent roasts and pastries, cooking transformed from a duty to passion which I still commit to everyday. I also reached out to help local struggling farmers (the sweetest aunties who call me “the daughter every parent wants”).
In 2021, I moved to the multicultural metropolis Hong Kong to attend United World College – there I experienced another type of quarantine. One would’ve thought it impossible to feel isolated in a boarding school. However, as the pandemic escalated, friends progressively disappeared to self-isolate, teachers put on medical protective suits, canteen conversations turned into dates with computer screens…
Hopeless and angry about their powerlessness, students began rebelling against social-distancing restrictions. Despite resonating with their frustration, I condemned their selfishness to disregard the burden inflicted on our depleted staff. Thousands of critically ill people were dying daily, yet instead of being grateful, they were putting others at risk. I reflected upon my conflicted emotions and fascinating observations in my journal, and realized that I need to create positive impact to mitigate my negativity. I started helping the overburdened catering system distribute meals to self-isolating students, and from then on, became known as the campus “food angel”. My daily dose of social interaction came from stopping by every door to check up on them and bring “external world” updates. Concerned by the mountains of plastic containers we were generating, I requested for the school to invest in reusable containers, which from students’ feedback, miraculously “made the meals more appetizing” and “reminded them of homemade lunchboxes”.
Solitude and boredom also sparked my idea to start an online teaching service to assist students struggling from online learning and increase social connections! I prepared PowerPoints, lesson schedules, homework assignments; utilized online simulations/exercises; hosted “parent-teacher progress meetings”; and received positive feedback from all 5 of my students.
After a year of uncertainty, it was finally time to return home for summer, but before so, I had to endure 14 days of hotel quarantine (“Without suffering, there is no happiness”!). Initially, days passed like years. Then, whilst scrolling through friends’ social media of family reunions and travels, I realized that despite being stripped of all the luxuries I previously had, I still had the power to employ my creativity and transform the monotony into growth and self-reflection. I revamped the room into a “relaxation paradise”, for my daily yoga and ‘quarantine diaries’ content creation, and a “study studio”, where I was motivated to work and teach. Surprisingly, I’d grown so attached to this “cage” that I was slightly sad to leave! I wrote the hotel staff a letter to thank them for the attentive care and service they provided me.
As ironic as it may seem, I express gratitude towards my quarantine mentor, for impelling me to metamorphose to everchanging environments, engage skills I’d previously neglected, and accept challenges with positivity.
2019. COVID erupted in China. Suddenly, my quotidian weekday of school, team trainings and band rehearsals was transferred into a virtual reality. We stared into a screen of silent square boxes whilst listening to a lethargic professor read off the textbook. Demotivation overthrew everybody. Determined to not let my pessimistic surrounding influence me, I decided to take my education under my own control. Making use of online textbooks, simulations, and tutorials, I developed a structured studying schedule, and gradually became my own “teacher”.
Life at home changed too. We cherished family bonding opportunities; however, subtle tensions gradually arose as we started realizing each other’s “pesky” traits (the “foe” being under the same roof 24/7 made tensions linger longer). The housekeeper resigned; my parents had to work for extended hours; yet I had spare time due to training suspensions. Thus, I assumed the responsibility as “family caretaker” – cooking, cleaning… From following recipes to inventing culinary innovations, from marginally edible ramen to succulent roasts and pastries, cooking transformed from a duty to passion which I still commit to everyday. I also reached out to help local struggling farmers (the sweetest aunties who call me “the daughter every parent wants”).
In 2021, I moved to the multicultural metropolis Hong Kong to attend United World College – there I experienced another type of quarantine. One would’ve thought it impossible to feel isolated in a boarding school. However, as the pandemic escalated, friends progressively disappeared to self-isolate, teachers put on medical protective suits, canteen conversations turned into dates with computer screens…
Hopeless and angry about their powerlessness, students began rebelling against social-distancing restrictions. Despite resonating with their frustration, I condemned their selfishness to disregard the burden inflicted on our depleted staff. Thousands of critically ill people were dying daily, yet instead of being grateful, they were putting others at risk. I reflected upon my conflicted emotions and fascinating observations in my journal, and realized that I need to create positive impact to mitigate my negativity. I started helping the overburdened catering system distribute meals to self-isolating students, and from then on, became known as the campus “food angel”. My daily dose of social interaction came from stopping by every door to check up on them and bring “external world” updates. Concerned by the mountains of plastic containers we were generating, I requested for the school to invest in reusable containers, which from students’ feedback, miraculously “made the meals more appetizing” and “reminded them of homemade lunchboxes”.
Solitude and boredom also sparked my idea to start an online teaching service to assist students struggling from online learning and increase social connections! I prepared PowerPoints, lesson schedules, homework assignments; utilized online simulations/exercises; hosted “parent-teacher progress meetings”; and received positive feedback from all 5 of my students.
After a year of uncertainty, it was finally time to return home for summer, but before so, I had to endure 14 days of hotel quarantine (“Without suffering, there is no happiness”!). Initially, days passed like years. Then, whilst scrolling through friends’ social media of family reunions and travels, I realized that despite being stripped of all the luxuries I previously had, I still had the power to employ my creativity and transform the monotony into growth and self-reflection. I revamped the room into a “relaxation paradise”, for my daily yoga and ‘quarantine diaries’ content creation, and a “study studio”, where I was motivated to work and teach. Surprisingly, I’d grown so attached to this “cage” that I was slightly sad to leave! I wrote the hotel staff a letter to thank them for the attentive care and service they provided me.
As ironic as it may seem, I express gratitude towards my quarantine mentor, for impelling me to metamorphose to everchanging environments, engage skills I’d previously neglected, and accept challenges with positivity.
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