A few weeks back as we had just returned from the Chinese New Year break, I was looking forward to the exciting year ahead be it the IFP trip or the many other CAS commitments I had yet to finish. But it is truly surprising how an event like the COVID-19 pandemic can truly cause one to reconsider their priorities. While the prospect of going to Mae Sot for the IFP trip had been enticing, but like all the other CAS activities the ever-evolving situation regarding the COVID outbreak put a damper on those plans for sure. For example, the closure of sports facilities in Singapore meant that my weekly classes were now cancelled, and as a result, I had to find something else to continue to motivate myself to engage in physical exercise throughout the week. Similarly, even though we had worked quite hard to get the humanities magazine finished in the last few weeks leading up to the now preponed easter break, the move to online learning along with the cancellation of all gatherings on campus has meant that we haven’t been able to sell our magazines to the community. Perhaps, the most direct impact that I have seen is with regards to service, how it has affected both my local service and my global concern. Before all this, we were planning our sales for the Family Festival to help fundraise for Gili ECO Trust, but even long after that event was cancelled we continued to try to adapt to come up with new ways to raise money on campus, like the very innovative: bake sales. In a similar vein, after our ability to continue our online lessons with the service partners was put on a hold, we tried to create online content for them. But like everything else so far, the COVID-19 situation managed to affect this as well. However, as much as thinking about this saddens me, I can’t help but wonder how insignificant some of these concerns may feel when you think about how the virus has already impacted thousands across the globe both directly and indirectly. Even though I may personally feel less scared by the virus from the relative comfort of Singapore, it’s hard to understate the impact both financial and physical that the virus has had on people living around the world.
