Here’s a poem by a teenager, who penned down her personal experiences during the lockdown period of the COVID-19 pandemic in India. Read to find out how she applied her creativity to express her emotions and thoughts. 

The Challenge that Brought Out the Best in Me

 

Freaked out over the final exams

Reading and revising and trying to cram

Panic and pressure were in the air 

When something happened that was definitely rare.

 

A deadly virus was sweeping the world

Everywhere fear was starting to unfurl

Each day brought news of death

The virus was snuffing out countless breaths.

 

Schools shut down, exams cancelled

People forced inside, jobs abandoned 

Restless children, worried many an adult

All of them forced to adjust.

 

From east to west

The virus had swept

Leaving the world waiting with bated breath

For a cure to the seemingly unstoppable death.

 

Fast forward to a few months later

Turns out that I’d become something of a debater

I suppose the story is fairly long

If you have time, buckle up and come along.

 

You see, I had become quite carefree

Acting almost as though I were three

Then I was shocked back to reality

Abruptly and with quite a lot of brutality

 

The shock felt rather like a knuckle of brass

Or in other words also known as online class

However, that was only the tip of the iceberg

Along with it came something far more absurd.

 

It turns out I had been recommended

For an opportunity that was apparently splendid

I was now taking part in a debate competition

Despite my slightly vehement opposition

 

Now I was faced with what felt impossible

Despite assurances that it was completely feasible

I had to juggle homework, studies and debating

Barely started and I was already suffocating.

 

A shy and reserved person by nature

More tolerable would be an electric chair

Stage fright did nothing to help

All in all, not a pretty combination

Did you finally see the reason for my vexation?

 

Debating itself to begin with was not a piece of cake

Doing it online was enough to give me a headache

So much to remember 

So much to do

 

Look at the camera, but don’t stare

Look confident and be aware

Be loud but don’t shout

Be confident and without a doubt

Don’t start looking left and right and all around

Or you’ll end up not too different from a clown

 

Yet despite my initial reservation

I ended up having fun

I learnt how to debate and not to fret

All this without breaking into a sweat

 

I boast not, but I became a skilled organizer

Something that made me all the more wiser

I learnt how to keep up with my increasing workload

Yet my studies never allowed me to be slowed.

 

Learning to balance work and fun

Was one of the best things I’d ever done

What I thought was going to be a disaster

Just helped make me my own master.

 

One of the hardest challenges I’d ever done

Showed me that I’d only just begun

In such a terrible time of panic and worry

with hardly any reasons to be merry

To me my achievement seemed to shine

As brightly as the sun in all its prime.

(Anika Agarwal is a class 8th student, studying in School of India, Bangalore. She has a keen interest in reading, writing, drawing, and playing the keyboard.)