Day 65: Who would have thought?

Day 65: May 30, 2020
Global Cases: 6,150,483 ; Deaths: 370,536
Egypt Cases: 23,449 Deaths: 913

Lobna Fayez
Senior Specialist, External Affairs Unit
Dean’s Office, The School of Global Affairs and Public Policy

Quarantine: The most used word in 2020, yet few knew of it before. Everyone had been wishing that they would take a break and, there you go, the universe gave us all a break. However, people are indecisive whether they like it or not, but I say count your blessings. It may be the fact that we are forced to stay in that is making it unbearable along with the uncertainty of the future. Nonetheless, there is always a positive side to every downfall. Young millennials who did not have a lot of time to spend with their families now do.

Most people are usually overworked, but now they have the time; even earth is breathing with the shutdown of some industrial areas. But it must be said the level of technology the humans have reached facilitated some productivity in these stressful times with the use of online platforms such as Zoom.

Nevertheless, I wish “finally it’s over” would be the new trend. I’m a Senior Specialist in the External Affairs Unit as well as a second-year MA student in the Global Affairs Program.

For The Caravan‘s previous diary entries in Arabic and English go to our COVID-19 Special Coverage page.

Indeed, who would have thought that I would be complaining about working from home and having all my courses online as well as my submissions and exams? I wish I could go back to my normal life, getting to see my professors and interacting with my classmates.

I miss the campus, I miss my office and I miss the people I am working with as well as those I see by chance on campus who stand to check on each other even for a five-minute chat.

“We must build back better” is a principle we should use in these challenging times, of course talking about the global level but also on a personal level, we should get out of this crisis with a lesson learned, be it a new skill you have mastered, be it getting closer to your family, be it taking more self-care, and so on. But take this quarantine as an experience that shall pass.

Remember the ancient Persian adage:

این نیز بگذرد
This too shall pass…