Sounds from the radio: 5,4,3,2,1 HAPPY NEW YEAR (indistinctive voices and cheers outside). Ngifisa ukuba nemali eningi wallet yami iqumbe khanda lami lidume (I wish I had a lot of money to a point whereby my wallet swells and my head hurts) – that was the song of the year.

Yes I remember that how we entered a new year, a new decade with HIGH HOPES. 2020 in our view was supposed to be a decade of the decades, a decade filled with plenty opportunity, abundance, health and wealth -basically everything you could name will be plenty- hence we named it twenty plenty. Little did we know it will test us mentally, physically, spiritually and financially.

The year 2020 started off on a good note for me. I was accepted for Honours degree, I was hired as a tutor for the department of information and knowledge management plus in March I was graduating. My father, my biggest fan was more excited than me. He was browsing the internet – of cause with the help of my younger sister because you know boomers and the internet don’t see eye to eye – searching for the cheapest yet elegant suit for the graduation ceremony. I would contact parents and update them about the graduation, job and life in general. Everything was perfect the sun kissing skin, air feeding our lungs, sharing love through hugs and kisses. We were free to go wherever and whenever we wanted without any restrictions. No one anticipated that soon all of that would be stolen by a deadly and dangerous thief named Corona virus, codiv as the minister of education ma Angie Motshekga call it.

Sound from a smartphone: The nation Corona Virus Command Counsel has decided to enforce a nationwide lockdown for 21 days with effect from midnight on Thursday 26th of March… from midnight on Thursday 26th March until Thursday the 16th of April all South Africans will have to stay home.

For a moment I froze however my mind was running a thousand miles a second. One though stood out and that was right there and then things were about to change for the worst. Hope packed up everything inside me and departed. The next morning I received communication that I need not to come to work and in the residence I stayed we were evacuated. As my older sister and I were packing my belongings into the car, the people I saw passing had a painted face of fear and there was a sense of emergency in the atmosphere. The air that was once adored and enjoyed was threatening. The masks on their faces seemed so superior, protecting them from evil.

As law abiding citizens, my family and I followed the president’s instructions. We didn’t set foot outside unless we had to go and buy essential products. However, staying locked down in the house was not easy as it came with multiple changes. As a human race we were abruptly disconnected to the world and almost everything that made us human. We couldn’t touch each other, we had to wear masks, we could socialise with others and we had to social distance. What drove me insane was seeing only two set of faces 24/7 and it became so bad that my niece and I couldn’t tolerate each other when before we got along like a house on fire. Procrastination became my frenemy – it would convince me to put off work until it piled up and when it was a lot it gave me a look and left me to suffer while I was completing the work – imagine.

And then I received an email stating that there won’t be any graduation ceremony – I recall slowly dying inside and fading. I was looking forward to it. Delivering these news to my parents especially my dad broke me. When I told them my dad was shattered. I could hear the hurt and disappointment in his voice tone – agrr what a bummer. Another sad thing was I couldn’t visit them in Mpumalanga because of the level’s restrictions. My dad was still hopeful that he would attend my next graduation, however like an uninvited thief death along with his accomplice Covid came and stole his life. Now he’ll never get the chance to attend the ceremony. At the peak of the pandemic he was infected by the disease and he couldn’t fight it.

The Covid 19 has taken a lot from us, but it has also taught us a few things. It affected and infected everybody – it didn’t care about an individual’s status, health, race, wealth, none of that. It showed us that life is inevitable and unpredictable; regardless of everything we should cherish every moment with those we care for because tomorrow is not promised. It might have taken away our loved ones – rest in peace dad – freedom, jobs, financial freedom etc but we survived and that’s what’s important at the end of the day. Also, It also has taught us to appreciate life and our loved ones, the air, prioritise our health and finances and the littlest things such as touch.

The pandemic almost took everything but I’m grateful that it did not take my life – and yours- and the faith I have in God. Life has it’s ups and downs and this might have been our lowest point, however it has also given us a chance to start afresh and from here we can only go up. It might have seemed as if we were buried, but no we were planted to sprout again and grow even stronger as a people.