Anniversaries and Birthdays are the perfect occasions to appreciate one’s presence in our lives. But how are we supposed to celebrate the anniversary of the one who is responsible for bringing untold misery to humanity around the globe?
However, humans never fail to surprise us as social media today is celebrating the anniversary of this year’s biggest antagonist - Coronavirus.
One year ago, an unexplained infection emerged in Wuhan, China, marking the start of a pandemic that has now killed more than 1.25 million people around the world and infected millions more. In what felt like a plot of a fiction novel, the world which doesn’t stop for anybody or anything was paused for months.
Wearing a mask at all times, staying indoors, social distancing – the manual of living changed in what came to be called the ‘new normal. People lost family, friends, and jobs to the virus and it seems like there is no winning from this newfound common enemy in the near future. It wasn’t people vs. people like a war, it wasn’t people vs. nature like a natural disaster, all of which the world has found an answer to.
Still struggling to find a solution, the otherwise fragmented world came together without even stepping out to empathize with each other. With conversations on mental health, healthcare, community togetherness – the people realized that it was the feeling of being alone that united them.
People faced their worst fears in the form of this pandemic – losing a loved one, their source of livelihood or simply being alone. The absurd humour in wishing the anniversary of the virus that changed it all simply reflects the nature of our species, facing the fear to laugh it out eventually.