Lockdown Diaries Nominee#25- Lockdown Diaries: The new normal: our journey continues By Bonolo Mosuwe

Ignorance through the lens of reality
First Covid-19 cases were recorded about 11000km away from my home country, it was not a big deal then but it became a reality. I did not think South Africa would fall in the top 5 countries affected by the pandemic, both by the number of cases and economically. The 23rd of March 2020 was nerve wracking for a whole lot of people, the president of the republic announced that the country would undergo a two-week lockdown. When it began, we had to adjust our lifestyles towards the massive change.

New Year’s Resolutions Twice a year
I was excited to spend some time alone and learn new things about myself. I set up lots of high goals and expectations for myself and I have not reached most of them (although I am still going for them). Amidst the lockdown, I realized that I could push myself. I used to give excuses and I would uphold them so they sound like valid reasons, but I had an opportunity to develop a will power to do things that I wanted and I did. I have had time to rethink my career path and identify what I would love to do for the rest of my life. I figured I would need to change my career paths, it will be very expensive to do that but it is worth a try or a do.

In time of test, family is best
The lockdown regulations were eased overtime and I moved back home to stay with my family. It does not matter what I am eating, but a homemade meal is always heartwarming. Covid-19 has taken away many things, but at the same time ignited the togetherness in my family. We have started to pray together and know one another better; possibilities of forgiving the past and moving forward surfaced and we took them by heart. I will always be grateful for the opportunity.

Catastrophic time: winter is coming
I remember how fearful I was that winter was coming and that the virus would thrive. Winter came and Covid-19 expanded, it took lives, jobs, businesses and many other important things. It changed everything, but my faith and hope for the future stayed. I made a commitment to pray for those who were infected, my close friends’ family were among the statistics. The last 5 months became an era of sadness and a chance to appreciate the little or the most we had.

This too shall pass
“What has no ending calls for disaster” – An idiom originated in a Setswana language of Southern Africa that affirms that everything has an ending. The devastation caused by the pandemic will be written in history literature. It is almost spring in South Africa and flowers are starting to flourish, there is hope.

ReachIvy.com organized an online blog/vlog competition to provide people the unique opportunity to share their lockdown stories using their creativity. The competition met with a fantastic response from participants across 4 continents, and our jury has handpicked the Top 50 entries from them for the Popular Choice Award 2020!

The above entry has been submitted by Bonolo Mosuwe from Pretoria, South Africa. He is a trainee at the Agricultural Research Council. Kudos to Bonolo for this beautiful piece!

Show your support and help Bonolo win the contest by liking this blog post on all ReachIvy.com’s social media platforms!