Hafeez A., Centerville High School
Bit by Bit
The last weeks in March before spring break, whispers spread about a disease that killed thousands and rampaged through cities and towns, leaving nothing behind. The 5th graders excitedly started chattering about rumours that the school was shutting down. Then it became true: later that week, our teachers sadly told us that online learning was starting and schools would have to close. I vividly remember jumping up for joy as we imagined days of gaming and playing outside with our friends. We had no idea that the “freedom” we were celebrating would quickly turn into isolation.
In the summer months, when COVID hit us hard, life became more repetitive, gray, and boring. I hadn’t seen my friends in months; my house was a mess, and COVID was starting to isolate our community from each other. I wished the summer would end faster so I could talk and play with people outside of a small screen, and being cooped up in my house every day was tiring. Thankfully, that all changed. One rainy day in July, while sitting outside, listening to the rain patter against the roof and watching a YouTube video, an ad popped up. It was about a smiling old patient who was seriously ill, talking about how grateful he was for the hospital that had helped him through his most difficult times. This was a man who had no idea if he was going to wake up again the next day, yet he had such a genuine smile; there wasn’t even a hint of sadness in his face.
Looking at him laugh while coughing and smiling through pain shifted something in me that day. My struggles were nowhere near as bad as his. If he could be positive, I definitely could as well. Keeping this in mind, I decided to change how I lived. I set a goal- little by little, bit by bit, I could make my life better. I had a choice, a relatively small one, but the one that would get me through the dreary summer. I started by cleaning the house, helping start movie nights, and playing games with my family. Whenever I felt the pain of not seeing my friends for so long, I remembered the old man who smiled no matter his pain.
Just a week after that rainy day, I saw changes, and my mood improved. My house was cleaner; I noticed the birds singing after a long time and the sun casting its golden rays through the trees; the people around me felt happier as well, and bit by bit, I could confidently say my life had improved significantly. Yes, I didn’t have the power to magically make the disease disappear or make every day sunshine and rainbows, but I could control the small things around me. Bit by bit, my life became happier because of what I put out into the world, not by just waiting for change.
