Sanju Maharjan

Human mind tends to focus on the bad aspects of everything. That is the reason why when someone mentions lockdown, we initially think about all the boredom we had to face while staying at home for months. But just like everything it had its own merits.
The lockdown forced us to stay home which saved us from getting the coronavirus. And it was a much needed break for all the working people from their monotonous schedule which helped them relax and spend abundant time with their family and closed ones. The students got an unexpected vacation and even though they were worried about their studies and pending exams they certainly loved it. Everyone needs a break from their monotonous work but they just cannot decide when to take a break because of their busy schedule.
The factories were closed which reduced the carbon emission contributing in making the environment cleaner. It's like nature created the virus to treat herself because humans didn't care. People discovered their new hobbies and sharpened their old ones during this free time and started being seriously involved in their hobbies. Many online businesses have started during this period. Personally, I started writing articles during that break which gave me the courage to come out of my phone's notepad to the newspaper.
Every individual had the motivation to get out of lockdown in a proper shape. Though the laziness overruled in many cases including mine, lots of people actually started to get serious about it and started adopting healthier lifestyles which included fitness. Along with fitness, the COVID-19 has also helped people realise the importance of maintaining proper hygiene and sanitation like washing hands after returning home, using a mask and maintaining distance.
The government has also utilised that time for reconstruction and renovation of monuments, buildings and roads. Recent reconstruction of Ranipokhari in traditional form is one of the good examples of it. The health facilities were also developed much quicker in every part of the world.
It certainly gave mental torture to the people who survived on their daily wages but it also gave a break to those who used to overwork. Thanks to this lockdown the concept of work from home and study from home came to practice. As the saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention.
Recently, Miss Nepal 2018, Shrinkhla Khatiwada expressed her learning in the Kantipur talk show ‘Suman Sanga.’ Since people stayed at home and spent most of their time on social media which increased the amount of criticism to the public figures. She was one of the victims of such criticism about which she shared in the show.
Social media campaigns about important issues like racism and mental health rose during that time. The Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement in the USA after the brutal murder of George Floyd was a massive one. The protest was huge in both social media and in real life. The death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput threw a wave of mental health online. Lots of things have changed within ourselves during this time. In conclusion, everyone has learned something and matured themselves during the lockdown. This restriction was exhausting but was a need for all of us.