The Year That Wasn't

Author: Aashni Talati
Posted on August 19, 2020

This year began like any other, with glasses clinking and people in ridiculous party hats shouting the countdown. My eighteenth birthday also went by like any other, with me complaining about how it was right in the middle of midterms. Then by the time spring came around, we found ourselves in the midst of a horrific pandemic. And now, as summer draws to an end, I’m trying desperately to hang onto some of the routine and normalcy from my life before.

My name is Aashni, I’m a first year student, and ‘my life before’ refers to my life in Mumbai, India, before I came here to be a Mountie.

Like everyone, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on my life came unexpectedly and swiftly. The first event that got cancelled was the Grade 12 trip to Goa, a beach town, that was supposed to take place after our IB final exams. Only two days after Covid-19 hitting India made the headlines, schools were shut down. My city went from twenty-four hours of bustle to pin-drop silence overnight. On March 20th, the government announced a nation-wide lockdown till April 14th. Grocery stores were raided, toilet paper memes were made, and two week extensions to the lockdown were announced (every week!) Eventually, the IB final exams were also cancelled globally.

In the span of just a few weeks, it felt as though life had taken a turn for the worse. Suddenly, it became uncertain as to whether I’d even get to leave for university or not. Fast forward to today, 18th August. I was thrown into the deep end, but now I’m sitting in my dorm room, writing, reflecting and reminiscing on the days that have flown by.

Like any other teenager, I had big movie-inspired dreams and elaborate plans for this last summer before college, none of which worked out. Was it disappointing? Yes, of course. However, at the end of this all, is a new beginning. I’m in a new country, meeting new people, making new friends, and I see this as ‘my life, after’. I see this year as lesson number one of the ‘life after’.

Things don’t always go as planned, but it’s the darkest before dawn.

Photo: My quarantine entertainment - my not so little brother!