Hello everyone, I hope you are all keeping well and making the most of lockdown life.
After four precious months of face-to-face learning at school, at the beginning of a New Year and a new term, we have been rushed into a new round of lockdown. Once again, we are confined in front of our screen, separated from our teachers and friends and forced to adjust our daily routines. It may be some time until we can return to our campus or meet each other in person. It is ever so easy, in times like this, to be dragged into a whirlpool of worries, anxiety, confusion and stress. To step away from these feelings is hard, indeed, at times it seems that the more you struggle against, the worst it becomes. For me personally, I feel the best way to breathe light into the situation is to stop and reflect. One small positive about the lockdown is perhaps it has given us the perfect opportunity to reflect on our values, our lives and our futures in a way that we would never have otherwise.
Over the past year or so, our old habits have been upended and it is safe to say that we have all changed. So perhaps this new lockdown marks a fresh start, a chance to reflect on what ‘normality’ really is, and an opportunity for us to consider what we want ourselves as well as what we want our new world to be like after lockdown ends. On a personal level, we need to be clear of our values and beliefs. They are the deepest and most powerful motivators of our action. In these unprecedented times, they are absolutely essential in guiding our decisions, resolving conflicts and shaping our view towards others. On a collective level, the pandemic has highlighted many burning issues of our society, issues such as social injustice and climate change, which may at first seem far away from our everyday lives. But if we want to come out of this new lockdown striving towards a better world, perhaps these are the issues we need to think about, now.
So, in this first edition of KES Community in 2021, I would like to urge everyone to take a moment to reflect. To question what your values are, what you believe is important, both at individual and collective level, and consider what actions you would like to take to uphold and promote these values. With this in mind, I encourage you to discuss and share your thoughts with your friends, teachers and parents. The most valuable resource that KES offers is, indeed, the people around us.
Let us not be hindered by the lockdown but take it in our stride. Covid-19 has taught us that nothing is certain except change. So, keep calm and stay focused on what really matters to us and society; this way we will emerge from the other end of this lockdown wiser, happier and stronger.
