Robbed of Normalcy

By Esther Lo 

I don't think it's talked about enough how easily someone can die. Walking on the sidewalk, a car, boom, dead. Swimming in a pool, a toe cramp, bloop, dead. With the spread of the pandemic, the truth of the futility of human life has been further amplified.

The hallways after school are now empty. The grass on the field has all grown back from the lack of soccer boys tearing it apart with their cleats. You are now told to literally keep your distance instead of embracing new friends. 

Many of the alumni had previously expressed their jealousy of the Class of 2022—being able to experience the rise of the new Castle building, the new Harbor building, the new cafeteria, the new dormitories, so many new facilities etc. However, contrary to all that was envisioned, these buildings were left unutilized for months on end, not even an echo to be heard.

The pandemic has forever changed the lives of Dalat students. It's stolen all sense of normalcy and youth. Though more physically divided than ever, the shared feeling of isolation and nostalgia from the past remains. When asking students about their thoughts on the current SOP set in place, Sophia Kang (12) says, "I miss hugging my friends," as she pinches the nose bridge of her mask, pulling it closer to her face. Yong-Yu Huang (12) also adds that "people can't see my expressions, so they think I'm just being mean when I'm being sarcastic."

Sometimes while walking through campus, I think about the time we cut snowflakes to stick on the wall for our last Christmas banquet, late night Friday talks laying on the fields with upperclassmen I had never talked to before, basketball games where you would get completely lost in the sound of slippers slamming the buckets, people cheering, and girls spreading the roster to find the name of that one hot guy on the other team. At some point, the question of will I be able to see my friends again after we graduate shifted to will I be able to see them in school before we graduate. 

Throughout my time in Dalat, teachers would constantly talk about how classes would bond over working together in the Junior Class Store, planning the Junior-Senior Banquet together, and slaving away towards their common goal. Unfortunately, The Class of 2022 never got to experience this. Timothy Santiago (12), a member of the senior excom, says, “as much fun as it was working with people to try to plan events throughout junior year, it was disappointing not to see any of these plans come into fruition.” 

Human life is so fragile. In a blink of an eye and everything can be gone. 

That is why it is essential to be grateful—actively finding things to thank God for, no matter the circumstance. A way to process all the changes is by giving yourself time and space while also remembering to reach out to those who may not be physically around you.