Final year student during the coronavirus pandemic "Thabu's experience"

As a final year master’s student, the national lockdown announcement quickly destroyed all the plans I made towards my thesis data progress. However, let me not blame it on COVID-

19 because I am naturally a procrastinator. Well, before you pass your judgment, let me instead tell you my experience as a student during the lockdown. When the lockdown began, I was indeed in panic mode because my mind was full of uncertainties, firstly because I am a paranoia. Secondly, I was not sure when this would end, because deep down, I knew the four weeks of lockdown were not going to solve anything.

In the first weeks of the lockdown, I was busy reading articles and writing my chapters, which became boring as the lockdown extended. Since I work with seasonal crops and insects, my supervisor decided that we get an essential worker permit to allow me to do my field and laboratory experiments. Getting that permit was like receiving a breath of fresh air amid the pandemic. Working during lockdown is beautiful, stressful, and requires one to be super precautious to avoid getting infected or infecting others. I usually do my field experiments bi-weekly, and during this time, I avoid contact with the workers and farmers from the potato fields and observe the social distance. And at the department (Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology) during my laboratory experiments, several protocols are undertaken to reduce contact and infection. Some of the regulations put in place require wearing a mask while working, booking the laboratory beforehand, sanitizing one's hands regularly, constant cleaning of surfaces, and the use of sign-in sheets.

On the bright side, the lockdown/quarantine has taught me to appreciate life, starting with the little conversations I had with my supervisors, which I was scared of, or the time I spent with my colleagues in those tedious meetings, and above all taught me about adaptation and resilience. Nevertheless, I cannot wait for the time everything will get back to normal. In the meantime, keep rocking those masks, keep practicing social distance, and continue drowning yourselves with hand sanitizers because very soon, all your sacrifices will be fruitful. Stay safe; this, too, shall pass.