Corona.

Recent international, governmental and institutional decisions have truly shook the face of the Earth. The empty supermarket shelves, the lack of pasta and toilet paper, the closing of universities and borders… Currently on my way home with mixed feelings, my chest seems to weigh a ton but I wanted to share the main highlights of my second term:

I have taken part in a range on events this term: creating Beeswax films with the Ecology society, debating with FemSoc, participating in the FoNS-MAD Science competition, attending the musical Dear Evan Hansen, Biochemistry Ball, Science challenge… The diversity of these have not only allowed me to forge new connections but also engage in interesting conversations such as “to what extent do quotas reflect merit?”

At a more departmental level, there has been more group work based projects and presentations in our Second Year Biochemistry coursework as compared to our first year. Although it was challenging to work around everyone’s timetable at times, it was great to get to know more people outside of those who we usually sit in lectures or have personal tutorials and labs with.

Its a shame term had to end so dramatically. It is also frightening to see how easy it is for us to forget how there are still so many positive things to look forward to, even in an era of uncertainties.

Such an extraordinary pandemic event can cause panic and fears which unfortunately is exacerbated with social media in our modern technological world. Please do beware of fake news and forwarded posts that have not been confirmed by governmental authorities or lack scientific sources (you don’t want to be capped at 40% for misleading and inaccurate information).

In these stressful times, I wanted to thank every one who is involved with dealing with this crisis and hope that it will be contained and halted soon. I also strongly believe that the cooperation and support between worldwide scientific and medical communities is pivotal in developing effective treatments. In the meantime, please take care, get home safely and enjoy that well-earned spring break! Read some books, catch up with some series, call up your friends, spend time with your family!
Keep smiling 🙂