Life can be cruel as it has the ability to put one in numerous situations. Greetings to one & all. I hope everyone is doing well regardless of where you are in the world and are reading this article. I know times are tough are tough at this stage given the fact that we have been hit hard by the global pandemic known as COVID-19.

Today, I will be discussing a concept that most of us are now aware as well as part of. This is the idea of “The New Normal”. While I do understand that people have fair knowledge of this terminology, I acknowledge those that may not be familiar with word.   

This leads me to a very important question, what is the definition of the term “New Normal” and how do we define it.

Well, from what I understand and somewhat define it in my own words, The New Normal is a change in time and approach towards various sectors of life.

I see this ideology ofThe New Normalas a paradigm shift in many aspects of humanity, especially our social & economic lifestyle.

The longer lockdowns, curfews and gathering restrictions are in place, the tougher it will be for a state’s economy to recover from the effects of the Pandemic.

New Scope

Needless to say that the Coronavirus phenomena has provided scope of something new. For instance, delivery of goods and services online. I know for many Asian and European countries this is an old concept but for developing countries, especially those residing on the islands and atolls, this is certainly something different.

It is wise to acknowledge that those who were once an employee could or are now their own bosses with the start of their personal business which they may had planned for later.

It is likely for businesses to take longer to settle and resume the economy, but once it restarts such industries could help bring some normalcy to people’s lives.

Adopting the New Normal

Adopting to the new normal is likely to take time and how we rebuild our lives totally depends on every individuals and how they cope with the environment around them.

At this point in time I suggest to give yourself some time and space to think and re-plan your lives for an even better, brighter and secured future.

I know the Pandemic has taught us a lot of things and it is high time that we change our approach towards our lives and turn the negatives into positives accepting the changes the world is going through and identifying the best in ourselves by exploring new ideas & techniques with the help of modern technologies surrounding us.

Thanks for reading & watching the video.

 Hi there everyone. I hope and pray that that you all are doing whatever it takes to avoid becoming a victim of this global Pandemic which has drastically changed our lifestyle in over a year. I do not wish to talk more on the COVID-19 crisis as I understand people of all ages have been impacted significantly since its commencement towards the end of 2019. I also feel that the effects of the virus can be discussed in future blogs as time progresses.

For the purpose of this document, I intent to share my experience of online learning and how the second wave of COVID-19 in Fiji is impacting me as an individual.  

To start things off, I wish to share some light about myself. My name is Dhruvkaran Nand. A 22 year old, person with low vision who resides in the densely populated area of Nasinu, located in Viti Levu, one of the larger islands in Fiji, which is perhaps called the “Hub of the Pacific”.

Having gone through the traditional school system like every other child, I entered into the gates of The University of the South Pacific, commonly known as USP, which is one of the renowned educational institution in the Pacific.

 A journey that started in 2017, as a Foundation Arts student, was the first time when I was introduced to online learning platform called MOODLE. This term was familiar to me because of the fact that my brothers were already part of the university having completed their studies at the institution and had used the mentioned mechanism.  

Today, I am on the verge of completing my Bachelor of Arts program in Journalism, a field I have passion and love for together with Politics, an area in which I developed interest much later in life.

Now shifting to the central topic, I generally do not have problem with online learning, except the fact that it bards me from moving one place to another, which I usually like doing while on campus, especially being the case of a Face-Face class.

As much as the effectiveness of the mode of study is concerned, I would say it depends on individuals and their preference or their idea on which they believe they can cope better.

For me, it does not really matter which one sits best as I think I have the capacity to manage in either setting.

However, it is important to acknowledge that there are drawbacks in both modes of learning. Such as, studying online may save travelling time and money but do you understand what you are studying is the question every online student should ask themselves?

This is a critical question to answer as it allows one to gage their learning and if they feel the idea is not working then they can probably look at alternatives.

The recent lockdown caused by the second wave of the Pandemic here in Fiji has had some form of impact on me as I have been staying for more than a month now, and the resumption of classes on 100 percent online has somewhat kept me occupied.

At times it is frustrating as I cannot or simply just do not want to take the risk of going out as I fear being infected from the virus which could possibly harm those around me.

So, to keep myself busy after I am done with studies, I usually spend time with family, spend time on YouTube listening to horror stories, watch horror shows, movies or cartoons and treating myself a game of PlayStation 4 on weekends.   

That’s how things stand for now, hopefully lives return to normal soon.

Thanks for reading.