"Time and tide wait for none" is a commonplace English proverb. Time is an abstract concept invented by humankind to analyse and estimate the growth of life along with the events surrounding it. Tide is a symbol representing natural occurrence which is beyond human control. At present, as we know, COVID-19 pandemic is a natural calamity causing immeasurable disruptions in our regular life. Thus, here the pandemic is the 'tide' of that proverb.
As poet Andrew Marvell had said "But at my back I always hear, Time's winged chariot hurrying near", I want to convey the message to all students that time has not stopped. We may have 'stopped' due to the present predicament of this global pandemic, but the clocks have not forgotten to tick for a second. As the University Grants Commission has declared, the present system of academic year will not be postponed, but the admission process and the beginning of the classes are already delayed. U.G.C. has declared that the time that has been lost must be compensated by reducing the duration in between each semester. So, unfortunately as it seems, the students have to compromise with the time they should get in every semester for their studies. With the shortened span that they are going to have now, they must not indulge in directionless laziness while waiting for the institutions to reopen. Waiting for the situation to be 'normal' will cause the most harm to their studying habits.
Studying is a matter of consistent practice and perseverance. Once the habit is shattered, it needs many more years of persistent persuasion to regain again that power of concentration towards books and retention of knowledge. And whenever the situation gets into 'normal', and even if doesn't become 'normal' as we are wishing it to be, this pandemic has taught us one thing for sure and that is: you may decide to stop progressing but your age won't stop, the time constraints of your career won't be evaporated, the demands in your life won't give you any concession, the sensations of surrounding environment won't surrender to your stagnancy. So if you stop moving today, the universe doesn't care, it still moves on in its own course and after a certain time you'll be able to grasp only one idea, that you have lost not only a big amount of time from your life but also the habit of progressing forward.
So, it is my earnest suggestion to all my fellow students and juniors, peers and pupils, that please do not inculcate yourselves with the habit of waiting for the restoration of 'normalcy'. Exams won't forget to come even if the situation forgets to be normal. Begin your studies, however slow it may be, and do not stop. That is the only way you can fight with your present frustrations. Otherwise waiting will finish your brain by decimating the brain's abilities regarding focus and retention. Begin your studies and keep your brain alive, at the least, until it is needed again to work hard.
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