Nonfiction - Page 7

Kázmér Kaposvári

Let’s think about the fact that we go to school every day, we learn, we do some sports, and most of us are just eager for summer to begin. These are familiar actions, feelings, and thoughts that we have every year.

For those people who were really just waiting to be home at last, I have good news (and bad): all of the students will have to stay home (we know why…), and let’s say that it is really unfamiliar for people to think they finished school already at the end of March. But the most unfamiliar thing for all of us is that we are going to learn till the end of the year without going to school. The lifestyle we are going to have in these rough few months is far from ordinary. Most people wouldn’t have ever thought that a crisis like this would happen, just because we all think these things only happen in history books and films and that we, humans, have developed so far in technology and medicine that we are able to solve anything. This will be the moment when people realise that the life they were planning is changing in ways we don’t know yet.

Personally, I still can’t put this anywhere, but I have some thoughts about what is about to happen: I think that this is going to unite humanity or else destroy it. If we are about to be destroyed, it will be because everyone will steal food and medicine from each other. But there is a really outstanding idea about what I think may be in the future. I believe that the virus is going to evolve and become more deadly and kill more people at a higher rate. This is not a great problem at a global level because this wouldn’t destroy nations, it would only cause big casualties. Most nations are able to withstand this pressure over the long term, and if some of them need aid, then other countries might come into the picture and help out.

Well, this is nice, and this way we are happy that we don’t all die out, but there is an exceptional country called North Korea. I believe everyone is aware of how things usually go there. Sadly they live in a communist dictatorship; furthermore, they keep their borders closed all the time. So they don’t really accept any help or even request any. Still, a few months into the pandemic, we don’t know much about their situation, as their official statements are not reliable. From what we can see, their economy and health system are not ready to fight off a pandemic like this. Of course, they also take precautions against the virus, so when  the first man got infected there, they immediately ordered him to stay in quarantine, but somehow he managed to ignore this and went to a public spa. When the local forces found him, they reportedly executed him. This act sent a message to all people in North Korea not to ignore the situation, as the country has a very strict legal system. But this is just the beginning, as there will be more infections they won’t be able to stop, and the president (Kim Jong-un), as we all know, likes to play the role of king. The minute he sees his empire tremble (the death of many people and also the army), he might use his little secret card that he has played so much with over the last few years: nuclear bombs. I know this sounds unfamiliar and unimaginable, but because there will be a lack of medicine and masks, he might use this threat to gain some help from neighbouring countries. Also, if this day comes and he is about to lose everything, or even worse, about to die, well, in this case he will not care; he will press the red button and destroy everything, only because if he dies, why shouldn’t he die with the rest of the world?

If not this extreme scenario, then the worst case will be wars, which are likely because of the supplies that the world needs. In that case, many countries will fight each other to survive. In such a world, learning at home would already be a luxury. The life that once seemed unordinary would now look distant.

Let’s just face it, as far as imagination goes, these are the worst and most unfamiliar scenes that I can come up with: nuclear aggression from North Korea, or fighting all around. Yet we know that these would not solve the problems. For this reason I personally think and believe that neither of these extremes will happen, and that we as countries and nations will all be able to help each other out.

Szabina Tamara Da Cunha Carvalho

When watching Werner Herzog’s documentary Encounters at the End of the World, I really enjoyed the scenes where scuba divers were swimming under the ice. They recorded life in the sea, something that is rarely seen and that humans don’t have much information about. The scenes were dark—not much light gets under the thick cover of ice—but even so, they were fascinating, and this scene just adds to the mysteriousness of sea life. It was interesting to see how different species easily exist even under conditions that would never allow humans, the most advanced creatures on Earth, to settle on that part of the globe. I found the recordings extremely scary, yet very inviting. It looked as if we had stepped into another dimension, untouched and intact, sealed from us. It is also funny to think about how these stupid-looking shells just chill in the mud as we rush to catch our bus in the morning or struggle over things that don’t make any sense, like the physics chapter exam. Now I understand somewhat better why people commit to the exploration of marine life. However, no matter how much we know about animals and the plant-life of oceans, it will always be a small portion compared to what it still holds in itself, especially in such a cold place, where discoveries are hardly possible due to the harsh conditions. We might know more about the outer world, outer space, than we know about parts of our own globe. This is why I think it is at least as intriguing to see a jellyfish float under the ice, living its best life, as to see a blurry video of Mars: they both give us a little insight, a “sneak-peek,” into a world that we will never fully understand.

Eszter Aletta Hevesi

In Hungary we have been in quarantine for more than two weeks. Since it started, everybody has been craving some kind of exercise, even though they had a lot of opportunities beforehand. The enclosedness has a major effect on our physical and mental health. For example, people start to get deep into their thoughts, just like I did.

The human body has been exciting my imagination for a long time now. We took for granted that we can walk on the banks of the Zagyva or run in the Tiszaliget. Now that it is taken away from us, it feels like we are injured and we can’t do what we want. We are trapped in some way. Before, you didn’t think about any action that you did everyday in the interval between getting out of bed and falling asleep with your eyes closed. Most of your everyday habits are “coded” in your brain. You don’t need to think about the motions you make before you get out of bed or how you make coffee in the morning. Walking is an even more ordinary motion for you. You just do it in a precise way without thinking about how you will put one foot in front of the other.

You saw many people, cars, plants, trees when you could go out. They are the part of the everyday sights through the window of a car or a bus. A long time ago there wasn’t any of that. It is interesting to think about that four billion years ago the Earth didn’t exist in the form we see it nowadays. There weren’t any people on the surface, nor even any plants or cars. And now here we are in the middle of overpopulation and Covid-19. We know that we brought it on ourselves. We took everything for granted on the Earth, while it is a rare blessing for all of us. We don’t respect any of the species who conquered Earth before us, but we should. We should be grateful for every little bit we have on Earth and in our lives.

At this time we should appreciate that we live in a civilized society and that most of us have a body capable of achieving wonders with its brain, which can create magnificent buildings and understand and react to others.

Kázmér Kaposvári

Have you ever imagined what it would be like to have the ability to reverse time a bit? I know you thought about it many times in your life because of some decisions you made. We all make serious decisions every time we take actions, and I am pretty sure all of us have had some which were, in the end, not so great. Now I am going to tell how serious and ridiculous this idea is, the idea we all thought would come in handy in some cases.

First off, let’s see the positive side of this ability. It is completely understandable that we make mistakes sometimes when speaking. Imagine yourself giving a speech in front of silly students; imagine that you are just so nervous that you make a pronunciation mistake and everybody is just laughing at you. Now you could say that it is not such a big deal, but for the person who made it, it might tear his world apart that a whole school just laughed at him. This is a serious issue nowadays, as there are similar situations around the world; some of them might be worse, like bullying. I think that the ability to reverse these things must be your own right. Because there is no justice system in the world that can determine these situations and make a true refund for the stress and humiliation that you had been put through.

As anywhere else in the world, there are people who would just use this time-reversing opportunity for their own benefit. I am talking about those who would make infinite money by playing the lotto. It is the easiest way to become a billionaire. The only thing you have to do is just see the winning numbers of a round, then go back in time, and you know the rest. Let’s be honest, this is ridiculous, but if you had this opportunity you would use it as well. (Don’t say you wouldn’t, ’cause I just know you would; even I would.)

I think it is funny to think about how we all want this ability, and we want it even more when we see a film about time traveling. On the one hand, it would be really useful to have this for special situations that cannot be solved in any other way. In the end, though (even though I really want it), I say that it’s for the best that it remains in the world of fiction.

If you are still thinking about it, I don’t think you have fully considered what would happen if each and every one of us had this superpower.

Zsófia Szabina Gávris

Two weeks ago life was really easy. Days went the usual way, people went everywhere. I went to school, gym, shopping; I went out with my friends and boyfriend. I was free and everything seemed normal, I can say I took that situation for granted. Then Mother Earth got angry, really really angry. She had had enough of humanity and the damage we caused.

If I look back in history, every time Mother Earth felt overwhelmed, she did something to reduce her stress. Now she felt it again and stopped the lives of seven billion people at the same time. She stopped air pollution and water contamination, or at least reduced them. For her these are mental issues; that is why she creates pandemics, extreme weather events, and other things to alarm and warn us. During these weeks air has cleared a lot, and now we don’t take life for granted. Mother Earth knew how to fix problems; we are the ones who didn’t. Some may think it’s an accidental situation, but no, it is another alarm. We have to take measures for our Earth, for making her better and cleaner. Later on, the ones who respected this whole event and who followed the rules will come out better than ever. I respect this situation, and I stay home. Others should do the same to pull through healthily.

The ones who didn’t listen will feel it later, maybe in the further future, but they will feel it. And they will know that Mother Nature warned them, but they didn’t listen.