The Change Shall Start Within You

Hello, everyone. It is my very first writing for Her Campus Waseda and I am so glad to join this team. While many other members write useful, practical articles, this time I would like to share my feelings under COVID-19 with you all by writing a poem. I usually do not write it, but I hope you all enjoy it and I also wish that this gives you an opportunity to reflect upon your feelings too. The title is “Me in Quarantine.”

Me in Quarantine

Me at home 

Nothing to do

Me so lame

No one to woo

Two months ago

filled with joy

Too scared to go

Anywhere you think of

Normal to abnormal

Joy to agony

Change flies

Change in me 

Difficult to handle

But there is a light

A light that shines on me

A light that leads me to the exit

A light that strengthens me

Never give in 

Find the light

Never give in

I shall overcome

Never give up

The change shall start within me

“Cuarenta” in Spanish means forty. It is said that etymologically, quarantine may come from Lent. It is believed that Christ went on a fast for forty days and the word quarantine may come to signify the period of isolation from this history. 

The reason why I chose this word as a part of the title is twofold. One is that quarantine is a trendy word now so that everyone can easily assume what I am talking about (i.e. COVID-19). Another reason is that, as mentioned earlier, it originally meant the period limited to those forty days. 

What I would like to say here is that everything will end eventually. As in Buddhism, there is a notion called “盛者必衰” which means “even the prosperous inevitably decay.” Viruses, people’s lives, university lives, and your negative feelings will not last forever. change flies as time flies; change is something that is constantly happening. That is why we need to seize the day and we also should not be afraid of any changes. And I must tell you that you can enjoy the change only if you find a light, something that shines on you, something that makes you happy, or something that you are passionate about. So find the light of you. Never give in. 

If you get out of your comfort zone to try something new, to try different things, you will realize that you have already stepped forward to see the change within you. Never give up. The change shall start within you. 

• change
• COVID-19
• feelings
• poem
• quarantine
• social change