It is now April, a month of rebirth and renewal. April marks the beginning of spring; trees are blooming, birds are chirping, and insects and bees are hovering. It is quite a beautiful sight and yet hard to imagine that a dangerous, invisible enemy exists amongst us.

In the world of the Internet, depressing news and the smell of sickness and death suffocate me. I’ve become immersed in the news feed and social media updates. In these different media platforms, I don’t search for the increase in the number of infected people nor the rising number of deaths in different countries, but search for hope... hope that this virus is dying, the curve is flattening and doctors and scientists are creating a vaccine that will miraculously make things better again. Until I catch a glimpse of uplifting news, I raise the question: What now?

Coming to terms with the Coronavirus and its packaging that include the temporary closure of schools and universities, social distancing, the closing of non-essential businesses, and the shift to a virtual life have all carried a heavy toll on us. Fear mixed with confusion describe our everyday life since the initial outbreak. We search for answers in newspaper articles, social media and news channels.

Yet, there are no answers, no specific guidelines, and no clear-cut solutions except two things that we hear every day, over and over again: stay home and wash your hands. And we do just that because we have this driven urge to be safe and keep our family safe. Our quarantined life has become the norm.

Did we take our ordinary lives for granted? Simple, everyday activities such as meeting up with friends, traveling, eating at restaurants and conversing with our neighbors have been brought to a sudden halt as the Novel Coronavirus infiltrated our world. What now?

These are extraordinary times, and never before have we envisioned such a crisis to befall our world. We have read about historical pandemics such as the Black Death and the Spanish Flu. Thinking that our modern era has the capacity to control such pandemics, we assumed we were invincible.

We trusted modern medicine and believed there was a cure for everything. Yet, Covid-19 has ruled our world and infected hundreds of thousands of people all over the world. And as of today, there is still no cure and vaccine. We have become addicted to news and it has become a daily ritual for us. As the number of infected people increases, so does our fear and worry. So, what now?

To survive this ordeal, we need to have faith in Allah (SWT) and hope that this will soon end. As a recent PhD graduate from George Mason University in the USA, I have been ensured by the Saudi Embassy and the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission that they are doing everything possible to ensure our safety and well-being. This gives my family and I some reassurance during this global crisis, especially being in the heart of this pandemic and away from home. I am blessed to be Saudi. I hope to come back home soon and reunite with my family and friends.

Amidst these unprecedented times, we wait for the moment when we can put all of this behind us, walk into the light and greet one another. Perhaps, this time around, we will not take our life for granted and we will enjoy the little things in life... a walk in the park, a handshake from a friend, a pleasant conversation with our neighbors, and household visits. But, then, I wonder, when this pandemic is contained, will we ever be the same? Will our relationships evolve? And will our lifestyle change?

— Dr. Sita AlQahtani received her doctorate degree in Cultural Studies from George Mason University in 2020. She received her Master of Arts in English Language and Literature from King Saud University in 2014. She is currently employed at Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University in Dammam.