SPM ESSAY

KEDAH 2020: The world is facing COVID-19 pandemic. How is

the corona virus outbreak changing your lifestyles?

The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has

created/engendered a global health crisis and it has
impacted/influenced the way we perceive our world and our
everyday lives. It is the greatest challenge we have
faced/encountered since World War 2. since its emergence in
Asia late last year, the virus has spread to every continent
except Antarctica. The coronavirus has also been spreading at a
frantic/frenetic pace, isolating families and snuffing out lives.
Cases are rising daily ad countries are racing/competing to slow
the spread of the virus. Of course, Malaysia is not excluded. In
an attempt to/In an effort to/In an endeavour to
reduce/diminish/lower the number of cases, Movement
control order (MCO) has been imposed/implemented on all
Malaysians since March 18 until June 9. All of a sudden,/Out of
the sudden,/Out of the blue, working from home is the new
norm and social distancing is practiced in every part of the
world. No one has seen this enemy coming. The world has
underestimated COVID-19. In a span of weeks, COVID-19 has
crashed economies, challenging even the most well-equipped
healthcare systems and disrupting/derailing lives on a scale no
one has imagined. The effects/consequences/outcomes were
catastrophic/calamitous/disastrous/ruinous/devastating/appali
ng/dreadful from indefinite travel bans/restrictions
shortage/scarcity/shortfall/deficiency of supplies, massive
immense job/employment losses, and dwindling opportunities.
So, the million-dollar question that remains is how has COVID-
19 changed my lifestyle?

I believe the biggest change COVID-19 brings in mu life will be

how it has affected my studies. School are all closed during the
MCO period in Malaysia and just like that, I can sleep in every
single day. I used to dream of having holidays all year long and
not having to go to school at all. I mean, we all do that for sure.
However, when it really happens in real life, the feeling is
unpleasant. I miss learning in a classroom setting/brick and
mortar classroom and I miss the fun/joyous times/moments I
had with my classmates. For now, all learning is conducted
online. Online learning mediums/platforms such as Google
Classroom and Zoom have made online learning easier. I am
grateful for the technology the allows me to stay connected
with my friends but seeing/espying/descrying my teachers
through a screen makes me realise how much I appreciated the
classroom. In other words, meeting my friends and teachers
virtually=actually/in fact is still not same as meeting them face
to face. My teachers still manage to give homework via Google
Classroom but instead of penning out my answer on the test
pad, I get to type it out on Google Documents. As a result,/as a
consequence, this virus has delayed my academic progression
by leaps and bounds. I am suppose to be sitting for SPM
examinations end of this year as well. However, due to/
because of/ owing to this unprecedented situation, the ministry
of education has postponed the examinations until the first
quarter of next year.

Besides, my parents also have to deal with/ cope with/ tackle

financial issues/ difficulties/ burdens due to the
implementation of MCO. Since MCO was announced, my
parents have been working form home. Yes, we are more
fortunate/ blessed/ lucky than most people who are sacked/
fired/ laid off/ pink-slipped from their jobs. However, since my
father is a salesman and a huge portion of his salary comes
from his commission, his bank account has been suffering. At
the beginning of MCO, we were optimistic and my father kept
saying to himself, “Two weeks pass by quickly. Hang in there.”
Our hope was dashed when the prime minister announced
extension after extension pf MCO. From zero commission to
reduced salary, my father now has to take unpaid leaves
because his company is struggling to make ends meet. As for
my mother who works as a secretary, she is considered lucky
because she only has to accept a 10% deduction from her
monthly salary instead of being laid off. To sum up, our family
ha to tighten our belts and cut down unnecessary redundant
expenses at these trying/ arduous/ difficult times/ period. To
us, a penny saved is a penny earned.

Every cloud has a silver lining. Even though COVID-19 brins a

lot of/ a myriad of/ a multitude of negative impacts to us, we
can still look on the bright side of things. For example,/ For
instance, the MCO period allows my parents to spend more
quality/precious time with my siblings and I. Since we have to
stay at hone most of the time, we might as well use it yo bond
with each other. My eldest sister is pretty much a workaholic
and she will only sit down with us for dinner during the
weekend. However, during MCO, we get to have dinner
together every night and we chat about all topics under the
sun. From my sister’s job scopes to my parent’s love story, we
literally talk about anything and everything. Suddenly, the
much dreaded dinner time becomes the most anticipated event
of the day. Truth to be told,/ To be frank,/ To be honest,/
Frankly speaking, I have never laughed so much in my life as I
did when I had dinner with my family these few weeks. This
makes me realise that sometimes, HAPPYNESS IS REALLY
SIMPLE. Moreover, my mother and I have also started
exercising together. All of these activities have strengthened/
fostered our kinship/ close rapport to be as thick as thieves and
I really appreciate these precious moments spent with family.

Last but not emphatically least, I have also managed to learn

some new skills during this period of partial lockdown at home.
As we know, school sessions are temporarily/ momentarily
suspended and I have extra time to pick up certain skills that I
have wanted to learn all along. To begin with, I am foodie/
gourmand/ epicure/ gastronome/ connoisseur of food and
have always wanted to learn how to bake as well as cook.
However, schoolwork, tuition and co-curricular activities eat up
most of my time. Therefore, I have been putting this desire of
mine on the back burner for a while. Finally, I have the chance
to pick up these skills with the help of my mother during MCO.
Thanks to tutorial videos available on YouTube, I have
successfully mastered the art of baking a cheesecake, a Milo
lava cake and caramel custard. I also managed to learn how to
cook fried rice and a perfect sunny-side up. It may not sound
like a heroic feat/ achievement to you but to me, it is definitely
an achievement/ accomplishment unlocked! I also learn how to
declutter useless stuffs from my bedroom so that it becomes
tidier/ neater. In short, I believe I can become independent and
stand in my own feet in the near future.

In a nutshell, having to study online, living frugally/

parsimoniously/ thriftily, bonding with family members and
acquiring/ pick up/ cultivate new skills are the undeniable/
irrefutable/ incontestable/ indubitable inevitable changes in my
lifestyle so far. I believe the current pandemic is not the first.
Neither will is be the last. Despite its ill-effects, the whole world
is coming together to fights this contagious/ infectious virus. So
let us do our best to practice precautionary measures such as
special distancing to win this war/ battle against COVID-19. We
are in this together.