Lockdown... A whole year of reflection

Yes, the title illustrates this post as a whole. Also, I promise you, this will be the last time that I talk about COVID-19 and the lockdowns, as I'm sure most people have had enough of hearing those words by now.

However, today of all days, was simply just too important for this topic to go unmentioned, and here's why...

Today, (23/3/21) marks the 1 year anniversary of the EXACT date that the UK got slammed into a full on 'Lockdown' due to COVID-19 killing hundreds of people per day. (23/3/20)

Meaning, we were instructed to "Stay at home" as non-essential, restaurants and education places were forced to close for the foreseeable future. 
    

However, supermarkets and pharmacies had to remain open, as buying groceries and medicine was important for maintaining our well-being and health.

The only time we could leave home, was to go out for daily exercise once a day. (Back then, it was only within walking distance)

                                                                 

How did living in lockdown make us all feel?

I can imagine for most people, it made them feel lonely, bored and frustrated during the 1st month, with not being able to normally socialise with anyone, as well as not being able to go anywhere. To summarise all of the above with one word, we was all experiencing this feeling of "Isolation" as we had to "Stay home".

To share a personal insight with you all, I too, was struggling to cope to terms with being in lockdown for a short while, as I was constantly feeling bored all of the time with being stuck at home. I also didn't like the idea of my freedom being snatched away from me, as I love to go out and explore different places, this includes my education and time with friends face to face being snatched away from me. I eventually got SOOO bored, that I honestly had no idea with what to do with myself during my time in isolation, as I was doing the same routine over and over again. Further explanation in next subheading...

How did I utilise my time in lockdown?

One of the things I did to break my habitual routine, was watching every old episode of Coronation Street from 2008 up towards where I am now. I had to say, I found it very interesting how the cobbles' scenery was so different that long ago!😂 (Still laptop related) I was scrolling up and down the roads of different places on Google Maps to get from A to B. This significantly helped me to get better with my Geography!

Asides from my laptop, I thought I'd improve my cooking, by making a 3-course meal originated from various countries. Also, with cooking puddings too. I actually found cooking very therapeutic afterwards!

During the warm weather, I would sometimes go into my back garden to do a bit of sunbathing, to help me take my mind off the current COVID-19 related news. This also helped me to get my "Relaxation" mood on. Other times, me and my brother would help out in the front garden, by getting rid of all the weed and the bamboo (Don't ask, I had no idea why we had bamboo growing in our front garden?!)🐼😂 Anyway, this was a refurbishment task which we all decided to do, as our front garden was literally looking like a jungle.

Bonus fact: This was the VERY reason why I wanted to create this blog. 1: Because I am very passionate with sharing my psychological knowledge with you all. 2: This is just something which keeps my occupied during my free time.

What have we learned during our time in lockdown?

Ever since day 1 of lockdown, we have learned to help our minds to adapt to this sudden change of how we interact with ourselves, as well as one another from just one household. By doing so, it is very important that we check up on others by texting: "Hey, how have you been doing recently?" This kind of thoughtful message could really make someone's day, by making them think that their friends and family actually still care about them whilst in isolation. This is something which I like to do time and time again, as I am a caring and considerate person.

We have also learned that staying at home, doesn't give us an excuse to sit around and do nothing all day long. In exchange of that, we encourages ourselves to find more ways of unleashing our hidden creativity inside us. You'll never know, this may well could become your new favourite hobby!

Most importantly, we have learned that this ENTIRE nation has the capacity to come together and be willing to help out one another during these dark times. A heart whelming discovery to us all.💗

As of now, a whole year on from our first lockdown, we have been very successful with making the vaccine and giving them out to the public, that I believe half of the UK adults have been vaccinated already!

Thank you ever so much for taking your time to read through. Remember, stay safe and follow the guidelines. Hopefully we'll be out of this tunnel by the 21st of June!🤞 Bye for now.

  

The difference between seeing Christmas Day as a child and an adult

Hey everyone, I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. (Eventhough it was celebrated differently this year... Thanks COVID-19😒) With that said, I want to give you an interesting lecture on how kids and adults tend to see Christmas Day from a different perspective.

Say if you were about 7 years old, you typically write up to at least 20 things on your Christmas list, as you would have been into playing with toys back then. Therefore, you instead see Christmas Day as "getting more toys day" rather than wanting to knowledge the actual meaning of celebrating Christmas.

However, in respect of this point of view - when you're that age, you only get the opportunity to get new toys a few times (maybe 3) within a WHOLE year. So I understand why kids feel the need to have as many toys as possible, so that it allows them to experience using their imagination, as well as playing and expanding it. Believe me, I used to be the EXACT same person when I was that age - it was really good fun while it lasted!

But eventually, when you become 13, you start to realize that Christmas Day is about spending it with friends & family whilst enjoying a special meal together - instead of worrying about how many presents you receive that year. More to the point, you also start to slowly come out of the habit of playing with toys, as you feel like you need to take up more grown up hobbies. Examples given: Skateboarding, drumming or drawing. I think I started to get out of the habit of playing with toys when I was around that age too?

Thanks for taking your time to read this and I'll be interested to know how you used to see Christmas Day when you was a child. Merry Christmas!