I was 18 going into lockdown, and I’m about to turn 20. Supposedly some of the best years of my life, I’ve spent them indoors, unable to see the people I feel most myself with and do the things I most enjoy – lockdown has destroyed relationships, worsened mental health and deprived us of physical contact.
I was 18 going into lockdown, and I’m about to turn 20. Supposedly some of the best years of my life, I’ve spent them indoors
But now we know it won’t always be like this. Pubs and shops are reopening, social gatherings are getting bigger and festivals are going ahead. All of this paired with longer days and more sunshine can’t help but make me feel excited for the future.
For those that think this lifting of the rules is unrealistic, that it won’t go ahead, that cases will just start to rise again, maybe you’re right, but please, just let the rest of us have this hope.
Even the prospect of freedom is enough to keep me feeling optimistic.
The end of lockdown” is something we’ve all dreamed about for a year. But until recently, there hasn’t even been the faintest suggestion of when life might go back to normal. So now, having a tentative date only a few months away is understandably overwhelming.
It would be the obvious reaction to celebrate and be over the moon at the prospect of being back in clubs and concerts and parties in June, after more than a year of restrictions. However, we’ve been lied to before.
It would be the obvious reaction to celebrate and be over the moon at the prospect of being back in clubs and concerts and parties in June
Everyone has heard and probably even said “we’ll be out of lockdown by summer”. “It’ll be over by Christmas”. But time and time again we’ve been wrong. So you can’t blame us for not wanting to get our hopes up this time around when so much could still go wrong.
Time and time again we’ve been wrong
Moreover, life after Covid has become almost unimaginable. So whilst we can rejoice in the prospect of it being over soon, don’t beat yourself up if, like me, you are struggling to come to terms with the idea.
Feature image credit: Pixabay, @jag2020
