The past year has been difficult for everyone. Much of the year has been spent indoors and away from loved ones – basically a year of our life has disappeared. 

Despite the issues, I’ve learnt so much throughout the past year and I’m happy to reflect on it all. To see where I’ve grown and what I’ve learnt.

ROUTINE IS KEY

To keep sane and going – I needed routine. My university course halted and it only returned virtually. I didn’t have the motivation to do anything initially – but a forced routine got me started. I set goals each day to aspire to and made sure that I did at least one thing on my list.

EXERCISE IS NOT THE ENEMY

I’m not a fitness freak – I actually hated the thought of exercise. Throughout lockdown, I realised that exercise is not the enemy. I found fun in doing simple things such as walking and Zumba. I consider these to be easy exercises – but I enjoyed them and they made me feel physically and mentally better.

IT’S OKAY TO BINGE SHOWS

Somedays, all you wanna do is watch Friends – that’s okay. You deserve to relax and you don’t have to be working hard all the time. It’s a tough situation and everyone handles it differently. I often spent Friday afternoons binging my favourite show and it made me relaxed and happy. 

BE SELFISH

I never saw myself as a selfish person – but I’m proudly one after lockdown. It’s been a tough time and everyone deserves to be happy. If you don’t want to reply to your friend and you wanna be alone – do it. Don’t let people guilt you into thinking you’re a bad person. As long as you maliciously don’t hurt anyone to make yourself happy – do what you want.

BAD DAYS ARE NORMAL
Of course, despite being able to handle lockdown and isolation a lot more – it’s still a poor situation. I had days where I wanted to just cry and stay in bed which is completely fine. Don’t bottle it up – talk to your loved ones or talk to professionals such as the NHS.

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Words by Nicole Morris

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