Whenever there is a big or significant change, it is always difficult for
everyone to adjust and get used to the new normal in life. For example, when you’re moving houses, instead of feeling at home and slumping on the soft sofa every time you open the front door, you get a wave of weirdness and unusualness, like you don’t belong, and maybe even a bit of nostalgia. But eventually, you get used to everything; that’s life.

However, the Covid-19 pandemic is not simply a house, it’s not a minuscule change- it’s a gigantic one. Following it’s outbreak, strict lockdown rules were formed and it was really different, but, like with all things, there are positive aspects in even the most negative things.

At first, lockdown was beyond dull. You couldn’t go out, let alone see
your friends. It was quite upsetting because I had so many fun trips and exciting activities booked these past few months, that had to be cancelled. I kept wondering if these new measures were even necessary, when deep inside, I knew they definitely were. However, as the days went by, it was realised that lockdown was actually a huge window of opportunities and as a matter of fact, produced a lot of time, that was used for big, cool projects, cooking, reading and a load of other things too.

A lot of my time was spent reading. I’ve never actually fully appreciated
the wonderful feeling of opening up a book and being transformed into a whole other world with suspense, romance, adventure and sometimes a little bit of scariness too. Seven books were read by me these past few months, but one of them was gigantic (about 1,000 pages!). Lockdown also definitely boosted my creativity as I started inventing games for my four year old brother, who is always looking to play. Anyone ever heard of ‘Meteors’ or ‘Diamond Treasures’? Probably not, but they’re both real fun.

Another thing I’ve been occupying myself with is a lot of sport. A couple
of times a week, my dad and I would wake up early and go for a quick, short run around Regents Park before heading towards the tennis courts there at about 8am. I have never thought I would say this, but I won almost every time. Pilates is also something that I have really enjoyed doing as well as some strength & conditioning and boxing. Let’s just say that I’ve been keeping busy.

One of my favourite hobbies is sewing. I really love it as it just makes me
more tranquil, clears my mind, occupies me and in the end, I almost always achieve a good result as a reward. However, I didn’t really sew much until lockdown because of the million other things needed to do, but recently, I have sewn an adorable lama. It had two yellow buttons for eyes, a yellow and purple collar and a multi-coloured cloth. Approximately two days were spent making that lama, but to make up for that time, the result was wonderful.

Cooking was something I‘ve never been too fond of, although I do enjoy
to make something simple and delicious every once in a while. What’s better than a couple of mini-sized pizzas? They’re extremely delicious and were to be honest, really easy to bake. We made different ones: some were just with plain mozzarella cheese, others had toppings such as tomatoes, salami slices and/or olives. As I devoured them, I was conscious that the kitchen was in a disarray, but at least we all got to enjoy a homemade meal.

Overall, my lockdown experience was really enjoyable; for the first time
in years, it was actually calm and tranquil at home. However, despite all of the positive aspects, I would definitely not do it all again if I had the choice.