[dropcap]O[/dropcap]ne year ago last week, all of our lives changed in the blink of an eye.
Face masks were still just a skincare routine, a cough simply meant we had a cold and seeing our friends was common practice, little did we know our daily lives were about to become altered for over a year.
Our world was now filled with staring at screens, a new meaning for facemask and discovering all the ways to entertain yourself within the confines of your own house.
Lockdown has definitely changed me as a person and shaped me into who I am right now. One outcome of lockdown is that I have changed my lifestyle into a much healthier one.
I like to take the time to look after myself much more than I did before. I’ve learned to cherish moments with the people I love as well as trying as much as possible to live life to the fullest, well as much as you can within a global pandemic.
I believe everyone has found a new appreciation of life, the world we live in and the most mundane tasks such as going for a walk with your friends.
Socialising has never meant so much to me, I am very much a people person and being deprived of merely sitting in my friends houses having a laugh or giving them a hug was an immense struggle.
Lockdown has definitely challenged everyone mentally, yet it has also had some positive impacts. One major difference I’ve noticed around me is people are starting to care less what others think, wearing what they want and being more themselves.
We all realise how quickly our worlds can change so that phrase ‘You Only Live Once’ is now really taking effect. You should wear that dress or that pair of jeans that you think people will judge you in. You should book that trip even if you might be a bit broke after.
You should dance like nobody’s watching because you will regret it when you look back and realise that you were having a great time and nobody was really paying attention to what top you wore or if your makeup looked weird.
One change that is definitely going to stick with me is staying off my phone when I’m with my friends. Lockdown helped me realise how toxic and fake social media is and that having stories to tell rather than just one picture to show is so much better.
I still like to capture moments or take the odd picture yet solely being present with people is so much nicer. Every older generation is probably screaming at me saying ‘I told you so’ but I guess I needed a global lockdown to make me finally listen.
I’m looking forward to life after lockdown, I hope everyone just enjoys everything from the mundane moments to the big life changing events that little bit more. We should appreciate life and not take anything for granted, care less what people think and always live your best life.
Jade McNamee
Image Credit: Fotografierende On Unsplash