A reflective interview with a young person exploring their experience of the COVID-19 Pandemic as part of the CONTINUE Project.

right, We'll make a start. So, um, how did you feel at the start of lockdown? I mean, at the start of lockdown, I was super super stressed because, like, nothing like this had happened before. And so it was kind of all this whole very, very new experience where I was like, I'm not going to see anyone for however long, Although it was right after my brother and sister's birthday. And I remember them being far more upset than I was because they had had to cancel their birthday party

So I kind of had gone through it Fine, because my birthday was just before theirs, and then it affected everyone else in my family far more than it seemed to affect me. Because whilst I was kind of very avidly watching the news, trying to figure out what was happening at at at least at the beginning, there was kind of a sense that, you know, this isn't gonna last forever. I'll be fine

And then, obviously, that wasn't entirely what happened, but, you know, Yeah, and like, what was because obviously you went through some school in that So what was school like during a global pandemic. I mean, school was certainly the most difficult part of general lockdown, particularly for me, because I really, really struggle with, like, self motivated, like self fueled learning. If it's not something that I want to learn about, so particularly in subjects that I don't enjoy as much as others

I was really, really struggling to actually make myself do the work. I'd be sitting there with my laptop open and I'd just be staring at the work like, What am I meant to be doing here, and not in the sense that I didn't understand what I was actually supposed to do, but I just couldn't make myself do it. And so I would end up spending hours and hours just trying to make myself do the school work as opposed to actually doing it

And it caused a lot more stress than any other aspect of covid really did. Because I was. I I kind of never got the real sense of fear with covid, but I did have a sense of oh my, I'm terrified to go back to school because I have missed all this work and I don't know how I'm gonna like get away with that

So, yeah. So what? It had been like, sort of be having that ease of going back to school. That I mean, I I think that was it

It was a very weird thing because I didn't know when it was going to be happening. And even though, like so, my kind of avid watching of the news kind of eased off off off through covid. But like even then, I was still keeping track of it, but I couldn't quite frequently

At times, I couldn't even figure out what the restrictions were anymore because they were changing so rapidly. And they were so unclear like that the wording was, and I'm so unclear. Like you get different information everywhere you looked so like, because I think I only got about a week's notice before I went back to school

I went No, actually. Sorry. Um, I because I think we found out at the end of the summer holidays that we were going to be going back in September, and so I had been for about three months

I'd been like, every day. Are we going to go back because there was such a big chance that we were going to get, like, a day, like a day or two notice because that happened to some students. Thankfully, it didn't happen to us, but yeah, it was just very stressful because no one really knew what was happening

And as I said before, I was still kind of scared about going back to school and also for me, because I'm a 14 year old 13. At the time, I was quite scared of going back to school and seeing my friends again because I didn't, because I hadn't seen them in almost two years. And I didn't quite know how our dynamics were going to be anymore

And so So it was just kind of a very, very new experience. I hopefully won't get again in the same way that it happened and that I had never had before. Obviously

Yeah. Um, So what was you said? That was the most difficult part for you. What was the easiest part of lockdown? I think the easiest part was staying at home

Probably like because it wasn't great not being able to see family, but like the family that I did see it. They they were the ones who I see all the time anyway, so that wasn't a big change. But then stay staying at home

I I I don't leave the house the time. Anyway, it wasn't a massive massive deal because, like, the only times when it got frustrating were when I wanted to go to, like, a coffee shop or something to try and do my school work because I was struggling with it. And then it got frustrating just because it was this one thing that I want to do that I couldn't

But for the most part, it wasn't a big deal. And it was actually really nice to have some time to kind of recuperate after, Like, you know, all all the years of general stressful school stuff and, like, friendships and things, it was nice to have some time on my own to kind of figure my brain out a little bit. Yeah

So, um, how did it feel when restrictions lifted? I I I mean, a little bit Like I said before, it was kind of bittersweet and a bit apprehensive because I didn't quite know how people are gonna react like because Because restrictions lifted them and they. I mean, I think I was kind of proven right when they just kind of all came back again because I didn't trust that when restrictions lifted, they they weren't gonna stay that way. Sorry, they were gonna stay that way because, like, as as they were lifting, like, everyone was like, Well, we're gonna have more ways of covid

We're gonna have this, that the other. And so so again, it was so much conflicting information and people struggling to follow the science because the science was really confusing. And so it just wasn't it

It wasn't the the great joyous thing that I think people expected it to be when restrictions lifted. Yeah, I suppose one last thought I'd like to get from you if you could pick up the phone and speak to, um speak to you at the start of lockdown, knowing what you do now, what sort of thing would you would you say? I tell myself to make the most of it because it's It's an opportunity. And everyone was saying at the beginning, and I kind of ignored everyone because I I I had I had all the best intentions of like learning loads of stuff and like going, going and researching things that I found interesting and doing all these things that I don't normally have time to do because I don't normally have any inclination to do

And I It just wasn't It didn't feel important enough to me to actually then end up doing that. All those things that I kind of wanted to do and they fell that fell by the wayside. And I do wish I had done some of them now

Oh, thank you..

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