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A few months ago, things were very different, we were looking through a different window. Preparing for the biggest exams of our lives, going to parties with friends, weekend shopping trips. Meals out with all the family, celebrating birthdays… Little did we know in a few months’ time things were going to suddenly change and life would be very different. We would be waving to our grandparents through the window when you took them their weekly shop. Face time with your boyfriend for date nights would be the new normal and virtual games nights with family and friends. Now you have to queue outside your local grocery store and chemists, all other stores are closed- not seen as essential. Exams canceled and the school shut, some see this as a good thing, keeping everyone safe. For some this is not the case, the school was a distraction to the outside world what was really going on in life. A place where they felt safe. Where they gained help for their mental health issues.

 Listing everything that has changed, changes were not ones we chose. Quarantine, lockdown, being shut away from the world, from our family, friends. The sudden change of normality was not a choice we had any control over so why stress about it, focus on what positive can come out this experience and what you have learned. Maybe you got to experience home schooling. Spending more time with the people you live with. Maybe you feel worried for those working on the frontline and you begin to appreciate them more. No longer taking anyone or anything for granted.

Focus on what you do have control over. What you want to change when you can get out  into the world again? What do you miss most about the other side of the window? Learn to make the most of the time you have.

Sometimes in life your head is so caught up in having a strong mind, so you get lost and need something to pull you back up, and that is okay. What is not okay is being or feeling alone. During this time things can be harder than normal and you feel like there is no way out because not only are you physically isolated you feel it mentally aswell. You cant explain this feeling. It is okay to feel this way. Life is hard especially now but that is why you were given the life you  are living, because you are strong enough to take it. Sometimes you don’t know how strong you are until that is the only option you have. You need to remember that you are strong. You are beautiful and you are loved. One day these dark days will be over and we will see the light again, it will take time, positivity and motivation.

‘hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destination.’

Even during these hard times you just have to look for a little positive because there is always some good in every bad situation.  

Now is the time you can start and make those changes.  You are where you are today because of your decisions. To get the results you want in life you must take the actions needed to get to that place. To succeed in the way you want to., maybe your circumstances have changed but that doesn’t mean your dreams need to. Don’t let anyone, or any circumstance make you think you’re not good enough. Dreams and goals are what make life better and more exciting. They give you something to focus on during hard times, yet people still fail to make their dreams become reality and stay focused on their goals in life whether that be something big or something small because they are afraid of what other people will say. Everyone has something they want to achieve even during times like these. It is easy to get yourself down when things get hard or things don’t quite work out. Life throws things at you in the ways like now because when you finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, when this lockdown is eased, when it is all finally over, you will be able to look back and see what you learned and what you were able to experience and what you could achieve. Start by taking a small step. Don’t tackle the mountain all at once.

Most importantly, don’t forget who you are and where you have come from. You have come from infinite possibilities and incredible odds. You are here for a reason.

Looking through the window: lockdown from a 15-year olds point of view

Written by – Jess Shorthouse – Ashby School

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