Saturday 18/04/2020

Having spoken to my friends more than usual over the last few weeks, I am pleasantly surprised that as the quarantine gets extended for another three weeks in UK, none of them are wallowing in pits of despair at the prospect of losing a precious summer. Fortunately, almost all of them are taking this opportunity to look at their lives with some perspective, questioning past decisions and revising future plans while there are less distractions. I’ve heard on countless occasions that they are actually relieved to have this respite from their fast paced lives. Despite the world having been temporarily turned on its head, their unfaltering positivity is deeply uplifting. They are embracing the slowing down of life that the lockdown has brought as the perfect opportunity for introspection, renewal or consolidation. Such an outlook is very compelling for anyone who isn’t feeling this way.

Even though time seems to be passing quicker than ever before, as each day and weekend stuck in the flat blurs unrecognisably into the last, I am also scrutinising the life choices I am about to make and exploring other paths that I had previously only ever vaguely considered. I am actually very appreciative of this chance to put in the necessary research about other career and study opportunities, so that when we are allowed to return to a normality that we will no longer take for granted, I will be ready to hit the ground running.