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ANGELA, IMOGEN and MIRANDA, Lockdown 1, Day 64

How has Covid-19 affected you and your lives?
ANGELA:
In April 2019, I booked a holiday to the Philippines ( my mother’s home country) for my daughter Miranda, 15 and myself for April 2020. My 18 year old daughter Imogen was staying because she had to revise for her A- levels. I also booked plane trips to a couple of fabulous islands and then spending Easter with my Philippine family and relations. Then COVID19 happened and the world changed. All our holiday trips were cancelled. We were naturally gutted.

I run a business in West London – I teach ballet to children and adults in 2 different studios and schools in the area. When our world changed because of SARS-CoV2, I had a few days to work out what to do and set up online Zoom classes.
With no experience in teaching “virtually” online I had to just give it my best shot for my students! To my total surprise the majority of my students returned to class, I also have had new interest from children and adults from other areas of London and around the UK. I am now teaching from the ages of 2.5 to 80 !!! The classes have been a real lifesaver for me during lockdown. Just seeing my students dancing at home puts the biggest smile on my face and inspires me every day, they are such a joy. I think without them my lockdown would have been very different.

I haven’t missed rushing around town all day, I have appreciated the simple things and loved slowing down! I do miss the interaction in the studio with my students. I miss the London night life and culture – restaurants, bars, theatre and my museums. I miss family, friends and travel. But all this will return and I know the next chapter will be just amazing! “Virtual” teaching is now part of my repertoire.

Meditation has helped me a great deal with how to approach life in lockdown and it’s even helped me feel grateful during these difficult times. This experience has only made me more committed, positive, dedicated and most of all resilient! This time has opened my eyes and given me more opportunities. As I keep telling myself ‘tough times don’t last but tough people do!’

IMOGEN, 18 years old

After being told we are in lockdown and having my A-levels cancelled I knew I would have lots of spare time and was so unsure of how to manage it. At the beginning of lockdown I felt very anxious as I wasn’t sure what I was going to do stuck at home with my mum and little sister. After getting into the routine of lessons on Microsoft teams and constant FaceTimes with my best friend I felt responsible to use this time wisely. For me, this is expressing my creativity. I have been experimenting with different creative materials (what I can find) that I usually wouldn’t try. I want to maintain this as it is fun for me and provides a sense of normality to my day-to-day routine. Moreover, I’ve had the pleasure of being with my younger sister 24/7. We have spent most of the time binging Netflix TV shows and bringing back old memories on Disney+.

MIRANDA,15 years old

Covid-19 has affected me in many ways. Where do I start. I have had to adapt to learning online by logging into my daily lessons for class with my teachers. This hasn’t been easy especially as I have been waking up later than usual and it’s so much harder staying focused at home. I have had to spend a lot of time with my sister and not my friends but it hasn’t been too bad and we have had lots of fun – exploring more of our local parks and dyeing our hair blue and red! One thing that did upset me at the start of this crazy time was my cancelled trip to the Philippines. I had planned this trip with my Mum for a year and I don’t know when I will be able to visit again as I have My GCSEs next year.