Reflection on Lockdown

In Year 8 Wellbeing classes, students wrote reflections on their time in lockdown and how they worked to maintain their wellbeing. These will be put with the Year 7 time capsules and be opened in Year 12. While of course everyone’s lockdown was different, some students had more challenges than others,  what many of the teachers noticed in these reflections was that even if the wheels fell well and truly off, students had learnt something from their experiences. Here is one student’s reflection. 

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For many Lockdown was either a paradise or a prison. I can’t say my experience was that clear cut. I began remote learning at my bedroom desk but moved quickly to the dining room to gather a more social feel. My dad worked close to me, mum was at one end of the house and my brother enjoyed putting the tv up high even though I was at ‘school’. Lockdown was a new experience yet with the help of others and lots of inspiration I overcame challenges and ultimately became a stronger person. 

Being in the corner of the dining room wasn’t anything like being in a room full of classmates, recess and lunch in the kitchen weren’t usual at all. At times I felt lonely, my friends live faraway and I couldn’t see them for ages. My biggest supporters were my family. My mum always took me out for walks or brought a treat home from the shops. Although I couldn’t enjoy the normal things like recess, mum gave me new things to look forward to as well as helping me be grateful. Phone calls with Nonna also lifted my spirits as we discussed shows on Italian tv, recipes and what we were up to. I have thanked my family for always being willing to help and support me.

Both paradises and prisons have challenges I suppose, sure they range in difficulty but if there’s anything I learned in lockdown, there’s always room for growth. Somedays I would feel lonely and isolated and other days I would get upset with the pantry if there wasn’t an abundance of food. To cope with these challenges, I used a gratitude journal. I would write a list of ten things I was thankful for. Then on days when I was feeling down, I read through previous entries, the little things made me happy and once I was smiling, I forgot about quarantine and made the most of my family and my dog. I also struggled with motivation. Some mornings I would wake up early and complete everything on my to-do list, other days I struggled to get 2 or 3 things completed. In these moments I focused on the task in front of me and doing my best on that. I definitely feel stronger after lockdown. My resilience has built, and I have changed my outlook on lots of things. Instead of fearing problems I look into the future readily; I now know that when I have struggles, by doing the little things I can continue to be positive and keep going and if I’m lucky, keep growing. 

During remote learning I used lots of wellbeing strategies such as drawing, exercising, sitting outside, gratitude, helping others and colouring in. Helping others helped me lots. I wrote a letter to an aged care home. This letter gave me a sense of purpose as I felt as though I was doing a small thing for the world. I would even say the letter helped me more than the receiver. I also spent time making sure I was organized and cleaned my room. A tidy space helped me feel settled and prepared. It is surprising how much an orderly space can help someone. Being back at school I am still trying to keep my room clean to keep feeling settled and good.

Lockdown, like all things had its positives. The silver lining was definitely having time to be creative and doing things I wouldn’t usually do. I recreated one of Monet’s paintings and wrote poems and creative writing. I have learnt that your mindset is really important, changing how you react to things or how you see things is powerful. If I had to do lockdown again the only thing, I’d change is being happier in the moment. Looking back lockdown was actually kind of cool. I didn’t have to catch a train and woke up at 5 minutes to 9. So was lockdown a paradise or a prison? I learnt it could be be both. Both are just places you are in as a result of something, lockdown was a prison when I was bored, lonely, and unmotivated but when I switched my mindset and looked at the positives, lockdown was a paradise.