Hey there, lovely people! 

Before I start this post, can I just say a massive THANK YOU to all of the essential workers that are working their arses off to make sure that life still seems relatively normal. I’m forever grateful!

I don’t even know where to start with this post. I would never ever think that the U.K. would be on lockdown. You read about things like this in dystopian novels, you watch films/TV shows based on pandemics, but you never think that it’s going to happen to you, you think they’re just things that happened way back when in history and that they’re a thing of the past. Well… that’s what I thought, anyway.

So.

How am I coping?

Not good, I’m afraid.

I never realised how sociable I was as a person until the lockdown happened. I now know how dependent I was on going to the pub and seeing all of my friends, going round their houses, and even going to university. One of my best friend lives in Birmingham (half an hour train journey from me), and I am gutted that I can’t see her, so we end up having phone calls that last hours upon hours.

It doesn’t help that I’m not working either. I’m lucky enough to get 80% of my weekly wage (I work in a pub) and even though it doesn’t amount to much, I’m very grateful that it’s something…

I know that I said I wasn’t coping well, but I’m trying. I really am. So, I thought that I would share my coping mechanisms. They may help you, you may already be doing these things (good for you! I’m proud), or you may just need that little nudge.

Just because we’re on lockdown, that doesn’t mean that I have to be making use of every free second that I have. There have been some days where I just want to do nothing apart from relax and read. You don’t have to be cleaning/ironing/cooking/doing a new hobby every single day. Just relax! Take advantage of the fact that you’ve got this time off to focus on yourself.

I have been the worst blogger on Earth this past year. With everything that was going on in my personal life, I didn’t have the motivation to write any blog posts, to read… My mental health was at an all time low. But, you may have noticed (or might not have) that I’M BACK! I’m finally getting through the list of reviews I need to write, the discussion posts that I’ve been wanting to publish for ages… And honestly? It’s been such a great feeling getting back into blogging.

We all know which ones they are, some have instantly appeared in your mind. For me, it’s cleaning my room and trying to stay on top it. I’ve been meaning to sort out my books for such a long time, put artwork up in my little book room, and of course UNIVERSITY WORK. It has to be done, and even though doing it isn’t really enjoyable, you’ll feel better after you have done them.

I wouldn’t be a book blogger if I didn’t read. Even though I’ve had some reading to do for my MA Creative Writing course, I’ve been trying to slowly tackle my TBR in between. I was in a huge reading slump when COVID first hit, so I decided to read something pretty easy, (a few manga, and graphic novels) and then I read a quick contemporary novel that I’d loved – Letters to the Lost – and then I started to slowly getting back into reading. It took a couple of weeks but I finally got there. Now, I’m reading books and enjoying the experience instead of finding it a chore. YYYAAAASSSSS!!

Look, you have to take advantage of this situation and watch all the amazing TV/films that have been released. Due to my MA/work/life, I’ve been so behind on TV and films. You just have to read my latest monthly wrap up to know how much media I’ve consumed. Netflix is my best friend right now.

Like I said before, I’m a very sociable person. I like going out to the pub, I love seeing my friends. I’m just not a big fan of staying in the house, so you can imagine how I’m feeling right now! My friends at the pub have made this massive group chat where everyone just sends memes to raise morale and to keep in touch, I’ll make sure that I talk to my best friends every day and we keep each other up to date on our mental health and then we’ll phone each other and have massive conversations. I also have a group chat for my university group and we’ll go on Google Hangouts every now and then to check in with each other.

In the U.K., we’re only allowed to go outside if we have to go food shopping, if we’re an essential worker, or to get our allowed one form of outside exercise a day. At the beginning of lockdown, I would go for a walk in the morning/mid afternoon, but then I realised that everyone was doing that, and it defeated the point of social distancing. I also noticed that I would get irritable for the rest of the day because I was stuck inside. Now, I leave my bedroom window open and every now and then, I’ll go to window, open it wide and just breathe in the fresh air. Then, after I’ve had dinner (about half 6/7) I will go to the park for a half an hour walk. I prefer this because I now look forward to my walks after dinner, and the park is so quiet at this time, there’s probably 2 or 3 people so it also makes it safer for me than it was in the mid-afternoon.

I keep saying that I’m going to exercise at home, but who am I kidding? I’m lazy as hell.

I have listened to so much music, it’s crazy. My Spotify wrap up at the end of the year is going to be insane. I’ve been listening to pretty much everything that I listened to about 7 years ago *I’m looking at you All Time Low, Canterbury, and Mallory Knox*. It’s been making me feel so nostalgic and reminded me of some brilliant times, and it’s instantly lifted my mood. And then, I’ll just suddenly switch and put my K-Pop playlist on repeat. I’ve also noticed that singing along to the music has put me in a good mood. It doesn’t even matter if you’re not a good singer, just singing along makes you feel good!

Look, it’s good being aware of what’s happening in the world, and to keep up-to-date, but it’s also depressing as hell. No one needs that right now. I’m trying to ban COVID talk in the house because I’m just sick of talking about it because it’s not good for my mental health at all. I’ve also noticed that scrolling through the news does me no good either. Twitter however… Twitter is fun. Yes, you sometimes get news stories pop up, but I think everyone is trying to pick each other up which is beautiful to watch.

It doesn’t hurt to also try and be creative whilst we’re in lockdown. Some people have turned to baking/cooking. Me? I decided to finally do the adult paint by numbers that has been under my bed for ages. To be honest, it didn’t turn out too bad.

I’ve also decided to start working on a new novel idea. I have to write a creative piece for my MA anyway, so having a reason to do it just pushes me that little further. I’ve had this idea in my head for a very long time, and I’m glad that I’m finally writing it!

Well, that’s everything that I’ve been doing whilst I’ve been on lockdown. What have you guys been doing? Let me know in the comments, or on any of my social media which is linked down below.

Stay safe, everyone!

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