Lockdown In Arundel

By Amy Declas

Lockdown studying

I live in Arundel with my parents & 3 other siblings. My lockdown experience at the beginning was surprisingly fun! I liked the idea of being off school for a while (so we thought) and I was very productive with exercising, doing all my school work and being on top of it, being organised and eating more healthily. The first lockdown was easier as the sun was out, which meant I could sunbathe in the garden while doing school work. I had my free time to read books and really liked digging deep into the stuff I discovered I enjoyed like spirituality, meditation & yoga . This extra time I had, it was actually like a time of transformation! We went on lots of local walks & I spent a lot of time talking to friends virtually!

Lockdown cycling by the River Arun

Amy & Jasmine with their sponsor Marion (their Nanna also) in September 2020 on their Confirmation Day

Then summer 2020 came and as you can imagine lockdown lifted so it was very fun. We even managed to go on two short holidays visiting family in France and Sardinia.

In September 2020, I was fortunate that I could do my confirmation which was great. (I know other parishes couldn’t do theirs so I felt grateful), it was a nice, sunny and happy day.

However, this 3rd more stricter lockdown was harder as the days were darker and colder, restrictions were tighter so I felt more isolated at home. School work felt more like a chore then last lockdown,as the excitement went from being off school. We had a bereavement in October 2020 & I was grateful to have been able to attend my dear Great Aunt’s funeral in Manchester. Unfortunately because of lockdown, we weren’t able to attend our dear Grandad’s funeral in Sardinia (Italy)in February 2021. But now (March 2021) I’m back at school and things seem to be better. However I’m a bit stressed at my upcoming GCSE exams,as we were told that they will be cancelled, but there is still confusion about how grades will be worked out etc & how we will be assessed from now on.... I look forward to the day when we won’t have to wear masks and we can all connect again together freely.....

The first lockdown was easier as the

sun was out …