County Clare 2020:
A Day in My Life
Creative Writing Competition for children and teenagers
Shortlisted 13 to 15 category
County Clare 2020: A Day in My Life
by Eve Healy
Dear future self,
I am writing to you in lockdown because of the coronavirus and I thought it would be a good idea to document how it’s been for me so I can look back on it when all of this is over. So much has happened, but I’ll start on the day things began to get serious. On the 12th of March, Leo Varadkar, the Taoiseach of Ireland announced that all schools across the country were to close because of the coronavirus for about two weeks, or until further notice. When I heard the news, it was hard to grasp, one minute life was normal, the next a worldwide pandemic happens and everything is up in a heap. Everyone was in such a flurry and no one really knew what was going to happen. I was quite confused and a little nervous when I heard the news as it all happened so quickly; it felt surreal, like I was in a dream.
It’s now April the 23rd and we’re still in lockdown, more than a month later. It still feels quite weird and surreal but at the same time I’ve gotten used to it. It feels weird because everything has changed, only the essential places like food shops, petrol stations and places like that are open, everywhere else is closed and you’re only allowed 2km outside your house to exercise. I’ve been home in lockdown since the 12th of March except for going outside to walk and exercise etc. It’s really annoying hearing people are hanging out together and not social distancing because this whole thing is only going to get worse unless they stay home.
It’s hard not being able to see my friends and hang out and go places with them, but I text them and facetime them all the time to stay in contact. I really miss going places and doing things with them but when this is over, I’ll get to see them all the time which I can look forward to. I miss going out and doing things, like going food shopping, clothes shopping, youth club, discos, set dancing, seanos dancing and just being able to see my friends and family as I don’t live with my grandparents and cousins. On the bright side, I don’t miss having to get up really early for school and I get much more sleep then I used to, if even a little too much!
Things I like to do during quarantine are going on walks with my family and my dogs, playing the guitar, baking and going outside. The weather has been lovely outside so I’m thankful for that because things could be much more boring if it was constantly raining. Being in quarantine has taught me to spend as much time with people you love because you really don’t know when that could be taken away from you. When this is all over, I definitely won’t take being able to have the freedom to do the things I want to do for granted. Not being able to do what I want and to see who I want has really shown me how much I miss the things I used to take for granted
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