Hi all. Welcome back to Leeds RAG Fashion Show. Don’t worry, this isn’t going to be one of the typical use lockdown to your advantage; embrace the extra time; stay positive; start a hobby; build a business!!! kind of post. No- I am more than aware that life sucks at the moment, and whatever you are feeling about this time is more than acceptable. I just thought it might be helpful (or even vaguely interesting...) to share some of the little things that I have personally been doing to make lockdown life that little bit easier.
Disclaimer: the following recommendations are based on living with more than one person; however they can all be adapted for people living on their own. Swap board games with the family, to zoom friendly versions of the games, and rather than communal cooking- cook a banging meal and eat it all yourself! (…who really wants to share food anyway, right?).
Food glorious food….
As a very food orientated individual, cooking and eating has definitely been a morale boost for me during all three of the national lockdowns. One thing that kept me feeling positive and excited for dinner were themed cooking nights! What better way to spend your time than creating an elaborate cooked feast. Why not have an Italian night, and make the dough from scratch? That’s sure to waste some time and also provide a delicious treat that you deserve. Similarly, why not treat yourself to a sushi kit and pour your heart and soul into creating a delicacy that not only tastes delicious, but you can also create an aesthetic arrangement of your labour of love. My university house is partial to a Mexican themed night- fajitas and coronas every day of the week if we could.
Personally I really enjoy eating my meals with my house mates; it’s the closest we have to socialising at this point. Having dinner together gave us something to look forward to throughout the day- even more so when you’ve got some tasty ingredients to make a mouth-watering meal with. I am very guilty of purchasing multiple takeaways during lockdown- when all you want is some delicious goodness to wrap you in a comforting blanket of bliss. I am partial to a Wagamama's but I have been making a big effort to choose local independent alternatives- some of my houses favourites have been: Chez Joel, Sakura, Vietbaker and Alfie’s Burgers. Leeds RAG encourage you to try and support local businesses whenever you can- leave your favourite local takeaway vendors in the comments below so we can expand our food horizons.
Themed nights:
As I said above, having something fun planned in the evening is great ways to feel optimistic and gives the house something to look forward to. In my house we arranged a “Pub Night”, where each of us decorated our room according to a different theme, for example, Jungle, Sh*t Shirts, Halloween and Gap Year. This was such a fun night, the closest thing we have had to a night out in MONTHS, and everyone was really glad for the opportunity to get dressed up have a distraction from the bleak Rona reality for the evening.
Similarly, I would recommend planning events such as cocktail nights, film nights, pamper evenings, as well as board game nights- we have all the time in the world to play Monopoly! During lockdown my house had a tradition of watching each of our favourite films in the evenings- one film a night took almost a week and we loved the house bonding time.
Look forward to the mornings!
Speaking from experience, having something that you enjoy first thing in the morning is a great motivation boost to get out of bed and start your day in a happy and refreshed mind-set. Waking up knowing that all that befalls you today is a huge pile of uni work is never something to look forward to and it can often be quite daunting to start the day with. Why not make yourself a delicious breakfast- treat yourself to all the bouji extras; halloumi, avocado, hollandaise sauce- or even just a bowl of your favourite cereal; whatever your ideal breakfast is. Then allow yourself a glorious half hour of eating this food whilst watching an episode of your favourite series, something to make you laugh and release some positive endorphins before you begin your working day. Some of my favourites include Schits Creek, Friends, Modern Family and The Office!
Sweet fresh air
It must be said, if you need a duvet day- and don’t we all- this doesn’t apply, just snuggle down with your favourite food and watch Netflix all day if that’s the kind of day you need. However, I personally really benefited from making sure I left the house EVERYDAY in some form or another. Be it a wholesome house walk in the woods with your bubble, or even just a five minute dash to Sainsbury’s when you’ve run out of hummus and crisps- just this glimpse of fresh air can do wonders for your spirits. This was particularly evident in my house. I never thought my flatmates would offer to take out the bins….but whilst we were self-isolating we leapt at the opportunity just to step outside our front door- it was the relief we all needed from breathing in our stale inside air for two weeks! My walking tips would be to KEEP IT LOCAL (for Boris), alternate your route so you don’t get bored and get exploring- see what hidden gems you find within the countryside of Leeds.
Get moving
I know for some, exercise has kept their sanity in check this lockdown. Personally, although I really wish it was, running and general exercise just isn’t for me. I have never understood the endorphin rush the exercise junkies claim to feel after completing a 5k run- I just don’t get it and I am very envious of everyone that does. That being said walking is another great form of exercise which doesn’t leave me feeling drained and exhausted- instead it actually does make me feel energised so I would defo recommend!! Alternatively, putting some music on and having a boogie in the living room has been my exercise of choice during the pandemic- some feel good tunes and a Zumba session around the lounge lifts the spirits and- let’s face it- the closest thing to a club so far in 2021.
Pass the time with a hobby
Apologies for slightly contradicting my introduction, but I did find that rediscovering an old hobby helped provide structure to my days within lockdown! I was enthralled to get back to my sewing machine and use my fashion degree to a purpose and create some funky garments for myself and my friends. Some of my friends have discovered how therapeutic they find painting- this seems like an excellent outlet for lockdown stress and frustrations; get an easel and go crazy!!
There are some great TikTok creators with simple yet amazing painting designs that I personally find really inspiring- there’s also a trend going round of messy paintings, which as an artistically impaired individual, I can totally get behind!! I invested in a painting-by-numbers in the first lockdown which provided hours of entertainment and left me with a really funky canvas at the end of it- WHOLEHEARTEDLY RECOMMEND!
Watching material
This is a great time to enhance your watching and reading material (if you fancy). Netflix have some great documentaries including The Game Changers, which explores the benefits of a vegan diet- more on this in a couple of weeks where we take you through our favourite sustainability documentaries! Recently, I have watched the series It’s A Sin on Channel 4. This is an incredibly powerful portrayal of a friendship group in London in the 1980s, focused on the HIV and AIDS epidemic. Get the tissues ready before watching- it is incredibly moving and you’ll be sure to be in floods of tears by the end of it. I would recommend this to anyone as a truly insightful and eye-opening series; it touches on important issues and is incredibly thought-provoking.
My house and I also enjoyed watching The Queens Gambit on Netflix. Who knew that chess could be so exciting?!?! The aesthetics of this series are very pleasing; being set in the1960s the music and fashion of the era is stunning.
Become a Plant Mom
During lockdown I have doubled my collection of plants. With garden centres being one of the only shops open, these have become the destination for house day trips. Not only do plants brighten up your room and workspace, they also provide a sense of responsibility and purpose; they give us a reason to get up in the morning to water them! If you needed another reason to be convinced that you need to become a plant mom, some plant types actually cleanse and oxygenate the air they live in- what better way to improve your lockdown existence!
I would recommend a Monstera- they are reasonably priced, grow fast and look magnificent. They are also easy to look after and communicate with you- if you water them too much their leaves actually cry the water out! They literally form tears on their leaves- that’s one of the coolest things I have learnt in 2021.
Zoom is your best friend
Due to social contact being eradicated by lockdown, Zoom and other video chat software’s are now our only ways of interacting with friends- we should treat them as sacred as we would regular social interaction. Calling one person a day, or even once every couple of days, will help you feel connected to your friends even if you cannot see them in person. You are probably sick of zoom quizzes by now, but grabbing a glass of wine (bottle) and jumping on a Zoom Party with my friends for a quiz, or a game of Psyche, were some of my highlights from the first lockdown.
Congratulations if you got to the end of this! Thanks so much for reading and I hope you found some of it helpful and it has provided you some ideas about how to pass the time during the remainder of this national lockdown. We want to reiterate again that please remember that this is a challenging and unsettling time for everyone- there is no bench mark to achieve and no goals you have to set and reach. For some goal-orientated individuals, having goals and benchmarks can help. However, I for one am more than happy to lounge around in my duvet for days binging watch new Netflix series…
Love LRFS x
ความคิดเห็น