My lockdown experience

My experience of lockdown as a student has had its ups and downs, as you would imagine. Being confined to our homes with no outside social interactions with fellow humans has been tough and goes against our human nature.

Nothing compares with going to university for the first time and experiencing the full uni student life of interacting with friends and lecturers. While a global pandemic has brought this all to a halt, I have been lucky enough to have a family that continues to support me during these uncertain times, and who always allow me the time and space I’ve needed over these past months to study independently.  

University study online

I am currently in my second year of a Sport and Exercise Science degree with ongoing final assessments which haven’t been all that bad for me during lockdown. I like to think of myself as a hard-working grafter when it comes to essay writing. I have been able to quickly adapt to a remote learning platform, and the university has done a phenomenal job by making the content easily accessible. This has been essential in continuing my studies at an incredible speed with assessment deadlines hovering overhead. 

Staying active

My knowledge and experience in exercise and health has allowed me to continue to keep my health and well-being in check. Having trained many clients in home-based exercises in the past, this gave me the confidence and incentive to implement my own home routine while juggling my studies. However, keeping my mind actively engaged was no easy task with often arduous 1000+ repetition push-ups, sit-ups, and squats variations per week  and running a half marathon runs on a whim! Exercise has primarily been my lifeline through these times, keeping boredom and my belly size at bay. But don’t get me wrong – I’ve had my binge eating and movie marathon days like most through these unprecedented times.  

With all this said, I’ve kept a positive head, always looking towards the current challenge of lockdown as an adaptive learning experience that we’re all faced with. As my motto goes “always live to learn, to try and fail, but most of all, keeping it real”.

• For further information and mental health support, visit our section for student wellbeing section.