Today’s blog comes from Bristol’s Youth Mayors, John Wayman and Alice Towle.
In these times that seem rather bleak, news seems permanently glum, but today there is some good news to share.
We are really proud to hear from Avon and Somerset police that the young people of Bristol are taking the Covid-19 ‘stay at home’ instructions seriously.
It is so vital that we keep this good work up! This is the only way that we can protect our NHS. The more people that observe these measures, the sooner this lockdown can be lifted and the sooner we can return to some sort of normalcy. We are so impressed that the young people of Bristol are setting the example for how everyone should be acting at the moment. But if you see young people out and about on social media, consider questioning them, and do your part to protect our NHS.
We also thought that we would include a bit about how we are staying occupied and looking after ourselves during lockdown.
Alice
So if the real world still existed then I would be preparing to take my GCSE exams and while some people were happy for this, I really needed to take some time away from everything to mourn that, because I was pretty upset, I must admit. So to keep on top of work and keep my brain ticking over I am taking a few Open Uni free online courses and I can’t recommend them enough, especially if you are in year 11 without work set from your sixth form yet.
I have also been making sure to do German work daily as I am taking it for A-Level next year. I am so thankful that my secondary school is keeping in regular contact with us when they are given information about our exams and our futures. Make sure that you reach out to your friends and keep in contact with your family. And I am sure we will return to a new normal at some point.
John
I’m currently in year 12 so obviously when it comes to school I’m not as affected by closures as others as I wasn’t preparing for any major exams. Yet I’d be lying if I said school hasn’t got harder since lockdown began. Trying to understand ideas in subjects like English and history is a lot easier with peers to discuss them with. Also, the stressful abnormality of the situation we’re in cannot be ignored. It seems unfair to assume everyone will be able to maintain typical levels of work under such stressful circumstances. If you’re a young person struggling with work during this time, try to remember that your mental health is the most important thing to take care of. More important than schoolwork or deadlines could ever be.
We will come out of this eventually and I’m hopeful that, if we all take care of ourselves during this difficult time, we’ll emerge stronger than before and ready to pick up the pieces of the fragmented world around us.