My name is Surobi. I am a 15-year-old teenager who is among the 66.65 million people living in the UK who has been affected by this invisible virus. This article will be presenting some of the key highlights of how my life has been in these 6 months. 

March:

• Wednesday 18th March 2020 was the first day of lockdown for me. My school was partially closed but then on Friday 20th March, Boris Johnson himself announced a lockdown for the UK. This was the first time in billions of years that this ever had to happen. 
• Schools all over the country got closed down until further notice and GCSEs and A-Levels 2020 were cancelled, as well as people started working from home. This meant that as a Year 10 student, my GCSE Biology exams were also cancelled and I would get predicted grades from my Biology teacher. Most people slowly stopped eating out often including me and my family.
• There were certain precautions that everyone had to take which still exists today such as wearing face coverings outside, washing hands regularly and sometimes doing social distancing.
• I had to start doing online school where my teachers set me work through Google Classroom. Everyone had to adapt to staying at home for a long time.
• Since the NHS were and are the ones working hard and risking their own lives to save lives, the Government released a ‘Clap For Carers’. 
• On Thursday 26th March, the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, himself got Coronavirus and even some other ministers got it too. 
• On Sunday 29th March, I made my first ever podcast which is known as ‘The Chat Library’ with my sister.We discuss all girl problems and we post twice a week still to the present day. This really boosted my confidence and pushed me out of my comfort zone. 

April:

• On Thursday 2nd April, I let my school friends know about my podcast which again pushed me out of my comfort zone but I got a lot of positive feedback and appreciation for it.
• On Friday 10th April, I started my second anonymous podcast which I will not share here but I also post there with my sister twice a week.
• On Thursday 16th April, I did my GCSE Biology Paper 2 Mock at home which was definitely a first for me and many others. 
• On 19th April, I started a mini series on my website where I shared 4 articles talking about my one-month experience quarantining.
• On Friday 24th April, Ramadan for us Muslims began, and this was the first time I was fasting in quarantine. Mosques were closed and families from different households were not able to eat together, but we went through Ramadan at home. Throughout this month and the next few months, I may have had a spiritual and religious awakening as I pray more and focus on my religion Islam.
• Boris Johnson was recovered after getting admitted to St Thomas Hospital and he came back to work. 
• As a person who used to watch Bollywood very frequently, I also found out that on 29th April, a famous actor called Irfan Khan passed away, and the next day Rishi Kapoor passed away (RIP to them both).

May:

• On 10th May, I started an Instagram for my podcast which is @thechatlibrary, where we post motivational quotes and podcast previews. 
• On Sunday 24th May, it was Eid-ul-Fitr which I celebrated at home and only went right outside my house to take some photos. Again, this was very different to my usual Eids.
• On Monday 25th May, one of the biggest tragedies which set a huge fire amongst many was George Floyd’s death, a man who was mercilessly killed just for being black. This went viral on social media, and people started raising awareness of ‘Black Lives Matter’ and even protesting outside during COVID-19. More people also started learning about racism and its history.

June:

• On 5th June, I activated my old Instagram @valuable.seconds and changed to @surobiscribbles. That is my personal/business account where I post poetry and photography. 
• My school decided to allow Year 10 students to come into school if they wished to only for 6 days before the end of the academic year. I did not go though.
•  On 14th June, I found out one of the biggest shocks ever. One Indian actor known as Sushant Singh Rajput passed away.
• On 20th June, I properly went out grocery shopping with my mother since lockdown began.
• Near the end of the month, I started having one-to-one meetings with my teachers via Google Meet and this was just such a new experience for me.

July:

• On 3rd July, a famous Indian choreographer called Saroj Khan passed away (RIP to her).
• On 17th July, it was the last day of school as a Year 10 student and on that day, I even went to Westfield Stratford with my mother. I took the bus for the first time since the lockdown began.
• On 19th July, it was my 15th birthday! I got ready, went to my local park with my mother, ate delicious homemade food and cut a small chocolate cake.
• On 22nd July, I met my three school friends after about four months at my birthday picnic. I, therefore, celebrated my birthday with my friends in my local park.
• On 24th July, I went to Lloyd Park with my sister.
• On 31st July, I celebrated Eid-ul-Adha by going to Gokyuzu Restaurant with my sister and this was the first time we ate in a restaurant since lockdown began.

August:

• Rishi Sunak, one of the Conservative MPs released the new ‘Eat To Help Out Scheme’ where you get a 50% discount on food or non-alcoholic drinks to eat or drink in (up to a maximum of £10 discount per diner) every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday between 3 and 31 August as many times as you like. People started going out much more often and posting food on their social media.
• I started promoting my podcast  and my website on my personal Instagram page @surobiscribbles. 
• On 20th August, along with the other GCSE students, I went to school (after about 5 months) and collected my GCSE Biology results. I reacted to it at home and told my family. Some GCSE and A-Level students had mixed feelings about this.
• Throughout the month of August, I had travelled to Lea Valley Park, Gokyuzu Restaurant,  Sahara Grill, Franzos , Koz Restaurant, The Urban Chocolatier  and also went normal grocery shopping.
• Near the end of the month, I disabled my Instagram @thechatlibrary (which had over 100 followers) and my Instagram @surobiscribbles (which had over 500 followers) for my own personal reasons.
• Chadwick Boseman passed away on 28th August 2020 (RIP to him).

September:

• On 2nd September, I went out with my friend to Walthamstow Wetlands.
• I also have done some back to school prep.

My school will be starting again from 7th September 2020 and I will, In Sha Allah, be going into Year 11.

These were some of the key highlights of what happened over the 6 month lockdown. It has been a very different experience. Of course, there is no denying that I did have some low and negative days but you know what, there were more positives than negatives.

I know that this COVID-19 battle has not ended yet and I know that the cases could increase in the future. All my thoughts go out to those who have either passed away, have had loved ones passing away and to every single person’s life who has changed because of this virus. Please comment down below how your life has changed due to COVID-19. 

Please check out my other articles related to experiences for more of the experiences I have been through or feel free to surf through my website for any other article.

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!