Let’s dream of a time when freedom is ours for the taking

The world is so unbelievably crazy right now and I think I speak for most of us when I say that I’m scared of what’s around the corner. This is something we haven’t experienced before, but it’s slowly becoming our way of life now and it’s mad to even think about what life was like before. Hugging, shaking hands, seeing your friends and family whenever you like, being able to leave the house without thinking “damn I’ve forgotten my mask,” or walking past someone on the street instead of crossing over to the other side. These are things we all used to take for granted, the little things, but now all we want is to be able to do them again. 

We want to get up and dance in our favourite bars or night clubs, we want to meet every single one of our friends on our birthday. We want to travel, get married, mourn for a lost loved one. We want to turn on the news and not hear the words ‘lockdown’ or ‘coronavirus’ ever again. But when’s that going to be? 2 months? 4 months? 6 months? A year? And that is the worst part isn’t it, because, really, who the hell knows? The answer is.. no one. We have no idea. Not one aorta. And that frightens me. Are we going to just have to accept that all this is the new ‘normal’ for years to come? 

I’m worried that one day in the near future I will walk around the city centre and see the signs of the bars and restaurants I used to love, but inside they are dark and empty, all now a distant memory. I’ll think about the times I had in there, eating, drinking, laughing, catching up with friends and family or celebrating a special occasion. Places like this leave imprints on your heart because of the precious moments you spent there. Some of us might have experienced a first date, or even a proposal. They aren’t just bars, pubs, restaurants, cafes, they are people’s livelihoods, people’s favourite coffee, favourite Pizza or Steak or the best Strawberry Daiquiris in town. They are meeting places, date nights, party venues, all down to the very best friendly local. They create the soul of the towns and cities we live in, and they really need to be saved.  

I know that many of us haven’t taken this seriously and I even put my hands up and say that I’m one of those people. But it’s not just the seriousness of the disease that I’ve been choosing to ignore, but also the way in which our world is going to change because of it. I’m sitting here now, with so much fear of the uncertainty of what’s to come. Will I be able to see my family at Christmas? Will I be sat stuffing my face with pigs in blankets on my own? Sat day dreaming of the traditional Christmas’s I’ve had before like some cheesy movie. I really hope that I’m not. I’m hoping that the scaremongering of the news is not going to be our reality. 

But one thing I keep thinking, now that I have so much free time because of what this virus has done, is whether these changes we are seeing, changes which are probably permanent, are they good or bad? There’s so many bad. Jobs lost, our favourite places closing their doors. But is the way we live going to change? The way we see the world, our families and loved ones? The way we walk through one day to the next and take the smallest of things for granted? I think so. 

When you think now into the future, what do you see? When all this is a distant memory and all you read about is Brexit. Who is your future self? Have you taken what’s happened and made it into an opportunity? Have you helped support those around you, done your bit for those small independent businesses? What is happening to us right now is a catastrophe. If you are still working right now then I am so happy for you. And for once I beg of you, don’t take that for granted.

That roof over your head, dinner on the table and that car on the drive, do you realise how lucky you are to have that? This pandemic isn’t just taking lives but taking away livelihoods as well. We need to stop and think. What can I do? How can I help? 

Now more than ever we need to come together and support each other the best way we can. Take your friend who is self isolating a carton of milk and a loaf of bread. Buy a birthday card from that small independent shop round the corner, share your cousins new business venture on all social media channels possible. Call your elderly relatives who have been shielding for the past 6 months. Check everyone is okay, because you need to cherish what is around you right now. Because who knows what will happen tomorrow. 

Let’s all dream of a time where we can jump on a plane and go wherever we want. A time where we can call up a friend from a different city and arrange a catch up with a pint, without wondering what lockdown tier they are in. A time where we can go for an interview for our dream job and shake the hand of our potential new boss. A time where we can bump into someone and apologise because we actually can get close to one another. Let’s dream of a time when freedom is ours for the taking.