Stay Home Advice: David Reflects on Lockdown

Each week we bring you the voice of one of the young people we are working with at the Jack Petchey Foundation to share their thoughts and ideas on the lockdown. This week’s is from David Adesina, age 13 from Southwark, who reached out to us via email to reflect on his experience of the lockdown and how helping his community helped him stay positive.

My name is David Adesina and I found the Jack Petchey Foundation from my local youth club 2inspire. I’m writing to show you what I’m going through in these abnormal times and so you can see that you are not alone.

Before lockdown was imposed onto us I was a person that didn’t go outside very often and was terrible at getting up on time. So naturally, the thought of a lockdown was quite exciting for me. So a few days later, when lockdown finally happened I was over the moon.

For a week or so I was constantly playing online games with my mates. I enjoyed my time away from school worrying about insignificant things such as my shirt being tucked in, having the right equipment and not being late to school.

But then my school started setting us up for online work that had to be completed by the end of the week. At first, the work was relatively simple. Then a few weeks later they started to increase the amount we were given and then it felt like we were being asked to do the impossible. So I spoke with my mum about it and then she helped me out with it a lot. She helped me pace myself and get into a nice rhythm.

Outside of school, I’ve had more free time to do some of my hobbies. The things that I like to do are watching TikToks; cooking exceptional dishes; playing games with my mates and (my favourite) helping around the local area. The reason being is because it allows me to get out of the house and interact with other people. I hosted some fun sessions with children younger than me with Notting Hill Genesis Aylesbury. We hosted a session called online fun and games where we did activities like bingo and quizzes and other mini-games. I think it’s good to help other people because it gives a meaning or a role and makes you feel important.

So in conclusion, I think that if you pace yourself and get into a nice time table then you can do other things like help around the local area. You may find yourself enjoying lockdown whilst doing something somewhat helpful. It has also taught me that going outside is something that you have to value and cherish.