For some of us, lockdown in our houses may be completely manic! There’s a couple adults, 5 kids and 3 dogs. For others it might be quiet with just them and their one parent. For me, I’m with my mum, my dad and my poppa (mum’s dad). As an only child, I feel like I’ve been fully prepped for this time in lockdown.
Growing up, I enjoyed my own company and my parents learnt how to entertain one child on their own, (if anyone needs tips, contact me!). Although I was content with my own company, and still am, having a circle of good people around you to connect with is hugely important, especially at a time like this.
After spending 2 weeks inside already (at home, not prison), I feel like I’ve realised who I want to be speaking with daily and who I need to chat to in order for me to feel human. A huge part of our life is human connection, we thrive off of it and we crave it. I want to tell you the 5 types of people who you DEFINITELY NEED to be connecting with right now.
In no particular order…
The friend of a friend. NO I am not telling you to speak to a stranger. You know, that person you always see at your friend’s birthday or you’ve spent some time with but never on your own or for that long. This person knows you enough to speak with and have a conversation but doesn’t know you enough that they just reminisce on the past or are comfortable (at first) to have an intense conversation. There’s familiarity there but not a proper relationship. This is the person that keeps it light hearted, the most natural conversations that you will miss from your regular life. Have you thought about the Tesco worker near school or work that you always speak to? Or the people that work at the restaurant you always eat at? These natural connections we have, we don’t even think about. It’s important that we have something new and different in our lives and they may be able to provide that.
The cheerleader. When I say cheerleader, I’m not referring to the popular nasty girl you see in every American Chick Flick, I mean the person that makes you feel good and supports you like your number 1 fan and biggest cheerleader! During the lockdown, at one point or another, we will all feel pretty rubbish about ourselves. Whether it’s the way we look because our skin is crumbling from no day light or a little bloating from snacking 1000 times a day (yes that is possible to do), or feeling so unproductive because the only productive thing we have done is go through 5 Netflix series. We are all going to feel a little down and not ourselves so if we have daily chats with someone who is supportive, sees the beauty in us and believes in us, it can be really motivating and a good reminder of how great we really are.
The DMCs one. Are DMCs still a thing? When I was a teenager on my BlackBerry Phone, we would update our ‘bbm’ name to something like “Yvie ❤ ❤ (best friends name), (another friend),(crush) ❤ ❤’ and then you might add the name of the person that you have those ‘DMC’s with. What is a DMC you ask? A deep, meaningful chat. Powerful right? Well actually, YES! In this time of uncertainty and difficulty, we need to ensure that we have someone to talk to in order to process the world around us and the thoughts in our head. We all have those few friends that we feel more comfortable opening up to and discussing our inner thoughts with. If we are connecting with them daily, then we are allowing ourselves (and them) to have a chat that we might need to help us feel okay. It’s okay not to be okay, but it’s not okay to do nothing about it! Remember, the person that opens up to you, might not be the person that you want to open up to, they might not be the DMCs one for you, and that is fine! I guess that’s the circle of life isn’t it? No, okay but similar?
The Entertainer. Well, we are all going to be pretty bored at one point or another. The Entertainer is that friend that sends you links to funny tiktoks, stupid memes and of course invites you to a quiz on zoom! This person brings you the light hearted humour and distraction that will give you a boost of life every so often. Online there are a lot of videos for you to watch from all different organisations (including us, check it out), but make sure you’re also taking part in ones where you engage and chat too! Keep this friend close, they will have your lockdown buddies asking why you are smiling at your phone.
The one that got away. Not romantically, but friendship wise. We all have that person that we used to be close with and for one reason or another, we don’t talk to them too much anymore. They may have moved away, to a different school, or maybe you just aren’t that close anymore. Now is the time to get back in touch with them, take time to reach out to people that once made you happy and had a big part of your life. Reminiscing about the good old days right now is a great daily pick me up. Just like looking back at funny photos and videos on your phone, but with someone else so giving into your need for human connection. We drift away from people because of distance and busy schedules and right now none of that matters so let’s get back in touch with those that we miss!
You should also take a moment to think about what kind of person you are and who you are with different people. Right now we have a lot of time to give to people but maybe our energy and emotions should be limited. Be careful who you give your time to and what they are feeding into you, your mood and your thoughts. These are the 5 types of people you need in a lockdown, but there is also a list of those that you don’t need. Surround yourself with those that will do good for you. You get to choose right now, so choose wisely!
Yvie Curtis,
Youth Engagement Manager.