Lockdown and restrictions on meeting people made my 18th…interesting
As someone who thoroughly enjoys celebrating a birthday, when I realised my big 18th birthday would be in lockdown, I was honestly a bit gutted. Every year I plan something full out to do. My original plans were to go to Cardiff with my friends and have a night out – classy as ever, but as soon as the first lockdown was put in place I knew these plans would fall through. There was no way everything would be over in the space of two months.
I prepared for my birthday like I usually would and bought balloons, banners and almost every other birthday celebratory item off the internet. This was instantly weird because we usually buy everything from ‘non-essential’ shops. We didn’t plan to do much, a few drinks in the garden for just the three of us (myself, my mum and my dad). Three weeks prior we were told that the national lockdown would stay in place until the 29th May when the next review would be. My birthday is the 31st May. The rules that were in place to change on the 1st June and they stated you could “meet family and friends outside.” The Welsh government said “running to people’s houses, sitting in gardens close together, having a beer and it all breaking down – that’s definitely not what we are proposing in Wales.”
I mean, considering that the rules were going to change literally the day after my birthday, my family planned on the night to invite over my auntie, uncle and cousin. It sort of went against the rules but, honestly, what’s the difference of a few hours?
We sat in the garden with drinks, food and music and it was relieving to have the freedom to finally see my family again after not being able to for two months. Sort of going against what the government wanted people to do in regards of the rules, I think at that point I was frustrated with what was happening and needed to see someone other than my parents (no offence to them) but felt guilty, at the time, that we didn’t social distance in the garden.
A year later for my 19th birthday, it was a very different story. I was able to go away for the weekend with my, now, ex and actually enjoy the freedom that came with it. Baring in mind restrictions, again, were changed not long before that birthday as well.
With the news that’s come out recently about the parties at Downing Street, it doesn’t really surprise me that they were doing it but it’s upsetting to think that people sacrificed events in their lives to protect other people. I’ve seen stories of what people were doing at the specific time of these parties going ahead, some seeing their families through a window, some grieving the loss of a loved one without being able to organise a funeral.
At the end of the day if you can’t follow the rules you enforce, don’t expect other people to listen and obey.
