How I've been spending lockdown in halls

Lockdown. By law, you must stay at home - you can only leave your home for essential purposes. 

Not the best thing to hear after a couple of months, I have come to a new city (a new country as well, by the way), excited to start a new chapter of my life. Breakout rooms, many trips to the kitchen and hours spent at the cinema of TikTok. Sound familiar? Maybe it's time to get a little bit more creative with your time in lockdown. Feel free to use this as inspiration, while I tell you how I’ve chosen to spend my time.

Long story short - I stayed in Glasgow over the Christmas break. Some of my flatmates didn't, they went home, but no one knew, they wouldn’t be able to come back, so it’s just me and my other flatmate right now. But all is not lost, there are a lot of creative ideas you can try with your flatmates. For example, (this one I saw on TikTok, yes, I spend a lot of time there, don't judge me) you can organise Come Dine with Me: Your Flat Edition. Basically, you get to host a 3-course dinner party for others, and after they will rate your cooking and hosting skills by giving you points. You can include additional activities or dress code if you want to spice it up a bit. 

I enjoy going for a walk because we are still allowed to go outside for exercise. Mostly I go alone to clear my head (listening to Spotify for me is essential), but sometimes I enjoy the company of my flatmate. It is important to stay in touch with friends and people around me, even if it means hosting an online party. Take it as seriously as you would be organising a party before lockdown - decide on a time, day, dress code, activities and even drinks, snacks, and music. Again, be creative and go the extra mile; it doesn't even require you to go outside your bedroom. Firstly, choose the platform. I usually use either Zoom or backyard.co. Zoom is more suitable for chats and games, where you don't need to use your laptop, for example, charades or quiz night. On backyard.co you can play their original games while having a camera and microphone on. There are games similar to Cards Against Humanity, Scrabble and many more. Secondly, decide on time and date. More people means more fun. Thirdly, dress code, drinks, and snacks. Someone could ask, why would I need to follow the dress code? But are you going to parties, wearing your pyjamas? No? that's what I thought. Snacks and drinks? Even at before-lockdown events, you got your own drinks and snacks; why not now? Pick thematical snacks. Finally, have a good time. Forget about everything else, you can afford to take a break from studies, you deserve it.

What else am I doing during lockdown? Learning a new language on Duolingo. It's easy and fun, plus you can compete with your friends and maybe when you come out of lockdown, you will be able to speak High Valyrian fluently. What's High Valyrian? Language of the Mother of Dragons and the Mad King Aerys. Yes, in the world of Game of Thrones. Have you seen it? Might be the right time to start watching all 8 seasons. Or if you are in the mood for something else, you can find many suggestions on what to watch on my blog (arminsworld.co.uk). I am spending a lot of time watching Netflix and working on my blog to bring new content. As you know, I'm studying Film and Tv, so I'm also really interested in screenwriting. Studying online resources and watching tutorials to improve my screenwriting skills. 

At first, I thought, I will not have anything to write about, but now I think I will write Part 2 of my lockdown story. There are a lot more I can tell you, let me know what you want to hear about next.

Of course, sometimes I also get tired of lockdown and don't want to do anything. But eventually, everything will be okay, and we have to take every opportunity life offers us. Don't let boredom take over you, stay in touch and stay safe. I'm open for chats if you want to talk to someone -  @arminsre

Check out Armin's blog page here.